Page 18 of East (The Moral Compass 3)

“What the hell does ‘BG’ stand for? Big guy?” I ask, confused.

“Oh god, you wish, don’t you? I mean it as BG. You know… bodyguard. Oooh, I love myself so much,” she skits as she stumbles from the chair.

“Careful.” I grab her arm and help her get upright. “You might just need a big guy to help you out later.” I laugh.

“You wish again. No freaking chance; Hell would have to freeze over. The sun would have to be shining at midnight and… oh you know… never gonna happen, BG.”

“You protest too much, little Diamond,” I whisper in her ear as I take her hand and lead her through the crowded casino.

A couple of people look. Not sure if it’s Drake, but when I don’t acknowledge them, they soon lose interest. It might also have something to do with East wobbling around like she’s Bambi on drugs.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Margarite smiling like the cat that got the cream. God, she’s weird. Why is she still here watching us? I thought she’d have been long gone after our meeting this afternoon.

That thought soon disappears when East trips on her own feet and nearly falls flat on her face. Lucky for her, I am right where I should be and pick her up before anyone really notices.

The alcohol in casinos is usually pretty weak, but the stuff they have been serving us must have been top shelf. When East trips again just outside the casino, picking her up wasn’t as easy, and when I lose my own footing, we both nearly end up in the road.

“Jesus, East, what was in those drinks?”

“I don’t know, but they were Hella good. I don’t feel remotely pissed off at you anymore.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I thought you were going to hate me for the rest of our lives.”

“Hmm, no, I don’t think that’s right, Zed. I mean, we will see each other until I leave and then maybe another couple of times in, like, forever. So, I don’t think I could hate you for that long because I will have forgotten you soon.”

“Oh! You really think you will forget me that easy, do you?”

“Yep. You’re very nearly forgotten already.”

“East, I’m sorry to break this to you, but you will never forget me. I was your first. You will never forget your first. It’s a fact.”

“Is that so? Well, just because I’m no longer a virgin doesn’t mean the next man isn’t going to mean everything to me. In fact, I will marry the next man before I sleep with him, that way I know they won’t just—how did you put it about Drake? Oh yeah! ‘Fuck me and fuck off.’”

“East, that wasn’t what happened, and you know it. We both got carried away, and it shouldn’t have happened.”

“Oh, so you regret it now, do you? Charming,” she bites.

“No, I never said that. I don’t regret it, and if things were different, we wouldn’t be down here having this stupid conversation,” I bite back.

“Oh, right, so where would we be, then?” she half-yells as she tries to walk away.

“We would be up those fucking stairs, and my head would be between those perfect fucking legs of yours. Now, for the love of everything Christlike, please stop. You know why we can’t do this. You said you accepted it, and I believed you. Are you telling me that you don’t?”

“Of course, I accept it. You’re a spineless dick. My brothers have you by the fucking balls, and you don’t even see it, but that’s fine. I don’t want someone who’s scared of my brothers. I want a man. A real fucking man who can stand up to them and tell them how he feels.”

“You’re out of your tree. What are you talking about feelings for? We fucked. End of.”

“That’s absolutely right. End of!” she yells as she pulls her arm from my hand and stumbles down the road.

God, give me strength. I try to catch up with her, but the whisky I had has gone right to my legs as well.

“East. Hold up. Just wait. I don’t want to argue with you!” I yell after her.

“Tough shit!” she replies and then instantly trips and falls down onto the pavement. “These fucking shoes are going in the bin!” she cries as she pulls them off one by one and throws them in the bushes.

I manage to get to her to help her up, but this time she feels like a dead weight. I feel like I’ve been on a stag weekend in Benidorm for three days. Even then, I don’t think I’ve felt this drunk in a very long time.

I help her up, and as she stands five inches shorter with no shoes, she looks like the woman I made love to last night.

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