About two weeks had past. Everyone on campus was talking about the announcement of a missing girl from our school. Though it was speculated that she’d gone off on her own having done that kind of thing in the past.

Still it only made me think of Gavin who’d warned me to be more aware of my personal safety. It also reminded me that I hadn’t seen him with the exception of two very brief moments in passing. The stupid boy had listened and stayed away.

It was even more stupid of me to feel sad about it. It was my request that had come too late. My heart was already invested. I wasn’t in love with him, but I was seriously in like and lust with the guy.

“Valentine’s Day sucks,” I said to no one, or maybe Gaby guy, my Gavin t-shirt wearing pillow.

Why couldn’t I get rid of it?

The love holiday was tomorrow and I was sitting in my room talking to a pillow. I got up and went to Reagan’s room. I thought I’d find her still sad from her talk with her mother earlier, but she was all smiles.

“Want to go out tonight?”

She shook her head. “I really need to study and work on a paper. Tade and I are going sailing tomorrow.”

Of course they were. “Well good for you.”

I was truly happy for her. She needed a life. Now, it was time for me to find one or two.

My friends list turned up to be a dead end. I hit the bottom with Jenny, a pretty girl but with no substance. She made a sport out of screwing guys and exaggerating about her conquest. Beggars couldn’t be choosers when almost everyone I knew was paired up. Plus, she had a car. So I reluctantly made plans with her.

“Megalicous,” she screeched when I got in the car.

Gigi, another girl was with her. I gave Jenny a half hug because I wasn’t mean. It didn’t make us besties, but she was doing me a favor.

I waved to Gigi.

“Where are we headed?” Jenny asked.

“Up to you,” I said. “It’s your ride.”

“I say we go to the Dive.”

It wasn’t the name of the bar, but that was what everyone called it. It was the only place close to school.

“Fine.” I checked in the mirror at my makeup hoping she wouldn’t engage me in conversion. There was only one subject she’d want to talk to me about.

“So, where’s your friend?” she asked, trying to sound friendly.

“Reagan?” A glance over and I caught her nod. “She’s staying in to study.”

I hoped that would be the end of it. It wasn’t.

“Is she still with Tade?”

There it was. She could say whatever she wanted about him, but if she tried to put Reagan down I would end up walking home because I wasn’t going to let her do that.

“Yes,” I gritted out.

My teeth clapped together as I tried not to say anything else. I wanted very much to not have to give her a beat down. Her witchy response almost pushed me there.

“Well, I won’t be responsible if he’s there and wants to hook up. They’re not married and I owe her nothing.”

Breathe, I told myself. Though I wanted to verbally slap her, I put it in perspective. If Tade really did what she hoped then he didn’t deserve Reagan. So I said nothing. She’d only danced on the line. If she crossed it by saying anything negative about my bestie, I wouldn’t be responsible for my actions.

Luckily the conversation changed. Apparently the queen of gossip was friends with the missing girl. She only confirmed in cringe worthy detail the misadventures of the other girl who shared my name but spelled it with an H.

I was never so grateful to see a dilapidated peeling paint blue structure in my life. Inside would smell just as musty as it looked old and worn down from the outside.

“We’re going to have fun,” Jenny squealed, getting out the car.

My dress had ridden up and so I smoothed it down to where it reached just slightly above mid-thigh. It had probably been a wrong choice as I would be fighting it not to ride up my ass all night. Then I fixed my tits. Though some girls envied my endowment, there were times when I thought about getting a breast reduction.

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go,” Jenny cheered.

Her minion doubled her steps to keep up with her. I wasn’t her lackey. Though I was grateful for the company and the ride, I would not be her slave for the night.

Once we walked inside, the music and the crowd noise picked up my mood. I would do my best to have fun tonight. I needed it.

“What do you want to drink?” I asked.

I would buy the first round. Good thing this place was cheap, I was low on funds. I got their orders and found an empty spot to slide in and get the bartender’s attention.

“Excuse me,” I said to the guy next to me. Automatic politeness drilled into me as a child.

It was a full house, some locals and the rest students. Because of the noise level, I hadn’t expected to be heard. But the guy turned around and my heart leaped to my throat blocking any further words.

His beautiful eyes were a little glazed and his lopsided smile should have looked idiotic, but he was just as gorgeous as he always was.

“It’s you.” I couldn’t determine if he’d meant that like a curse until he added, “pretty girl.”

Why did have to be so charming? And that mouth of him was made from pure sin.

A cute bartender arrived and I ignored Gavin to place my order. The three shots were poured in front of me. A handed him my card and had decided what I was going to say to Gavin.

“Look, we’re both here, but that doesn’t have to be a problem. You stay in your corner and I’ll stay in mine.”

His stare was intense and I waited for his answer. A girl made of more plastic than Barbie walked over and smooth a hand up his black leather jacket.

“Gavin.”

She sounded as sultry as she looked. I hated her on sight. But in that moment his eyes never left mine. Air burned in my lungs as I held it there unsure of my next move.

“Sure thing, Angel.”

Then he turned toward the girl had wedged herself in on his other side.

The bartender came back and my card. I quickly signed and picked up my drinks in a hasty exit from there. I walked to a table Jenny found them engaged in conversation with two guys. Great, I was a third wheel or was that fifth.

Jenny barely turned my way when I pushed the shot in her direction. That’s when the guys glanced at me. When their smiles jacked up a notch, Jenny’s flirtatious grin turned to a scathing glare at me. It was going to be a long night. I downed my drink and announced the group that I was going to dance.

* * *

The chick I’d let distract me talked while I looked over my shoulder to get a damn good view of Megan in the dress she wore. My dick was more than a little excited to see her.

“Gavin,” squeaky asked.

Her voice was as welcome as mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus.

“What?”

Unfortunately my bored tone wasn’t enough to piss her off.

She reached out and fingered the collar of my jacket. “I just thought you might want to hang out later.”

I don’t think I’d ever lost a hard on faster. “Yeah, I’m busy tonight.”

Her florescent smile dimmed as she glanced around.

“Are you here with someone?”

“You can say that.”

I couldn’t stop myself and I glanced at Megan. She was moving toward the dance floor.

“Her?”

There was so much venomous disdain in her words, I leveled steely eyes at her.

“You have a problem with that.”

Fake Barbie was a local. And it was probably a bad idea to play this hand, but I didn’t want to lead her on either.

“It’s just … what does she have that I don’t?”

A brain. She’s real in every way you’re not. But I hadn’t stayed away from Megan to make her a target because the this chick would be so pissed I’d passed on her offer, she’d say something to the wrong person.

“Who said I was with her?”

“But…” she sputtered.

“You asked if I was with someone. Let me repeat myself. I said you can say that. Now I’ve got business tonight. You feel me?”

She scattered like her shoes were on fire, but not before she killed my buzz. I ordered another shot.

“Damn she was hot,” Rick, one of my crewmates said.

Rick turned out to be useless at keeping me distracted since Tade was too busy to come out tonight.

The bartender placed my shot down.

“Put it on my tab.”

He glared at me and I instantly knew he was pissed at me about Megan because he hadn’t acted like that earlier. He’d been friendly. Now, if I hadn’t watched him pour my shot, I wouldn’t have drank it fearing he’d spit in it.

Finally breaking eye contact when I wouldn’t, he moved along to the next customer.

“The chick,” my crewmate asked again.

“You’re welcome to her.”

“She’s fair game?”

I nodded and tossed back my drink.

He skittered after her like a mouse on the hunt for cheese leaving me alone again. I turned around on my stool and leaned back on the counter my arms on either side of me. I didn’t give a rat’s ass that I was taking up limited space given the crowd. I needed to braced myself as I watched the show.

Megan moved like the music was a snake charmer and she was serpent. Or maybe it was the other way around. Maybe she was charmer because she had me under her spell.

The only times I took my eyes off of her was when I got another drink. My throat was as dry as stale toast.

“You’ve got some competition.” Rick was back and raised his glass, aiming it in the direction of a guy I remembered.

The shorter and stocky than me dude looked like he’d played high school football. Though if he went here, a school that wasn’t rank high in that sport, meant he’d failed to get recruited.

Worse, I didn’t like how he looked at Megan. The few times I’d seen him around her, he’d acted like he had rights to her. She’d looked uncomfortable, so I’d played the fake boyfriend card and that hadn’t gotten me any thanks. So I should turn around and let things play out as they would. She wasn’t mine and never would be.

This was the part where I should have stayed in my fucking seat. The weasel made his move and slid behind Megan. His hands landed on her hips and something vibrated in my throat. I must have made a sound because Rick questioned me.

With a quick shake of my head, I focused on the scene that played out before me. As crowded as it was, fate wanted me to see. She stood at the end of a parted space giving me an unobstructed view of her. It was like she was trying to make me jealous.

When one of his hands slid south and the other moved north, I was my feet without realizing it. Her eyes popped open and she noticed who was behind her and glared. That’s when I made my move. She was saying something to him, but he hadn’t let her go. She struggled to get away and never saw me coming.

But he did and ducked in time, leaving me to plow into him. My fist to slam wildly into the wall behind us. The force of the blow reverberated up my arm. He’d shoved her out of the way so my right connected with his solar plexus knocking the wind from his lungs. He was down and I was far from done.

In the distance I heard shouting, but I wailed on the guy until a couple of guys pulled me off. That’s when I spotted the plain clothes cop. My arms were wrenched behind me as Megan gave the douchebag all her attention.

I ended up in the back of the patrol car waiting for my fate as they talked to the loser, who had Megan at his side. Apparently chivalry was dead. Though the alcohol dulled some of the pain in my arm, it throbbed like a son of bitch, especially cuffed behind my back.

“Are we taking him in?” one of the uniform cops said as he ambled over to the car.

Another cop near the dipshit as an ambulance came into the parking lot held up a thumbs up.

The cop near me got in. “Looks like your night just got worse.”

I said nothing only watched Megan until our eyes locked for barely a second before we pulled out. The only good thing was I hadn’t driven tonight. Bad thing was my entire future was on hold because of one drunken mistake for a girl who in the end hadn’t appreciated it.