Come to Me Softly (Closer to You #2)(20)
Author: A.L. Jackson

But that was completely unnecessary. Christopher already had it all figured out, added it up, surmised the situation. Because he knew the game all too well. He played it all the time.

I’d had her and she wanted more.

She inched forward, came in so close she was almost touching me. She rocked a little and brushed up against me. The movement was an invitation, something intended to tempt.

My fingers jerked. Because the only thing I wanted was to push her back.

Instead I held in the blink of anger that surged through my veins. Really, I was pissed at myself, anyway. I attempted to control the venom in my voice. “Didn’t come here for you, Lily. Sorry if you seeing me here gave you that impression, but I’d think six months would be plenty of time for you to figure out I wasn’t interested in anything more with you than what happened that one night.”

Hurt flashed across her features.

“Really? You seemed plenty interested when you came back looking for me that night.” She almost sneered when she plastered an artificial smile on her face. No doubt, it was more in defense of her feelings than anything else.

But it wasn’t her feelings I was concerned about.

Like I was drawn, I looked over Lily’s right shoulder just as Aly came through the archway. Laughing, completely carefree as she talked with Fiona, her hands were all animated as she talked.

Panic pushed at my chest. I raked a hand over my head, squeezed the back of my neck. I wasn’t used to this shit. Relationships. How to handle them.

Wasn’t used to caring.

But f**k, I did, and the last thing I wanted was Aly to see this.

I knew the second she did. Her head snapped up and she fumbled to a stop. A deep line cut into her brow. Confusion lit in her gaze as it jumped between Lily and me. It took her less than a second flat to process the scene unfolding in front of her.

Guilt gripped me by the throat. Aly stared at me with outright hurt from across the room. Tension filled up the space between us, slowing time. Every scenario seemed to flip through the green of her eyes, every worry and distrust she’d ever harbored for me clawing to the forefront of her thoughts.

I saw it.

Fucking felt it.

Less than half an hour ago, we’d been joking around about the ass**le kid, the whole interaction swollen with this innocent playfulness as I got territorial on my girl. No one could blame me.

But Aly sure as f**k could blame me for this.

Because this wasn’t innocent, that much was obvious. I’d had this girl every which way to Sunday and back again, and here she was, rubbing up on my dick, asking for another round.

Green eyes watched me with some kind of unknown misery and outright disappointment.

But there was no anger.

Just f**king sadness and it broke me a little more, reminded me of the piece of shit I was and why I would never be good enough for her. I hadn’t been back but twenty-four hours, and here was my past, already showing up to haunt me.

Motherfucker.

Fiona set her hand on Aly’s shoulder, her mouth moving close to her ear. They were too far away for me to hear what was said, but I could tell she was asking if she was okay.

I knew she wasn’t.

“You should go,” I said in a low threat toward Lily, because I wasn’t giving her an option.

Christopher’s eyes bored into the side of my face, silently urging me to do something as he tried to inconspicuously gesture at Aly with his chin, like I wasn’t already well aware of the fact that my girl was standing there watching this go down.

Aly was f**king trembling.

Goddamn, it was almost like I could feel it, her heart thud and her mind spin, even across the distance of the room. Like all of this hurt was rushing from her and slamming into me. As much as she was trying to hold it in, to rein in her reaction, witnessing Lily all over me was too much for this innocent girl to deal with.

Lily splayed her hand across my chest. “What do you say you let me change your mind.”

Shame belted me just as hard as the anger. I grabbed her wrist and flung it off me. My attention fastened on Aly and I seethed out the hardened words, “Stay the f**k away from me, Lily. I’m not going to tell you again.”

Like she’d finally caught on, she tossed her chin over her shoulder, searching out where my eyes were trained on the center of my world.

The world that was threatening to crash around me.

I wasn’t about to let that happen.

Lily turned back to me, shaking her head. She cocked her chin in an attempt to be cute and coy. “Well, it looks like you already had your good time all lined up for the night. Don’t mind me.”

Then she stepped back, bowed out, and crossed the room. She made sure to knock her shoulder into Aly’s when she pushed passed.

Harshly, I shook my head. Stupid bitch.

Aly cringed, and I was staring at her, silently begging her to realize that girl didn’t matter.

Fiona took Aly’s hand, tugged it, prying her away from the spot where she’d been glued to the floor. Aly shuffled forward, her eyes bouncing all over the room, anywhere but my face, unwilling to look at me as Fiona dumped her at my side and took up her spot at Cash’s.

She fidgeted, looked to the floor.

Fuck, I couldn’t stand this, Aly hurting, thinking whatever goddamned thoughts she had running through that sweet head of hers. I had to get her out of there. Explain. Let her know there was no reason for her to be shaking and falling apart because there wasn’t a chance in this godforsaken world I could even consider being with someone else than her.

Like I’d ever trip and fall into that trap.

I nudged her chin with my index finger and whispered, “Come on, baby, let’s get out of here.”

She shrank back. The space she put between us was minimal. Still it was completely unbearable. Profound. She glanced up at me with a forced smile, the edges of that gorgeous mouth trembling. “It’s okay. Finish your game.”

Was she kidding me?

She was not f**king okay.

Frustrated, I grabbed my stick and sank the eight-ball when there were still seven others on the table, throwing the game. I tossed my cue stick on the top of the table. Wood clattered against the remaining balls. “There, game over.”

I shot a pointed stare at Christopher. We’re out of here.

He tipped his head toward the entryway to let me know it was cool and he’d find his own way home.

FIVE

Jared

I grabbed her hand and towed her outside.

Cold air pelted us, the night deep. Dull lights seeped across the lot, and Aly sucked in a breath as she withdrew her shaking hand from mine. She fumbled through that huge-ass purse for her keys, distracting herself, doing her best to pretend that everything was okay.