The band begins their set. I can barely make out the off-pitch yowling over the alarm bells ringing in my head.
Has she already agreed to go home with Jeremy? I smile tightly and tell myself to let it rest. I’ve got no claim on her. She’s a grown-ass woman who can spend her nights with whomever she pleases. Just because she feels like mine doesn’t mean she is mine. It’s not my place—
“You’re really gonna fuck that weasel?”
Shit...
Kenzie balks. “Jesus... Not that it’s any of your business, but I plan to sleep on his couch.”
“Does he know that? Because he definitely wants to fuck you.”
She slides off the barstool. I know I’ve crossed a line, and she has every right to be pissed, but I can’t let her walk away until I find out why she’s even considering Jeremy’s couch as a viable sleeping arrangement.
I catch her forearm. “Kenz, wait.” She looks down at my hand, her expression conflicted. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just don’t get why you’d want to stay at Jeremy’s when you could stay with a friend.”
“Because I’m tired of burdening my friends.” She extracts her arm from my grasp. “I’m trying to give Holly and Cal a night to themselves.”
“That’s it? You know you can stay at my place if you need to crash.”
She shakes her head.
“You already do too much for me, Austin.”
“Says who?” It takes all my strength to resist touching her again. “I sure as hell never said that.”
“You don’t have to say it to make it true.”
The look of shame on her pretty face cuts like a knife. I’m willing to bet something happened between her and Holly, something that has her questioning her place in their home. I imagine she might feel conflicted about the baby. Holly’s been her rock since they were teenagers. Now her best friend’s priorities are about to be rearranged.
Fuck keeping my distance.I skim my knuckles down the side of her face.
“Let me take you home, Kenz.”
She moves back a step. I drop my hand.
“I told you, I’m not going home tonight.”
“Then you can stay at my house.”
“God, are you even listening? I don’t want you doing me any more favors.”
“But you’ll take a favor from that prick?”
I nod in Jeremy’s direction.
“It’s not a favor if there’s a clear exchange,” she says.
“What exchange?” As soon as the question leaves my mouth, I realize she’s talking about sex. My whole body tenses. “I thought you were planning to sleep on his couch.”
“I’m not an idiot, Austin. I know Jeremy wants to fuck me. But I’d rather go where I’m wanted tonight, than accept one more person’s charity.”
She turns on her heel.
“Kenz!”
“Go home, Austin,” she yells.
She weaves into the crowd. I stand so I don’t lose sight of her blonde head bobbing through the mob. My pulse ratchets as I watch her rejoin Jeremy and his carbon-copied bros by the pool tables, just as a waitress appears with fresh shots.