Taming Alec(31)

Drake glared right back at me. “Yeah, I did f*ck her twice because once just wasn’t enough for me, and I’d do it again if I could.”

I tried to lunge for him, but Adam was prepared this time, and he held tight.

“All right, guys, both of you outside now,” Adam growled as he held me back.

He marched me offstage and across the bar to the door. Eric followed closely behind, still holding on to Drake. With their arms wrapped around each other, Jade and Chloe followed behind them at a distance.

When I stepped out into the cool night air, I breathed deeply, trying to control my rage. How did my life come to this?

Chloe was everything to me, and she’d betrayed me. She might as well have stuck a knife in me. It wouldn’t have hurt as bad as this.

Once we were far enough away from the bar doors, Eric and Adam released Drake and me, and they stepped back.

“All right, you want to kick the shit out of each other, be my guest. We’re not going to stop you, but you guys need to get your shit together. Fighting over a girl is f*cking ridiculous, and you know it. So, do what you want. Just get it out and over with before our drums suffer anymore,” Eric growled.

He and Adam made their way over to where Jade and Chloe were standing.

Drake and I faced each other, both of us glaring at the other. We glanced down when Chloe stepped forward to stand between us.

“Listen to me, both of you. This is so stupid, like Eric said. This is all my fault, and the two of you beating the shit out of each other isn’t going to fix anything. I f*cked up, not you two. So, if you want to take your anger out on someone, take it out on me. I ruined everything.” Tears ran down her face as she looked at both of us. “You both mean so much to me, and I will never forgive myself for what I have done to you.”

She quickly turned away from us and headed across the parking lot to her car before either of us could say anything. We watched in silence as she pulled out of the lot and disappeared around the corner. Once she was out of sight, I turned my attention back to Drake.

“You destroyed everything!” I shouted at him.

“Fuck this. I’m going back inside. As much fun as it would be to watch you two idiots beat the shit out of each other, it’s cold out here,” Adam muttered.

He turned and walked back to the bar. Eric and Jade watched us for a second before turning and following him. I didn’t miss the pity in Jade’s eyes, but I ignored it. I didn’t want anyone to feel pity for me.

“You think I don’t know that, *?” Drake said as he glared at me. “I know this is my fault.”

“Then, why did you do it?” I shouted.

“Because I love her!” he shouted back.

That stopped me in my tracks. Of all the responses I’d expected, that hadn’t been one of them. Drake used women. He didn’t love them.

“You what?” I asked incredulously.

“I love her. I’ve tried to ignore it—believe me, I’ve tried—but I can’t. I love her, and I don’t know what the f*ck to do about it.”

“You’re incapable of love, Drake. I’ve watched you screw every woman in sight for months!”

“I haven’t touched another woman since I figured out how I felt about Chloe. I wouldn’t do that to her.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Look, I think we need to talk and not in the middle of a parking lot. My house is right around the corner. Let’s go there and figure shit out, okay?”

I stared at him, debating on whether to go with him or punch him again. Finally, I decided that talking was the only thing that would solve this whole mess even if punching him would make me feel better. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Neither of us said a word as we walked to his house. He hadn’t been kidding when he said he lived right around the corner. I waited impatiently as he unlocked his front door, and then we walked inside. Once he flipped on the lights, we stepped into the living room and sat down across from each other.

“So, now what?” I finally asked after several minutes of silence.

“I don’t f*cking know. I do know that I want Chloe more than anything else in this world,” he said as he stared at me.

“Yeah, well, so do I. I’ve loved her since the moment I laid eyes on her. It’s taken me four years to get up the nerve to tell her how I feel, and then you come along and sweep her off her feet in a few months.”

“I didn’t mean for it to go down like this. I’m not a complete *. I just…I can’t control myself around her.”

“I’ve noticed,” I growled as I clenched my hands into fists. “If I had known she was sleeping with you and me at the same time, I would have—”

“You would have what? Left her? Told her you hated her? Called her a slut?” he asked.

“I don’t know what I would have done, okay? I’ve spent most of my teenage years in love with her. I don’t know what to do.”

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “This is so f*cked-up! I actually care about a girl, and she’s with someone else.”

“We have to let her choose. That’s all we can do,” I said.

He looked up at me and smirked. “And the loser does what? Walks away and pretends that none of this happened?”

“I guess so. What other choice do we have?”