Page 28 of The Enemy

“Laugh all you want. At the end of the day, I’m the kind of woman men will settle down with.”

“Oh, darling, at least you know you’re being settled for.” I took Wesley’s drink from his hand, toasted it toward her, and then took a sip.

“Who’s getting settled?”

I almost choked on Wes’s bourbon. One, because I didn’t like bourbon, but I was making a statement, and second because Neo spoke.

“Neo,” Caitlyn said, his name all airy and shit. “You never call anymore.”

“He lost his phone and never found it,” I couldn’t help but engage.

Neo looked at Caitlyn, then his gaze slid toward me, then the amber liquid in my hands, and lastly, Wesley’s hand that was slung over my shoulders. His eyes went to Wes, and all he did was raise a brow—probably because he was fraternizing with the enemy.

“I’ve been busy.” Neo shrugged without looking at her.

Apparently, that was where Caitlyn drew her limit and left.

“She’s a bitch. Why would you talk to her?” I asked Wes as I handed him his drink back.

“Hey, Neo is the one that dated her.”

“Neo lacks class,” I said.

“I was fucking her, not dating her,” Neo added, and I couldn’t help but look at him at his statement.

A foreign emotion went through me as he said this. It made my stomach coil, and that annoyed me.

“Maybe you should take a point from Mommy and be a bit pickier about who you fuck.” I regretted the words as soon as I said them. It was one thing for us to pick at our wounds, to flay each other open because it was just something we did alone and never in front of others.

“Lucky for you, guys aren’t picky, otherwise you’d have no one to fuck.”

My cheeks flamed, and I wanted to retaliate, but I bit my lip because I had crossed an invisible boundary we both had set.

“Lucky me,” I managed to choke out.

Puta maña de tener la ultima palabra. Fucking habit of always having the last word.My voice sounded weak even to my own ears. Neo’s eyes darkened, and his jaw clenched.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go find my friend.” Wesley nodded, probably feeling awkward, having been caught in the middle of another round between Neo and me.

Clove was leaning against the kitchen counter, talking to some guy. I didn’t want to kill her vibe, so I searched for a private place to gather my thoughts. I knew she would leave with me if I asked that of her, no questions asked.

I just needed a moment to myself.

That’s how I found myself on a lovely terrace with some people smoking on the other end of the balcony. What was it about Neo that got my blood boiling? Why did I keep provoking him, knowing he had the power to destroy me?

As I was lost in my thoughts, I faintly heard the rushed footfalls of people retreating.Good, I could use the space to myself.

“Aw, Lou, aren’t we lucky today?”

The teasing tone instantly grated on my nerves.

“Go away, Tatum,” I said between gritted teeth without turning around.

“Aw, don’t be that way, love.”

Eww, he sounded corny as fuck when he said that. Before I could berate him again, the hairs on my nape rose as I felt him stand behind me.

“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded as I tried and failed to turn around.

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