𝐀𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝟑𝟎𝟖𝐁 | 𝐉𝐁 + 𝐀𝐆

"𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞, 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐲."

❝falling for him wasn't falling at all. it was walking into a house and suddenly knowing you're home.❞

— r.i.d

˚˙༓࿇༓˙˚˙༓࿇༓˙˚˙༓࿇༓˙˚

CLEO plopped herself back down onto Dakota's couch just as she heard her release a small sigh and wrap herself more into her fuzzy white blanket, sitting criss-cross with Theo sitting behind her on the edge of the couch leaving just a bit of space between the two of them with Kade sitting on the opposite couch from everyone.

"Street fighting? Like Fight Club?"

"I...suppose?"

Cleo smacked her lips against her teeth and shook her head before leaning forward and touching Dakota's blanket covered forearm before speaking out softly. "I'm just glad you're home safe."

"Me too...thanks to Theo."

Dakota looked back at Theo and saw him giving her a small grin before suddenly hearing the sound of the oven ding which made him break their eye contact and clear his throat before slowly getting up from the couch and fixing his black t-shirt.

"I'll be back."

"Need some help?"

Theo nodded to Kade and watched him hop up from the couch which made Cleo purse her lips in an attempt to hide her smile before watching Theo and Kade head off into the kitchen and leave her alone with Dakota who had her eyebrows creased in confusion.

"What?"

"Spill. What happened in Toronto with Theo?"

Dakota sighed softly.

"Cleo--"

"Did you two finally have that...talk?"

And for a moment, Dakota let her eye contact with Cleo break as she looked down at her blanket as she began to absentmindedly fiddle with it and bite the corner of her bottom lip softly as her mind wandered back to her time with Theo in the hotel room before their flight.

Theo's touch was so soft and gentle, but the burning sensation was more of a euphoric feeling that Dakota loved and the way their bodies connected intimately made a sudden feeling coarse throughout her body while she tried to find the words to say.

"We did more than talk, that's for sure."

Cleo's eyes went wide and the wide smile on her lips appeared as she went to open her mouth to speak -- but she was suddenly interrupted by Theo clearing his throat as he walked back into the living room while cleaning his hands on a white kitchen cloth.

"You ladies ready to eat?"

"Of course."

Dakota unwrapped herself from her blanket and let herself remain in a cream colored cropped t-shirt and a pair of nude colored wide-legged leggings to match and found herself following behind Cleo to the kitchen -- but before reaching the kitchen she abruptly turned around and spoke low for only Dakota to hear.

"We are not done with this conversation."

"Didn't think so."

Dakota and Cleo shared a laugh before walking into the kitchen and heading for the dining table where Kade was setting the plates when Cleo interrupted him and gave him a quick kiss on his jawline which made him turn to her and grin as she took a seat.

Once everyone was seated, Theo brought dinner over which consisted of a nice and steaming pot of chili that Dakota made a special recipe of before taking his seat next to Dakota and letting everyone begin to make their plate and let their peaceful night continue while they enjoyed each other's company.

Once everyone was finished eating and catching up, Kade and Cleo had finally left for the night and left Dakota and Theo alone in the apartment with nothing but dirty dishes and two half full wine glasses on the kitchen island, but all Dakota could think about was listening to some music.

Dakota slid her fingers across the cool surface of the kitchen counter and let her fingers come across her phone and open up her recent playlist she listened to and let the sound of Falling Like The Stars by James Arthur play on the kitchen's bluetooth speaker while she continued to clean with Theo.

I'm gonna hold you so close
I swear to God, when I come home, I'll never let go

As Dakota hummed the lyrics and put some of the dishes away in the dishwasher, Theo was side-eyeing her from afar and looking her over and grinning to himself when she suddenly made unexpected eye contact with him -- only making her bite the corner of her bottom lip softly and turn away.

Fallin' so fast, we're fallin' like the stars, fallin' in love

Dakota tried her best to keep her composure and get back to cleaning with her back still facing Theo -- but she suddenly felt a pair of muscular arms slip around her waist which made her gasp softly and touch his arm and smile while she felt his face bury into the nape of her neck.

"Theo..."

And I need you to know that we're
Fallin' so fast, we're fallin' like the stars, fallin' in love

Theo let his lips attach to Dakota's neck and leave open mouth kisses and cause her to moan softly and arch her back a bit off of Theo's chest while her free hand attached to his tousled dirty blond hair while moving her neck a bit to give him more access just as he started to suck on her neck.

But before Dakota knew it, Theo was turning her around and holding her warm body close to his and looking deep in her eyes with nothing but pure love and lust all wrapped into one which made her bite her bottom lip and pull herself back closer to his chest while his hands dipped a bit lower on her waist -- just before being picked up off her feet which made her gasp as she felt herself being quickly turned around and sat up on top of the kitchen counter with Theo standing comfortably in between her legs making her eyes grow wide.

"Theo!"

"What?"

"You can't just--"

Theo ignored Dakota and let his lips attach to her neck and leave slow and opened mouth kisses that made her shudder and grip the back of his neck with one hand and let the other tangle in his hair as he titled his head to the side to get better access to her neck as he heard her breathy moans in his ear making him proceed.

"T-Theo..."

Theo pulled away for a second and looked deep into Dakota's beautiful big brown eyes while they both silently stared at each other and let the heat arise which caused Theo to laugh softly and lean forward to give Dakota another kiss on her lips, but not before letting his lips linger.

"Would it be bad if I said I wanna make love to you...right here?"

Dakota didn't respond, instead, she raised an eyebrow as she watched Theo return the gesture as he slowly started to lift up her crop top up over her head and let her remain in her leggings and her white lace bralette, Theo then slowly let his fingers play with the hem on her leggings as he heard her breathing hitch momentarily before she spoke out.

"Theo...?"

"Yeah?"

"Should we...is this--"

"--Only if you want to, Grey."

Dakota sighed softly.

"I..." Dakota drifted off as she absentmindedly licked her lips while feeling Theo's warm heat radiate off his body while his hands rubbed up her bare arms and she found herself fiddling with his shirt. "Just want to make this work, Theo."

Theo laughed softly.

"Didn't I tell you the first night we moved in here? You're stuck with me, Grey..."

Dakota let out a small laugh along with Theo and softly bit her bottom lip as she looked down at Theo's lips before humming in response and letting him pull her back into a deep kiss and drag her thighs closer to him before wrapping them around his waist as he gently picked her up from the kitchen counter and turned around to slowly head to Dakota's bedroom.

Once reaching Dakota's cracked bedroom door, Theo kicked the door fully open with his foot and walked inside the dark room -- the only light source being the moonlight that shined dimly through Dakota's sheer curtains on her window.

Theo rested Dakota down softly onto the bed, her back slowly and softly coming into contact with the mattress while he dipped his head down to Dakota's and pressed his soft lips on hers once more causing Dakota to moan softly into the kiss as a groan left Theo's lips sending another wave of heat through Dakota while she found herself tangling her fingers into Theo's drawstring for his sweatpants to pull them down.

Theo pulled his sweatpants completely off and quickly slipped his shirt off before flinging it across the room, leaving him in his Calvin Klein boxers making Dakota hum as Theo began to slip her leggings off while Dakota's fingertips met the clasp of her bralette and released it from it's hold, letting it unclasp, she took her bralette off slowly and flung it to the floor while she watched Theo's once hazel eyes cloud with a black color toward her body.

Theo dipped his head down to Dakota's thighs and found himself sinking his teeth down into the waistline of her lace panties, pulling the laced fabric down to her ankles and off in one swift movement, while Dakota's legs still remained in the air, Theo held them both and kissed both of her ankles before slowly spreading Dakota's legs and positioning himself in between her legs.

And before Dakota knew it, Theo's lips were already on her and suddenly causing her to feel like she was going to scream in pleasure, but she could only roll her eyes to the back of her head while Theo's tongue licked over her clit and didn't miss a single spot.

A sharp gasp followed by a soft moan left Dakota's lips as she felt Theo do one long swipe up her throbbing sex and watched her pre-cum spill out onto his tongue, Theo found himself shamelessly licking off all of her juices and swallowing whole while moaning to himself and making Dakota mock his actions while feeling the vibration of his moan on her warm skin.

Dakota felt his soft dirty blond locks tickle the insides of her thighs causing something to come over her and cause her to touch his hair shamelessly while her free hand gripped the bed sheets tightly, her pleasure overwhelming her like a wildfire.

"You taste so good." Theo spoke lustfully, sticking his tongue back into her folds and licking up and down her drenched clit rapidly, making sure to have her trembling under his touch as her legs locked tighter around his neck.

Dakota started to notice her legs began to ache and suddenly began to shake the faster he licks while her chest popped up and her plump lips slightly parted for her to breathe out her sweet moans as Theo began circling his tongue inside her and having her clenching around his tongue.

"Uh...Theo...I think--"

Theo suddenly wasn't listening to Dakota anymore, he was busy letting his lips kiss Dakota's slit which started to drive her over the edge with the curling of her toes in complete pleasure all while he locked her legs tighter around his neck since she was starting to shake them like she was ready for him.

But Theo wasn't done yet.

With Dakota's sex clenching continuously, she suddenly found herself thrusting her hips upward and moaning out in bliss, Theo's tongue followed behind her action and took a longer stroke at her sudden movement that left Dakota gasping at the unintentional pleasure but moan loudly at how good it felt.

"You wanna cum in my mouth?"

"Theo...please..."

Dakota wasn't having any trouble with the pleasure, she didn't want this feeling to stop, but it's when he presses his hot tongue flat against her that she feels the tingly sensation begin to form at the tip of her toes and it causes her to thrust her hips upward again, wanting to come off of her big high even faster with the need overwhelming her.

"Cum for me, Dakota...I know you want to."

Dakota couldn't find any words that made sense to say, she could only throw her head back at the last few swipes he made inside of her and let her eyes roll to the back of her head in ecstasy while her legs shook violently for a second as she let out the sudden release into Theo's mouth -- but he continues to lick at her and cause Dakota's body to shake at the amount of pleasure she's enduring.

Dakota was feeling like she was seeing stars while her chest rose up and down rapidly when she suddenly saw Theo crawl up her body and grip onto her wrists, pushing her back down onto the mattress while Theo let out a breath before pulling down his boxers and letting his hard erection springing out which made Dakota tug her bottom lip as she stared down at his erection.

"You're so beautiful, Dakota..."

Dakota met Theo's gaze and let him attach his large hands back onto her wrist, giving Dakota one more lingering kiss before pushing his length into her wet folds while he whispered how much he loved her into her ear as a gasp left Dakota's lips at the contact -- a chill being sent through her spine at the feeling.

Dakota's eyes fluttered close in pure bliss, her head sinking further into the mattress as Theo pushed himself further inside her while a grunt was heard from him and his soft lips began to nibble onto Dakota's earlobe making her moans louder than the last.

And in that moment, Dakota and Theo let all their problems flood away while their naked bodies tangled together to make sweet love to each other that was so dearly needed with pure ecstasy giving them both the high they needed to show their love to each other in the moonlight.

────────

Dakota slowly walked into her office where Kade was already waiting for her dressed in an all black suit with a pair of black slacks to match and burgundy colored tie tucked inside his jacket and a clean and shiny silver Rolex on his wrist that he flicked out to check the time and then grin while looking over to Dakota.

"Long night?"

"Shut up."

Kade snickered.

"How's the foot?"

Dakota sharply inhaled a breath which made Kade raise an eyebrow and take the chance to look over her outfit and see she was dressed in a silk black button up shirt tucked inside a skin tight leather skirt that stopped mid-thigh with a pair of black YSL strappy sandal heels with a matching black YSL purse.

"A little cut won't stop Dakota Grey from wearing heels."

Kade shook his head and chuckled before hopping up from her couch and licking his lips as he met Dakota over by her desk and let her look through the assorted papers on her desk while seeing her crease her eyebrows in concentration and let out a small breath.

"Jesus..."

"I know it's a lot...but that's why I'm here."

"I feel like I'm in high school trying to catch up on my missed AP assignments." Dakota murmured out as she shook her head and picked up a file from the left side of the pile and watched Kade pick up the one next to it out of the corner of her eye.

"Well, just think of me as your lab partner helping you catch up on all of it."

"Thank you, Kade...really."

Kade nodded and went back to looking over the paperwork when Dakota's phone suddenly started to vibrate which made her crease her eyebrows and slowly pull her phone out of her purse and look down at the caller ID and pause when she saw it was a call from an unknown number.

"You okay?"

"Yeah...um, give me a second?"

Kade nodded and turned around to plop back down onto the couch with the file still in his hand while Dakota brushed her hair behind her ear and hesitantly pressed the green button to answer the phone, she slowly placed the phone to her ear and placed her back against the wall in the hallway before speaking out softly.

"Hello?"

"D-Dakota?"

Dakota's heart suddenly felt a thud when she heard the all too familiar deep and raspy voice on the other end of the phone which made her briefly close her eyes for a moment and slowly touch her chest absentmindedly before speaking once again.

"What...why are you calling me? How are you calling me?"

"I just...I needed to know you got out of Toronto safe."

"Yes, I did. Theo got me home," Dakota spoke out in a shaky voice while fidgeting with the buttons on her top and looking around the hallway to make sure no one was coming by. "Is that all you needed?"

"Dakota...there is so much more I want to tell you, but I've only got a few minutes--"

"--Yeah, so do I."

Before Dakota could hear another response there was a loud sound on the other end of the phone which made her crease her eyebrows when she suddenly heard a loud and heavy sigh on the other end of the line.

"I-I have to go...but Dakota, I can't come back."

"What? Elijah--"

"I just wanted to know that you were safe...and I wanted you to know that I still love you."

"Were you in love with me when you were with Serena?"

The other end of the line suddenly went quiet and Dakota found herself getting that disturbing feeling in the pit of her stomach which made her let out a small snicker and shake her head while she felt the stinging sensation in the back of her eyes.

"Yeah...that's what I thought. Goodbye, Elijah."

And before Dakota could get another response, she hung the phone up and clutched her phone tight in her palm and wiped under her eyes quickly while taking a deep breath and straightening out her composure before walking back into her office with a weak smile on her lips.

"Everything alright, Grey?"

"Yes. Now where were we?"

"Well, some good news and bad news...Peter finally quit."

Dakota raised an eyebrow.

"Is that the good news or bad news?"

Kade pursed his lips for a moment and leaned himself against Dakota's desk and gave her a look that she wasn't starting to like which made her cross her arms over her chest and speak out softly. "Kade...?"

"Dakota...Peter bought out our Boston property."

"Shit..."

"Dakota, this won't be good...especially with your father's birthday coming up in a few weeks. I know you wanted to announce it at the event, but--"

"--We're going to figure something out. Give me time...time with Peter."

"What?"

Dakota sharply inhaled a breath and quickly unlocked her phone that was reluctantly still in her hand and started to text Quincy to come pick her up all while Kade stood there with his eyebrows creased -- all until he quickly leaned off her desk and grabbed Dakota's phone from her.

"Dakota, no. You're not going to stoop to this asshole's level, okay?"

"Kade, I promise I won't do something crazy...I just want to chat with him."

Kade raised an eyebrow.

"At his loft?"

"God no...that bar uptown, Taylor's Tavern."

Kade hesitantly gave Dakota her phone back which made her shake her head and proceed to contact Peter which made Kade watch her closely before crossing his arms over his chest and speaking out. "I'm coming with you."

"No. This is business."

"Exactly. You didn't make me VP for nothing."

Dakota sighed softly and suddenly felt her phone vibrate and saw that Peter had texted back, agreeing to meet her at the bar -- all while Quincy had texted her as well telling her he was waiting outside which made her sharply inhale a breath and look up to Kade.

"Ready for this?"

"More like born for this, let's go."

Dakota smiled softly and took her purse with her while Kade grabbed some files and headed off to meet Quincy outside where he patiently waited for the two with a warm smile on his lips, upon seeing them, he opened the door and nodded at them before letting them slip into the car before shutting it back and getting himself inside the car himself and taking off into the traffic of New York.

────────

Pulling into the parking lot of the bar, Quincy let out a small sigh before putting the car in park and turning around to see Dakota sharply inhaling a breath as she looked around at the area before her which made Quincy squint his eyes before speaking.

"Everything alright, Ms. Grey? Mr. Montgomery?"

"Yes. Thank you for the ride, Quincy..." Dakota drifted off as she slowly opened the door while giving Quincy a small smile that she hoped would convince him enough just as she gave Kade a quick glance as well. "I'll call when we're ready."

Quincy hesitated for a moment before giving Dakota a quick nod and turning back around and letting his hands grip the steering wheel while Dakota and Kade slipped out and into the quiet and open parking lot of the bar before giving each other the same look.

"Peter should already be here."

"Yeah."

Dakota and Kade both headed into the dimly lit bar with the beautiful and minimalistic design consisting of black and a beautiful deep wine colored red with the sound of Reminding Me by Shawn Hook and Vanessa Hudgens being played throughout the bar with the tainting smell of alcohol and cigars as they walked toward the center of the entire building and looked around.

"He's over there."

Dakota turned around to see where Kade was pointing and saw Peter casually sitting in a red velvet colored booth seat while sipping on a glass of gin which made her sharply inhale a breath and head over to him with Kade behind her with his hands in the pocket of his slacks.

Upon seeing the two, Peter cocked an eyebrow and downed the last of his drink and smacked his lips against his teeth before showing off that annoying smile of his while motioning for them to sit down across from him which made them slide into the booth seat on the opposite side of him without speaking a word with their faces emotionless.

"Dakota...still beautiful as ever."

"Cut the shit, Peter. You know why we're here."

Peter scoffed.

"Frankly, a simple 'please' would suffice, Grey."

"You stole property out from under us, frankly I'm all out of excuses to be nice to you. I should sue your ass and rob you of every last dime you have."

Peter hummed in response and reluctantly made eye contact with a bartender walking around the bar which made him raise up his glass and tap it which made her nod and come over to take his glass from him while he leaned in close to speak to her.

"Another two glasses of gin, please, darling. Anything for you guys?"

"Pass."

Kade nodded in agreement as Peter snickered and slipped his hand casually into the pocket of his button up and pulled out a folded up twenty dollar bill and slipped it in between the bartender's free hand and grinned. "Keep 'em coming, darling."

The bartender nodded and smiled before walking off and leaving them alone once again while Peter found himself sighing deeply and slouching a bit in the booth seat while the sound of Lilith by Halsey began to play.

"Peter--"

"--How's that boyfriend of yours, Grey?"

"We're not here to talk about him."

Peter paused for a moment and squinted his eyes as he looked over Dakota's face and saw how hard she was trying to hide any kind of emotion about Elijah she had from him -- all while trying to keep strong eye contact with him which only made her nervously bite the inside of her cheek.

"Ah...you two broke up."

Dakota remained silent.

"Couldn't say I didn't see that one coming...after all I did give him a bit of insight about you and the other blondy in your life."

Dakota creased her eyebrows.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Here's your drinks, sir."

The bartender sat down Peter's drinks and walked away which left him there to sharply inhale a breath before downing the first glass of gin with no problem before clearing his throat and meeting Dakota's gaze.

"The night of Kade's Vice President party? How do you think he found out you and Theodore were locking lips in your father's old office?"

And before Dakota could think, she immediately responded with nothing but fury and grabbed Peter's other glass of gin and wasted no time drenching him with it which made Peter and Kade's eyes grow wide.

"Dakota--"

"You can go to Hell. I came here to be civil with you, but there's a reason that you never got what you wanted from my father. He saw through your bullshit, just like I did, you worthless son of a bitch."

With her heart pounding fast in her chest, Dakota took her purse quickly and slipped out of the booth seat with Kade quickly following behind while the fast paced sound of Teeth by 5 Seconds of Summer blasted through their ears as they headed for the door -- but just before reaching the door, Kade pulled Dakota by her arm.

"Dakota!"

"What?!"

"I...what are we going to do about the Boston property now?"

"To Hell with it, Kade!" Dakota shouted which made Kade slowly crease his eyebrows as he saw Dakota throw her hands up in defeat and place a hand over her mouth while her eyes started to get a glossy look.

"Dakota..."

"Kade...I just wanna go home, it's too much."

Kade let out a deep breath and drooped his shoulders a bit while he watched Dakota start to cry which made him waste no time wrapping her up in his arms and holding her while she started to sob, but Kade decided to pull her close and hold her with one arm while he used his free hand to open the door to the bar and let them back into the light of day while Quincy waited patiently in the Rolls-Royce.

Upon seeing Dakota and Kade, Quincy quickly drove out of his parking spot and headed to the curb and quickly hopped out to stand in front of Dakota who was trying her best to cover her face while she cried into her hands.

"Ms. Grey?"

"It's alright, Quincy...I'd just like to go home if you don't mind."

Quincy creased his eyebrows and then looked over to Kade for some kind of reassurance and earned a small nod while he pursed his lips which made Quincy sigh softly and nod before turning around and open the door for the two and let them slip inside before he quickly got into the driver's seat once again -- but just before they pulled off, there was a sudden knock at the back window.

Dakota and Kade looked to see it was Peter standing there with his jaw clenched and his hands in the pocket of his smoke gray slacks with his button up drenched while he gripped a handful of napkins in his left hand which made Kade exhale a deep breath and slowly roll the window down just a bit.

"What?"

"Dakota's father's birthday is coming up in a few weeks...just know that I'll see you guys at the event."

"You're not coming, over my dead body."

Peter snickered.

"Right...well, we'll see about that. Especially since I have some news for you guys that I think you'll love to hear."

"Quincy, drive please."

Quincy wasted no time rolling Kade's window back up and speeding off and leaving Peter alone outside with nothing but a wicked grin on his lips while he watched them drive off and headed into the busy traffic on the road before them.

────────

"I'll kill him."

Dakota sighed deeply as she watched Theo pace the living room with Kade sitting on the opposite couch and resting his forearms on his thighs and taking a moment to meet Dakota's worried gaze as she hugged herself on the other couch with the silence of the room consuming the three of them.

"Theo...I think we should just...not feed into it."

Theo raised an eyebrow.

"Not feed into it? This idiot is stealing your hard work from your company, Dakota!"

"Theo..."

Theo paused from talking when he heard Kade softly speak out his name and saw the certain look he was giving him -- almost like a subtle way to tell him to calm down which made him lick his lips and look over to Dakota and see her looking down at the ground and ignoring the two of them which made Theo run his hand through his hair.

"Uh, Kade...do you mind...?"

Kade nodded and cleared his throat before hopping up from the couch and quickly leaving out of their apartment without speaking another word which made Theo let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding just before walking over to the couch where Dakota was sitting on and crouch down in front of her and slowly cup her cheek which made her close her eyes slowly and let out a small breath.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm just...it's so much, Theo."

Theo smiled weakly.

"Yeah, I know."

Dakota remained quiet as her eyes never met Theo's which made him remove his hand from her cheek and grab onto her waist and slide her petite body off the couch and scoop her up into his arms and take her with him into her bedroom and gently lie her down onto her mattress which made her crease her eyebrows while she watched him bend down to her feet and start to unbuckle her heels from her feet and toss them onto the floor.

"Theo, no sex, I'm tired."

"No sex...I just want you to relax, want me to run you a bath?"

"Mm...yes, please."

Theo nodded and grinned softly before getting up from the ground and heading to Dakota's bathroom and getting her bath ready for her while she sat on the bed and stared up at the ceiling as if all her life's problems were written all over it.

After a few moments, Theo had stepped out of the bathroom and walked over to stand back in front of Dakota and crawled onto the bed on top of her and watched her look from the ceiling over to his beautiful face and smile softly as she looked into those mesmerizing hazel eyes.

"Ready for your bath?"

"Yeah..."

Theo smiled and kissed Dakota's nose softly and then crawled back off of her body and helped her off the mattress and guided her into the bathroom that smelled like her lavender bath bomb and the faint sound of I Don't Mind by ZAYN played from her bluetooth speaker near the bathtub which made Dakota hum to herself while Theo walked over to her and rubbed her sides gently and kissed her forehead causing her to speak out softly.

"Thank you."

"Of course."

And with that, Dakota watched Theo give her one last smile before leaving out of the bathroom and leaving her to herself while shutting the door behind him which made her let out a small breath before getting herself ready for the relaxing bath for the night.

────────

Cleo found herself walking into the dimly lit bar and looked around as the sudden sound of pool balls clinking against each other and the sound of The Reason by Hoobastank played throughout the bat as she headed over to the bar and plopped down onto one of the stools and let a seat open for when Kade arrived, she slumped her shoulders and licked her lips as she saw the bartender, Kyle, finishing up a Bloody Mary for a customer at the other side of the bar before slowly walking over to her with a grin on his lips.

"Cleo, buddy, how's it hanging?"

"Not much, just waiting for Kade."

"Ah. Well, what can I get ya?"

"Shots of Bourbon...and keep 'em coming, please."

Kyle nodded and puckered his bottom lip out as he turned around and went to get Cleo's drinks ready, as he did so, Cleo looked down to the end of the bar and saw a dark brunette haired woman with her hair draped over her face as the Bloody Mary stood before her making him raise an eyebrow -- but she was snapped out of her thoughts by Kyle slapping down her shot glasses onto the wooden counter for her before clearing his throat and turning away to tend to two men who walked up to the bar on the opposite side of the bar.

Cleo sighed softly and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked down at the four shot glasses before her just as the sound of Madness by Muse started to play throughout the bar -- but Cleo's mind was on other things as she stared deep into the shot glasses.

"So, are you going to drink those shots or are they gonna drink themselves?"

Cleo snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a smooth, yet raspy voice speak from the left of her which made her blink a couple of times and look over to see it was the woman with the Bloody Mary order with a small grin on her lips just as she took a sip from her alcoholic beverage and never letting her eyes leave Cleo's.

"Uh...I-I'm waiting on someone."

"Ah..."

Cleo creased her eyebrows and watched the woman turn her head back away from her and slurp down some more of her drink when she suddenly she couldn't help but feel eyes on her making her turn around and see the two men at the corner of the bar with their eyes locked on her as if she was a gazelle and they were the lions ready to pounce.

Cleo creased her eyebrows and turned her body around and went to let her eyes look toward the people playing pool in the opposite corner of the room or to the flat screen in the upper corner that was playing the news -- anything to distract her from the two men -- but she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps approaching causing her look out the corner of her eye and see one of the men standing before her with a smug look on his face -- obviously drunk.

"May I help you?"

"Could I buy you another drink? If you wanna have some real fun, Bourbon won't do the trick."

"No, thank you..." Cleo whispered out as she watched his smug look change into a straight face as he scoffed and took a seat down next to her making her mentally roll her eyes as she smelt the instant smell of vodka coming off of him and the musk of his cologne.

"Come on...don't tell me these shots will do it for you. I can buy you a real drink...maybe offer you another one back at my place?"

"She said no thanks."

Cleo and the man looked over to see it was the woman with the Bloody Mary standing protectively behind Cleo with her jaw clenched and eyebrows creased as he heard the sound of the guy laughing while his eyes slowly started to droop. "And...who are you?"

"Her friend. Wanna try this again?"

"Listen, bitch--"

Just as the man got out of his seat to stand face to face with her, she punched him square in the nose sending his head flying backwards which made Cleo gasp as she watched his body fold down onto the floor as he literally fell to his knees and the woman took the chance to grip him by his shirt.

"When a lady says no, that means no. Got that?"

The man groaned in pain, but nodded as he gripped onto his broken nose making the woman scoff and shake her head as she let him go and bent back up and walked back over to his spot at the bar and picked up her Bloody Mary and and gulped down the rest before reaching into her chestnut brown leather jacket pocket and pulling out a twenty, tossing it down onto the table, and wiping under her nose as she started for the door -- but not before stopping to softly touch Cleo's exposed arm.

"Are you okay?"

"I...yeah. Thanks..."

"Eva. Eva Jackson."

"Eva...nice to meet you, I'm--"

"--Cleo?"

Cleo jumped at the sudden shouting of her name which made her look to see Kade coming in fast as he watched the man with the broken and bloody nose just a few feet from her attempt to get himself and the all too familiar woman standing in front of his girlfriend causing nothing but anxiety and anger to course throughout his body.

"Oh, Kade, this is Eva. She helped me because that creep over there--"

"--Thanks for helping my girlfriend, but I'm here now."

Eva tilted her head.

"Of course," Eva spoke out softly before folding her leather jacket across her left arm and giving Kade a wicked smile he could sense from a mile away and then look over to Cleo and extend her hand out for her to shake which made Cleo place her hand in hers and shake. "Nice meeting you, see you around?"

"Yeah, of course."

Eva released Cleo's hand and looked back over to Kade and saw the pure look of anger on his face while his jaw was clenched which only made her grin to herself and hum as she turned around and grabbed her purse from the bar stool seat and head out just as the sound of Radioactive by Imagine Dragons began to play.

"Hey, you okay?"

Kade pursed his lip for a moment and glimpsed at Eva one last time before she headed out of the bar -- getting that uneasy feeling in his stomach -- but he simply brushed it off and cleared his throat as he let himself make eye contact with Cleo and seeing the wary in her eyes as she touched his forearm.

"Yeah...yeah, I just need a drink."

"Well, you're in luck. I already ordered for us."

Kade grinned and leaned down to peck Cleo's lips as he took a seat on the bar stool next to Cleo and let his problems fade away with the help of Cleo and Bourbon -- but of course in the back of his mind he was nervous.

Nervous about Eva.

Who was she?

And what is she capable of?

────────

helloooo! lord i take so long to update this book 🤣 but hopefully this chapter makes up for my slow ass updates! we've only got two more chapters before it's over, y'all ready??? 👀

what do you guys think dante's friend, eva, is gonna do with cleo now? do you think she means harm to her or no? and you guys finally got a juicy chapter of theo and dakota 🫣 hopefully it was enough for y'all 🤣 and what do you guys think will happen at dakota's father's birthday event? lemme know your thoughts!

also, once again for being patient with me guys, i promise it'll be worth it when i finish! anyway, thank you guys for reading and getting this book so far! love you guys! see you in the next chapter! peaceeeee ✌🏽