I hold up my glass and wait until everyone is ready. Then I toast, “I love each and every one of you. You guys are my best friends, well actually, Sadie’s my best friend and Sam’s my sister, but you boys are right up there. And Grant, my gorgeous boyfriend, I love you,” I slur. “Oh yeah, and Kailey, once you start fucking Trey, we’ll be the greatest of friends, too.”

I tip my head back and pour it down my throat. At that very moment, the drunkenness hits me. I sit with my head in my hand, leaning on the table. Water…I need water. I turn to my buddy, Brady. He always has water. Taking the bottle, I unscrew the top and it spins across the table before falling to the floor. I down the contents of the bottle and slam it on the table when I’m done. Suddenly, the room starts spinning and I can’t keep my eyes open. I eventually lose the battle to stay awake and I feel something hard against my forehead right before darkness fills my eyes.

Grant

Fuck. I knew it was going to happen, but when her head slams down on the table, I shake my head in disbelief. Trey breaks out in unabashed laughter. “Shit man, she was going strong for a while there,” he says. She was happy though, so I’m more than ecstatic to pick her up.

I stand up and look at the group that are all starting to get out of their chairs. “You guys don’t have to leave, but I’m gonna take her home,” I inform them. Only Dex and Sam sit back down, and everyone else decides they’re ready to leave. Pulling Jessa over my shoulder, I hold the bottom of her dress down tight with my arm, doing my damnedest to not reveal any part of her. Cocking an eyebrow at Dex, I ask, “Are you sure you want to stay?” He nods his head in response.

Although the other seats are now empty, Sam still remains in his lap and Dex’s hands rest on her thighs. “Yeah, I’m coming home tomorrow. I can just bring him back,” Sam mentions and Trey smirks.

Not caring what happens between them, I nod and say good-bye. It’s none of my business. Not to mention, they’re both good people, so whether they’re having fun or want something more, they deserve it. Trey clasps my shoulder once we get a few feet away from the table. “You do know Hulk packed an overnight bag?” he chuckles, grabbing Kailey’s hand.

We get outside where there’s still a line waiting to get in. Walking past everyone shivering and hugging themselves, I laugh at how many more guys are out here waiting than girls. I assume the girls already got in with no cover, while these schmucks stand out here in the cold to pay money to get in.

Kailey’s huddled under Trey’s arm for warmth and Sadie’s riding Brady’s back as we walk by the end of the line. A guy does a double take when he sees me and I wonder if I know him. Then I remember where I am and wonder how the hell would I know him if I don’t know anyone in Colorado? Continuing to walk away, I suddenly hear heavy footsteps behind me. I abruptly turn around and come face to face with the dark-haired guy. He stares intently at Jessa’s ass, so I swing to the side, obstructing his view.

“Can I help you with something?” I ask him and his eyes flicker to me.

“Is that Jessa Harrison?” he asks. The guy is shorter than me by a few inches and much thinner, and his jeans and button-down scream that he’s a rich boy. If his appearance doesn’t give him away, the five clones standing a couple steps behind him do.

“Who are you?” I ask, not about to reveal anything to him before finding out who he is. Feeling bodies closing in around me, I glance quickly left and right to see Trey and Brady on either side.

“Um…I used to know her.” He shifts uncomfortably and glances back to the group of guys behind him. I’m pretty sure I know who he is, but I’m waiting for him to have the balls to reveal his name to me.

“Really? You knew her when she went here?” I ask him. He’s really starting to annoy me the longer I see him staring at her.

“Um…yeah…we used to date. She’s pretty out of it. Did you just meet her?” he questions, and I suddenly realize that he thinks I’m taking her to have my way with her.

“No,” I deadpan and dread fills his eyes. Before I can stop myself, it slips out of my mouth. “Are you Jason?” Sadie gasps next to Brady and Trey’s body tenses next to me, his fists clenching at his sides.

The dark-haired guy stumbles back a few steps before he answers, “Yeah. Since you know my name, I’m assuming you didn’t just meet her.” He shakes his head, slowly moving back to his friends.

My eyes instantly search for a place to put Jessa. I can’t hand her to Brady or Trey. I might need their help if his friends decide to join in. I smile when I see a park bench by the curb. Placing her on the bench, Sadie and Kailey take a seat on either side of her, already knowing what’s going to happen. I don’t want to freak Sadie out because of her past, so I’m relieved when she softly tells me, “Kick his ass, Grant,” before I walk back toward Jason.

He’s already trying to leave, but I call him out. “Too pussy to actually stick up for yourself?” I shout and he stops in his tracks, not turning around. Three of his friends turn toward me and the other two continue walking away, shaking their heads.

“I’m not a pussy, I just don’t want to fight you,” he says, holding his hands up in the air.

“Should have just ignored us when we were walking by then,” I say with a smirk. “I wasn’t going to go looking for you, even though it took everything in me not to. But now that we’re here, I don’t think I can just walk away from this opportunity to kick your ass,” I calmly say to him before he finally takes a step toward me.

“I’m sorry, I know what I did was wrong.” He glances over to where Jessa is lying on the park bench with her head in Sadie’s lap.

“Don’t fucking look at her,” I growl. His eyes jolt back to mine. Brady and Trey keep their distance behind me for now, I’m sure closely observing his friends for any movement.

“Listen, I said I was sorry. Believe me, I wish I wouldn’t have done it. It was an asshole thing to do.” He keeps rambling, but all I want to do is shatter his jaw. I anxiously wait for the wrong words to cross his lips, so I can let my fist fly into his face. “I’ve tried to get a hold of her to apologize, but I didn’t have her number and her family isn’t exactly welcoming to me anymore.”

Jessa moans and I know this kid isn’t going to give me any reason to hit him, so I decide I just need to get her home. “Listen,” I say, throwing my hand through my hair. “You screwed her over and it almost broke her. Notice I said almost because she’s so much stronger than you will ever be. You’re in luck, buddy, and you want to know why? I’m so in love with that girl, I’m going to be nice tonight. Hell, I might even say, ‘thank you’. If you wouldn’t have done what you did, I might’ve never met the love of my life. I can tell by your face that you regret what you did, but knowing Jessa the way I do, I can bet that your biggest regret is you lost her. And after you lost her, I found her. She’s mine and there’s no changing that. So, you can go inside that club and find some girl to fuck tonight, trying to work her out of your system. In the meantime, I’ll take the girl we both love home and wrap her up in my arms. You agree?” I cock my eyebrow and he nods his head.

“Agreed. Could you tell her I’m sorry for what I did?” he asks.

“I can’t make that promise,” I honestly tell him and walk back over to the bench to pick Jessa up. I’m surprised to find her sitting up and staring over at me.

“Grant,” she whispers, and I pull her into me before looking at Jason, who notices that she’s now awake. “Where are we?” she asks before her gaze finds him.

“Just outside the bar baby, let’s go,” I say, but she struggles out of my arms, walking toward him. My heart thumps hard and I swallow deep with the anticipation of what she’s going to do.