Be Good A New Adult Romance (RE12)(25)

I could feel myself moving quickly into wasted territory but I felt helpless to stop it. I tried to sip the new drink Joey handed me but it tasted too good and was too smooth going down my throat.

Joey leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Wanna dance again?”

I nodded. I held the slightest hope that maybe some physical activity would sober me up a bit.

“Finish your drink first,” he ordered.

I nodded and drank what remained in the cup. Joey grabbed the empty from me and tossed it with his into the trash.

I could feel him grab my ass but my reflexes were slow and I only half-heartedly made an effort to shoo his hand away. He laughed. Then he leaned down and kissed my neck. My body responded to his touch and I squirmed a little.

“I love it when you wear your hair in a ponytail,” he sighed. “It shows off your sexy neck.”

Joey grabbed me and pulled me with him toward the dance floor. I was so drunk I actually felt boneless. Joey was now behind me. He placed his hands on my stomach and pulled me in close. I was so close there was no space between my back and his front. As we moved together to the music, I could feel his erection hard against me.

“God, Anna,” he whispered in my ear. “You’re so f*cking hot.”

My head was swimming with all kinds of crazy and only semi-rationale thoughts. I only planned on having one or two beers and going home alone. Now it seemed like I was fated to go home with Joey. Did I even want to be with Joey? I remembered promising Brett I would say no if I didn’t want to have sex with someone. But now, drunk, with Joey’s erection pressed against me, it didn’t seem like an option.

And there was a small voice deep inside telling me that I only wanted to be with Brett but he wasn’t there. He was hundreds of miles way. Or so I thought.

Until I felt a hand on my upper arm yank me from Joey’s clutches.

“What the f*ck, Man,” I heard Joey yell and before it even registered, I was standing behind Brett. He had placed himself between me and Joey.

I could see Joey shake his head. “Dude, not again.”

Brett waved a finger in Joey’s face. “Stay away from Anna.”

Joey shook his head. “This is not cool. You’d better keep your girlfriend on a tighter leash or something, man.”

“She’s not a dog,” Brett spat.

Joey threw up his hands. “Whatever, man. This is nuts. I’m outta here.” And without even a glance back, Joey disappeared into the crowd.

When Brett turned his attention to me, his eyes were burning with fury. He glared at me for a few moments without saying a word. It definitely sobered me up. “I’m taking you home.” He grabbed my upper arm and pulled me away.

I was sobering up enough to be truly humiliated as a small crowd formed to watch as Brett pulled me through the bar and out the door. He didn’t stop until we were at his car.

“You didn’t drive, did you?” he snapped.

I shook my head. One thing I never did was drink and drive. I was at least smart enough to rent an apartment within walking distance of dozens of bars and clubs.

“Get in,” he demanded as he unlocked the doors. There was that alpha male again. It seemed to only come out when he was royally pissed at me for getting drunk and being stupid.

I did as I was told and got into the passenger’s seat. He got into driver’s side. He started the car and took off without saying anything. He didn’t utter a sound for what seemed like an eternity but probably wasn’t more than a few minutes considering the close proximity of the bar to my home.

When he parked the car, he made no motion to get out. That made me wonder if he was just going to drop me off in the parking lot and leave. I could feel tears starting to stream down my face uncontrollably. When I made a motion to open the door, he said, “Where do you think you’re going?” His tone was so harsh it scared me.

I sat back in my seat and could feel myself cowering a bit.

Brett was looking straight ahead. I wanted him to look at me but was afraid to ask.

He drew in an angry breath. “How much did you have to drink?”

I opened my mouth but no words came out. My throat was suddenly tense. “A lot,” I finally managed to squeak out.

That’s when he turned to me and his eyes were still ablaze with anger. “How much is a lot.”

I tried to clear my throat. “Two beers and two rum and Cokes but the rum and Cokes were doubles.”

He looked at his watch. I wasn’t wearing one but I thought it was probably only around nine o’clock.

“Why?” he asked.

I wasn’t sure how he wanted me to respond. “Why what?” was the only thing I could think to say.

“Why did you go out? Why did you drink so much? Why were you with Joey?”

I shook my head. I really didn’t know. I looked down at the seat and picked at a small ball of lint on the seat cushion.

“Look at me,” Brett ordered. “What would have happened if I hadn’t stopped Joey when I did?”

I swallowed. I didn’t want to tell Brett the truth. That as much as I may have wanted to, I wouldn’t have been able to say no. I would most likely have hooked up with Joey.

“Don’t I mean anything to you?” Brett said now more hurt than angry. The pain in his voice and in his eyes sliced my heart and made me wish he was still angry instead.

Tear were now pouring down my face. “You’re the only one, who means anything to me,” I blubbered between uncontrollable sobs.

“Then why?” he said but it didn’t sound like a question. I didn’t have an answer anyway.

“I’m so sorry,” I sobbed. “It hurts me when you’re hurting and I hate myself for doing that to you.”

I could see his eyes were getting watery.

“Please forgive me,” I begged. I didn’t want to lose Brett but at that moment it felt inevitable. How could he ever want a girl as f*cked up as me?

I was surprised when he made a move to get out of the car. “Let’s get you inside.”

When we got out of the car, Brett grabbed my elbow and led me to my door. I could feel my heart start to race as he stood at the entry waiting for me to unlock the door. I wondered if he was just going to drop me off or if he’d stay. My heart sank when I realized he didn’t have a bag with him; that seemed to make the odds of him staying low.

As I opened the door, he followed me inside. Winter was actually pacing the floor when she turned to look at us. “You found her.”

That explained how Brett knew where to look for me. He had obviously stopped at my apartment to see me, probably surprise me, and Winter told him I was at the bar.

But what was she doing home? I thought she had gone away for the weekend. As if she was reading my mind, Winter explained, “The trip got delayed it’s raining in Sedona. We’re leaving first thing in the morning instead.” Winter’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of us. “I guess I’ll go to bed now.” Without waiting for us to respond, she darted into her room more quickly than I had ever seen her move.

Brett pulled me into my room and shut the door behind us. That’s when I noticed he had placed an overnight bag on my bed. My heart stopped racing just a little bit. There was a chance he was going to stay but he could also grab the bag and leave just as quickly, I reminded myself.

“I think you’d better get ready for bed,” he said. “Where are your pajamas?”

“I usually just sleep in a tee shirt and shorts.” I went over to my dresser and pulled out Brett’s Green Day tee shirt and sleep shorts.

As I attempted to pull off my clothes, I got a little tangled up in them. Brett stepped in and gave me a hand until my clothes were replaced with sleepwear. “Do you always wear my tee shirts to bed?”

“Usually,” I admitted. “It makes me feel like you’re with me and I’m not alone all the time.”

Brett took me into his arms and held me. “I’m right here, Anna. You’re not alone.”

I fought back the sobs that were lingering at the surface. He placed the softest of kisses on my forehead.

I attacked his lips with mine. I felt so needy and wanting. Brett returned the kiss with what felt like equal desire but then he stopped and held my shoulders. “I’m not going to sleep with you tonight, Anna. Not after you’ve been drinking.”

My heart sank. At that moment, I wanted to be with Brett more than I wanted to breath.

“I’m going to tuck you into bed and then I’m going to sleep on the couch.”

I heaved a sigh. “Don’t you trust me?”

He shook his head slowly as if to make his point clear. “I want you to be good.”

“I’m always good.”

Brett raised an eyebrow incredulous.

“I’m not?”

Brett placed a hand on my cheek. “There needs to be a little more consistency between who you are and what you do.”