He drinks three shots to my one for a couple of rounds until I protest, a lot. He's being evasive and as much as I try to bring up the mysterious Ben, he just blanks it completely. I'm already drunk and anymore I'll be unable to walk at all. Jake switches to vodka on the rocks and hands me a fruity cocktail which I leave on the bar for fear of passing out. He's avoiding conversation, so I let the subject lie, trying to get glimpses of Leila's brother when Jake's not looking at me to figure out who the heck he is.
Daniel appears and swings an arm around Jake's neck from behind, whispering something close to his ear that makes Jake frown. He turns his back on me in Daniel's hold and the two of them lower heads to one another and carry on the conversation in hushed tones. They look strangely cute yet totally male in that hunched way and even though he's being uncharacteristically weird, I try to ignore it.
"Dance!" Leila demands appearing with another girl in tow and grabbing my hand, her eyes dart at the huddled pair and for a moment, I note a flicker of pain. Then defiant Leila brews up in its place and the smile is pasted back on.
You go, girl!
"Sure thing." I beam, I turn, tugging the back of Jake's shirt to alert him to the fact I'm leaving. He turns as I'm motioning the dance floor and he smiles, kisses me quickly on the cheek and turns back to Daniel, who has the bar filling up with doubles and shots in front of them.
Oh boy, from sober to plastered in the shortest time ever. Looks like that's what he intends to do.
"Wow." I scream as Leila spins me for the third time sending me wheeling across the narrow area we have chosen as a dance space; the place is jam packed and bumping into random strangers is inevitable. I catch Jake looking over from the group of men he's encompassed within and smile at him. He smiles back but there's a tension about him that wasn't there before. I'm pulled back by Leila minutes later, before being thrust out in a twirl and colliding with someone hard.
"Ouch" I yelp as strong hands come up to steady me. I pull myself from the person, apologizing profusely and stand on my own two feet. Hard to do when you're extremely drunk and I'm sure I'm slurring. I look up into the face of the tall dark wall of collision and I'm surprised by the resemblance to Jake, it's almost eerie, although, where Jake is casual sexy with designer stubble and green eyes this one has a clean- shaven face and blue eyes and more of a James Bond thing going for him. He smiles at me and extends a hand.
"A proper introduction ... I'm Ben Huntsberger ... Leila's brother." He smiles and I'm glad to see that he doesn't have Jake's heart-wrenching 'I'm too hot' smile, he doesn't compare at all and his smile seems somehow all too white and all too engineered in that fake tan glow on his skin. Jake's tan is at least real, even without the sun, he has that Italian olive skin coloring anyway.
"Emma Anderson." I shake his hand and quickly pull away, not liking the feel of his skin on mine, somehow it feels wrong to be touched by him and sends a weird unease through me. Jake aside, I still cringe at men touching me.
"She's told me a lot about you." He grins at me and I get the distinct impression he's trying to flirt. I lower my brows, narrow my eyes suspiciously and move back, feeling a little uncomfortable. There's that same thing with him that I get with most men, most men except Jake. I never ever felt it with him, not even from the start. An off feeling of mistrust.
"Most of it's probably not true... She likes to embellish." I smile tightly, making sure I don't encourage him in any way, I know his type.
"I'm sure it's all true." His eyes wander up my legs and over my body before taking a second too long on my cleavage. "She tells me you're Jake's girlfriend?" there's that inner wave of bile and unease. He's making my skin crawl, but I don't get a chance to answer when I'm tugged back harshly into a hard chest and a very irate Jake, holding my upper arm almost painfully.
"Yes, she is... So, you can go letch someplace else, asshole." The aggression is oozing off Jake in overwhelming waves, making me extremely uneasy almost instantly. My alarm bells going off at being caught between them and the mounting alpha male vibe that Jake is throwing off in swarms.
"Well, didn't you turn out to be the jealous one after all?" Ben quips grinning, but it's the wrong thing to say and Jake moves forward to him in a flash, face to face. Pushing me a little too abruptly aside so that I stumble into someone else. I catch myself and stagger behind him to keep my distance, eyes wide at this new version of him, unsure what to think or do. I'm stunned that he actually shoved me.
"You think I'd be jealous of you? Emma wouldn't give you a second look." He snaps in Ben's face, the men nose to nose in a display of dominance, equally matched in height and muscle. The air sparking around them. My inner body begins to tremble in fear, unsure how to react. I've never seen Jake come head to head with someone in this way. Never seen him behave like this. Only Ray Vanquis and that ended in bloodshed for a totally justified reason.
"I'm sure you thought that about Marissa too, yet she was only too willing to climb into my bed." Ben sneers and my brain instantly clicks the pieces into place, and I gasp quietly.
This was Jake's best friend? The man who betrayed him so long ago. No wonder Jake feels this way about him.
I don't see it coming at all, it's so sudden and uncharacteristic of Jake that I barely see it happen. He hits Ben full on in the face with one perfect punch in his trained boxer stance, energy rippling around us and the room almost falls silent as the thud echoes in my ears. The other man crumples to the ground. Chaos immediately erupting around us as others jump to their feet as Leila starts yelling.
I'm pushed back behind other girls by the force of those getting involved and can't see what's happening. For minutes I'm pushing and struggling to get out from the corner I've been trapped into, panic searing through me, surrounded by noise and shouting which is drowning out the music. I'm yanked forward by Leila finally, who drags me out between groups of people, and hurriedly leads me along the windows and out in front of the bar by a smaller side door before heading for the opening.
"Where's Jake?" I demand trying to wrench free. "Leila, stop! Where is he?" I squeal in panic. I can't leave without him, I need to know where he is, what's happening, and if he's okay.
"We're following him!" Leila barks. "Security threw him outside with Ben, I need you to calm him down before he fucking kills him." She is completely distraught.
"Wait, what?" I grab her hand, pulling her to a sharp stop. "I thought Jake hit him and that was the end... Everyone got in the way and I couldn't see anymore." The fear that has taken hold in my stomach is most definitely in panic mode.
"Ben got back up, when Jake went to walk away, he lurched at him and tried to hit Jake back." Leila starts to cry, and I wrap my arms around her. "I got pushed aside and I couldn't see anymore. ... Next thing I knew both Ben and Jake were gone and apparently heading out of the building to finish what they started." She starts sobbing. "I love them both... I don't know what to do."
"It's okay." I soothe, trying to act more sober and braver than I feel, the shock of what's happened has improved my senses. The deep pit of worry inside me takes over, pushing good old familiar PA Emma head in place. I pull Laila along, following others who are leaving the building, hoping I'm going the right way. I spot one of the men who had been with us upstairs ahead of us and follow him at speed, dragging a silent and tearful Leila along by the hand with determination. My heart thudding through my chest.
We get outside after the longest time ever, people in the way hindering us. Arrick appears, looking less frantic and just shakes his head in our general direction, like this is something normal and every day. I fee ill with nerves, but my outward demeanor is that of cool and controlled PA Emma, she was always best in a crisis.
There seems to be a crowd in the street. Pulling Leila by the hand, I spot more familiar faces and finally see Ben being held back by two men. His face is bloody, his perfect hair messy, and his shirt pulled and torn. He's yelling and struggling to get loose, but they have an arm each and are doing their best to keep him back.¶¶¶¶¶
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