Page 3 of Has-Been
“Brother, I know it was a dumbass thing to say. I know you didn’t hurt her, and I know you’d never hurt a fucking woman, okay? Please don’t go letting this shit play on you, because it’s not what I think now, or even thought at the time. I was just, Jesus, I was lashing out, and it wasn’t fair.”
“You’re never going to see me the way I want you to, brother. Maybe none of you ever will, and you guys knowing about that shit from my past makes it even more impossible for you to see me. I’m the victim, the weak one, the failed actor, the unwilling porn star, and I’m also the fucking first one you suspected, when a friend was raped and murdered. You know what?We’re not okay.I… I… we’re just not okay right now.”
I dismounted, and turned to walk away before I laid into him. I knew he already didn’t trust me, and never would, not with his baby sister. I was pretty sure that attacking him right now wouldn’t make that situation any better either.
“Has… come on, man. We’re family. I made a mistake, but I love you, man.”
I turned to look at him again, but even a few metres wasn’t enough distance to stop me wanting to punch him again.
“You don’t accuse the ones you love of rape and murder, man. Maybe you need to work out who the fuck you think I am, before we talk again. I did nothing wrong, and I deserve to be trusted, just like you’d trust any other man in that clubhouse.”
I ignored any further attempts to stop me walking away from my VP. My fucking VP. What if he wasn’t the only one who thought I could hurt a woman like that? What if they all secretly thought it? What if Reacher thought it? What if them knowing my past made them even more convinced that I was fucked up enough to do such awful things?
Elise
Theywerearguingdownthere, it was so obvious from their body language. Clearly my brother was trying to make peace with Has-Been, but it wasn’t going well. What could they possibly be arguing about? The part that worried me was the fact that Has-Been had been looking at me when Seth joined him, and then Seth looked at me as they were talking.
Was he warning him off? Was it possible that no matter how much I tried to get closer to Has-Been, that my brother could be hounding him to stay away? Did he know that we’d kissed the night of the old lady ceremonies? It wasn’t the smartest place for us to have that first kiss, but it had been absolutely perfect.
I’d had to get away from the party because no matter how happy I was for the couples being inked, I also felt like I was being stabbed in the heart every time I saw their happiness, and that closed off look on the face of the man I was falling for. He was so unwilling to even try to fight for us, and I knew we were worth fighting for.
I’drunoutside,fullyintending to get the hell out of there before I tortured myself too badly, and suddenly there was a hand on my shoulder. It was him. It was like I could feel that it was him before I even looked.
“You okay? I saw you running out here.”
As much as I was loving the warmth and weight of his hand on my shoulder, I pulled away.
“Not your problem, right?” He followed me as I tried to walk away from him.
“Elise, please. You think this isn’t killing me too?” He looked frustrated, and edgy, more out of sorts than I’d seen him before.
I wanted to yell at him, to tell him that he was the one killing us, by being too much of a pussy to even try for us. Every time I’d seen him since that day at the spray bay he’d made excuses to leave or had just slipped from the room, like he couldn’t bear to be in the same space as me. Two could play at that game, right?
He made a frustrated sound when I stayed silent instead.
“Has Micro been coming on to you?”
What the hell? Micro? Was that the one Seth yelled at in the bar? I had no idea, but either way it was none of his business, was it? Maybe I should let this guy flirt with me if it affected Has-Been this way though.
“Just leave me alone, okay?”
“Has he fucking hit on you, darlin’?”
Oh my god, he was like a dog with a bone!I fixed him with a fierce glare, wishing I could make him hurt like he was hurting me.
“NO! Okay? No, nobody hits on me, because I’m so fucking average that nobody even looks twice, isn’t that right?”
Has-Been cursed. “You know that’s not true, babe, you’re fucking stunning.”
“But you don’t want me.”
He let out a low growl as he stepped closer to me, almost reaching for my face before he caught himself and dropped his hand.
“That’s not fucking true either, but you heard him. I go near you, and I’m dead.”
“Well, as long as you get to stay alive, I’ll just stay alone, right?”
And that’s when he kissed me. Another of those low growls, almost a whisper, was my only warning before he looped a hand around the back of my head and brought our lips together. It was perfection, everything I’d ever wanted. I gripped the front of his cut, as he eased me into a slow, sweet kiss that seemed to heat up every second, our bodies pressing closer and closer together. I never wanted it to end, but he suddenly tensed and pulled back, casting his eyes around us.
