“Keep your voice down,” Drew said sharply, as heads turned in our direction. The excited chatter in the room dulled to silence.
“Keep my voice down?” Jason repeated, not lowering his tone. “Why? Don’t you want people to know you and Ellie have been screwing each other?”
The unmistakable sound of camera clicks punctured the quiet, and I felt my cheeks flame because there was nothing I could do to stop it. The words had been spoken, and countless YouTube videos of this moment would be all over the internet within minutes. I didn’t think even Derek would be able to stop this, and to be truthful, he probably wouldn’t want to.
“Jason, please.” My voice shook, panic taking hold. “Stop.”
“Was it your idea not to tell me?” he demanded, fixing his glare on me.
I shook my head. “We’re not doing this here.”
“I want some answers!”
So did everyone in the restaurant, judging by the glee on their faces. What the hell kind of society did we live in that it was okay to film private, excruciating moments for the world to see? What happened to privacy? Decency? Or at least pretending not to listen when people caused a scene? Now, phones were held high in the air as if we’d agreed to air our problems in public; not a single one of them trying to hide what they were doing.
I stood up, and Drew rose with me. “We’ll talk later.”
Jason got to his feet too, and grabbed Drew’s arm as we made to leave. “We’ll talk now!”
The brothers stared at each other, locked in a silent mind game, and all I wanted was to get back to my room and put an end to this mortifying piece of performance art.
“Jason,” I said. “Let’s go somewhere and talk about this.”
“We’re not talking to him until he calms down.” Drew shrugged free of Jason’s grip.
“Don’t walk away from me!”
Again, my eyes flicked between the brothers. Both of them silently begged me to do different things, their eyes willing me to choose. I wanted to go with Drew, and leave Jason to cool off but we owed him an explanation. I was stuck in the one place I purposely never put myself because I couldn’t, wouldn’t, pick one over the other. Dating Drew didn’t mean I would suddenly turn my back on Jason, but if I didn’t, I knew exactly how Drew would react. Frustration rose inside me, followed by blinding panic because I knew neither of them would move until I made a choice.
“Ellie, come on,” Drew said.
“Yeah, Ellie. Do as he says. Now you’re with my brother, you don’t get to make your own decisions anymore.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Drew snarled, letting go of my hand and turning back to Jason.
“You’re so used to trying to run people’s lives, you can’t see you’re doing it! Ellie used to hate that about you. Your need to always be in control, but I guess things have changed.”
The hurt on Drew’s face made my temper flare, and since the other diners were already getting a show, I yelled, “Stop! Jason, the reason we didn’t tell you is because up until a week ago there was nothing to tell. It’s new, and if you’d asked instead of turning this into a fight, we could have explained. If you want to talk, we’ll talk, but I’m not going to stay here and argue in front of a bunch of strangers!”
I turned and left the bar, heading for the sanctuary of my room. My legs wobbled with every step because my outburst had pretty much sealed my fate as an online sensation.
Jesus, why did Jason choose to blurt everything right out in the open? All he had to do was ask Drew privately, and none of us would have to worry about being the next morning’s headlines.
Once inside my room, I kicked off my shoes and sat down on the edge of the bed, wondering if the guys were still fighting or if they’d separated, or gone elsewhere to talk. I probably shouldn’t have left them together, but I couldn’t stand to be the centre of attention any longer, and certainly couldn’t stand being stuck in the middle of their own personal feud.
A gentle knock on the door answered my question. I figured it was Drew. Jason would have knocked a hell of a lot harder.
The happiness Drew showed earlier was long gone, replaced with weariness. Forehead creased with worry, eyes filled with the stress of the last few weeks.
I pulled him inside and slipped my arms around his waist. “Are you okay?”
“You think I’m too controlling?”
He asked the question without returning my embrace and I stepped back. “What?”
“Jason said you hate how I always have to be in control. Is that what you think?”
Unbelievable. Jason announced to the world that we’d been sneaking around together, and instead of worrying about how it might impact all of us, the only thing he heard was his brother’s anger-fuelled swipe at him.