THIRTY

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I shot off of Bren's lap, only to be yanked down again

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I shot off of Bren's lap, only to be yanked down again.

"Madie, shit." His throaty laugh sounded next to my ear. "Remember what I said about the lights? Give me a second to...adjust myself."

I giggled, peeking at him over my shoulder. His eyes flicked up to meet mine before he grabbed my head to pull it closer, giving me a rough kiss on my temple.

With a smile, I looked back at the table, waiting for Bren to figure out his not-so-little predicament. Nessa was still sitting across from us, but her teasing smirk had vanished. And she seemed a bit...sad.

Jonathon wasn't next to her anymore, and a quick scan around the room told me that he'd vanished. 

It was hard to believe anyone could be really sad about that.

Nessa glanced at the empty seat beside her, and I started to wonder if Bren and I should stay—at least until I figured out what was going on with her and her date. The last thing I wanted was for Nessa to have to third-wheel it with Beau and church-base—I mean, Collins.

But then a guy with light brown hair and green eyes plopped unceremoniously into the open spot by Nessa. And it was my turn to smirk.

Nessa barely recovered from her moment of surprise before giving him a look. "My date was sitting there, Grayson," she said dryly.

I didn't miss that tone in her voice, that wondering of whether her date would be returning. Did something happen?

I'd been a little distracted the last few minutes.

Grayson shrugged and flashed Nessa a lazy grin. "He's not here now." And then, in a way that made me wonder if he'd seen the sadness in Nessa's expression too, Grayson added, "His loss."

Nessa made a face.

But despite that face, I knew that Nessa was going to be just fine without me. She could deny it all she wanted, but she liked his attention. And there was a spark of determination in Grayson's eyes that told me he wasn't going to be driven away that easily.

"Let's go," Bren muttered against the curve of my ear.

The second I peered over my shoulder and saw the smirk in his eyes, I slipped off his lap, eager to pull Bren out of the ballroom. Eager to head upstairs. Eager to finally be alone with my brown-eyed boy.

Bren grabbed my hand, letting me lead the way. As we walked away, I heard Beau say, "Fuck, they barely lasted like ten minutes."

Nessa's laugh rang out. "That's fifty dollars. Pay up, B!"

Beau's voice shot something back at Nessa, but it was hard to make out over the music. And I honestly didn't care. Bren chuckled behind me, and it took everything in me not to spin around and kiss him in the middle of this goddamn gala. 

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