Wild Forces: A Friends to Lovers Romance (O-Town Book 2) by Karen Renee (summer reads .TXT) 📕

I left my stick-mixer gadget here and wanted to pick it up.”

I stepped out of her way as she came inside. She was wearing a bright green summer maxi-dress which accentuated her hazel eyes.

Closing the door, I said, “No problem. You should’ve texted. I’d have brought it to campus.”

She gave me a long look. “What’s wrong?”

I shook my head. “Nothing’s wrong. You done with all your classes? Ready for graduation?”

“You’re a lousy-ass liar, Cassie. Is it Gabe? And that reminds me, you never did tell me what he did to make you leave the night before I moved. Spill it, girlie.”

I widened my eyes at her and shook my head again. “Nothing happened.”

Her lips pursed and her eyebrow arched. “Sex didn’t happen, I got that much. But he did something. And now you’re here alone with bags under your eyes.”

“Mince words with me, why don’t you?”

“Nope. That doesn’t do you any favors, Cassie. So, why do you look miserable?”

I told her about my Dad setting me up to work at the new club, and everything that had happened last night.

“Okay, I was gonna let that night slide, but seriously, what did Gabe do to you when he was drunk?”

I told her about Gabe kissing me.

She stood there with wide eyes, thinking for a moment. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but when he was here with me, he didn’t connect. He kissed me at the club, but here he did not kiss me on the lips much. It seemed strange as hell, and the main reason I thought he was ‘meh.’”

I didn’t need to know any of that. It struck me; the upside to Asher assaulting me was that it prevented Kaylee from giving me the endless postmortem I expected after her time with Gabe.

“Did you hear me, Cassie?” she asked.

I blinked. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to stare off into space on you.”

“That’s okay. So, did he say he didn’t like what you were wearing?”

I twisted my lips to the side. “Not really. He asked what I was doing there, and ‘dressed like I came from the office.’”

A tiny smile crossed her face, and it looked satisfied. “He liked what you were wearing. He just didn’t like you being there.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “He was surprised to see me there, Kaylee. There’s a difference.”

Her face lit up and her mouth opened to speak, but then she clamped it shut.

“What were you going to say?” I demanded.

“I was going to say, you should have sex with him. But I know he gets you like nobody else does. Hell, my guess is that you get him the same way. Maybe you shouldn’t go there. But then again, the man I want in my life needs to get me like nobody else, so how the hell are you going to find that man if you’re always hanging with G-Rock?”

I nodded my head. “You have a valid point.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That sounds like something a boss would say to an employee who actually doesn’t have a valid point.”

I laughed. “You’re wrong, but they would say it to brush the employee off.”

“Right! So, don’t brush me off, woman. Actually, I know exactly what you need! You’re comin’ out with me and Stacey to GILT tonight. Gabe’s not working it and neither is Brock. We’re goin’ and I’m not taking no for an answer. Wear that red sleeveless dress with the ruching. You know which one I’m talking about because I’ve threatened to steal it for years now.”

I laughed. “Yeah. I should’ve just given the damn thing to you for as little as I wear it.”

She shook her head. “Nope. Fire-engine red washes me out. On you, with your gorgeous brown hair, it’s smokin’.”

“Whatever,” I mumbled.

“Whatever, yourself. Just be ready. We’ll be by at nine.”

Gabe

I DIDN’T HAVE TO WORK tonight, but sometimes when I wasn’t working, it helped to watch and listen to how another DJ handled a crowd. Now that Brock was definitively out of the DJ scene, he didn’t have time for me to bounce ideas off of him or discuss trends in music.

When I hit a club for the sake of research, I never put a ton of effort into my appearance. Flashy clothes didn’t help me to lurk in the corners if I felt like it. I leaned against the corner of the bar with my beer in hand. The song had shifted to Khalid’s “Talk” and it never failed: when the music tempo slowed, the crowd slowed down with it.

My observations were cut short when I saw a damn fine woman on the dance floor with a former buddy of mine. Her red dress molded to her curvy body, and her dark hair fell down her back in waves. He slid his hands down her back, but I noticed she reached back to stop the progress of his hands.

Then I realized that body was especially familiar, but I’d never seen her in any kind of dress, let alone one which showed off her curves.

“God damn it,” I whispered.

I downed a huge gulp of my beer, and set it on the bar behind me.

In no time, I waded through the crowd to sidle up to Brenden.

He looked at me askance before recognition lit his eyes. “Gabe. What are you doing here?”

At his question, Cassie turned her attention to me.

I grinned at my former buddy. “Saving her from you. That’s what I’m doing.”

His expression shifted from friendly to angry, but I looked directly at Cassie, who glared at me fiercely, making me smile.

“I do not need saving, Gabe Sullivan,” she said so loudly three other people turned.

I put a hand on her waist. “Yeah, you do.”

With a sideways glance at Brenden, I added, “Kaylee’s here. Seems to be on the prowl. Might be your night, bro.”

He stepped into my space. “I’m not your ‘bro,’ Sullivan.” He looked to Cassie. “He’s not worth your time. Hope you know that.”

My hand not on Cassie’s waist clenched into a fist