“He didn’t exactly push her off, the way Jake would for you. No beat it or fuck off, he just stood there
watching her gyrating at him with her hands on his chest. Then it hit me, if I wasn’t there then he
would’ve totally fucked her.” She brings a red-rimmed set of heartbroken eyes to me and I sigh. I know
how soul destroying that kind of insecurity can be. Hunter probably wasn’t even aware of the affect his
indifference to the girl had on Leila.
“I know he wouldn’t have. You’re not giving him a chance, Leila. You’re so sure he’s going to disappoint
you and hurt you that you’re looking for fault. Looking to push him away.” I take her hand in mine, trying
for mature and direct. Sarah can be the soft one, I need Leila to see sense.
“Did you confront him?” Sarah is watching her with the same expression as me, maybe she’s decided
logical is the best route too.
“Of course, in grand crazy bitch fashion, the stupid me who has been giving him hell for weeks.” she
sighs and sinks even lower in her seat. “I told him to fuck off, we were done, and I threw my drink at
him. Told him to take the whore if that’s what he wanted.” A blush of red surges over her delicate
features as she cringes at the memory; at least she has the sense to realize she acted like an insane
woman.
“Jealousy is a killer.” I point out, knowing fine well I probably would’ve kicked Jake’s ass if it’d been me.
Jealousy makes us irrational, seeing red no matter how innocent the situation.
“Well, aren’t we little angelic bundles of insecurity?” Sarah chirps in with a smile, patting Leila’s hand. “I
once threw an entire plate of pasta at Marcus in a restaurant because some ex-girlfriend kissed him on
the cheek when she came by to say hi.” She shrugs as a matter of fact.
“I tried to convince Jake I was climbing into another guy’s bed because I heard a girl in the background
when he was on the phone to me.” I also shrug. The three of us regard each other for a moment, then
burst out laughing. Even Leila laughs and wipes her smudgy eyes.
“None of that is healthy at all.” Leila looks deflated. “But it makes me feel less insane. I know I flew off
the handle, but honestly, this is so hard. Daniel has made an art out of fucking my head up for the last
ten years and now he’s doing it again. I’m so scared that one of these days he’s going to turn around
and be like … “This ain’t for me, kitten.” She does a very good Hunter impression, alarmingly so, even
the way she tilts her head and raises a palm.
“Have you ever thought about not being so hostile and giving him a genuine chance? Letting him in a
little so that maybe he won’t want to turn and run?” Now it’s my turn to pat Leila’s hand and she sighs
as the bar tender nudges in with a round of drinks, leaving his card in full view in front of Leila, cockily
and a little too smoothly. A move Jake would’ve pulled off a hundred times more seductively.
“Call me.” He winks at her, before wandering back off back to the bar, with a smile. All three of us watch
him go with equally unamused expressions. He’s tall like Hunter, overly muscular and blonde, but way
less appealing. He has an I’m in love with myself, so I bet you are too aura about him, making him
unattractive instantly.
“Arse,” Leila retorts, dumping the card over her shoulder toward the floor, no care to the fact that he
can still see her.
“So, if sexy barmen dropping their card on your lap are not going to cut it then what next?” Sarah is the
one trying to decipher Leila’s thoughts now, appraising her intensely.
“Guess you better tell the assholes they can come in
then and at least try to pretend to look surprised at seeing
us here.” She mumbles, sitting up straight, and taking
a steadying breath. Fingers in her hair, tidying it up, self-consciously.
* * *
As soon as Leila knew they were coming she lost courage and high tailed it to the ladies’ room alone,
telling us she needed a minute to breathe and fix her face. I know the men won’t take long to get here,
knowing Jake they are probably camped out on the bar doorstep. He’s probably wearing out a hole in
the pavement from frantic pacing.
Sarah and I sip our drinks watching the scenery, chatting non-descriptively, in the few minutes it takes
that sexy six-foot two Adonis to come swaggering in, making my insides liquefy. He has the same effect
on me every time I see him. He makes everyone else disappear, with just an appearance, like watching
him course through the crowds at the Charity Ball all over again and my heart soars.
He spots us with his eagle-eyed observation and immediately turns our way with Hunter behind him.
Some little brunette appears, stopping their progress, waving her hands and hips at him and a frown
crosses Jake’s face as he looks down at whatever she’s saying. He gently and firmly puts a hand on
her shoulder, pushing her aside without another glance, and he just keeps coming toward me.
Suddenly, I get what Leila meant. She wanted some sort of sign that Daniel was hers, not just weird
angry dating and sex. She wanted to see him show loving possession in subtle ways like Jake just did.
The girl was a test in Leila’s messed-up head, and he failed where Jake just succeeded.
Hunter needs to start making obvious shows of his love for her, be demonstrative, and assure her that
this is the real deal for him. I doubt that he’s had any chance of showing any form of softness while
Leila’s been in high maintenance feisty mode. He needs to be the guy he was when she was sixteen,
the gentle boy who made her first time beautiful, if he’s ever going to win her round.
Leila is the same insecure and terrified girl I was. She needs Daniel to cut through all her crap and see
it too.
He needs to romance her, rather than handle her; under
that crazy spirited exterior she’s still a girl shielding a
fragile heart.
When they approach, Jake swoops in and kisses me hard on the mouth, a hint of aggression telling me
the last half hour has probably been torture for him and now he’s here needing to expel all his tension. I
tilt my head back, straining my neck with the ferocity of his kiss and lose my breath at the sheer
passion in it.
“Steady on, Carrero.” Sarah giggles, slapping him on his huge muscular shoulder. “Let the lady
breathe. You might actually break her neck if you keep that up.” Jake throws her a non-apologetic smirk
then comes back to kiss me, a little gentler, while still cupping my face and saving my neck from injury.
Daniel is holding back behind Jake, looking around sheepishly. He seems tired and stressed and, need
I say, a lot heartbroken. He looks nothing like the Daniel Hunter of old, the little lost soul inside of him
on full view.
“Where is she?” He butts in, doing another eye sweep of the room. It’s obvious he’s on tenterhooks and
can’t seem to stand still. Jake stands and motions to the bar almost ignoring his question.
“We’re going to get drinks; we’ll be a couple minutes. You need top ups?” He strokes a hand down my
face, turning away when Sarah and I shake our heads.
“Bathroom.” I raise my eyebrows at Hunter as Jake pulls him away, part of him so sure she wouldn’t be
here, and he relaxes a little.
Bless him.
“Wait,” I say hurriedly. Jake halts and both men look my way. “I know you’re expecting fiery hell-cat and
her usual shitty attitude, Daniel, but she needs some tender handling. It’s all an act and maybe if you
try the gentle approach it might make a difference. She needs the guy who made her first time the best
time,” I raise a brow subtly, seeing the way his frown ripples across his face as he takes in what I’m
saying. Jake throws an arm around Daniel’s neck with a rather intrigued and mildly aggressive
expression …
Oops … a reaction to finding out about Hunter’s removing of Leila’s virginity I expect.
“In that case, seeing as I’m the ‘pussy touchy one’ that you’re nothing like, we should compare notes,
right?” Jake jibes Daniel’s own words back at him and pokes at his ribs with his free hand dragging him
off to the bar. I would love to be a fly on the wall in their next few minutes of conversation.
I watch the pair saunter to the bar; heads close as Jake obviously imparts some words of much-needed
wisdom or maybe drags Leilas first time truth out with hostility. They’re only just getting there when I
spy Leila appear across the room. She instantly spots the most attractive pair here, by a long shot, and
she loses every ounce of Leila confidence and spark. She fumbles with her bag and turns, retreating to
the ladies’ room as though her ass is on fire.
This is not going well.
I go to get up, but Sarah catches my arm sitting me back down, her eagle eyes having seen Leila too.
“Let her regroup and try again, she’s only just laid eyes on him and I’m guessing it threw her. Give her
time to do this on her own.” Sarah is always the wise one and I nod as we watch impatiently for any
sign of her return. I can’t help catching the way Daniel’s head tilts in the same direction and I know he’s
watching for her coming out, he didn’t see her the first time. His body language is emanating all kinds
of fear and tension. The boy is seriously desperate to see her, it’s so touching. If Leila can’t see how
much he loves her then she’s quite frankly a fool.
It feels like a long time of Sarah and I passing silent tense facial expressions before she nods toward
the distance. I turn to see Leila walking out with head held high, a look of pure defiance on her pretty
little face and the stride of a woman in complete bitch mode. She looks at us, locking onto her focus,
before marching our way on a mission. She turns as she gets to the DJ box swinging her hips sexily as
she makes her way toward him, leaning in and touching the DJ on the shoulder, whispering something
in his ear.
I catch Hunter out of the corner of my eye looking her way and he moves out. Jake’s hand on his chest
stops him, suddenly, and Jake leans in saying something in his ear. Close and serious and Daniel nods
without tearing his eyes from his prize.
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