Page 33 of Tempt Me

“Asshole.” I brace my legs apart and shove him back. At this point, three more customers turn to watch the show.

He grips my T-shirt, twists it, and yanks me forward. I don’t punch him in the face only because he’s one of my best friends. “The only reason I’ve been flirting with her was to get you off your ass, so you’d do something about it.”

“What’re you talking about?” I jump backward like he threw a pan of hot grease on me. “I don’t–”

“Save it.” He raises his hands in protest. “I’m not listening to your nonsense. You’ve been in love with her for years, and I don’t understand why you don’t do anything about it.”

I rake a hand through my hair as he pays for our drinks and then hands me one of the cool bottles of beer. The frost makes the rest of my body feel hotter rather than cooling me down.

The crowd around us returns to their drinks and conversations once they realize we aren’t going to drop to the floor and pummel each other. Heat covers my neck and crawls over my face. “I can’t.”

“Yes.” His jaw flexes in exasperation. “Yes, you can.”

“No, I can’t. You know Sam and Ben don’t want any of us dating her.”

“Unless that someone is serious about her, and you can’t get any more ate up over her than you already are.” He tips the bottle to his lips and drinks.

“Lee and Kim are like second parents to me. They’d snap if I asked her out. I can’t repay them for all their hospitality by changing things up.”

Anxiety climbs up my back as I force myself not to turn around to make sure Gavin’s not dragging her outside the bar and forcing himself on her. Yes, I want to save her from herself, but I don’t want to turn around and see her grinding on him. Or grabbing his hand and leading him outside so she can take advantage of him.

“You’re stupid. Why would they care? You’re a great guy. You have a degree. You have a steady job. A well-paying, steady job. They love you like a son.”

“I’m the product of a toxic relationship between my mom and a con. Her parents don’t want her to end up married to a criminal’s kid.” Jesus. The heat on my face rises 10-fold. I not only admitted to one of my friends that I care about Bella, but I just word vomited that I’d like to marry her. I’m going to die right here.

“Dude.” He grabs my forearms. “Breathe.”

“Shit.” I gasp down a gulp of air. “Forget I said anything.” I glance over my shoulder, no longer able to go another second without making sure she’s okay.

She’s back at the table with Ruby and Emily, chatting non-stop. Ruby glances at us and leans forward, whispering something that only the girls can hear.

This day keeps getting worse. Bella’s eyes meet mine, but the second they do, she shakes her head no, slides out of the seat, and marches over to the guy she was dancing with and off they go back onto the dance floor.

When Gavin wraps his arms around her, he squeezes her ass and winks at me. I’m going to kill him. I might not be good enough for her, but he sure in the hell isn’t. He’s a joke and would spread lies about her to every guy in the place.

“Don’t do anything crazy. She’s not going to hook up with him.”

“Damn right, she’s not.” I snatch my phone out of my pocket, stabbing my finger at her phone number, and send her a text.

Me: If his hands aren’t off your ass in ten seconds, I’m going to go over there and break each one individually.

The second I hit send, she looks at me and raises her eyebrows.

‘Phone. Now.’ I mouth to her.

Bella rolls her eyes but drags her cell phone out of her pocket, scanning my message. One second. Two. The man still has his hands on her. My breathing is ragged in my chest. Three. She says something to the guy, who leans in and whispers something in her ear while grinding into her.

She stomps on his toes and shoves him back. After she turns away from him, her finger flies over the screen.

Bella: What I do and who I do it with are none of your business. You’re not my brother or my dad.

Me: I’m taking you home.

I take a step toward her, forgetting all the reasons I shouldn’t. I can’t breathe. I can’t sleep. I can’t stomach seeing another man touching her. I’m not good enough for her but fuck if I’m going to let some douchebag hurt her.

She stabs harder on her phone, instantly sending me another message.

Bella: I can take care of myself. Thank you. I don’t need help from a jerk who gets off on telling me what to do but doesn’t care about me.

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