Revved (Page 63)

I ran off because I couldn’t bear to watch her all over you.

And that thought is like a douse of water over my fire.

I can feel my smile fading, so I force it back, brightening it up. “Sorry about that. I had an errand to run.” Liar. Liar.

“Right.” He nods, not moving his eyes from mine, and I’m starting to feel a little more than exposed, like he can see right through my bullshit, just like Ben could before. “Maybe we can have a drink tonight to celebrate?”

“Sure.” I smile widely again.

Then, I watch as his eyes do that thing they do where they run down me, taking me in, stripping me bare. He hasn’t done that since Barcelona. It makes me feel weak and needy for what I can’t have.

He brings his mouth to my ear. “You look beautiful tonight.” His words whisper over my skin, making my head feel light.

“Where’s Sienna?” It’s like a reflex, but it’s definitely the kick I need back to the here and now.

Something akin to annoyance flickers through his eyes. He drops his hand from me, taking a step back. “Restroom.”

“Carrick, you want a drink?” That’s Ben.

He lifts his chin in Ben’s direction. Then, his eyes follow, and I feel like I can finally breathe for the first time since he arrived.

“Beer would be great. Thanks, mate.”

Realizing that I’m facing Carrick with my back to Ben and Petra, I turn around to face them, standing beside Carrick.

Petra’s eyes are on me the moment I turn. I can see the concern in them, so I give her a reassuring smile.

“I didn’t know you were coming tonight. I thought you were stuck at that boring party,” Petra says to Carrick.

“Yeah, I was, and it was worse than boring, so I snuck out to come and hang with you guys.”

“Of course you did. We’re way more interesting than a bunch of stuck-up rich people. No offense.” She grins when she realizes what she said.

Carrick’s rich, but he’s far from boring.

He’s the most interesting person I’ve ever met.

Oh God, I’m at it again.

“None taken. And you’re right. The people here are a hell of a lot more interesting.”

The depth of his voice lifts my eyes to his to find him staring straight at me.

My mouth dries.

“So, how did you know where we were?” I ask, moistening my lips with my tongue.

Something flashes through his eyes. It looks a lot like lust, but because I’m in denial right now, I’m going to pretend it wasn’t.

“Ben told me earlier where you were going to be.”

“Oh, did he?” I slide a look at Ben, but he’s facing away, trying to get served at the bar.

“Andressa.” Carrick’s hand touches my lower back, pulling my attention back to him. His eyes look deep and serious. “Can we talk? There’s something—”

“God, I thought I was never gonna get back to you! It’s packed in here. Why are we here again? The party we were at was way nicer.”

Sienna’s annoying voice rings in my ears like an alarm bell.

I step away from Carrick, causing his hand to fall away, leaving a distinct chill where he just was.

“Get me a drink, will you, Carr? I’m gonna need a large one if I’m forced to stay here for the rest of the night.” She lets out a dramatic sigh.

Annoyance flickers through me. You’d think he’d brought her to a dive with the way she’s acting. This place is really nice—hence, the reason why it’s so full of people.

Biting my tongue from telling her to piss off back to where she came, I turn to look at her.

She looks really nice in a knee-length black lacy dress, which looks like it cost more than my entire wardrobe. And granted, there’s a little bit too much lace, revealing a lot of her assets, but she can carry it off.

She looks a lot prettier than I do right now. I hate that.

But I can handle it. I’m a strong woman who treats other women with respect.

Pushing my dislike for her aside, I force myself to be polite and smile at her. “Hello, Sienna.”

She gives me a blank stare at the sound of my voice. “Oh, good. You’re here.” Then, she rolls her eyes.

Okay…seems Carrick’s little talk with her clearly had no effect.

God, I would love to punch her in her face—just once—but of course, I won’t.

So, sucking it up, I give a tight smile. “I am. And now I’m going. Restroom break. Nice seeing you as always.”

I’m going for the kill-her-with kindness theory. It’d be awesome if it actually worked. That was a joke—kind of.

I walk over to Petra, who is currently scowling at Sienna.

“Restroom,” I say with a jerk of my head.

“Let’s go.” She takes hold of my hand. “Back soon, Benny Boy.” She pats his shoulder as we pass.

By the time we make it to the restroom, I am actually in need of going.

When I’m finished, I come out of the stall. Petra is at the sink, applying her lipstick in the mirror above it. I can see her eyeing me carefully as I wash my hands, but she doesn’t say anything.

I appraise my outfit in the mirror. I’m actually wearing a skirt tonight. Cute little floaty black number that I got when I went shopping with Petra the other day. I’ve teamed it with a pretty sparkly strappy black top and some low silver heels. My hair is down in loose waves.

I look nice. Well, not as nice as the pop princess, but whatever.

I blow out a breath.

“You okay?” Petra asks.

“I’m great.” I flash her a smile, and then I get my gloss from my clutch and start applying it to my lips.