Chapter Nine
Chloe
"Oh my goodness. Who the hell was that?" Cindy moved up beside me, sliding her arms around my neck and forcing me to lock gazes with her.
"No clue. He was cute, though, huh?" I played it off and tried like hell not to follow after Finn. He was bad news, and though I couldn't stop thinking about him, nothing was going to become of us. It was silly to lead him on, anyway. He would just move on to someone else. Guys like him always did.
"Cute? He's the sexiest thing I've seen in a long time." Cindy shuffled us toward the edge of the floor. "You don't know him?"
"Nope." I shrugged and turned to find him watching me with an intensity that left me wanting to throw caution to the wind and give myself to him for a night, but it wasn't my style. It was a good thing I wasn't drinking. Nothing good could come of it.
"He seems to want to know you." She laughed and turned her attention back to me. "I'm going after him if you're not interested."
I shrugged and pulled out of her hold as the music changed. "Do what you want, girlfriend. I'm dating someone back at UCLA. A fling would be fun if I were single, but I'm not."
It wasn’t actually truthful, but it was my quickest excuse.
"Not the cheating kind, hmm?" She wagged her eyebrows as if cheating was the sexy thing to do nowadays.
"Um, no." I laughed and took her hand, helping her back toward the bar.
She moved out in front of me as I took a seat, her attention in the direction of Finn and his friends. "I want him. Can I take him back to your place?"
I'd just taken a drink of a glass of ice water the bartender handed me. I spit it all over the back of her little black dress thanks to her question.
She turned toward me, her eyes wide.
"Oh fuck, Cindy. I'm so sorry." I reached for a napkin and moved behind her, cleaning it up as she laughed loudly. The sound of her having fun with it ushered in much needed relief. I had worried she was going to be furious.
"It's all good." She swatted at me. "It was hot as hell in here, anyway. That actually felt good."
"No bringing anyone home to my dad's. Sorry. He would have a heart attack. I was picturing the look on his face when I spit my drink. It's too funny to even think about."
"No worries. We'll just get a room." She bent in like she was going to whisper something to me, but instead, slipped her hand in the top of her dress and tugged her breasts up.
I turned from her and gave the cute bartender a look that screamed “save me.”
Cindy leaned in beside me and smiled right next to my face. "Wish me luck. He's exactly my type."
"Good luck." I reached for the peanuts, but the bartender jerked the dish away.
"Don't eat those. Who knows who has been touching them." He smiled and pulled the jar from under the counter, reaching for my hand and pouring some out for me.
"Thanks." I picked at them, ignoring the horrible feeling that rose inside of me over the idea of Finn going home with anyone, especially my closest childhood friend. Why did it matter? I was being ridiculous.
"What's got you down?" Caleb leaned forward, pressing his forearms to the bar and giving me a kind smile.
"It's stupid."
"Guy problems?"
"Not really. I don't have a guy to have problems with." I shrugged and looked over my shoulder as Finn, Cindy, and the whole group with him were walking toward us. The twins were still on the dance floor, and I turned back to the bar as horror rushed through me. "Kill me."
He laughed and shook his head. "You could have any guy in this bar, pretty girl. The problem isn't not having a man; it’s which one to choose."
"Chloe Burke. You have to meet these guys." Cindy's voice was loud and slurred.
I stifled a flinch at her using my last name and turned, smiling at Finn and then around the circle at his friends. "Nice to meet you, guys."
"Pleasure's all mine." Finn reached for my hand with a look that told me I was already his, whether I wanted to admit it or not.
Cindy tugged him back and shook her head. "This sexy boy is the only one off limits, Chloe. He's mine."
Finn tilted his head to the side as if challenging me to step up. If there was anything bubbling between us, now was the time to do something about it.
A loud, balding guy from behind Finn leaned in and hiccupped. "I'm off limits, too. Getting married tomorrow."
I laughed, unable to help myself. "That's great. Stay off limits. No one likes a cheater."
"She's right, boys." A handsome guy in a suit extended his hand as he hit Finn with his hip, forcing him to move over. "I'm Brian. Seeing that my buddy Finn here is being stolen by your friend, would you care to dance?"
"Brian. Really?" Finn playfully pushed at him before being dragged back to the dance floor by Cindy.
"Yeah. Sure." I shrugged and glanced over my shoulder in time to see the bartender laugh at me. "Thanks a lot. If you would have just pulled the trigger..."
"Never." He winked and turned to help other patrons.
I walked to the floor with Brian, feeling a little off about dancing with one of Finn's friends.
You're being ridiculous. You don't know the guy and even if you did, he is just trying to get into your panties. Leave it be.
I moved into Brian's arms as a slow song started, the rhythm perfect for a first dance with someone you just met.
"You from around here, Chloe?" He smiled down at me, and I turned my attention back to him, not really wanting to see Cindy put her moves on the only guy around that had caused my blood to boil in the worst sort of way.
"I'm from Los Angeles. Just here for a few weeks." I smiled, enjoying the kindness I found in Brian's eyes.
"Oh, nice. You look like a beach girl. A good tan and a great smile. I'm surprised you're not beating the guys off around here." He smiled and then looked ill. "I meant... I didn't mean like literally beating the guys off. I meant like..."
I laughed. "Stop. You're digging a hole you're not going to get out of."
He smiled. "I do that often. I keep telling my friend Finn over there that he's going to have to teach me how to talk to women or I'll forever be alone."
"The more you do it, the easier it gets." I shrugged and took a glance toward Finn.
Cindy was tucked up against him, whispering something in his ear, but his eyes were on me and Brian. The anger in his gaze told me that maybe there was something more than a silly challenge sitting between the two of us. If that was the case, then it was better that he and Cindy leave together.
"I actually don't want it to get too easy." He glanced down at me, and I turned back to him.
"Why is that?"
"I don't know. I've seen Finn go through a lot of shit because he can talk to women so easily. Seems like it would be any guy’s dream to live as a bachelor with women throwing their panties at you, but I think he wants something more. He's lonely. I don't ever want to experience that." He shrugged, and I stiffened in his hold.
"Did he tell you to talk to me?" I lifted an eyebrow and pulled back.
"What? No. He doesn't even know you, right?" Brian studied me as I fumbled for the right thing to say.
"No. Of course not. Never mind." I slid my arms back around him and turned us so I could find the twins. They were dancing with the other three guys in Finn's group, having far too much fun.
The dance ended, and I was ready to head home, but it would seem that the party was just getting started.
We gathered back at the bar, and I nodded toward Cindy. "I'm getting tired, and my stomach's hurting. You guys ready to go?"
"Go? Hell no. We just got here," Kinsey laughed and wrapped her arm around me tightly from the side.
"Yeah, Chloe. Don't go yet." Finn turned his face from Cindy as she moved up to kiss him.
Bile rose in my throat, and I knew I had to get out of there. I didn't believe in love at first sight, but something buzzed with excitement inside of me at the very thought of the handsome guy before me. I couldn't handle the pressure of wanting to pull him from my friend and subsequently punch her in the face. I wasn't a violent person, but something about the way she draped herself across Finn left my blood boiling.
"Right, well, get another ride. I'm ready to go." I moved from the bar and started for the door before someone grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to the dance floor.
"Not until you tell me where I'm dropping these lovely girls off." Finn tugged me toward him and caught me as I tripped over the edge of the dance floor.
"I'm not dancing with you. I'm going home," I barked at him and tried to pull back, but he held me tighter.
"You're not leaving me with this crazy bitch. I've sworn off women for a month because I need to remember how to breathe. If you leave her here, I'll have no choice but to take her home or turn her over onto Brian. He's far too much of a gentleman to tell her no. Don't do that to him. Don't do it to me."
He smelled so good, and the strength of his arms around me left me dizzy. "What? I'm not doing anything to anyone."
"Yeah, you are, and you know it." He moved us to the middle of the floor and slid his hands over the top of my ass, squeezing softly as I pressed my forehead to his shoulder and let out a groan.
"I need to go," I whispered roughly.
"Why are you running from me? I'm a good guy. I just want to see you again, Chloe. No commitment, no promises, just a date." His voice was gravelly and filled with untapped lust.
I wanted to drown in it, to be consumed by the heat I felt pulsing between us.
My relationship with Seth had been good, but not great. Warm, but not hot. This, on the other hand, was intense, and I could lose myself in the man holding me. Fear raced through me, and I pulled back a little.
"I need to go. Spend the night with Cindy. She's a noncommittal kinda gal. You know..." I looked up at him and lost my breath for a minute, "No commitment. No promises. Just one night."
He released me and nodded. "Right. My kind of woman?"
"Perhaps. I don't know who you are, so figuring out what type of woman would force a man like you to settle down and cherish her seems impossible."
"That's ‘cause it is." He shrugged and walked past me, leaving me standing there, feeling like shit for tearing him down. He wanted me, and I wanted him, yet I wasn't just pushing, but stabbing him with every arrow I could find. Why? It seemed so out of character for me, and yet I wasn't ready to stop punishing him for being whatever he was.
It was unfair, and I was being an ass.
"Alright, have fun." I smiled and reached out to pull Cindy into a hug. "Call if you need me."
"Be careful on the ride home. I'll call on my way to the airport tomorrow." She snuggled up to Finn, and he turned toward her, lifting her face and leaning down to kiss her in the way I'd give anything for a man to kiss me.
I turned and half jogged to the front door, not realizing that Brian was following me until I walked out into the frigid night air.
"Hey. Can I catch a ride home? Sorry to bother you with it, but we drove a big van, and I'd rather not witness an orgy tonight." He chuckled.
"Of course. I don't know the town well, but if you can give me directions, I'm happy to drop you off." I lifted my hand and hit the key button, waiting for the SUV to light up. "Over here."
We walked to the car in silence. It wasn't until I had the heat on and had pulled from the parking lot that Brian broke the silence. It was a good thing he did. I was close to crying over witnessing a guy I'd just met and my best friend from high school kissing. I was an idiot. It didn't make sense, but my emotions were all over the place.
"I'm glad we got a chance to dance tonight. It was fun." He tugged at his seatbelt as if uncomfortable.
I needed to save him from making the mistake of asking me out. I wasn't sure if he was headed that way, but I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Mine were already hurt enough.
"Yeah, it was fun. I rarely go dancing because my boyfriend in Los Angeles gets so overly protective, but my buddies from high school came into town, and as you can see...there's no telling them no." I laughed, and he let out a sigh of relief.
"You have a boyfriend?"
"Yeah. Why?" I looked over at Brian and gave him the warmest smile I could muster, which wasn't saying much.
Having a boyfriend was a great lie. Maybe that way Brian didn’t feel terrible that I wasn’t going to sleep with him.
"Finn said you were the girl of his dreams. I was good with it until we got closer and I got a good look at you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I chuckled, unable to help myself.
"You're beautiful and would break his heart. I thought you would be like the other girl's he's dated, but you don't seem to be at all. You're the designated driver, for shit’s sake." He snorted.
"He doesn't date girls. He sleeps with them and leaves them." I turned as he pointed to the house at the end of the street and gave me a few directions.
"How do you know that? You just met him tonight." Brian turned to me as I stopped in front of his house.
"Because he's a man whore. My dad's one, too, and there are a million on campus with me." I shrugged. "Have a good night, Brian."
He got out of the SUV and paused. "He's just looking for love, Chloe. People do it in different ways. I do it through my success at work. You probably have a different thing or person you use to feel wanted. Finn uses the warmth of a woman. He's no different in what he's seeking; he just finds it in places we don't."
I nodded and waited until he closed the door to shake my head in disbelief.
It didn't matter that I shouldn't care that he was taking Cindy home. It did. A lot.