When You’re Ready (Ready #1)(33)
Author: J.L. Berg

As we made our way through the bar, I could see his eyes scan the room, looking for exits or surveying the crowd, I couldn’t be sure. It was one the things I had noticed that changed about him, he was constantly alert. A bit of his carefree attitude was gone and I feared what real fame might do to him if he was already this intense.

As his eyes continued to analyze the crown, he narrowed in on a leggy blonde seated at a table in a corner. Her eyes were filled with laughter as she held her drink in one hand and made excessive hand gestures with the other. Declan looked mesmerized and hungry. It appeared he’d found what he was looking for. Maybe I could go home.

Wait a second! I knew that blonde.

Leah’s eyes locked with Declan’s and widened. She leaned across the table and whispered something to Clare, who was seated with her back to us, and she visibly stiffened. Was she upset that I was here? I wasn’t exactly happy about Clare and Declan being in the same room, but I wasn’t leaving now. Not now that I was so close to her.

Oh God, she thought I was a stalker.

Leah looked back up at the two of us, eyes still full of excitement. It wasn’t until she saw me standing next to him that her expression suddenly went from confused to pissed. Putting the puzzle pieces together, I finally relaxed. Guessing from the obvious scolding Clare was getting, I wagered that she left out the part about Declan being a close friend of mine and his visit to Richmond. It didn’t appear to be going over well.

Leah composed herself rather quickly and whispered something in Clare’s ear. Clare nodded before turning in herself toward us to wave. She plastered a smile on her face that I knew was fake, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Poor Clare. I knew she was probably just raked over the coals and was in need of some serious saving.

I looked over at Declan who hadn’t broken eye contact with Leah until he saw Clare’s wave.

He finally glanced in my direction, confusion and a bit of humor showing on his face, and said, “Friends of yours?”

“Uh, yeah. That’s my girlfriend and her best friend Leah,” I stammered.

“Girlfriend? You?” he arched his brow in surprise.

I nodded. We hadn’t discussed Clare. I wasn’t ashamed of her, but for Declan, monogamy is a four letter word that wasn’t uttered in his presence, so I figured he wouldn’t understand.

Based on the last few times we hung out, I really didn’t want to talk about women with him. At all.

He shrugged, “Well, why don’t we go say hello then?”

We made our way over to the girls’ table and Clare slid over to make room for me next to her. As I leaned down to kiss her hello, my lips lingered, savoring the sweet taste. The last three weeks had been the best of my life. They had also been the most torturous. Even since that first date, I’d been trying to give her time. It may be time she doesn’t think she needs, but she does. She had lost someone and I didn’t want to be just a replacement for him. I wanted to be the one she wanted. I also needed time to prove to her I was worth it. I think I needed to prove that to myself as well.

But the waiting was pure hell. Every smile, every brush of her skin set me on fire. I had spent three weeks in a perpetual state of need. I don’t think I’d jacked off so much since high school. But, as each day went by, my will started to falter and my walls crumbled a bit more. Time or not, I didn’t think either of us could hold out much longer.

“Hey, funny meeting you here,” I whispered against her ear.

Smiling, she answered, “Great minds think alike, I guess.”

I gave myself a moment to look her over from head to toe. She was wearing a tight fitting halter top that tied at the nape of her neck and showed off her shoulders and back. Rimmed in kohl, her eyes smoldered, the brilliant green still shining through. She was wearing a sexy jean skirt which showed off her toned legs and I could feel the high heel of her pump as it slid up my calf.

Momentarily distracted by her foot game, I realized Declan and Leah were sitting across from us, staring.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” I shouted, which caused Clare to laugh.

“You haven’t been introduced. Leah, this is Declan James. Declan, this is Leah Morgan. And this,” I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, “is my Clare.”

Everyone said their “nice to meet you’s” and “how do you do’s” and we ordered a round of drinks.

The conversation was nice and everyone seemed to be having a good time when Clare mischievously looked over at me and then Declan and said, “Tell me something about Logan that I don’t know.”

I groaned, shifting uncomfortably in the booth, which caused a wave of laughter across the table.

Declan smirked at Clare’s request and I swear I heard Leah swoon. Seriously, the dude isn’t that good looking, is he? I looked over at Clare, and she was staring at me. Okay. Good. My friend could keep his balls tonight.

Remaining quiet, he didn’t say anything right away. He seemed to be pondering or plotting…I couldn’t tell. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of shit he could tell her. He was obviously enjoying this moment.

“Logan was always the good boy growing up,” he said, looking at me, his smirk turning into a full grin.

Well that’s not too bad.

“Until I took over. Do you remember those few weeks between our junior and senior year, Logan?”

Shit.

“Declan,” I warned.

The girls’ eyes went wide with curiosity, egging him on. I gave him the evil death stare, but he just shrugged and continued.

“I hated Logan with a passion. He was the most uptight, boring kid I ever met. And that’s saying something when you hang out with rich people all day long. Luckily, since both of us were in boarding school, we didn’t see much of each other past grade school. That summer though, our paths crossed at this uppity social function held at one of our parent’s friend’s estates. It was the same old shit. Everyone was dressed in formal wear, parading around, talking about how they were taking over the world. I opted out of the party and went to go find my own entertainment.”

“You mean you f**ked one of the waitresses in a closet?” I interrupted

“Yup, far more entertaining,” he grinned, his hazel eyes full of dark mischief.

“Anyway, as I’m leaving, I see Logan; all dressed up in his monkey wear, talking to his parents’ friends, trying to impress a father who didn’t even know he existed.”

Clare’s hand found mine under the table at the mention of my father and I appreciated the support. But what I really wanted to do was throw her over my shoulder and get the hell out of there. I didn’t want to talk about my past. I f**ked up, couldn’t we just move on?