Page 32 of Tempt Me

“Get drunk, proposition the hottest guy in the room, and get banged like a screen door. That’ll give you the confidence to trust you’re worth it. You’re already almost there. You applied for beauty school. You got a makeover. You walked straight into Dominic’s tattoo parlor and yanked your pants down.” She laughs as the waitress drops off our drinks.

Emily shoves mine in front of me. “You’re primed and ready for amazing things.”

I lift the drink and inhale the fruity scent. It tickles my pleasure centers. It felt good to do what I wanted for a change. Why not do more of it?

My gaze travels across the bar to land on Dominic. Is that why I always come here? In hopes that someday he’ll notice me and ask me to dance? To kiss me? To ask me on a date and declare his undying love for me?

The brunette woman next to him slings her arm around his waist and lays her head on his shoulder. He laughs at something she says. Nothing is ever going to happen between us. He doesn’t share the same feelings I do. His eyes meet mine, and everything snaps into place. It’s never happening. I’ve got to forget him.

“You’re right.” I dismiss him with a flip of my hair. “I’m done. I’m done playing life safe. I’m ready to make my own choices, and that starts with school. And men. I’m done moping over Dominic.” I sip the alcohol slowly, this time to avoid the brain freezing.

“Thank God.” Emily waggles her eyebrows. “It’s time to make him jealous.”

“No.” I shake my head. “I’m done worrying about him.”

A dark-haired guy three barstools over from Dominic winks at me, stands, and weaves his way through the crowd toward our table.

“Girl, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is,” Ruby smirks.

Chapter Sixteen

Dominic

The second the guy’s arms are around her, my hands ball into fists, and my heart races, causing the blood in my ears to thump louder than the drums from the band on stage. Gavin is a jerk. He screws a different girl every weekend and brags about the things he gets them to do. Nothing is safe with him.

“It was good to see you.” Katie, my boss’s wife, squeezes my side. “Have a good night.” She pats my chest and moves on. How she didn’t notice I’m about to lose my shit, I’ll never know.

My jaw aches as Gavin runs his hands down her back, stopping just above her ass. She fucking knows better. I take one step toward the dance floor when Xavier slings his arm over my shoulders. “Hey, bud, what’s up?”

“Nothing,” I growl under my breath.

“You look like you’re on a mission.” His eyes twinkle as if he’s telling a joke that no one else is getting the punchline. “Where were you going?”

“Nowhere. Getting another drink.” I relax my stance and turn away from the dance floor. What’s gotten into me? I don’t have any claim over her.

Xavier drops his arm to his side and motions the bartender over. “I see. It looked like you were going somewhere else.”

As he gives our order to the bartender, I steal a glance over my shoulder. Gavin has his hands on her ass. The son of a bitch is going to die.

“What’re you going to do about Bella?”

“What?” My head spins around so fast that my neck cracks.

“Well….” He smirks. “It’s pretty obvious that you want to go over there and break every one of the fingers that Gavin has on her ass.”

My teeth grind together. “You’ve been flirting with her for weeks. Don’t you care that some jerk is feeling her up?”

The guy at the bar behind us twists in his seat and makes no bones about listening to my rant. But I’m too far gone at this point to stop.

“If you want to go out with her so bad, shouldn’t you care that she’s about to do something with a guy who’s going to use her and dispose of her like an empty candy wrapper?”

“Careful, buddy, before you say something you’ll regret.” Xavier chest puffs out as he tips his chin out.

The pulse at my temple thuds with every beat of my heart. I’ve never disliked my friend before this moment. Sure, we’ve argued and pushed each other around while playing sports, but this is different. He’s no better than Gavin. He’s been leading her on to get in her pants.

“If you cared about her, you’d do something about it. Or are you trying to do the same thing? Use her and toss her aside?”

“Listen up, dumbass.” Xavier braces both hands on my chest and shoves me backward. “You’re an asshole. Bella is my friend, and if I thought for one second she was going to run off with that joker, I’d step in.”

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