Young Love (Bloomfield #4) (21 page)

My feet were moving before I realized it, eating up the space between us. If there were people in my way, I didn’t even notice, my attention fully on her. Just as I drew close, her gaze met mine over the other guy’s shoulder.

They widened, a mixture of emotions flashing through them one by one. First relief, then hurt and doubt, and finally confusion. She must have seen the anger in my own. The guy noticed her distraction, and turned to see my approach as well, his mouth hardening, along with his entire body as he met my glare with his own challengingly.

Oh, so this little shit thought he would get between me and
my
woman? I didn’t fucking think so. He looked just as pissed as I was, and that only made me angrier.

I stopped close to them, my chest rising and falling quickly as I fought to control my temper.

“Grey?” Honor said softly, her voice filled with confusion. Just the sound of it made the last three days feel like years. I’d missed hearing her voice. What the hell had I been thinking this week?

I’d make it up to her, but first I needed to send a clear message to the frat boy who was staring me down. We faced off, chest to chest, neither one of us speaking as our eyes said it all. I told him to fuck off just as he said the same.

“Grey?” Honor said again, her soft hand gripping my forearm.

“You want to tell me what the hell is going on here?” I said, never looking away from him.

“What?” I heard her say. “Grey, what are you doing? What’s the matter with you?”

A slow smirk spread across the fucker’s face.

“I’ll tell you what’s going on here,” he said, his eyes lighting up. “I was just here keeping my girl Honor company since her asshole
boyfriend
has been ignoring her for
days
. Because, you see, some of us know how to treat a beautiful girl like her right, unlike others.”

I took a threatening step closer. “She isn’t your fucking girl,” I bit out.

He raised a brow. “Oh yeah? Is she yours? Because you sure haven’t been acting like it.”

Shame mixed with the anger rushed through me.

“Grey would you cut it out please?” Honor said, her voice filled with embarrassment. She pushed at my chest, inserting herself between us.

Finally I looked down at her.

“What are you doing here with him?” I asked, harsher than I’d intended. I couldn’t seem to keep my anger in check.

Her eyes narrowed as her cheeks flushed. “I’m allowed to come out with friends, Grey,” she said, her eyes quickly sweeping through the room around us. If there were people watching us, I didn’t notice, nor did I care.

“You two look a little cozier than just friends,” I said.

Her head snapped back as though I’d hit her.

She opened and shut her mouth a couple of times, before I saw her own anger settle in, her body tensing. “How dare you accuse me of something like that,” she said, her voice shaking slightly. “You don’t answer my calls or see me all week, and now suddenly you’re the jealous boyfriend again? I don’t think so, Grey. I’m not some toy to be played with. I’m a grown woman who can do what I want. And I won’t stand for being treated like some yo-yo as you decide whatever the fuck it is you’re doing. If you think I’m just going to wait around for you, you’re sorely mistaken.”

A foul taste filled my mouth. I ground my teeth together, wanting to both curse myself and grab her, pulling her against me and kissing the hell out of her all at the same time. The spark in her eyes was like nothing I’d ever seen before, and it made me want her more than I ever had. I
liked
that she wasn’t putting up with my shit, and that she was calling me out for it.

I’d been such an idiot, and here she was telling me to my face. As much as I wanted to kick myself and fall to my knees begging for her forgiveness, I also wanted to laugh at how perfectly she was telling me off.

Before I could reply, I watched as the guy wrapped an arm around her waist, his hand gripping her waist possessively.

“That’s right, Honor. You don’t need to stand for his bullshit,” he said.

My anger rose to a boiling point, and before I could stop myself I swung toward him, my fist connecting with his nose with a sickening crunch. Honor’s gasp barely registered as I went to hit him again. Before I could, two sets of hands gripped my arms, pulling me back.

“That’s enough, Grey,” I heard Kyle say.

I turned to see him holding one arm, and Colt holding the other. My eyes caught Rannon, Cat, and Chloe all watching too, the girls looking at me with wide, scared eyes, and Rannon with a slightly amused smirk.

Two new, smaller, hands suddenly pushed at my chest, bringing my attention back around.

“I can’t believe you just did that!” Honor shouted, shoving me again. I didn’t go anywhere since the two guys were still holding me. I shook them off, giving Kyle a look to say I was fine.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she said, glaring at me. “You pull this stunt all week, and now you come out here and assault my friend? What the hell, Grey?”

I just couldn’t seem to dig myself out of the hole I was creating. Even as my mouth opened, I knew I was just going to make things worse.

“You know what? I’m out of here,” I said. “Why don’t you go kiss your
friend’s
boo-boo better, because I’m done.”

I turned and stormed back through the bar, noticing that everyone else was also watching our little altercation. As soon as I made it out into the street, I knew I’d just gone and
really
screwed up. Why couldn’t I stop myself? I wanted Honor, I wanted
us.

“Fuck,” I muttered, rubbing a hand down my face.

“Rough night, huh?”

I turned to see Rannon had followed me out.

“I don’t know what the hell just happened in there,” I said honestly.

He smiled, slapping a hand down on my shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “Woman can do that to you, man. I think what we need, is a drink.”

I nodded, following him as we headed down the street to find another bar we could hole up in. I needed as much alcohol as I could get. By the end of the night, I didn’t want to even remember my name.

Chapter 25

Honor

I was
fuming
.

I couldn’t remember ever being this angry. Not even when Perrie wore my brand new cream, cashmere sweater to school before I had worn it, and ended up getting ketchup all over the front of it that never came out. I’d saved for weeks to buy it, since I wasn’t one to spend much on clothes.

No, that little incident had
nothing
on this one. I could not
believe
the nerve of Grey. And he’d just gone and stormed out of here as though he couldn’t give two shits about what he’d just done.

I went to check on Adrien, who waved me away with a grin.

“Don’t worry,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’ve taken way worse hits than that. Trust me, my dad taught me well.”

Instantly I felt even worse. I didn’t know much about Adrien, other than his usual happy-go-lucky attitude he went around with all day, but that one comment had just shed light on a whole new side of him I was unaware of. And I had just indirectly caused him pain.

My stupid, fucking maybe-boyfriend!

“I’m so sorry,” I said, tears welling in my eyes before I could stop them.

“Hey,” he said, with a chuckle. “Don’t get all weepy and girlie over me. Trust me, I’m fine. I’ll just get some ice on it.”

As if on cue, the bartender handed over some wrapped in a towel.

“Thanks, man,” he said. “See,” he held up the ice, “all good now.”

I didn’t feel good at all. Nothing about this night was good. Nothing about this
week
had been good. My mind was reeling with what had just happened. I turned to see Cat and Chloe watching me with concern. My feet headed in their direction of their own accord.

“That was messed up,” Cat said right away, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. Was I? No. No, I wasn’t. I shook my head, my eyes staring off into the empty space between us and the rest of the crowd in the bar who had already gone back to their own activities.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Chloe said, reaching out to grip my hand. “Guys can be such assholes sometimes.”

“I can’t believe he hit him,” I said, my head still shaking. I looked at Cat. “He practically accused me of moving on from him with Adrien.”

She grimaced. “I know, we all heard.”

I looked away again, shaking my head again. “That jerk ignores me all week, making me lose sleep and not be able to eat. I have no idea what’s happening between us, and then he waltzes in here and does
that?
”

Chloe started stroking my arm soothingly. “It’s hard to make sense of them,” she said. “Guys always make it seem like it’s us girls that are emotional and crazy, but really they’re just as bad.”

“Worse,” Cat muttered.

“Worse,” Chloe agreed.

“I just can’t believe it,” I said. “I want to…I want to…”

“Smack him?” Cat offered.

I met her eyes. “Yeah, I want to smack him.”

“Me too,” she said, scrunching up her nose.

“That jerk just stormed out of here,” I said, as if they hadn’t seen him like I had.

Cat nodded.

“Well Rannon went with him, so they can’t be far,” Chloe said.

I turned to her. “What did you say?”

“Rannon,” she repeated. “I saw him chase after Grey. I bet they’re off somewhere else drinking to the overall stupidity of the male species.”

I narrowed my eyes. Was that so? Well if Grey thought he could just come here and leave again after acting like a complete asshat, he had another thing coming.

“You’re going to go find him, aren’t you?” Cat said, her lips twitching in amusement.

“You’re damn right I am.”

***

Three bars later and I found him. Grey and Rannon sat at the bar in a dark, gloomy looking place that seemed like the kind of spot where old drunks went to waste away their night. Dozens of eyes swung my way as I marched toward them.

Multiple empty shot glasses littered the bar in front of him. From the way he was slouched forward, I could already tell he was drunk. I smacked my hand down on the surface as I came up beside him. Two bleary eyes met mine. I watched as any emotion was shuttered behind a wall he put between us. It hurt. I felt as if this Grey was completely different than the one I’d spent the last few weeks with in a blissful sort of happiness.

Had it all been a lie?

Facing him now, I was starting to think maybe it had been.

“You want to tell me what the hell just happened back there?” I asked, steeling myself for his reply.

“Shouldn’t you be nursing your boy-toy back to health?” he slurred.

“Fuck you, Grey,” I said. “Adrien is a friend. There is nothing going on between us.”

He shrugged.

He shrugged!

Did I mean nothing to him? The back of my throat started to burn at his easy dismissal. He downed another shot, looking away from me. I felt Rannon’s eyes watching us, but ignored him.

“Where were you all week?” I said, hating that my voice was shakier than before.

“Around,” he said, not looking back at me.

“Around,” I repeated, stunned. “That’s your answer? You were,
around?
You left me wondering what the hell was going on between us, and you have no explanation for me?

“It looks to me like you were doing just fine,” he said.

I swallowed against the ache in my throat. “You’re a real piece of work, you know that Grey Anderson?”

“So I’ve been told.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “After everything that’s happened between us, this is how you’re going to act?”

“What do you want from me, Honor? Maybe I’m just not the guy you thought I was.”

I snorted. “That’s the first true thing you’ve said all night.”

Finally he met my eyes, those blue pools so cold I physically shivered from the chill.

“If you don’t like it, why don’t you go back to
Adrien
? I’m sure he can give you a shoulder to cry on.”

I took a step back, wanting nothing more than to run from here. From all of this. Whoever was sitting in front of me was not the same person I had fallen for. This was not the Grey I’d been dating. This was a colder, meaner Grey, and I didn’t like him at all.

“I don’t understand you,” I said, my voice dropping to just barely over a whisper. “I thought there was something real between us.”

He looked down at his empty shot glass, his jaw clenching.

“If you want this to end, then why don’t you grow a set of balls and just say it?” I bit out, my fists clenching at my side.
Say it,
I thought. I wanted to hear him say the words, even though I knew it would kill me.

Slowly he looked back up at me.

“I think we both know this wasn’t going to work in the long run,” he said.

“Did we? I wasn’t aware we’d had that conversation.” My chest was slowly being ripped open even as I stood there. I was amazed I still had the strength to keep upright.

He shrugged, looking away again. “We’re too different. You’re young, Honor. I need someone…different.”

“Different,” I repeated. What the hell did that even mean?

He just nodded, as if that explained it all. “I can’t handle the dramatics from you young girls.”

I took a steadying breath. “I don’t know what my age has to do with any of this, but if anyone is acting like a child here, it’s you.”

Stepping away from him, I stared at his back, hating him in that very moment. “And just to be clear, Grey, I’m not being dramatic, I’m being smart. There’s a difference. Thank you for making me realize just how wrong we really were for each other. It was fun while it lasted.”

Without waiting for a reply, if I was even going to get one, I turned and walked out of there, my feet moving on autopilot. I must have called a cab at some point, because eventually I made it back to my apartment, and under the covers of my bed.

I still wore the outfit I’d worn to the bar, not having the strength of mind to take them off. Instead I buried myself beneath my comforter and stared into the darkness.