Page 46 of The Enemy

Fuck him.

“Whenever a party is boring, I know I can find my girl Lou at the bar.”

“You’re making me sound like an alcoholic, Wes,” I teased back as I turned to look at him.

I’d not seen much of him in the last three years, and that was intentional. He had taken me home at Neo’s request. He knew something had happened but didn’t have the details. After Neo left, I felt too embarrassed and angry that I avoided all the palaces I thought Tatum would be, and by association, Wesley.

“Don’t worry, Lou, alcoholics go to meetings. You’re good.”

“Aren’t you funny?”

I rolled my eyes playfully at him, and his smile got bigger. He opened his arm, signaling that I should give him a hug.

“Want me to get you a drink?”

“No, I’m—” Just then, Cristobal came back with our drinks. “Good,” I told him, reaching for mine. “Wes, Cristobal. Cristobal, Wes.” I gestured between them.

Everything had happened so fast that it took my brain a moment to catch up. If Wes was here, there was a good chance that Tatum and Neo would be here, too, now that he was back.

Mierda.

As if being summoned, one of them stepped next to me. I froze, waiting to see if it would be Tatum’s tone. I’d not heard it in the last three years, and I wasn’t sure if I could bear to listen to it now.

“What a surprise… My sister’s at the bar.”

I stepped away from Wes and stood at Cristobal’s side. The only downside of this was it put me across from Neo. He looked even better than I remembered in a suit. Neo wasn’t being as discreet as I was. I felt his eyes on me, from my high ponytail down to where my dress pooled on the floor.

He had never been this brazen before.

“What are you doing here?”

I spoke before I could think better of it.

“I was invited.” He smirked at me.

Did he know I was here as a plus-one?

He stopped looking at me and instead focused his attention on Cristobal. “Don’t mind Lourdes, she forgets her manners. I’m Neo. You must be Antonio… I’ve heard so much about you.”

Cris shook his hand a bit awkwardly as he corrected him.

“Cristobal, not Antonio.”

Neo turned to me with a confused look on his face. “Then who’s Antonio?”

Fucking asshole.

“Have fun, Cris and I are going to keep mingling.”

I dragged Cristobal away from Neo and Wes. I was glad this wasn’t a real date, or else I would have been humiliated.

“I’m sorry about my stepbrother… We don’t have the best relationship.”

Being somewhat honest would be the best option. He didn’t need to know just how fucked up our relationship actually was.

“Don’t worry about it. We don’t choose our families. He is part of the Caldwells, too, isn’t he? Before his mother married into your family?”

“Yeah,” I replied hesitantly.

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