Jesse (Damage Control 2)

Oh fuck.

I start running flat out as soon as the crowd thins a little, heading out. I pound out onto the street and glance right and left. Where are you, Embers?

A glitter to my left has me running that way before I even get a good look. It’s her all right, her silver dress catching the light of a street lamp. But a cab overtakes me and stops in front of her. She opens the door and climbs inside.

“Embers!” I put in another burst of speed. Can’t let her leave believing I cheated on her. Can’t let her go. “Wait!”

But the cab speeds off, leaving me in its dust. I race after it for a few yards, waving my arms like an idiot and calling for her.

No use.

Dammit.

She’s gone.

I slow to a halt on the street, brace my hands on my knees and struggle to catch my breath. A can honks behind me, and I stumble sideways, climbing onto the sidewalk.

Can’t believe this happened. Can’t believe she wouldn’t even stay to talk to me, hear me out. I thought…

You thought she was different. That she’d treat you like someone worth hanging on to. Instead she turned her back at the first sign of trouble, just like everyone else in your life. Didn’t wait two seconds to hear you out, give you the chance to explain yourself.

And the kicker is that you still want her and hope she’ll take you back.

***

Seth finds me drinking whiskey by the pool some time later, sitting in a bamboo chair. I’m staring at my cell phone, at the lack of response after the tenth text I’ve sent her, when his shadow falls over me.

He pries the glass from my fingers and sits down on the chair across from me. He lifts it, swallows the rest of my whiskey down and grimaces. “So what the fuck happened here, man?”

I put down the damn cell and rub a hand over my face, then reach for the leather band around my wrist.

It’s not there. I panic for a second before I remember giving it to her.

All right, then.

The music isn’t as loud as before, and a glance around tells me most people have left. Who knows for how long I’ve been sitting here.

Fuck. I get up on unsteady legs, intent on catching a cab to her place and knocking on her door until she lets me in, lets me explain.

Fight for your girl, Zane had said.

The world tilts, and I sink back down. Whoa. I blink, waiting for the dizzy spell to pass.

Seth hasn’t moved from his sprawl on the seat, not even when I weaved on my feet. Asshole.

“So how much have you drunk?” He lifts the whiskey bottle

from its spot by my seat. He shakes it. It’s almost empty. “Tell me this wasn’t full when you started on it.”

“It wasn’t.” Least, I don’t think it was. Not completely.

“Good, because if you swallowed that much whiskey in half an hour, I’d be calling the fucking ambulance right now.”

Fuck. I thought I’d been sitting here for five minutes only. I needed to catch my breath and I hoped she’d answer the phone, or my texts.

“I’m okay. I need to go, I’m…” I shake my head, frown at him. “Hey, just a sec. How come you’re not flaming pissed?”

His brows lift. “I don’t look pissed to you?”