Page 48 of If You Stayed

“Yeah. Ali told me like five minutes ago. She told me you have the hots for me, so here you go.” He rubbed his chest up and down. The level of disgust that hit me instantly was at anall-time high. That was exactly why one shouldn’t ever interact with their crushes. They never live up to the hype.

A crush that was formed over three years was nowcrushedwithin two seconds of actual interaction. It was as if my sweet porcelain doll of Brett Stevens had shattered right in my face. Tragic.

“So…what is my name?”

“Naomi,” he said with the utmost confidence.

Welp.

That was underwhelming.

I pushed out a smile. “I’m not interested, but thanks.”

He gave me a stern look of disappointment. “You’re a tease.”

I then excused myself from the comfy stairwell that had been tainted by my ex-crush and started walking around, searching for Rosie or Gabriel to save me from my heart-shattering reality.

While I couldn’t locate them, I felt an urgent need to use the restroom after my drinks of the evening. I felt a little dizzy, but I wasn’t wasted. At least I didn’t think I was. Was this what wasted felt like? It was hard to tell. I’d never been wasted before. All I knew was when I walked, sometimes I faltered, and when my stomach turned, I sometimes felt like throwing up.

After seeing a line for the bathroom downstairs, I headed upstairs in search of another one. When I opened a door, I found an emptied bedroom with an attached bathroom. I hurried inside, hoping to make a quick in-and-out.

Once I stepped out of the bathroom, I reentered thebedroom to find Brett standing there in front of the bedroom door with his hands on his hips.

“Well, well, well. Funny meeting you here, Naomi.”

***

Gabriel

“I can’t believe Brett went for Kierra. I didn’t know she partied like that,” Ali said as she grabbed another drink from the fridge.

“What do you mean?” I asked Ali, completely confused.

“I told him she had the hots for him, and you know Brett. He’s into anything with two legs. Rumor has it that Kierra was dragged off to Brett’s bedroom. To be honest, I didn’t think Ms. Goody Two-Shoes had it in her.”

Dragged off?

If I knew anything about Kierra, it would be that she wouldn’t want to be tossed alone in a room with some guy she had a crush on after their first night of talking. And last I saw her, she was pretty tipsy.

The sensation of jangling nerves filled my gut as my hands formed fists. “I’ll be back.”

Ali huffed. “You can’t be serious. Let them be alone, Gabriel. If anything, this gets her to stop riding your dick so much. She’s so annoyingly obsessed with you.”

“We’re done,” I said without a second of hesitation.

Ali raised her brows. “Excuse me?”

“You and me—we’re done.” I didn’t stay to hear her yellingat me, calling me all kinds of names. I headed straight for Brett’s room but before barging in, I waited a second. What if Kierra did want to be in there? What if I was being a massive cockblock? What if—

“Wait. Stop, Brett,” was what I heard on the other side of the door.

That was enough to make me burst into the room. Kierra was pinned against a wall by her wrists, twisting and turning to try to get Brett off her. Without thought, I rushed over and yanked Brett away from her, tossing him across the room.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Brett blurted out as he crashed to the floor.

I ignored him as I placed my hands against Kierra’s face. “You okay?”

She nodded nervously, her eyes packed with drunkenness, panic, and tears.

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