Forgotten Rules (Rules 4)

Resting my elbows flat against the bar and rising to my tiptoes, I attempt to grab the bartender’s attention with hand signals. Poor guy is swamped right now. In his defense, the club has officially reached its quota and closed access to new arrivals.

I got stuck with drinks duty after Zoey spilled her Bloody Mary on someone’s shoes. I’ve personally stopped drinking over an hour ago as I’m not looking to recreate the last time I got wasted—wouldn’t want to accidentally make out with someone who’s not into me again.

“Shouldn’t you be with your friends?”

I twist my head to see the pink-haired girl who was crowding me less than a second ago has shifted into Will. I expected to be hurt, sad even, the next time I talked to him, but right now, the only thing I can feel is burning annoyance.

“Shouldn’t you be with yours?” I say dryly.

“Alex ditched me for Zoey’s friend. Haven’t seen him since.”

I don’t reply, gesturing at the bartender again, who nods, acknowledging my existence and walking over at last. I check my phone notes, where I put down Zoey’s drink of choice, and make sure to add in that glass of water for Morgan. She wasn’t kidding about never drinking again.

As soon as the bartender leaves with my order, Will buries me with questions: How are you, are you ignoring me, so we’re just never going to talk again? And that’s just a few of them. I give the performance of a lifetime, motioning to my ear and pretending I can’t hear him which pisses him off to no end. What did he expect? We’re not okay. Or on good terms.

He hurt me.

Bad.

“Kass… About what I said to Ale—”

That’s the line I stop being deaf for.

“Don’t,” I stop him. “It’s fine. Message received. You look at me like a sibling.”

I could gag just saying it out loud.

“But I—”

The bartender comes around with my drinks. Itching to get away from Will, I throw him a twenty and tell him to keep the change.

“I should go find the girls.” I swipe the two glasses off the bar and turn on my heels. I’ve barely moved an inch when he speaks.

“I miss you.”

I can’t take another step.

“That’s right, I… I miss you, Kass. I’m sorry about what I said when we…” He doesn’t dare finish. “It was dumb as fuck, and you didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry.”

I’m rooted in place, my back all he can see.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is…” He pauses. “I got used to us talking, and I’d like it if things could go back to normal.”

Normal.

As in back to me having an unrequited crush on him.

“You mean you want us to go back to being friends?” I surprise him by turning around.

He nods, exhaling in relief as though I just took the words out of his mouth. “That’s exactly what I mean.”

The answer is easy for me.

“No.”

His face is priceless.

“What?”