Page 12 of Tangled Up In You

Sophie watched her friend give Gavin a withering look. Some tension passed between them that she didn’t understand. And then it was over as quickly as it started.

“I’m just messing,” he insisted and threw an arm around Felicity’s shoulders. “Let’s get a drink while O’Leary’s cousin is still at the bar.”

Sophie had triedsips of beer or wine before but the half pint of Guinness she drank that night was her first full beer. It, combined with the heat from all the bodies in the club, made her giddy and lightheaded. It almost felt as if she were floating on the music as the DJ made transitions from Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady'' to “My Heart Goes Boom” by French Affair. The only thing to bring her down was when Mary joined their group and threw her arm around Gavin’s neck. The way he scowled and pulled away, suggested he wasn’t exactly happy to see her. Still it was a reminder to Sophie that she had no right to flirt with him.

“Come to the ladies’ with me?” Felicity said.

“No, I’m okay,” Sophie said, swaying to the music.

“I may or may not see you before closing, depending on the queue.”

Sophie laughed and watched her friend get lost in the crowd before letting the music carry her away again.

“You all right, Sophie?” Conor asked.

She looked up at him, trying to remember when he’d arrived. The place was crowded but everyone seemed to know everyone else. Or at least, Gavin seemed to know everyone. He’d introduced her to what seemed like dozens of people, but everything was a blur. A Guinness-induced blur.

“Oh, hi,” she said.

The music segued from upbeat “Music” by Madonna to Coldplay’s “Yellow.” There was a mixed chorus of cheers and boos, but it got the crowd excited enough that she was pushed toward Conor. He grabbed her around her waist, his hands warm against her bare skin.

“Dance with me, then?” he said.

She’d had her hands pressed against his chest but moved them around his neck so they could sway to the song. He was tall and gorgeous and looked at her like she was everything he wanted.

But he wasn’t the one she wanted.

When she saw the way he was watching her with a hint of a smile, his eyes drifting from her eyes to her mouth and back again, she knew she had to pull away. But before she could, he was yanked away by an arm thrown around his neck.

It was Gavin.

“Hey, Con, last call for us. Let’s get to the bar before we lose our chance.”

Conor hesitated but Gavin pulled on his arm and Conor shrugged helplessly at Sophie and let himself be led away.

She could tell that Gavin meant to separate her from his friend. He was obviously trying to make sure she didn’t get too close to anyone else. She would have been pleased with this bit of possessiveness if Mary wasn’t following after him toward the bar.

6

GAVIN

Seeing Conor holding Sophie in his arms ignited a kind of jealousy in Gavin he’d never experienced before.

He wasn’t usually possessive with his girlfriends. But then again, he’d never known the kind of connection he had with Sophie with anyone else. So, he acted on pure instinct, dragging his friend to the bar so that he could put an end to the sight that he couldn’t stomach.

When he turned to see if she was where he’d left her, he spotted her talking to Felicity. The two girls looked over at him at the same time, catching him staring. But he didn’t look away. He wanted Sophie to know he was watching her right back.

“Gav, get me a drink?” Mary said, coming to block his view, and once again give Sophie the false impression that he was still taken.

“Mary, come now,” he said and tried to see past her to Sophie, but she was lost in the crowd.

She grabbed his hip. “You come now,” she said suggestively.

He pushed her hand away and met her eyes. “Stop this. We’re over. I told you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, you said you didn’t want to be in a relationship. With anyone, you said.”

“Right.” He glanced at Conor for some help but his friend only raised his eyebrows as if to say “you’re on your own” and turned away.

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