Page 51 of The Absence of You
Bristling, I wonder if he did it solely for my benefit or out of habit. Not that it makes any difference because whatever the reason, it triggers the familiar pang of jealousy I’d first felt all those years ago outside Lolly’s ice cream parlour. He’s made it abundantly clear this week that we don’t have a future, but I doubt I’ll ever stop feeling possessive about him. Callie must have picked up on my sombre mood while I was lost in my thoughts. Placing her hand over mine, she looks at me sympathetically.
“Want to go to another bar?” Resignedly, I nod in agreement, deciding it’s time to stop torturing myself. What the hell was I thinking convincing Callie to stay here?
We head back down the stairs and pass Grayson and the others on our way to the exit.
Charlotte smiles smugly at me and stands up, draping herself over Grayson. She wraps her arms around his waist and reaches up to whisper something in his ear, the whole time her eyes stare into mine. He reaches behind her and rests his hands on her lower back.
“Do you know what Callie? Let’s have another dance.” Despite my earlier resolve to stop torturing myself, there is no fucking way I’m letting Charlotte and Grayson see how much they are getting to me. I throw my jacket onto the seat in the next booth to theirs, and I grab Callie’s hand. She must be getting whiplash from my mood changes, but still, she meets my defiant smile, and it’s like she can read my mind as she follows me to the dance floor to resume our dancing. Refusing to look back and see if Charlotte is still watching me, I try to lose myself in the music again like we had earlier that night.
After a couple of songs, two guys join us. They’re good-looking, maybe a couple of years older than us, and they can both move. We dance as a group for a few more songs before we eventually start to tire and gravitate towards the bar.
“I’m Ryan and this is Jackson.” The taller of the two guys smiles at me and gestures towards his friend. Ryan has cropped, dark hair and dark brown eyes. He’s cute, but best of all, he looks nothing like Grayson.
“I’m Dahlia and this is Callie.” Jackson only has eyes for Callie, and she looks equally enamoured. Ryan moves a bit closer to me. “You look thirsty. Can we buy you a drink?” His wide smile revealing a cute dimple in his left cheek. I don’t miss the innuendo as he cocks his head, running his eyes down my body, making it pretty obvious he likes what he sees. I really hadn’t come out this evening intending on making a connection with anyone, but it feels good to be appreciated like this, to be the centre of someone’s attention. This guy has probably had as much to drink as I have, and if I wasn’t here, I’m one hundred percent certain he’d be turning that charm on some other girl. Still, I can’t see any harm in us both using each other to enjoy ourselves tonight, so seeing Callie now chatting with Jackson, I nod at Ryan,
“A drink would be nice, thank you” I bite down on my lip, feeling a bit nervous suddenly. I’m not used to picking up random guys in a bar. My doubt is quickly dispelled when I spot one of Callie’s bodyguards over her shoulder. I’d forgotten about them watching her. I guess this bar is as safe a place as anywhere for us to dance with some random guys.
Chapter Forty-Two
DAHLIA
“They’re cute!” Callie giggles as we wash our hands. I like seeing Callie so carefree, her usually perfectly sleek black shoulder length hair looking a bit dishevelled for once. For an hour or so, I’d forgotten about Grayson. I was just enjoying the moment. Maybe this is what we both need. To meet a couple of guys with no complicated history, just some simple fun.
We both dry our hands and head out of the toilets. Ryan and Jackson are back from the bar and seated at the table where I’d thrown my coat earlier, so we head over. The only thing that dampens my mood is remembering the table is next to Grayson’s. Ignoring the stares from their table, Callie and I walked confidently over to Ryan and Jackson. They move further into the booth, allowing Callie and I to slide in either side of them.
“Hope strawberry daiquiris are okay?” Jackson asks.
“Perfect, thank you,” Callie replies. Just as I’m about to take a sip of the cocktail in front me, the drink is knocked out of my hand, the contents splashing all over the table and all over me. Next thing, a huge body reaches over me and grabs Ryan by his collar.
“Fuck, Grayson, what are you doing?” I screech, jumping out of my seat. My eyes dart to Callie who looks just as shocked as me. Grayson yanks Ryan from the booth just as Callie’s bodyguards come rushing over. One of them pushes Callie behind him as the other tries and fails to pull Grayson off Ryan. Grayson has him pinned to the table; his fist drawn back.
“This fucker just spiked your drinks. Yours and Callie’s,” he seethes. Another of Callie’s bodyguards comes over and between the two of them, they manage to get Grayson to reluctantly release Ryan, leaving him straightening his shirt.
Ryan raises his hands in defence, “Fuck man, you’re way out of line. We were just having a few drinks with these ladies.” Ryan is outwardly calm, but I don’t miss the contempt he’s directing at Grayson. The bodyguards look between them, seemingly unsure of who to believe until Grayson demands Ryan is searched.
“Empty your fucking pockets then. If you’ve nothing to hide you won’t mind showing us.”
“Fuck you.” Ryan spits out and next thing, one of the bodyguards grabs hold of him and the other grabs Jackson and they’re both hauled out of the club.
“Someone ought to call the police.” Asher drawls. I look to the next booth where despite the commotion, Grayson’s friend is still sitting. There is a look of boredom on his face as he examines his nails.
“There’s no need. Matteo and Vincent will take care of them.” Callie’s casual declaration has Asher’s attention. He cocks his head,
“Matteo and Vincent? Those suits are your daddy’s henchmen?”
“Something like that.”
“Well princess, they weren’t taking care of anything last time I looked. You might want to ask daddy to get some new security. If it weren’t for my man Grayson, you and new girl would both be getting raped in a back alley at some point this evening.”
“Fuck you, Pennington.” Callie is giving Asher daggers, but it’s entirely wasted as he hasn’t bothered turning around during their entire exchange.
I pull Callie to my side, and now everything has calmed down I realise we are both trembling with shock. Asher’s words were crude but he’s right. Those guys intended on drugging us, and Callie’s security detail had missed it. We owe Grayson some gratitude, but now is not the time. Charlotte has her hands on his chest, seemingly trying to talk him down, and I’m not going through her to do it.
One of the bartenders leaves his station and approaches Callie and me,
“Miss Messina, the manager said to take your friend in the back and use the staff bathroom to get yourselves cleaned up.” I look down at my dress, which is now covered in a sticky mess of sugary cocktail. Callie thanks the bartender, and we head to the back of the bar.
We walk down the short corridor until we get to a small staff room. There’s a locker area with a kitchenette and a door off it leading to the bathroom. Callie insists I use it first as I appear to have gotten the worst of the spilled drink. She hands me a towel and a large t-shirt with the bar logo on and tells me she’ll go and see if any of the staff have some leggings I can borrow.
