Tamed (Torn #5)(29)

With that, Jade slowly started into the song, and Adam and Eric followed closely behind. As Drake started singing, I watched Chloe’s whole body tense. It was almost too much to watch. I glanced up at Adam to see him watching me. I swallowed roughly and forced my eyes away from his. I didn’t want to think about him at the moment. I wasn’t sure why, but I just didn’t.

Drake started singing, and I froze as I listened to the lyrics.

I wasn’t sure what it was,

What you did to me,

I felt myself change.

Something shifted when I looked into your eyes,

Engulfing me in flames,

Burning me to the core,

But it wasn’t meant to be.

You see, you and I,

We’re a whirlwind,

Destroying everything in our path.

But isn’t that what love does?

It makes us weak, far from free.

I gave you everything, and you turned it back on me.

You turned it back on me.

He whispered the last line. Before his voice died, Chloe was running through the crowd, pushing people as she went. I jumped up and chased her through the bar. By the time I shoved my way through the crowd to the exit, she was already gone. I made it outside just in time to see her car tearing out of the parking lot.

“Son of a bitch!” I shouted as her car disappeared.

I jumped when Drake appeared next to me.

“Where is she?” he demanded.

“Gone.”

“Son of a bitch!” he swore.

“That’s what I said.” I hesitated before speaking again. I’d never had one-on-one time with Drake, and I wasn’t sure whether I’d be helping or hurting with my next words. “She loves you. If you love her, go find her.”

He looked at me, and I saw actual tears in his eyes. He was hurting more than I could have ever imagined.

“I love her, too. No matter how hard I fight it, I can’t. She has me by the balls, and she doesn’t even know it.”

I laughed. He and Adam were more alike than I’d realized. “Then, go after her.”

He looked at me for a moment longer before sprinting across the lot to where his car was parked. I watched as he tore out of the parking lot.

“What are you doing?” Adam asked from behind me.

I turned to see him standing only a foot away. “What do you mean?”

“I heard what you said to him. I thought you didn’t want them together.”

“They love each other, and they’re both miserable apart.”

“So?” he asked as he stepped closer.

“So, I want her to be happy. Logan wants her to be happy. I figured I’d give Drake a push. It’s time someone gets a happily ever after.”

“Love isn’t a happily ever after,” he said after a moment of silence. “It’s a death sentence.”

I shrugged. “It depends on how you look at it. Some people, like them, need it. Some people, like me…well, I’m better off without it.”

He stared at me with the strangest look on his face. Finally, he closed his eyes briefly before opening them again. He stepped closer and threw his arm over my shoulder. “Come back to my apartment. Let’s see if we can find a few temporary happily ever afters,” he said with a devious grin on his face.

“My favorite kind.”





Three Months Later—May

Morgantown, West Virginia

“Thanks for agreeing to have lunch with me,” Chloe said as we sat down at a local restaurant.

“I’m glad you called. I was in the middle of packing. I was desperately hoping for an excuse to take a break.” I looked across the table at her.

“Me, too,” Logan added grumpily. He seemed about as excited as I was about packing.

Who would have thought I’d add so many clothes to my wardrobe in less than a year?

Our freshman year of college was officially over. I would be lying if I said I was sad. I was glad to have it behind us. With all the drama between Logan and Chloe, it had been one of the worst years ever. Even after three months of semi-normalcy, things were still tense from time to time.

Drake and Chloe had ended up together by the end of the night when I’d forced her to come to the bar. She’d changed almost instantly. Gone was the shell of the girl she’d been while they were apart. In her place was a woman who smiled, a woman who laughed. While I was glad that she was back to normal, I still worried about Logan.

He’d told both of us that he was happy for her, but I could see the way he’d look at her when he thought no one was paying attention. I’d almost called him out on it more than once, but I couldn’t bring myself to burst the tiny bubble of happiness surrounding our friendship.

Adam and I were still…friends. Absolutely nothing had changed between us. I’d also never witnessed him taking another woman home. I’d asked him once or twice if he was, but he always evaded answering me. I had no idea what to think about that. While it pleased me that I seemed to be enough for him, I also worried that I’d grow soft toward him and maybe even open up my heart. I almost wished that he still acted the way he used to. It would make it easier for me to keep my heart and my vagina in their rightful places.

“I need to talk to you guys about something,” Chloe said as she looked anywhere but at us.