Page 75 of Trust Me

Chapter 21

Dean

What was going on with me?

As I worked on my second beer, I looked around the room for Oli. He’d disappeared while I looked for Tilian, who hadn’t been interested in talking when I found him, so I left him in his smoking corner.

It felt weird to text Oli—needy, maybe—so I hadn’t done it. But it didn’t sit right with me that he was just gone.

I wondered if he’d left. He said he wouldn’t, but that was before things got awkward.

I wasn’t a hundred percent sure what he’d been heading toward in the car. The tone of his voice had set off alarm bells in my head, and I just wanted to shut it down. So I had.

And now, I wanted to bring it up again. I just wanted to know.

I also didn’t want to.

I was losing the plot. It had mutated, grown legs, and walked away. Any chance of catching it was cut down every time I looked at Oli. Even when I thought about him. It seemed like I was constantly trying to figure out how he was feeling, and when I worried about what was going through his mind, I felt this overwhelming urge to fix it.

That couldn’t be healthy.

He was attracted to me. That was what he’d said before, but I hadn’t taken it all that seriously. I doubted he’d let his feelings grow in any real way.

Could you stop that sort of thing?

Wait, did he know I wasn’t gay? Maybe I should’ve told him. Yeah, that was probably a good idea.

It was a simple conversation. I wasn’t into men. Never had been, and I had no interest in changing that, if it was even possible.

I looked over at West, who had walked in the door a few minutes ago. It wasn’t hard to notice that he was elite-tier attractive. Imagining him naked didn’t do anything for me, though. I shifted my gaze to Linc. He was also attractive, but in a different way. I also wasn’t interested in his body.

My brow rose as I watched him for another moment. He and Densmore were always in some sort of feud, and maybe that was why they were talking. What was on his face didn’t strike me as anger, although there was obvious frustration there. If they got into another fight in this place, I hoped someone let them finish it.

There was a girl with West, one who was incredibly beautiful. I’d heard about his twin sister, not that I’d need to in order to know that they were related. They looked like elvish royalty, all dark hair, pale skin, and bright blue eyes.

As I took her in, I tried to imagine going up to her. I could be charming and suave. Women didn’t just like me for my physical traits, even though they apparently were into those too. I could shoot my shot, at least.

My feet remained firmly planted in place. When I saw Rick go over to dance with her, I didn’t feel a hint of disappointment. Even when his hands gripped her swaying hips, there wasn’t a part of me that wished I’d taken a chance on talking to her.

It had only been three months since Sadie cheated on me. That was bound to take some time to bounce back from.

With a growl, I knocked back my drink, then scanned the area for someone to occupy my time. A brunette in tiny shorts caught my eye, so I went over to her. When she saw me, she offered me a nervous smile. It was cute and a far cry from the childish excitement I’d grown used to being around.

I put a hand on the wall and leaned a little closer. “Hey. I’m Dean.”

“Mila,” she replied.

Taking her hand, I brushed my thumb across her knuckles. “Are you enjoying the party, Mila?”

“It’s a party. I don’t think any of them are all that different.”

“Well, you’re not wrong. I can’t believe these guys haven’t gotten tired of throwing them. Then again, they might not have a chance to meet someone like you if they didn’t.”

Her light laugh made me smile. She tucked her hair behind one ear, then ran her fingers through it.

“You’ve got to be a hockey player or something.”

“Nah. Football. Less chances to break my ass.”