On Dublin Street (On Dublin Street 1)

I liked Craig’s teeth where they were, thank you very much.

~11~

My keys clattered against the walnut of the sideboard in the hallway, the first loud noise to break the silence between me and Ellie. After a busy night at the bar my head was usually buzzing, and it took me a few hours to unwind before I could head to bed, but tonight it was worse. I could still feel Braden on my mouth, on my breast, between my legs. I could still smell and taste him for God’s sake. And I pretended I felt none of this as he did as promised and saw me and Ellie into a cab after my shift. In fact I didn’t say a word to him.

I didn’t say a word to anyone.

Alistair and Braden were the only two who knew why. Craig watched me in confusion for the rest of the night, probably wondering where my good mood had gone, and I avoided Ellie’s eyes. I avoided them in the bar, I avoided them out on the sidewalk, I avoided them in the cab and I was avoiding them now. Kicking off my shoes, I kept my back to her, and then left her in the hall as I moved through to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

“Are we not going to talk about it then?” Ellie asked quietly, following me in.

I looked at her over my shoulder, pretending ignorance. “Talk about what?”

She threw me a look of exasperation. “About the fact that Braden was seething over your kiss with Craig, that he followed you into the staff room and didn’t come back for twenty minutes and when he did come back he looked like he’d been mauled by a woman who’d been locked in an empty room without a vibrator, or a man for ten years.”

I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing at the visual.

Ellie was not amused. “Joss! Seriously, what’s going on?”

The laughter died from my lips. “He kissed me. We stopped. It’s not happening again.”

“Braden won’t back off if he thinks you’re interested.”

“I’m not interested.” I’m so interested.

“I think you are and I-”

“Ellie.” I whirled around, my nerves stretched to the max. “Just stop okay. Please. I don’t want to talk about this.”

She looked like a kid who’d had her favorite toy taken away. “But-”

“Ellie.”

“Fine.” She sighed.

In an effort to take her mind off of it, I leaned back against the counter with a concerned quirk of my right eyebrow. “So what was up with you and Adam tonight?”

“I’m like you. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Yeah right. “Ellie…”

Her pale eyes narrowed unhappily. “Okay, so I want to talk about it. Dammit, how can you be so good at the whole keeping things to yourself thing?” she pouted. “It’s really hard.”

I grinned and shook my head. “Not for me.”

She stuck her tongue out at me and slumped wearily into a kitchen chair. “I’m knackered. Tonight was exhausting.”

“Hence the crabby?”

“I’m not crabby.”

“You’re a little crabby.”

“Well you would be too if you’d had to put up with Adam tonight.”

I slipped into the seat beside her, wondering if I should hit the gym harder this week in preparation for kicking Adam’s ass. “What happened, honey?”

“He’s confusing me.” Ellie grimaced, eyeing me sadly. “He keeps saying that we’re just friends but he acts like we’re not. Braden’s so wrapped up in you he didn’t even notice Adam’s behavior tonight, and Adam used that to his advantage.”

“I did notice him getting all possessive on your ass, pulling you down beside him and all that.”

“Possessive? The harder I tried to be cool towards him, the more he got in my space. And then when Braden was with you, I called him on it. I asked about Nicholas and why he was acting so weird…”

“And what did he say?”

“That Nicholas wasn’t good enough for me and if I’d stop acting like a petulant child he’d stop being overbearing.”

Guy was good. I laughed humorlessly. “Nice way of side-stepping the actual question, huh?”

“Well you’d know all about that,” she grumped.

I snorted. “Meow.”

Ellie groaned. “Oh, God, Joss, I’m sorry. I’m acting like such a bitch.”

“I find it charming. Really.”

She giggled and shook her head, her eyes drooping tiredly. “You’re crazy.” She stood up. “But I love you.” She yawned as I froze in place at her words. “I need my bed. We’ll talk in the morning, try to make sense of Adam’s nonsense, yeah?”

But I love you. “Uh… yeah,” I replied, dazed.

“Night.”

“Night.”

But I love you…

... “Come on,” I begged Dru. “It’ll be fun. Kyle will be there.”

Dru eyed me doubtfully. “I totally embarrassed myself at the last kegger, Joss, and that didn’t involve having to wear a bikini.”

I rolled my eyes. “We all embarrassed ourselves at the last kegger. That’s kind of the point. Come on. Nate will be there and I really want to hang out with him tonight.”

“You mean hook up with him?”

I shrugged.

“Joss, maybe we should sit this one out. We’ve been going to a lot of parties lately.”

Grinning, I hooked an arm around her neck and drew her to my side. “We’re kids. We’re supposed to party.” I need to party. I need to forget. “And I don’t want to party without you. I’ll tell you what? I’ll even upchuck on a JV cheerleader for you. That way, no matter what you do, I’ll still have committed the most treasonous act of the evening.”