Page 39 of Over You
I wanted to be sober.
I wanted to be the guy I used to be, but to be honest, I didn’t like the new me enough tonotwant to be high.
My eyes opened just as the jerkoff tucked a piece of hair behind Georgia’s ear, and my pulse quickened. I could run into the shop behind me, get a quick fix, and shove the pain back in its box. Maybe if I got high enough, I wouldn’t remember any of this happened.
She was moving on. So should I.
He inched in closer; she took a step back. I yanked the coke from my pocket, then tossed all five hundred dollars’ worth into the trash can before I stepped off the curb.
I may not like myself, but Ilovedthat girl.
16
Georgia Anne
Tom spent most of the drive back to town on the phone, shouting at Kirby, while I had rehearsed word for word what I would say to Spencerifhe hadn’t left. We turned onto Saint James Street, and he floored it, the engine growling like an angry jungle cat.
“Really?” I glanced at him with a raised brow.
We came to an abrupt stop in front of my house. “Wait a second, mate.” He rounded the front of the car, then reach for my door.
“Seriously? You feel that bad?”
“I do. Plus, my mum raised me with good manners.”
Laughing, I started up my steps, surprised when Tom followed. If Spencer was inside, I didnotwant Tom setting foot into my house. First, I didn’t need to go through the entirehow-do-you-know-himthing again, and second, Spencer would freak, and Tom may end up with a bloodied nose. “Do you need to go to the bathroom or something?”
“No.” He leaned toward me.
“Well, thanks for the ride.” My back pressed to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Tom leaned in too close for comfort. “Why won’t you give me a chance, Georgia?” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His finger trailed down the side of my neck to my shoulder. “I like you.”
My pulse ratcheted up. I thought I’d made my stance clear on any non-plutonic relationship with him. It seemed my life was going to shit in a handbasket as of late.
Spencer. Kirby. Now Tom.
Placing a palm on the door behind me, I went to move away from his touch. “And I like you. As a friend. . .”
“Hey, dick!” Spencer’s voice boomed from the buildings, and my chin dropped on a silentshit.He hopped over the curb, shopping bag in hand, and chest puffed out like a silver-back gorilla with his fingers flexing and bunching into fists. “Get away from my wife.”
“Huh?” Confusion wrinkled Tom’s brow. “What the hell is he on about. . .” He squinted. “Wait. Is that—Hailstorm?”
Spencer stopped on the bottom step with the kind of glare that would make Michael Myers mess his pants. “Did you fucking hear what I said?”
“Wait a second.” Shaking his head, Tom pointed at Spencer. “You’re Spencer Hailstorm.”
“No fucking shit, genius.” His chin jutted out. “And you’re about two feet too close to my wife.”
“Hold on a bloody minute.” Tom’s attention ping-ponged between Spencer and me. “You’re married to Spencer Hailstorm? I mean, firstly, you’remarried? Secondly, tohim?”
I placed my palm against my forehead with a sigh. “It’s a long story. But yes.”
Tom’s hands went beside his head. His fingers mimicked a small explosion.
“You’re still too close.” Spencer’s tone was tinged with a slight growl. He cracked his knuckles at his sides.
“Really?” I sighed. “Why don’t you just hike your leg? It would probably be more effective.”
