Page 69 of A Lot Like Forever
“How about we get a drink?” he suggested, sucking back the stupid stuff he could easily have said to ruin everything that was left between them. “Just the two of us,” he said in a quieter voice, pleased that he hadn’t bumped into her on a date, because seeing a guy with her would have tipped him over the edge.
“Nate, I don’t know. . . .” Faith wrapped her arms around herself and it took every inch of his willpower not to grab her and wrap them around him, to just force her out of the door with him and back to his place.
“Nate!” Essie and Sally protested at the same time.
He ignored them, only focused on the beautifully intoxicating woman standing before him. Her full lips were slightly parted, all glossy and kissable.
“Come on, Faith.” Nate chuckled as he reached for her hand, but his smile died when she moved back just enough so he couldn’t reach her, like she was repulsed by him. “What are you scared of?”
Her eyes were swimming when she looked up at him. “You,” she said simply. “But it looks like you’re having plenty of fun without me. It’s better this way, Nate; we both know that.”
Nate stared at Faith. He’d never had a woman speak to him like that, her honesty as brutal as a knife to his skin. She was telling him to go, and goddamn it, but he wasn’t about to beg. His jaw hardened, body like stone as he gave her a cool stare.
“Have a great night, Faith. I’ll see you around.”
He slipped his arms around the women again, not feeling like doing anything with them any longer but childish enough to want to hurt Faith, to piss her off and show her that he was fine without her. Which he sure as hell hadn’t been.
“Where’re we going?”
Nate kept his hands planted on the women’s asses as they left, nodding to the doorman as they passed and exited the bar. Once they were outside, he turned to first his left, then his right, giving each of the women a kiss on the lips before pulling out his wallet. He’d made his point, but he’d lost all interest in screwing them.
“Here’s enough money for a taxi fare,” he said, putting some bills into each of their hands. “Sorry, ladies, but tonight’s not the night. Maybe next time.”
He should have just taken them to bed, but all he wanted now was more damn whiskey. Then his head smashed into a feather-filled pillow for the better part of a day. And if he even thought about Faith again, he was going to smash his fist into something, anything to get the visual of her beautiful dark-brown eyes staring at him like he was the one who’d gone and broken her goddamn heart, not the other way around.
He walked to his vehicle, checked it was locked, then waved to a taxi driver. He was a fool, but dammit, he was in love with her. For the first time in his life, he’d let down the shield he’d so stringently maintained. When his mom had died, he’d loved his grandma dearly, but not the same kind of fierce love he’d had for his mom, and he’d vowed as a boy never to let himself hurt like that ever again. It was why he’d never had serious relationships, why he was so determined to never have children of his own, because he didn’t want to hurt like that again. He’d been the oldest brother, the one who’d had to be strong and keep it all together. And now he’d gone and let Faith get too close, and for the first time he wanted a woman he couldn’t have.
He settled into the backseat of the cab, gave the driver instructions, and shut his eyes as he pushed his head back into the leather headrest. Faith Mendes had screwed with his head, but he was in love with her, goddamn it, and as far as he could tell she had no damn idea.
* * *
“How are you feeling?”
Faith shrugged and planted her straw between her teeth, sucking hard. They were drinking vodka, lemon, and lime, and the cold drink was at least giving her a brain freeze. Although nothing could numb her enough into not thinking about Nate.
“I just can’t stop thinking about him being with . . .” She let her voice trail off, not sure what she was actually going to say. The idea of him having sex with either one of those women made her feel physically sick, but two of them at once? It shouldn’t have surprised her, but it did. “Anyway, I was the one who left, right? That means he can be with whoever he likes, because it’s none of my business.”
Her friends smiled and nodded, but she knew they weren’t sure what to say. One minute she was telling them she was happy being single, and the next she could hardly breathe, having come face-to-face with the man who’d scared the hell out of her by making her feel things she’d always sworn she wouldn’t. She wanted him, but she couldn’t let herself, couldn’t give that part of herself away. And with Nate there was no other way; she’d seen that firsthand. The way she felt around him meant it was all or nothing.
Cara and Saskia both kept sipping, and she did the same. Then the music started to thump and she knocked back the rest of her drink and pushed it across the bar. The one thing she could do was drink until she was just numb enough to forget and dance the hell out of the night.
“Let’s dance,” she announced, running her fingers through her hair.
Her friends laughed and shrugged, finishing theirs and joining her, hips swaying as they started dancing with her. A clean-cut blond came up to her, grabbed her around the waist, but she smiled politely and pushed him away, nodding toward Cara. She was the one who’d like to be picked up—Faith had no intentions of even flirting with another guy tonight. What she wanted was to be on her own with friends, have fun without needing a man. Cara, on the other hand, launched straight into some raunchy dancing, which had Faith in hysterics.
The music kept thumping and she danced liked she’d never danced before.And still the image of Nate with his arms around the blondes blasted her eyeballs.
