Page 67 of Brassy Bigwig

“Hey, don’t hate. You’ve never complained about the rate at which I get naked for you.”

Suddenly, my eyes catch sight of someone across the room. He looks vaguely familiar, and a feeling of unease settles over me. As he turns toward me a little more, the light cascades over him, and I see his full face.

Oh, fuck.

My hand flies to my mouth the moment his eyes lock on mine.

“Oh my god, Shelby. We need to get out of here right now.”

“Why? What—”

“Théa.”

D’s husky, lustful voice breaks my concentration on the man across the room. When I look at him, he catches the fear in my eyes, and his bewitched stare turns lucid.

“What’s the matter?”

He squats in front of me and cups my cheek in his hand. I want to feel the immediate relief he usually brings me, but I can’t.

“She’s white as a ghost,” I hear D tell Shelby. “Did she drink something?”

Unable to concentrate on D, I gaze out into the crowd of people so I can get another look at the man. Maybe it was my eyes playing tricks on me. Maybe it wasn’t him at all.

“Chloe? What is it?” Shelby asks, everyone now looking in the direction that I was.

But he isn’t there anymore.

“I could have sworn…”

“What’s the matter, théa? Excuse me.” D gets the attention of a nearby cocktail waitress. “Can you please bring her some water immediately?”

“Yes, sir,” she complies.

“I’m sorry, I thought I saw him.”

“Who?” Shelby and D inquire at the same time.

“Blake.” My eyes find Shelby’s as I answer, and her face turns to shock.

“Who the fuck is Blake?” D demands.

“The psycho who stalked her for two years.”

At that, D looks around the bar for him, even though he has no idea who he’s looking for.

“I’m sorry, I thought it was him, but—”

Then I see him again, walking through the crowd and heading straight for me. My eyes widen in fear as Blake gets closer. Shelby, Reed, and D all follow my gaze. D stands up and puts his arm out, stopping Blake’s forward movement.

“Get the fuck away from her,” D orders him, his fists clenched and ready to strike if necessary.

Blake puts both of his arms up and takes a step back.

“I’m not here to cause you harm. I didn’t even know you were going to be here tonight. I happened to see you from across the room when you walked in, and it’s taken me the past twenty minutes to gather up the courage to tell you what I need to tell you.”

“Get out of here before I pound your fucking face in,” D threatens.

“I’m in therapy, Chloe,” Blake says, ignoring D. I knew he wasn’t bright, but he’s downright stupid to ignore D, looking as furious as he does right now. “I’ve learned a lot about why I was the way I was, and I just wanted to come and say I’m sorry. I—it’s part of the twelve step program. To make amends. That’s all I’m trying to do.”

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