AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I feel like a monster invading the party.
Jax drops onto the sofa, pulling me down next to him. He nestles me under his arm, and I softly smile to myself. He really does like me, which gives me hope. All of the panic and paranoia from when I first walked in has started to subside.
As he and his friends laugh and drink, I stay quiet by his side, anxiously waiting for the opportunity to be alone with him.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out and glance at the screen.
Where are you?
Biting my bottom lip, I swallow down my guilt as I put it back in my pocket.
What the hell am I guilty of? I’m an adult. I can go where I want, when I want. I don’t owe Luke an explanation. He’s not my boyfriend or my father. He’s just my professor and also maybe…my Dom?
Jax and his friends order another round of drinks, and I get cranberry and soda water to at least have something to sip on.
My phone buzzes again.
You should have been home two hours ago. Where the fuck are you?
“What a control freak,” I mumble to myself.
“Is that your boyfriend?” Jax’s deep, slurring voice whispers in my ear.
I slam my phone face down and smile up at him. “Fuck no. Just my bossy roommate.”
“Well, let’s make him jealous then,” he replies with a wink. He takes my phone and opens the camera app, pointing it at us. We fit perfectly in the frame as he snaps a few pictures.
Then, I watch with horror as he puts the photo in the message box and sends it to Luke. As he drops it in my lap, he grins.
“There. Now maybe he’ll fuck off.”
I laugh uncomfortably to myself, staring down when Jax’s hand touches my chin and lifts my gaze up to his face. As he leans in to kiss me, I feel my phone buzz in my lap. Ignoring Luke, I let Jax’s lips touch mine.
My lips part, and Jax’s tongue invades my mouth as my phone buzzes again.
I’m fuming as Lucas continues to distract me during this kiss, but eventually, one of Jax’s friends interrupts us. He slaps Jax on the leg as the waitress sets a tray of shots on the table. The ten of them all take the shots together, and when I expect Jax to direct his attention back to me, a woman approaches and asks him for a photo and his autograph.
When he stands from the couch, part of me knows he’s not coming back.
And I was right.
He gets pulled away to the dance floor and to another crowd who fawn over his celebrity status. No one at the table starts a conversation with me, and after a while, I sink into my own pity party.
The lights are too bright and the music is too loud and harmful memories start to creep in again, as if there’s not five years between then and now. It’s all happening again.
To ground myself, I pick up my phone and glance at the texts from Luke.
Where are you, Sadie?
Just tell me you’re okay.
My throat starts to sting as I stare at his messages, no longer abrasive and controlling but worried and attentive.
This thing with Luke has to end. It’s gotten too involved and messy. We can’t keep doing this. He can’t keep worrying about me or trying to fix me because without fail, every time, I will fuck up. And I don’t need another person to disappoint.
Blinking away the urge to cry, I glance up from my phone to find the rest of the sofa empty. Looking around the club, I don’t see any sign of Jax or his friends—just their empty shot glasses and spilled drinks.
I’m alone.
