LEAH
"I'm gonna make that bastard wish he stepped on legos," Isabelle snarled.
I reached for my phone for the fourth time but she was much taller than me and kept holding it over her head.
"Give it back!" I whined. "Iz, come on! Jarrod didn't do anything wrong!"
"Then why are you crying?" she demanded. "And why didn't I know about this Jarrod man?"
I groaned. "You do know about him. He's the hot doctor I mentioned. Now, give it back so I can call him. He's going to think I'm an even bigger bitch than he already does."
She swatted at me, grumbling, "You are the least bitchy person I know. Did he call you a bitch? 'Cause I'm already ready to beat his ass."
"Fuck me," I muttered, rolling my eyes.
"Careful what you wish for, blondie," murmured a masculine voice in my ear.
I spun around, tensing. Adam smirked at me.
The spray holding up his spikes was starting to wear off and they were drooping to both sides. I hadn't been all that obsessed with Adam before, but he looked more like a melting Ken doll than a hot punk.
After my conversation with Jarrod, the last thing I wanted was to flirt with this guy.
I cringed at his comment as he pressed closely to my back.
What did this man even want from me? I went years without having random men hitting on me and now they seemed to be everywhere.
It wasn't like I lost a bunch of weight or got a boob job either.
"Are you almost ready to go?" I asked Isabelle.
She was eyeing Adam like a snack. "Leave? The party just started!"
"Lady's got a point," Adam said, too close to my ear for comfort. His warm breath tickled my ear. "We just finished our last song and I am a free bird now."
Then go fly away, I thought.
"Two more rounds!" Isabelle gave me her puppy eyes. "Pwease?"
"You're not going to be able to walk if you have two more!"
"Uh-huh! I'm a reasonable adult, Leah. I can handle two more."
I pressed a hand to my face. This night would not have a happy ending, I could just feel it.
Adam pulled my curls back from my face, trailing a hand along my neck. My body shivered in response but not necessarily in a good way.
"We can accomplish a lot in two rounds, you know," he told me.
Grimacing, I shuffled forward to get closer to Isabelle.
I leaned up and whispered in her ear, "Save me from this creep!"
She gave me a puzzled look. "He's hot though!"
"To you! I promised Jarrod I wouldn't accept drinks from guys."
"Eww," she replied with a rotten face. "Why would you promise him that? He's not even your boyfriend. He sounds like an asshole to me. Just a Danny 2.0."
Her words struck me directly in the heart. At first, I wondered if she was right. Jarrod had demanded a lot of me considering all we'd done was have medical appointments and sex.
Why was he so controlling?
Then I remembered that the reason we met in the first place was because I'd been drinking and doing things I shouldn't have been. Of course, he was worried about me.
He was trying to look out for me because I was not the best at it myself.
"He's not Danny," I grumbled.
"Whatever you say, love." She squeezed my arm. "Well, if you aren't going to go with our little singer boy, can I?"
My jaw dropped. "Isabelle! Seriously?"
"What?" She sounded horrified. "What's the big deal? You could care less. I still have a dumbass to get over. Adam could certainly help . . ."
She smirked at him, but he was too busy talking to the bartender to notice.
"We don't even know this guy," I reminded her. "What if he has HIV or syphilis or something?"
"You worry too much, Loca."
I bristled at the nickname. "I'm trying to protect you. What if he hurts you, Isabelle?"
"Then I'll bite his dick off," she said flatly. At my doubtful look, her eyes sharpened. "I know what I'm doing. Honestly, you can just go home."
She never brushed me off like this. I couldn't lie; it stung hearing her talk like this. Like she didn't care about her safety or my hesitations around this guy.
"Isabelle, please. Just come back with me—"
She slid off her stool and brushed past me. I sighed.
She stormed over to Adam, grabbed his arm, and jerked him around to face her.
His eyes were wide while he processed what was happening. He appeared startled by Isabelle's roughness.
She looked him in the eyes before leaning in and sticking her tongue in his mouth. He relaxed into her, returning the gesture excitedly.
I turned away, rolling my eyes. I tried to talk some sense into her but she was doing her own thing.
Crawling back onto a bar stool, I flagged the bartender down and asked for the receipt for my drinks and Isabelle's.
While I waited, I risked a glance over my shoulder and saw them engaged in a full-on make-out session. Adam had his hands on her ass while she slurped on his face like a milkshake.
I wasn't sure what had come over her. This felt like some weird way to get back at me, though I had no idea what I'd done.
I'd gone on that stupid blind date for her. This was the last treatment I deserved after that shit show.
Once the bartender brought me the receipt, I paid for our drinks and collected my purse. I climbed off my stool and walked over to where they were still all over each other.
My finger poked her firmly on the shoulder until she unglued her mouth from Adam's face. Her face still held that bitter expression from moments prior.
I understood then that this had nothing to do with this guy. She just didn't want to be told what to do. Her mind was already made, already set against anything I had to say.
"Are you leaving?" she asked.
"Yes," I said. Even though I believed it would be futile, I couldn't help but make one last attempt. "Please come with me, Iz. I paid for our drinks. We can just walk out of here. No regrets."
She glanced back at Adam, her lip curling. "Who said I'm going to regret anything?"
"Isabelle, please," I groaned. "Get his number and you can raincheck. I don't want to leave you here."
"I'm a big girl, Leah. I'll be fine. You don't need to worry about me."
I didn't disagree. She was a grown woman and could make her own decisions. But that didn't mean they were smart decisions.
I wasn't judging her for wanting this, but we didn't have any way to hold this Adam guy accountable. I didn't know where he was from or even what his last name was. He could be a serial killer for all we know.
"Will you text me?" I asked her.
Holding her nose up, she considered it and nodded. "I'll let you know when I get home."
"Thank you. Can I have my phone back now?"
She stroked her hand down Adam's arm. He perked up like a puppy.
Normally I was amused by how Isabelle could wrap a man around her finger but I was only irritated right now. She could make her own mistakes but now she was just holding me up. I was ready to get the hell out of here.
Isabelle ran her tongue over her teeth before finally fishing my phone from her back pocket.
"Maybe you should consider your own choices with men before criticizing mine," she said and dropped my device in my open palm.
I stared at her in pure shock.
Adam was just trying to get in our panties and he didn't care whose it was. I couldn't believe she was willing to let this situation drive a wedge between us. Over a stupid stranger who didn't give a rat's ass about her.
Shaking my head, I stuffed my phone in my purse and marched away.
I wasn't going to contribute to this fire anymore. I didn't want to make her feel guilty or criticize her. I was just trying to keep her safe.
Anyone in this bar would have been a better option than this musician. He could hurt her and leave tomorrow and we'd never see him again.
Even as I walked out to my car, annoyed with Isabelle and the fact that I was sober enough to drive myself home, I still felt worried for her.
We'd been making reckless decisions since college, but this was the first time she blew me off. We only dove off the cliff together. That was the only way to make sure we always had each other if shit went down.
Something else had to be wrong. She was probably mad at me for something else. I just had no idea what that could be.
I slumped into the driver's seat with a tired sigh. Coming out tonight was pointless. I felt worse now than I had before.
I pulled out of The Lip's parking lot and called Ryan. The line rang several times before he answered.
"What's wrong?" he asked immediately, voice scratchy.
There was some faint background noise that sounded like a fan and smacking. I cringed.
No period of friendship weathered me enough to listen to my best friend while he was fucking.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your woo-woo time with Mr. Blond Tips," I spoke, hoping to rush through this. "I just wanted to let you know that Isabelle refused to leave with me and she's going to hook up with Adam, that lead singer guy."
"Okay?" he grunted.
Rolling my eyes, I sighed. "Never mind. Get back to shagging then."
The line clipped off. I rolled my eyes and turned on the radio. Maybe if I played the music loud enough it would drown out my thoughts.
What was up with everyone tonight? Was I the asshole here?
I thought about what I'd said and done tonight, trying to think of anything I'd done to piss everyone off. I really wasn't sure.
By the time I got home, I was tempted to call Jarrod back. I wanted to explain what happened earlier. I was worried he thought I was a flake.
I also could use a little comfort from him. I felt like shit after the interactions with my two best friends.
Jarrod would be there for me. At least, I hoped he would.
Given it was almost one in the morning though, I didn't want to bother him. He was busy helping his sister too. Ultimately I decided I didn't want to burden him.
So, while I stripped out of my black dress and waited for the shower to warm up, I settled for a text instead.
LEAH: I'm so sorry about earlier. Isabelle thought you were making me cry but it wasn't you at all. I hope everything is going okay with your sister. Also, I kept our promise. Getting into shower now—way more sober than I would like 🤪 good night