The Sterling Boys(8)

I'll be happy when Kode, Maverick, Dale, and Corbin get out from under Rain's ass for five damn seconds and come hang out with me again.

This had better not be a nightly deal. I know they've missed her, but this is bullshit. I shouldn't get abandoned just because their girl came back.

Their girl. That makes me sick. There was a time when you couldn't have pulled me from her side, but apparently I was a fucking idiot. Everything was fine. Perfectly fine. Sure, I didn't have her the way I wanted her—other than that one night in Cancun—but we were still us.

I was planning on telling her how I felt—how I really felt. I'm glad I didn't. I would have just made a bigger idiot of myself.

I spent that last night at Beach Grill with her, holding her, kissing on her, wishing I could really kiss her. Then we all walked on the beach like the couple we should have been. Rain and I were side by side all night. I held her hand, walked along the edge where the waves would kiss our feet, and it was perfect.

Then she went home after kissing me just on the corner of my lips, making me want more. The next day, she left—as planned—and I waited by the phone to hear from her.

Nothing.

Then Kode came into my room while he was on the phone with her. She called him first. And not just him—she called all of them and never me. I waited until the next day, and still hadn't heard anything, so I sent a text asking how New York was.

I received fine. Fucking fine.

So I text again, and she kept every answer just as clipped as that. It was obvious then, especially when I called her and our conversations were nothing more than awkward silence. Painful as it was, it was crystal clear what had happened.

I was the one she trusted with her body, but not her heart. I was the one she gave herself to because I was the one she could let go. It didn't make sense, but I got over it... sort of. I'm getting over it. I think.

If I had known our friendship would be destroyed, I would have never slept with her—if that's even what brought on this fucked-up shift. She went from ultra hot to Arctic cold.

Now... it's been six years, and I still can't see the girl. I dread the first time we run into each other.

Sleek golden hair that brushes the middle of a sexy, slender back draws my attention. A girl standing at the bar is wearing a dress that is illegal in certain parts of the world. That ass... hell yes. I just found something to distract me.

It's been too long, and maybe something like this will keep my mind off Rain.

Just as I near my prey, a large arm slides over her shoulders, making her turn to face the familiar jerk who has joined the mutiny and abandoned me. Maverick. Horror washes over me when I see the face of the girl I almost approached. Rain Noles. Of all the damn luck.

Fuck!

I break out into a cold sweat and veer a hard right to head to the back. Why in the hell did they bring her here? Have they lost their damn minds? I'll beat the shit out of them for this.

I realize they have no clue what happened between us, and apparently Rain doesn't want to fill them in either, but they knew better. Can't say I blame her for not wanting to divulge all the dark secrets, since it makes her look like a cold bitch.

My teeth grind together as I lean against the side of the wall. This is my club. My club, damn it. I shouldn't be hiding. She shouldn't have the fucking nerve to walk into my club with my fucking family. She wouldn't have even known them if it hadn't been for me.

How can she do this? Why torture me?

No. I refuse to cower in my own club. If this is the game she wants to play, then fine. I'm not a lovesick eighteen-year-old anymore. I'm a full-grown, successful, damn good looking son of a bitch with a list a mile long of women who would love an ounce of the attention I used to pay Rain. I can do this. It's time to man up.

I walk out just as Maverick pulls her onto the dance floor. That jerk never could keep his hands to himself when it came to her. Obviously she enjoys it. It wasn't him who got booted.

Kode walks in, spotting me immediately, and mouths, "Sorry," on his way to the large, curved booth in the far back that I never let anyone else sit in. I need to take that booth off reserve. They don't deserve it after this.

Dale seems amused as he gives me a playful wink, and Corbin shoots me a you-can't-hide-all-night grin. Bastards. This was intentional. They set me up. That's fine. They'll regret it.

She broke me once. I won't let her do it again. I'll let her see how perfectly fine I've been without her, even if that's not completely true. But I won't spend time hiding because of her.

Traveling through wormholes is impossible; digging to China is impossible; curing world hunger is impossible; but facing Rain Noles is not impossible. I can do this. All I need first is the nerve to speak to her and the ability to stand within a hundred feet of her without feeling like a fucking kid again. What is she doing to me?