Just One Week (Just One Song) (16 page)

“I’d sit still if I were you,” a slurred voice says into my ear.

“I see you still have a coke problem,” Nic fires at him, still trying unsuccessfully to pull her hand away from his. “And there’s no way I’d ever do anything with you.”

“Is there a problem here?” My eyes fly to Darren. He’s bigger than all the guys at our table, and it’s the first time he’s ever looked scary to me. His arms are crossed against his black shirt and his legs are spread just far enough apart to make him look like he’s serious as hell right now. I exhale and relax a little bit, although the hand on my neck doesn’t get any looser. “You better get out of here Ethan, before Zack sees you.”

Ethan laughs. “He’s not here and it’s not like he ever minded sharing before.”

“He does now,” Darren says and takes a step forward. A couple of Ethan’s friends apparently decide Darren isn’t anyone to mess with because they take a small step back, letting Darren get closer to Chloe and Sammy. The hand from my neck disappears and I reach back to rub some circulation back into it.

“Let her go, Ethan. You don’t want to do this right here in the club and make a scene. It will ruin your career. Whatever’s left of it anyway.”

He pulls Nic in front of him, and there’s still a table between them and Darren. I watch Darren’s eyes flicker around, trying to decide what to do, when Ethan wraps an arm around Nicole, running his nose up and down her neck. “This bitch already ruined my career,” he says when he pulls away from Nic a little bit. Her face is white and all I want to do is squeeze Ethan hard enough in the balls to ruin any chance he has of being with a woman.

“Get your fucking hands off her, Ethan. Now!”

I snap my head around in the direction of the shout and see Zack and the rest of the guys barreling their way past the crowd in the club. They’re all panting heavily, Zack and Chase’s hand are balled into fists at their sides. Garrett immediately pushes past the last person and pulls Chloe into his arms while Jake moves around the table and stands behind Sammy, pushing one of Ethan’s goons out of the way and shooting daggers at him with his eyes. I’ve never seen Jake looked pissed, and he looks like he could kill someone right now.

Chase moves in between the guy who was standing behind me and reaches for the back of Ethan’s shirt. With one hand, he yanks Ethan off Nicole, spinning them both around, and she practically falls forward into my lap.

“Get the hell out of here,” Chase growls at him.

“Screw you, man.”

Chase pulls him away one more time, putting a little bit of distance between Ethan and me and then Ethan is balled over, covering his stomach with his hands. Zack takes a step back from Ethan, his hands still clenched tightly and leans toward him again.

My eyes go wide, my body racing with adrenaline once I realize Zack just punched Ethan. And he looks like he could easily do it again. Chase is standing in a calm stance but even I can feel the undercurrent of anger and fury rushing just beneath the surface.

“I told you,” Zack says, breathing heavily and speaking loud enough I can hear, “if you ever laid a hand on Nic again your ass would be mine. Get the fuck out of this club before I have you blacklisted with every single damn band and you never work again. And if you ever lay a finger on my wife, I’ll break your fucking hand.” He’s not loud enough to cause a scene, but there are several people close to us pretending like they’re not paying attention to what’s going on. I see a camera flash go off and cringe. Shit. This is so going to make the papers.

Chase shoves Ethan one more time, pushing him into the crowd, and he flips Chase off. Whoever came with Ethan has already scattered and he stands there, glaring at all of us. When he realizes that his back up is completely gone, he takes a few steps backwards and disappears into the crowd. Hopefully forever.

“Are you okay?” Zack asks Nic, picking her up off me and pulling her onto his lap on the stool she was sitting on. He picks up her wrist, examining it, and then kisses the pink marks Ethan left all over it. Shit. That’s going to bruise.

Nic nods but is breathing heavily. “I’m fine,” she finally says. “How’d you get here so quick?”

Zack cups her cheeks in his hands and kisses her fiercely on the lips. He’s breathing just as heavy as she is and fear is written all over his face. “Chloe texted Darren. He sent us a text but we were already a few blocks away, on the way here. We hauled ass as soon as I got his text.”

“It’s pretty hot watching you punch someone.” The words slip out before I can stop them, and everyone looks at me. “What? It is.”

Chase glares at me. “You’re going to make a joke out of this right now? You could have been hurt. Any of you.”

“Yes, but you guys came and saved us and we’re all fine now. So we can just forget it happened?”

I look over at Nic who nods with me. I think all of us girls are in agreement that we’d just rather forget we ever saw Ethan, but I think the men have gone into some sort of alpha protective mode because none of them look happy with the idea.

“Why in the hell aren’t you in the VIP section anyway?” Zack finally asks, scowling at us, especially Sammy.

She shrugs with a slight pout. “I hate sitting up there. You’re far away from the action and the dance floor.”

I shrink back into Chase a little bit with the fiery look Zack gives his sister. “And you just put Nic and the rest of you in danger, Sammy. Didn’t you fucking stop to think that someone would recognize them? Or you?”

“No,” she spits out. Her eyes practically mirror Zack. If they weren’t so pissed off, I’d probably laugh. Fortunately, I’m wise enough to hold it in. “I didn’t think that because I didn’t think it’d be a big deal, Zack!”

“Back off man,” Jake says quietly and rests his hands on the back of Sammy’s chair.

She scowls at him and then looks at the table.

“No. This was a stupid decision. I get that Sammy gets to go out with her friends and do whatever she wants, but she wasn’t thinking straight when she planned this. This is exactly why VIP sections exist in clubs for fuck’s sake.”

“Zack,” Nicole starts, her voice as soft as I’ve ever heard it. She puts her hand on his cheek and pulls his face toward hers. “It’s fine. We’re all fine and I really just want to get another drink and dance and forget this all happened. It’s not that big of a deal.”

Chase looks around, raising his hand in the air for a waitress and she appears within seconds. How do he and Chloe have that magic hand? It takes me forever to get drinks at a club.

“She doesn’t need you yelling at her,” Jake states, interrupting Nicole’s attempt to calm down Zack.

Sammy jumps out of her chair and leans in to Jake, closing the distance between them. The only space they have is Sammy’s finger pointing at Jake’s chest. “And you don’t have the right to defend me or try to protect me. Not after the shit you pulled.”

Every woman’s mouth drops open and we inhale a collective gasp.

Jake runs his hands through his hair and sighs. “Now’s not the time to bring this up. We’ve talked about it.”

“No,” she snaps at him. “You talked about it and expected me to move along and forget about it.”

“Forget about what?” Zack and Chase ask at the same time. I bite the inside of my cheek and thank the heavens that our drinks arrive at that exact moment. I quietly ask the waitress for another round while everyone else at the table is staring at Sammy and Jake. I have a feeling we’re going to need the back up.

“Nothing, man,” Jake says, but it’s clear he’s lying. He’s also not looking Zack in the eye, and avoiding Sammy completely. It’s like the admission kills him to say.

Zack’s jaw tightens and he grinds his teeth together. I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen him look so upset. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Nic’s hand reaches for Zack. I can tell she’s squeezing it hard, trying to get his attention, but he acts like she doesn’t exist as he and Jake glare at each other.

I’m biting my bottom lip when Sammy, Chloe, and Nic all start acting like we know absolutely nothing. Zack’s eyes goes to each of ours and I see the instant he figures it out. His eyes fly to Jake and I think they’re going to pop out of his head.

“You slept with my sister?” He hisses the words angrily.

Sammy’s head drops into the palm of her hand that’s propped up with her elbow on the table and Jake’s hands fly up.

“It was a mistake Zack, and we worked it out.”

“Wrong thing to say, dude,” Chase mutters next to me. I snicker a little bit as Zack’s face practically turns purple.

“Thanks asshole!” Sammy jumps up, and I can see the tears swimming in her eyes that she’s fighting so hard to keep hidden. I reach over and grasp her hand. It’s the only way I can offer my silent support but she doesn’t pay any attention to me.

“You could have any chick, any night you want, and you chose to use Sammy? What in the hell is wrong with you?” If I thought Zack was pissed at Ethan earlier that was nothing compared to this. His chest is heaving and I’m pretty sure smoke may fly out of his nose any second with the way he’s breathing.

“I’m right here,” Sammy states, but Jake and Zack are in a staring contest so strong they can’t be distracted.

“It wasn’t like that! I care about her, Zack. I just didn’t want this,” he waves his arms dramatically through the air, “bullshit to happen once you found out.”

“So throwing her aside was the right way to handle it? You thought I’d be pissed to find out you like her, but just screwing her and throwing her out afterward would make me happy?”

“Can we stop talking about me like I’m not in the room?”

“No!” Zack snaps and Nic jumps in her seat. Her tanned skin is a little bit whiter. I don’t think she’s ever seen Zack this upset either.

“Let’s let them figure this out,” Chase whispers in my ear. “Dance with me.”

I look at Sammy. She’s still fighting to hold back her tears, but she also looks completely mortified. Jake is still standing behind her, breathing heavily and glancing between her and Zack. Neither one of them will look at him. I almost feel bad for the guy. He drops his head, closes his eyes, and looks defeated.

I feel Chase pulling on my hand again. He nods his head toward the dance floor so I take one of the shots on the table, the alcohol calming my nerves from all the drama, and let him lead me to the floor. When we get to the dance floor, I see Chloe and Garrett have taken a cue from us and are dancing close by.

“Did you know about that?” Chase asks as he wraps his arms around me, pulling me close to him.

“I just found out earlier tonight.”

I lean forward, resting my head against his chest, and feel the beat of his heart. He says nothing else while we dance, our bodies now moving in sync with the music. I close my eyes and relax into him, wanting to forget everything that has just happened at the worst Bachelorette party in history.

Poor Nicole, I think, when Garrett comes up and taps Chase on the shoulder.

“Chloe and I are going to take off. You want to head out with us?” He’s yelling over the music and I can see Zack and Nic still at the table with Jake and Sammy.

Chase and I agree to leave, so Chloe and I head back to the table to grab our purses. When I get there, I shoot Nicole a look, silently asking if she’s okay. She nods her head but I can tell she’s irritated. In fact, everyone still looks a bit pissy. Sammy’s face is scrunched up at whatever Jake is saying to her across the table. He’s leaning in and whispering into her ear and her hands are clutching her drink. She’s not looking at him, but she’s paying attention to everything he’s saying.

Frankly I think the two would be good together, but what in the hell do I know about good relationships?

I give Nic a kiss on her cheek. “We’re taking off. You guys heading home?”

Nic snorts. “I think Zack’s still debating whether or not he’s going to kick Jake’s ass.”

“That bad?”

She nods toward Sammy and Jake. Zack is glaring at them although I know he can’t hear anything Jake is saying, either.

“He admitted to liking her. Zack’s not pissed he likes her, he’s just mad his best friend used her. And he has a ton of groveling to do if he wants Sammy back.”

I smile. “I hope she puts him through hell.”

I give her a hug and follow Chase out to the car Darren has waiting for us.