Page 254 of Hot Mess
“Um, sure. Be right back—!” she called over to Taylor or whoever, and I yanked her through the crowd. Over to the side of the stage, where I saw Snake hanging with one of his bouncers.
“Hey, man.” I nodded toward the door behind them, the one that led backstage. “Can we have a minute?”
Snake opened the door for us as he looked Danica over. “Take your time, brother.”
“Thanks.” I tugged Danica through the door, telling her, “That’s Snake. Snake, this is Danica.”
“Hi,” she said.
“Have fun,” Snake said, shutting the door behind us.
I stopped in the dark hall, dragging a hand through my hair and taking a breath as I turned to face her. No one was around. There was no live band playing tonight, which meant the only people who’d use this hall would be staff or VIPs who’d cut through to the strip club below.
Or pissed-off rock stars who needed a moment alone to ream a girl out. Though Snake probably assumed I had a more enjoyable goal when I dragged Danica back here.
So did she, no doubt. But as she looked me over, she seemed to read my vibe for what it was. “Are you okay…?”
“I’m fucking great.”
“You’re not.” She took a step closer to study my face in the shadows. “Should I be worried…?”
“Nope,” I said. “Nothing to worry about. In case you haven’t figured it out, though, Doucheface is after you.”
“Who?”
“Your douchy ex. Fucking Carter.”
Understanding seemed to dawn on her face, slowly. She still looked flushed and pretty drunk, though.
“Whatever else he tells you, don’t believe it.”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, Ash,” she said slowly, “but Carter and I are just friends.”
Nope. No way was I buying that.
“Maybe that’s how it is for you,” I said.
“You really don’t need to be jealous of him,” she said gently. And it fucking irritated me.
Was I jealous?
Yup.
Jealous. Threatened. Insecure.
“It’s cool that you’re not the jealous type,” I told her. “I like that about you. But I am.”
“You’ve been friends with Summer for a long time,” she pointed out, clearly getting a little frustrated. “It’s not like I’m not jealous of that at all, Ashley. I’m not blind. She’s super-sexy.”
“Summer’s not trying to get in my pants,” I told her. “I’m telling you, don’t trust him.”
“Ashley… He’s still in my life, no matter what you think of him. We’re not all that close, to be honest. I don’t particularly trust him. But… he has a relationship with my family. And I’m not gonna tell him I won’t ever speak to him again or something, just because you’re jealous. Especially when there’s nothing to be jealous of.”
Okay. Nope. I did not like that.
Would Amber pull this shit with Dylan?
Fuck, no.
