“You’re Ryke Meadows,” she says with a nervous laugh.
“Yeah,” I tell her. “Cool necklace.” She wears a sapphire on a chain, shaped like a dolphin. She bites her lip to hide her full smile. I raise my brows at her, and she has to look away from me, too giddy. Daisy has never been like that around me. I thought she would be flustered by me when she was fifteen, but instead, she had no trouble holding a conversation. It always felt like we were meant to be friends.
“This is Ian,” Daisy introduces. “He’s a—”
“Ford model.” Ian extends his hand. I shake it, both of our grips firm. He’s slept with her. I can see it in his eyes. And if not that, they’ve fooled around. A territorial rage consumes me for a minute. I want to wrap my arm around Daisy, but we can’t exactly do that in public.
He nods to her. “I was just telling Daisy that we should go to a salsa club after this.”
She looks up at me. “And I was telling him that I’m rhythmically challenged. Lily is the good dancer.” Daisy is right. She’s not good at dancing, but that has never stopped her from doing it. And I fucking love that she doesn’t give a shit.
Ian laughs. “I don’t believe that at all.” His eyes graze over her hips, as though imagining them shaking side to side against his dick. Fuck you, you fucking fuck.
I glare at him, and he smiles as he sips his beer like Yeah, I’ve got the fucking girl. Be jealous, asshole.
“I’d try to salsa,” Christina says, raising her hand.
“See,” Ian says to Daisy, “you have to at least try like Christina. I’ll teach you.” Over my dead fucking body. He reaches out to wrap an arm around her shoulder, to bring her in for a fucking hug, and I step between them.
“Sorry,” I say, “you’re not teaching her how to grind on your fucking ass.”
Ian lets out a short laugh. “I don’t think she needs you to tell her what she can and cannot do. She’s a big girl.”
“Yeah,” I tell Ian. “She’s also my fucking girlfriend.” I don’t break his gaze, but I can feel Daisy’s smile fill her whole face beside me. She grabs my hand, restlessly bouncing up and down on her toes like she wants to kiss me but realizes she can’t. Even though I said the fucking words, it’s different than someone having photographic proof.
That evidence is enough to overturn our world.
Ian stares between us. “I thought you said you were on a break?” he asks Daisy.
I’m not that surprised she lied to him—before we were together—telling him that she had a boyfriend. She’s done more impulsive things than that.
“We got back together,” she declares.
Ian begins to smile again as he stares at me.
Don’t bring up your night with her, you fucker.
But he does. “Did she tell you that we hooked up during your break?”
“Do you want me to rip your head off?” I ask. “Because I’m close to breaking your fucking neck.”
Ian licks his lips again. “I’m just laying it out there. You deserve to know the truth. She even moaned when I stuck my finger in her asshole. Did you know she liked that?”
I fucking punch him, my knuckles socking his jaw hard. He knocks into the high-table, beer bottles shattering on the floor. He raises his hands in surrender really quickly.
“Whoa, whoa,” he stammers.
“I don’t know where you fucking come from,” I tell him. “But where I grew up, a guy would get more than a sucker-punch to the fucking face for what you’ve said to me.”
“I didn’t think you were seriously together,” Ian says, touching his reddened jaw like I’ve damaged his career.
My body is begging my mind to go and claim Daisy with more than just words. Fucking kiss her.
But people have whipped out their camera phones, recording our confrontation for the internet.
I can’t do a fucking thing. I can’t solidify this relationship in front of the whole fucking world. Not without huge consequences.
“Let’s go,” Daisy says, tugging me towards the door. “Christina, come on.”
“She wants to stay with me,” Ian speaks up. “Right, Christina?”
Daisy wraps her arm around Christina’s shoulder. “We’re partying together, sorry.”
“She has a voice,” he tells Daisy, waiting for Christina to make a decision.
She timidly points towards the door. “I’m going to stick with Daisy.” She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear, and Daisy squeezes her shoulder.