Love Rewritten Read online

  CHAPTER 8

  THE BAR IS PACKED, BEING a Thursday night in a college town and all. We walk in, hand in hand, and I instantly spot Nina, running around like a chicken with her head cut off, flipping from table to table with a tray balanced on one hand. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a high pony tail and her cheeks are tinted pink, no doubt from the sweltering heat of this place and her constant movement.

  “I see my friends,” Brandon says, leaning down to speak closer to my ear so that I can hear him over the vociferous crowd.

  I look in the direction that he’s pointing and I spot a few large guys and two girls sitting at a huge booth in the back. I nod my head, but as my eyes scan around the brightly lit room, the walls lined with old brewing equipment, I spot Aubrey and Xander talking to a couple of girls by the bar.

  I tap on Brandon’s shoulder, stopping him before he drags me in that direction. He pauses, looks at me with questioning eyes before bending back down to me.

  “I see my brother. I’m just going to say a quick hello and then I’ll meet you at the table.”

  His eyes bounce all around, but I don’t think he spots them because they come back to me quickly. “You sure?”

  I nod. “Yup. I’ll just be a minute.”

  He smiles, brushing his hand against my cheek. “Do you want me to come with you?”

  I wave my hand in the air. “Nah, I’ll be right over.”

  He kisses my cheek and then saunters off, leaving me standing here. But I don’t waste time, I walk right over to Aubrey and Xander who are flirting with two girls, one blonde and one brunette. I nudge my shoulder into Aubrey’s backside making him jump forward, practically tripping over one of the girls.

  “What the . . .” He trails off when he turns and sees me.

  “What’s happening, studs?” I wink at Xander before smiling at Aubrey. Reaching up, I give him a big hug, just to mess with him.

  And it works. “Who’s this?” I hear the blonde girl ask with an irritated, snobbish tone.

  I look to Aubrey, feigning hurt. “You mean you didn’t tell her about me?”

  Aubrey rolls his eyes at me. “Charlotte, this is my sister, Abby.”

  “It’s Caroline, actually,” she snaps, putting her hands on her hips. I snort, trying to look away, but unable to because that’s just too damn funny.

  “Oh.” Aubrey tries to stifle his laugh, looking over to Xander who just shrugs, fighting a smirk of his own. “Well, it’s, uh,” Aubrey runs a hand through his hair, “loud in here.”

  “Whatever,” The girl whose name is Caroline and not Charlotte, hisses. “Come on, let’s go.” She grabs her friend’s arm and pulls her away without a second thought.

  Aubrey turns his angry eyes toward on me. I hold my hands up in surrender, losing the battle with my laughter. “I’m sorry. That’s my bad.”

  “What are you doing here, Abby? Where’s your date, or did he use you up already?”

  “Asshole.” I slap his arm, but not hard because I’m in a good mood. “He’s over there.” I point across the bar to Brandon, who is watching me and throws a wave, before gesturing with his hand that we should come and join him. “Come sit with us.” I look at both Aubrey and Xander. “Both of you,” I add.

  “Want to?” Aubrey asks, looking more tempted than I would have thought.

  Xander just shrugs, not having looked in my direction once. “What the hell.”

  “Lead the way, little sister.” I roll my eyes at him, but do as he says, taking him by the arm and navigating him through the throngs of tightly packed people until we reach the table. There are four large men sitting here, including Brandon. Two of them have brown hair, one’s darker than the other, and brown eyes to match each. The third has platinum blond hair with multitude of freckles and blue eyes.

  I know the girls from one of my classes last year. They’re sorority girls, and very nice, so I smile at them and offer a small wave.

  “Hi Abby,” Chrissy, one of the girls who has jet black hair and light golden brown eyes says. The other girl’s name I can’t remember, but she smiles and waves back at me.

  “Abby,” Brandon says, pulling me into the seat next to him and wrapping his arm around my shoulder possessively. “This is Taylor,” Brandon points to the guy with the darkest hair and the biggest frame, “Chris,” the blond guy, and, “Jake.” The other brunette.

  “Hi.” I wave again and they all give me a nod and a wave of their own. But before I can make introductions, Xander and Aubrey say their hellos to the guys like they know them already, doing the bro shake that guys do.

  “Do you want a drink?” Brandon leans down to ask, close to my ear. I smile, but it quickly fades as my eyes find their way across the table to where Aubrey and Xander are staring daggers into me.

  “Sure.” I nod, feeling a bit unsettled.

  “Cool, I’ll get that blonde waitress’s attention,” he says.

  “Good luck with that, bro. I’ve been trying for a while now and she hasn’t seen me,” Taylor says, a little put out.

  I smile knowingly, looking to Aubrey who is smiling now too. “That’s Nina, and I can get her attention,” I tell them with a wink, standing up. Putting two finger in my mouth, I let out a low whistle and sure enough, her head whips around at the sound, as does a few other people’s. She smiles excitedly and waves, holding up a finger to indicate that she needs a minute.

  “How’d you do that?” Chris asks.

  “I am a woman of many talents,” I tell him with a bow of my head before I sit back down.

  “So Abby, did I do good with helping my man here pick out the Thai place?” Jake asks with a smarmy grin and a punch in the arm to Brandon.

  “You did,” I laugh, but it gets cut off quickly when I see Xander’s face.

  He’s looking at me, actually looking at me, and even though his expression is completely impassive, like he’s simply listening to our conversation, his eyes are anything but. They’re devouring, boring into me with something dangerous and unspeakable. Then I get a smirk that makes my insides flip in all the best ways. I tilt my head to him, smirking back, hoping he’ll tell me why he looks so—

  “Hey biatch,” Nina interrupts my little stare down with Xander, drawing my eyes up and over to my best friend. “You look smoking hot,” she says, her eyes gliding up and down with an approving smile.

  “Thanks.” I stand up and hug her, trying to mask my blush in her shoulder. She gives me a devilish look when she pulls back.

  “You must be Brandon. Nice to meet you. I’m Nina, Abby’s bestie.” She brushes me aside, and steps right up to him, though he’s still seated in the booth. I laugh. I can’t help myself, because only Nina could get away with this.

  “You too, Nina. I’ve heard a lot about you,” Brandon says all manners with a smile that I think he delivers to all attractive girls.

  “Really?” She raises an eyebrow, looking over at me. “Well, it’s all true.” Brandon laughs. “What can I get y’all to drink?” she asks, getting back into her waitress role.

  “Two pitchers of Bud Light, please, doll,” Taylor says with a wink.

  “You got it, baby.” She winks back, always the flirt and I swear I see a blush on Taylor’s cheeks. Her eyes turn to me. “You want your usual?”

  I nod my head, leaning in to give her a quick peck on the cheek before I sit down.

  “What about you two dicks?” she asks Aubrey and Xander.

  “Your ass on my lap will suffice,” Aubrey says and I can’t help my groan as I scoot in closer to Brandon who reaches under the table, taking my hand again. I’ve never been much of a hand holder, but Brandon seems to do that a lot and I find I rather like it when he does it.

  “Oh, honey.” Nina shakes her head indulgently, her high ponytail swinging against her head. “We’ve discussed this. My ass is far too special to go near your slutty man-whore lap.” Her eyes turn to Xander. “You want your usual too?”

  He gives her a nod and a thanks and even
a smile. Xander has no problems with Nina, but she’s not his favorite either.

  “I’ll be back.” She throws Taylor another wink and then walks off.

  “Your friend is hot,” Taylor says, leaning across the large light wood table towards me. “Is she single?”

  I nod my head. “She is, but be warned, she eats men like candy.”

  He laughs, blushing again and I’m starting to get the impression that he’s a little shyer than he tries to come off. “I’m good with that as long as she lets me return the favor.” Or maybe he’s not.

  I hold up my hand in protest. “TMI Taylor, TMI.” He laughs, leaning back in his seat.

  “What’s your usual?” Brandon asks, running his fingers that are still wrapped in my hand across my bare knee.

  “Whiskey and ginger ale, if it’s a school night, which tonight is. Otherwise just a Jameson on the rocks.”

  His eyes widen as he leans back from me. “Seriously?”

  I nod. “Yup. I don’t drink beer.” His eyes widen further like what I’m saying is the most ridiculous thing ever. He turns his head and looks over at Chris quickly before turning back to me, something unspoken passes between them that I can’t figure out.

  “Huh,” is all he says as if this requires a lot of thought.

  “Actually,” Aubrey starts, leaning over, arms folded on the table in front of him, ready to do battle. “Abby is really into wine.” He tilts his head. “Or didn’t she tell you that?”

  I roll my eyes. Why does he always have to be so antagonistic to the boys I date? Just why?

  But Brandon laughs it off, not deterred in the slightest. “She didn’t mention it actually, but this was only the first date of many I hope, so I’m sure I’ll learn a lot more.” His hand squeezes my knee.

  “I doubt you’ll get that far,” Xander says, leaning back in his seat and crossing his muscular arms over his broad chest with easy confidence. “Neither of you have the best track record with making it past a few dates.” His eyes turn from Brandon’s to my cheek. “I know Abby drops them before daylight comes.” His tone is so casual, but his words bite right through me.

  I groan, dropping my head back against the tall hard wood surface of the booth. “Jesus. Will both of you ease up?”

  “What does he mean?” Chrissy asks, making eyes at Xander, which shouldn’t bother me, but it does. Only because it’s giving him the floor to criticize me in public further.

  I throw my hands up, completely exasperated with everything.

  “I’m going to the restroom.”

  I need distance.

  Brandon gives my knee another squeeze, before leaning in to kiss my cheek, sliding back to my ear. “He’s just jealous, Abby. Don’t let him get to you like this.” I want to roll my eyes at that because I know for a fact that Xander is not jealous when it comes to me.

  It’s more along the lines of disgustedly indifferent.

  “It’s fine. I’ll be right back.” I get up without another word, because it’s not fine. It’s just not. I don’t know what has happened to me since Tuesday at Xander’s old apartment, but I think I’ve finally hit my limit for his hurtful bullshit.

  I’m just done.

  I make my way through the hordes of drunk college kids to the back hallway where the restrooms are located. And, of course, there is a line for the ladies’ room. But it’s not terribly long so I position myself in it, leaning my head back against the wall and closing my eyes, so I can catch the breath that I didn’t realize I had been holding.

  Then I feel him. He’s not touching me, but I feel him all the same. Everywhere.

  “He’s not the brightest bulb, is he? I’d have expected better from you, but then again, maybe not.” Xander’s harsh voice interrupts my quiet and I cannot figure out why he followed me here just to continue with the insults.

  I open my eyes, looking up at the ceiling for a moment before lowering my head, pinning him with my cold stare. Daring him to look anywhere else. Before I can even think about it, I grab his shirt, clenching the soft fabric inside my fits and dragging him down the hall, past the bathrooms and out the back door that closes behind us with a loud bang.

  The alley in the back of the bar is well lit, but dirty. Thankfully the dumpster a few feet away is empty. My boots scrape along the ground as I move, my breaths puffing out as white vapor. I shove him with everything I’ve got against the door, but it’s not much with his large frame so he doesn’t hit the metal as hard as I’d hoped.

  “I’m so fucking sick of your shit,” I yell in his face, slamming my hands against his chest, hard. His body bounces against the door, but the impact doesn’t alter his hard expression. “You say you don’t care enough about me to hate me, then prove it, Xander. You are my brother’s best friend and now my roommate. You could show me a modicum of respect. If nothing else, enough to leave me alone and stop saying such horrible, hurtful things.” I feel a hot angry tear start to roll down my cheek and I reach up, hastily brushing it away. He doesn’t deserve my tears and I’m pissed at myself for giving him them. “Stop trying to break me.”

  I take a deep breath, calming myself down. His dark blue eyes are swimming with something I can’t figure out. I can never figure out his looks. I shake my head in total defeat.

  He just stands there, silently watching me.

  “Why did you follow me to the bathroom?”

  Nothing. No response.

  I shove his hard chest again, but with very little force as I’m just about wiped out.

  “Why do you make it your personal mission to hurt me as only you can? Just . . . why?” I shake my head, utterly deflated, taking a step back from him and spinning around. My hands cross over my stomach as I lower my chin to my chest, breathing in deeply.

  “Abby?” Xander’s soft voice cuts through the quiet darkness, but I can’t acknowledge him right now. I can’t hear anything else that he has to say to me. I feel like I’m bleeding out and he’s the last person I want to witness it. “I don’t know why I followed you. Maybe it’s because I can’t stay away.”

  His hands find my waist and instantly I begin to shake.

  He feels it.

  I know he does, because suddenly his chest is pressed firmly against my back, as his thumbs brush up and down along my hip. A powerful shudder wracks through my body. His hands grip my waist tighter as he drops his forehead into the crook of my neck, his lips inadvertently rest against my skin, hot and wet.

  And I moan. I can’t help it. It just slips out.

  He growls against me, stepping closer into my body, flush against my back.

  What the hell is happening?

  His nose rakes up towards my ear as he releases a contented sigh, and I want him to stop as much as I don’t want him to ever stop.

  “Abby?” he tries again, more of a pleading tone to his voice, similar to earlier tonight, but I shake my head holding up my hand to stop him. This, whatever this is, cannot happen here.

  Not out here.

  Not after his words cut me to the quick.

  One minute he hates me. The next he’s callous and detached. Then he’s back to hating me.

  And now?

  Now I don’t know what he is.

  “I can’t take anymore,” I whisper, my lower lip trembling as I try to hold in my tears. I don’t know whether to turn around and kiss him or punch him. I know what I want to do, but I won’t ever do it. I’m here with Brandon and this is all sorts of wrong on so many levels that I can hardly make sense of all of them.

  “Abby, I—”

  “Please.”

  But I don’t know what I’m begging for as a small sob rattles through me.

  He wraps his arms around me, engulfing me in his embrace and I start to lose it. “I’m sorry,” he says. “It was never supposed to be like this with us. I’m so goddamn sorry, sweetheart.” He grips me once more before releasing me completely. I feel his loss instantly. “I’ll leave you alone like I said I would. I’ll be nice. I promise
.”

  And then I hear the metal door crashing as it shuts behind him, leaving me standing out here alone in the cold dark night.

  It takes me five full minutes to make it back inside, but when I do, Xander is gone. Aubrey is sitting in the booth, talking to the guys and sipping his drink, which I know to

  also be a whiskey and ginger ale. Yes, we like the same drink. Don’t judge.

  Brandon stands when I arrive, concern wrinkling his eyes at the corners. “You okay?” His hand reaches out for me and I willingly give it to him, letting him pull me into the booth.

  “I’m good. Sorry I was gone so long.” He shakes his head, dismissing my apology. I reach out, picking up my tall glass off the table and taking a sip of my drink, enjoying the smoky sweetness.

  “Are you ready to go?” Brandon asks softly, leaning into me.

  I take another pull of my drink, before turning to look at him and nodding my head. “Let’s go.”

  “I can take her home,” Aubrey offers. “I’m heading there now anyway.”

  Brandon shakes his head. “Nah man, I’ll take her.”

  Aubrey throws his hands up in surrender for once. “I’ll see you at home,” he says with a meaning that no one at the table misses. I nod, because he will.

  We say our goodbyes to everyone and walk hand in hand out to his car. I’m tempted to apologize for Xander and Aubrey’s behavior, but I don’t. I’m sure tonight wasn’t the first time he’s caught shit over a girl and it’s not the worst thing in the world for him to know that Aubrey is protective over me.

  “Are you busy Saturday night?” he asks as we pull up in front of my building. Pressing the ignition button, he shuts off the car before stepping out and coming around to get me, leaving his question hanging in the car behind him.

  He takes my hand, helping me down and holds me close to his side as we walk into my building. “No. I’m around.”

  He smiles, leaning down and brushing his lips on the top of my head. “We’re having a party at my house after our game. I’d really like you to come.” I look up at him as I press the button for the elevator.

  “Okay.” I relent even though I hate going to parties. But I assume he’ll keep an eye on me. Watch out for me.