Oh god. Not now.

Please, not now.

Shoving the door open, I ran outside and sucked back the frigid night air. The cold bit into my skin, and I wrapped my arms around myself and squeezed my eyes closed. I had all my friends right there. They were safe. They weren’t going anywhere. I didn’t need anyone else. Everything was okay. It was going to be okay. I sucked in another desperate breath.

A heavy weight dropped over my shoulders. I jumped and spun around.

Manic watched me with those deep brown eyes as the heat from his leather jacket that he’d draped over my shoulders sunk into my skin.

“Hey, babe,” he said.

I blinked up at him.Be cool. Don’t show him you’re hurting. At least that small fright had been enough to halt the oncoming panic attack. “How’s it going there, big guy?” I asked and offered him what I hoped was a carefree grin. Did I sound as drunk as I felt? Nah.

He grinned and my bellyswooped.

Goddammit. I didn’t want my belly to swoop around him, not anymore. “Stop grinning at me.”

He grinned wider. “Can’t help it, cupcake.”

“Well, try,” I said and pulled the jacket around me tighter, wanting more of its warmth. A sweet, floral scent hit my nose. Perfume. Then I remembered Mercedes wearing this jacket the other night, and before I knew what I was doing, I was yanking it off and shoving it at him. “And I don’t want your stinking jacket.”

His grin slipped away and his chin jerked back. “What?”

I was tipsy, okay, more in the vicinity of seriously drunk, which was why I couldn’t hold it in, it needed to come out. “I’m not a fan of that perfume. It reeks.” Yep, I sounded like a bitch, and I didn’t care.

His brows lowered, eyes narrowing.

“It smells like your girlfriend,” I added in case he needed clarification. “Go put it on her shoulders,Manic.” I slurred, emphasizing his road name because I knew he liked me to call him Levi. Well, he did while we were naked, anyway.

He took a step closer. “I don’t have a girlfriend, Addie.”

“Ha!” I pointed to the bar. “Iliterallyjust saw you with her. The same girl I saw crawling all over your lap at your place.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

Okay, you need to shut it now.“You’re sleeping with her, aren’t you?”

His gaze sharpened. “Not sure why you give a fuck, cupcake.”

Which meant, yes. “Pig,” I bit out. Ireallyneeded to shut up, but my alcohol-addled brain didn’t care, not one bit. I poked him in the chest. “You’re a manwhore, Manic Smith.”

His expression changed. He was not happy. “I waited weeks for you to give me some of your time, but you made it crystal clear you weren’t interested, and now you’re out here calling me a pig and a manwhore? That’s pretty fucking shitty, Addison.”

He was right, of course, and now I felt like a jerk. I hugged myself, a knot forming in my stomach. “Okay, fine, you’re not a pig, but I’m still pissed at you.”

His nostrils flared and he took another step closer. “And why is that, cupcake?”

* * *

Manic

She stared up at me for several seconds, and I didn’t think she’d answer. “Addie—”

“You gave up on me,” she slurred and poked me in the chest again. “I was scared, you big idiot.” She waved a hand from my head to my feet. “Of…of all of this.” She shook her head. “I like you a lot, and the sex…I’ve never had sex like that. And these”—she ran her hand over one of my biceps—“these strong arms wrapped around me that night, I liked that, too, a whole lot…too much. I felt safe, Manic, and not so alone, and I’ve felt alone for a long time. But I was scared…and, and I can’t…” She shook her head again and clamped her lips together.

What the fuck was going on here? “What are you scared of, cupcake?”

She was drunk. I should take her to her friends, but I wasn’t going to do that. I wanted to know what was going on in that gorgeous, confusing-as-fuck head of hers. I still had it bad for this girl, and her rejection had sucked. I’d never pursued a woman as hard and as long as I had her. I wanted her still. I wanted more than a hookup, more than casual. I wanted Addie on the back of my bike. I wanted her wearing my property patch.

Tags: Sherilee Gray Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net