Page 2 of Salvatore

I’d laugh if a small part of me didn’t feel the same disappointment.

Okay, so it’s not a small part—the empty hole inside my chest is relatively huge.

I can admit I’m lonely. When the entirety of your life revolves around the tiniest of friend groups and the constant malaise of death, you tend to grasp for the thrill of attention wherever you can.

“Maybe next time.” I give a seductive finger-wave then turn for the entry to the VIP area guarded by a mountain-man of a bouncer.

I’m four steps from entering the exclusivity zone when a guy sidesteps into my path, his familiar smile warm and welcoming. “Hey, pretty lady.”

“Hey…” I hide a cringe at my mental blank.

I know this guy.Intimately. Yet I’m currently as familiar with his name as I am with the periodic table.

Jason? Jacob? Josh?

Shit.

“I haven’t seen you in a while.” His hungry blue eyes lower, taking in my tight black halter-neck body-con dress before he returns his attention to my face. “Can I buy you a drink?”

I raise my wrist, showing the VIP band. “No, thanks. Drinks are on the house tonight.” I also don’t double dip where men are concerned.

He raises his brows. “Nice. How did you score that?”

“My boss.” I shrug, stepping around him. “It was great to see you.”

“Don’t go.” He grabs my waist, gently tugging me toward him. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since we hooked up. I can’t believe I never asked for your number.”

I smirk at the lie. “You did ask for my number, and I told you I never give it out.”

He frowns. “I thought I dreamt that part. Remind me again why you have that rule.”

“It’s a safety thing.”His safety. Not mine.

He nods, seeming to ponder this with exaggeration. “Well, it’s going to be difficult starting a life together when I can’t call or text, but I’m sure we’ll make it work.”

I choke on a chuckle and palm his wrists, guiding his hands off of me. “I’m sorry to break the bad news, but my heart belongs to Jesus.”

He snickers. “Damn. Why didn’t you tell me before I fell in love?”

“If memory serves, I’m pretty sure I called his name a few times while we were together.” Once on the sofa. Numerous times in his shower. Then again during the finale while pressed against his apartment door before I left.

James or Jesse or Joel throws his head back with a laugh, my craft of articulating a smooth rejection gaining yet another five-star rating.

He jerks his chin at me in the subtlest of fond farewells. “It was good seeing you.”

“You, too.” I blow him a kiss and eat up the space between me and the VIP bouncer. I flash the big guy my wristband then continue into the cordoned off area.

I walk by empty booths and cabanas shielded by deep purple curtains.

There’s an alcove leading to toilets on my left but it’s the bar straight ahead that I gravitate toward.

Two bottle-service girls are lined up behind the counter as the male bartender greets me with an approving glance. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”

I nod and wait while he raises two bright orange drinks in tumblers and places them atop one woman’s tray, then hauls a bottle of champagne from a fridge below the counter to give to the remaining staff member. Both females in their black miniskirts and low-cut tops walk away, leaving me the sole patron of the bartender’s attention.

“You know you can order drinks at your booth, right?” the guy asks. “You just have to scan the barcode on the table and we’ll bring them out.”

“I didn’t know, so thanks. But me and my friends are on the dance floor, which is why I’m here.”

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