Page 107 of The Flirty Forward

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I demand. One of the guys, I’m not sure which one, puts a hand on my shoulder. I fight the urge to shake it off.

“Hart, let it go,” Gunner says in a low voice. As captain, I know it’s his job to make sure we don’t make a scene; but I can’t handle it right now.

“Yeah, Hart, let it go,” William says with a smirk.

My blood boils, and I clench my fists to keep from punching him. “I think it’s time for you to go,” Gunner says to William.

William’s eyes narrow. Before he can say anything else, Bri comes out of nowhere. “What did you do to Stephanie?’”

He looks down at her. “Hi, Brielle.” Aiden steps close behind her. “It’s been a long time.”

“Not long enough,” she tells him. “What did you do to Stephanie?”

“I just gave her a message from her father.”

Dread fills my stomach. I notice for the first time the black eye he’s sporting; I guess I was too worried about Stephanie to notice before now. It probably makes me a horrible person, but it brings me a sense of satisfaction. “Want both eyes to match?” I ask.

He smirks, and I want nothing more than to wipe it off his face. “Go for it. I’ll just add it to the case. Or, did you forget I was a lawyer?”

“Just tell me what you said to Stephanie.”

“She can tell you herself,” he says as he backs away from our group. “Unless she doesn’t want to talk to you anymore. But don’t worry; I’ll take good care of her when she sees how wrong you are for her.”

“And I suppose you’re Mr. Right?” Rico asks with a scoff.

He just smiles and walks away. “I wish this was a game,” I mutter under my breath.

“It’s not, so sit down; you’ve already made a big enough scene,” Gunner says, sounding irritated.

“Yeah, Chloe’s going to lose her mind when she hears about all this,” Rico says.

“Reads about it? She’s going to see videos of it,” Brielle says, pointing out all the phones that are still recording.

“I’m not staying; I need to get going,” I tell Gunner.

“You have to stay; you have to give our donation check at the end,” Aiden reminds me.

I blow out a breath of frustration and sit back down. “You know William?” I ask Brielle.

“Yeah. I went with Stephanie a few times to her parents’ Christmas work party. He’s always been a jerk.”

That doesn’t surprise me in the least. I shake my leg with nervous energy as I wait; I just want to get out of here. I pull out my phone again.

Sebastian-Hey Baby, did you make it home okay?

“Dude, you’re shaking the whole table,” Rico says nudging me. I ignore him and wait for her to text. There’s nothing...no bubbles...nothing. I text again.

Sebastian-Just tell me if you made it home please

I look across the table to Bri. She must be able to read my face. “I’ll text her again.”

“Thanks.” She picks up her phone, and I bounce my leg again. “She’s home,” Bri says. I blow out a breath as she keeps texting.

“Is she okay?” I ask. I see Rico staring at me. “What?”

He shrugs. “I’ve just never seen you so out of sorts over a girl before.”

“She’s not just a girl,” I grit out.

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