“That’s the question of the hour, isn’t it?” he says dryly.
“I don’t get you!” I say, frustrated. I head for the dance floor and stay there for a few more songs. When I return to the bar, I walk up to Reid and say, “I need another drink. Want one?”
Reid is about to reply when he looks towards the entrance. I lean to the right to see what he’s looking at, gaping when I see it’s my father. I flop down on the bar stool. My father is kissing a woman. Or maybe I should say a girl, because she looks no more than twenty five. I grimace, turning away from him, and ask Ryan for another shot.
Ryan grins and pours me two. What a legend. I down one shot, frowning when Reid takes the other away from me.
“I’m cutting her off, Ryan,” he tells his brother. Ryan gives me a sympathetic glance, leaning over and patting me on the head.
“Ry, stay with her here for a sec,” he says, walking off towards Jack. He says something to him, and then my dad glances towards me, looking surprised to see me here. He says something to his girl and she nods slightly, sending a glare my way before walking to a table filled with girls. I look away, and concentrate on Ryan instead.
“How was your second go?” I blurt out.
He chuckles. “Better than the first.”
“Really?” I ask, a vision of his sexy ass coming to mind. I wonder if Reid’s looks the same. No, probably sexier.
Ryan bursts out laughing. “What were you just thinking about?”
“Nothing,” I say quickly. “When do I start work?”
“You can come in tomorrow, alright. We actually do need someone. As you can see it’s just Reid and me here tonight. We have another guy who works here, but today’s his off day,” he explains.
“Interesting,” I muse. Ryan laughs, putting his arm around me and pulling me close.
“Jack’s coming over,” he says. I notice a lock of his hair out of place, so I lift my hand up and fix it.
“Good for him,” I say dryly.
“Hey, don’t be judgemental,” he says softly. Is that what I was being?
“Summer, I didn’t expect to see you here,” my dad says, coming and standing next to me.
“Well, here I am,” I say in a fake cheerful tone.
“Nice to see you again, sweetheart.” He sounds like he really means it.
“Where did Reid go?” I ask him, looking around.
“Why?” His eyes suddenly turn hard.
“Cos he’s taking me home,” I say, tilting my head. Why the questions?
“I can take you home,” he offers.
“No, thanks,” I politely decline, looking around for Reid, desperate to get away from the man in front of me. When I see him in a heated argument with a petite girl with short blonde hair, I change my mind. I wait until my dad is busy looking at the girl he came in with, then I walk outside and call a cab, which luckily arrives a few minutes later. I almost fall asleep on the drive home, but manage to stay awake. I pay the cab driver, and hop out, walking quickly to my front door. I unlock the door, which takes a few tries, and lock it behind me as soon as I enter. I undress and walk to my room, not caring right now where my clothes land. Tying my hair out of my face, I get up on my knees on my bed, and face plant into the mattress. Sighing in contentment, I finally let myself fall asleep.
Chapter Five
Summer
I flop over onto my stomach, and groan. I can hear someone banging on the door. Why? Why me? My throat is parched and my eyes won’t open. I put the pillow over my head to block out the banging, but it doesn’t stop. I will myself out of bed, throwing on an oversized T shirt, and tripping over my handbag on the way to the front door. I look through the peep hole, only to see Reid standing there. Unlocking the door, I pull it open and come face to face with an extremely pissed off alpha male.
“What?” I ask grumpily, not waiting for his answer as I turn to head back to bed. Surely he has a key? He’s over here all the damn time.
“Where the f**k did you go last night?” he booms. I wince as my head throbs.
“I caught a cab home,” I say, rubbing my eyes.
“You caught a…” he trails off, laughing humourlessly. “Next time tell someone where you're f**king going so we don’t have to spend the night worried about you,” he growls, walking to the fridge and helping himself to some orange juice.
“Why didn’t you just come here to see if I was home?” I ask.
“Of course I f**king did that! No one answered the door and there were no lights on,” he practically growls at me, and if looks could kill I would surely be dead right now.
“Can you please yell at me later? I’m hung over and I have the worst headache,” I sulk. His expression softens a little at what I assume is my pathetic appearance.
“Go to bed,” he says. I don’t need to be told twice. I’m warm under the covers when he walks into the room holding a drink, and two pain killers.
“Thank you,” I tell him gratefully, swallowing the tablets with some orange juice. I’m surprised at his thoughtfulness.
I yawn and offer him a smile. “Is Xander still out?”
“Yup,” he says, popping the p.
I frown. “I should call him.”
“You should let your brother be,” he says flippantly, sitting down on my bed.
“Where’s the fun in that?” I say, my lips curving.
“I almost got into it with Jack last night.” He's staring at my stuffed unicorn on my shelf, not looking at me.