Seeing Audrey again is like breaking through the water and taking that first gulp of air. Except this time, I didn’t even realize how oxygen-deprived I was. I can’t let her get away from me again. If she doesn’t go to Texas, I’ll have to figure something else out because I go where she goes. But first, time to get her away from these guys and get my girl back in my arms.

Garrett takes a swig from his beer bottle and tilts it toward her lips for her to take a drink. Audrey leans his way and takes in a mouthful. She covers her mouth to swallow and laughs out loud. Mason moves up behind her and latches onto her hips. I begin to have déjà vu at this familiar scene. I yell for him to remove his hands, but the crowd is too loud and my voice is lost in the music. I’m charging forward when someone grabs a tight hold of my arm, halting my advance.

“Watch it,” I growl and turn to face my captor. When I realize it’s only Cole, I reel in my temper.

“Easy...” he cautions.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, still trying to get closer to Audrey.

“Jax called me in for back-up. Good thing he did too,” he gestures to my girl and whistles.

“I’m not gonna get in a fight...” I don’t even believe the words that leave my mouth, so I know Cole’s not going to fall for them.

“Right...seeing as how Mason is leaning in closer to her neck, I’m having a hard time believing that.” His words cause my body to go rigid, and I instantly start shoving people out of my way. I’m fucking done trying to push through politely.

AUDREY -

My Auditing and Assurance class spent the day sitting in on one of Los Angeles’ top accounting firms while they went through their clients’ audits. The day could not have dragged by at a slower pace. Lane went to a different firm than I did, so I got to know Olivia, one of my classmates, really well today.

She’s the reason I’m here now. I told her I needed to relieve some stress, when in actuality I just wanted to feel. Jace can’t be the only person or thing that makes me feel alive. I realized this past week that I’ve been going through the motions, smiling when I thought appropriate, speaking when spoken to. The truth is I’ll always love Jace. No matter how many times I think that maybe we’re better off without one another, there’s this part of me that won’t let go. But I need to be able to breathe without him.

Olivia convinced me to wear these tiny shorts and this tight, button-up, sleeveless shirt. I was hesitant about the party at first. I never pictured myself as the type of girl to be pulled up onto a bar to dance and actually enjoy it. I should have never let Mason and Garrett know that I’ve never tried alcohol because now I feel like I’m swimming in it. My stomach is full of liquid and I feel a buzzing sensation in my veins. My head is cloudy and my movements are sluggish, even though I feel like I’m moving at lightning speed.

I was dancing with Olivia when Mason and Garrett decided to hop up and join us. I shouldn’t have been surprised, since I’ve been batting away Mason’s advances all night. Earlier, Max popped in and asked where Lane was, but I just responded with a shrug of my shoulders. When I spotted him pulling out his phone, I shouted, “Don’t you dare call Jace!”

So imagine my surprise when I see his handsome face charging through the crowd below. Cole follows closely after him and I realize that Max is behind this somehow, because these two look like they are on a mission. And I’m pretty sure that mission has something to do with me.

Jace reaches out and grabs Mason’s leg and growls, “You have three seconds.”

Surprisingly, Mason actually considers his words before deciding not to argue it and jumping down. Garrett passes me another drink from his bottle and I quickly swallow the foul taste. Beer must be one of those drinks that has to grow on you, because I just don’t understand how everyone here seems to enjoy drinking it.

“I’d stop doing that if I were you,” Cole calls up to Garrett.

Meanwhile, Jace is still glaring at Mason. “She’s NEVER had a drink before and this was your brilliant idea?” he hollers.

“Seems fine to me,” Mason slurs. “Gotta start somewhere.”

“Oh yeah, and what did you plan on doing later when she’s puking her guts out? Where did you plan on being then?”

“Hey, I would have had her upstairs and in my bed before she got to that point,” Mason quips. Jace was already mid-swing halfway through his sentence. Mason didn’t even have a chance. Jace may look a little skinnier than he was a little over a week ago, but that obviously hasn’t affected his right hook. The crunch of bone hitting bone is loud and I gasp at the sudden impact. Mason’s body hits the floor, hard and fast.

“Jace!” I yell, but before my brain can catch up, my feet lose their battle with balance. I tilt away from the bar and all I can feel is the muggy air gusting around me.

“Shit!” Cole blurts out.

My body falls into a set of waiting arms and I smile when I look up into my favorite pair of eyes. No one can compete with them, not even Jaxon. While Jaxon’s eyes are more ice and winter, Jace’s look more like the ocean surrounding a tropical island. He’s my personal paradise.

“Gotcha, babe,” he whispers.

“That was fun,” I breathe out through my rush of adrenaline. I cringe as I notice my slurring.

“Let’s not do it again, okay?” he smiles softly. When he glances up, his grin instantly hardens into a look of murder. “You want to join him?” he calls up to Garrett, who steps away from the edge of the bar and shakes his head. I squeeze my arms around Jace’s neck harder, hoping he doesn’t plan on putting me down to deal with poor Garrett. “Don’t ever touch her again. Better yet, don’t even look at her again. You can relay that message to your buddy when he wakes up,” Jace finishes. He doesn’t put me down. Instead, he holds me tighter as he navigates the crowd toward the front door.

“Well, Jaxon’s gonna kick my ass. Thanks man, I was supposed to prevent all that from happening,” Cole calls over Jace’s shoulder.

“Not even Jaxon could have stopped that from happening. Mason had it coming.”

When we reach the front porch, Cole squeezes his shoulder and smiles at me. “I’m gonna head back to my baby mama now.”

“Oh good!” I cry drunkenly, “You finally know!”

“How did you know?” Jace asks in amazement.

“I helped her down from the bridge,” I reply, as if they should already understand this.

“Uh, what bridge, pretty girl?” Cole questions.

“The one she was gonna jump off of. She was pretty freaked out when she found out,” I say, closing my eyes. The porch fan above us is making me dizzy, and there’s already enough spinning going on. I don’t need the fan’s help.

“She was going to jump off a bridge?” Cole cries, interrupting my random thoughts.

“Not a real one,” I whisper for dramatic effect. “You know, it’s just a metamorphosis.”

“I think she means a metaphor,” Jace chuckles.

I lean forward and speak with my lips touching his, “That’s what I said.”

“Well, thanks for helping Quinn out,” Cole says genuinely. “You’re kind of cute when you’re drunk.” He chuckles and kisses my head before walking away.

“Jace, your car is on the lawn,” I whisper, while looking around for who could have done this.

“You are pretty damn adorable,” he laughs.

I wiggle out of his hold until my feet are planted firmly on the wooden porch. I reach out for his hand and pull him alongside me. I’m not sure where I’m going yet, but I’ll show him how damn adorable I can be.

The side of the house is pitch black and thankfully deserted. When I find a spot hidden by the bushes, I push Jace up against the brick wall. He eyes me with confusion.

“Babe, I need to get you home before you realize how sick you’re going to be later,” he groans, as I slam my body and lips up against his.

“Shh...” I whisper, “You don’t want someone to catch us, do you?”

“Catch us doing what?” he questions quietly.

Slowly, I begin to kneel down in front of him. The cold dirt cushions my knees softly and I look up to give him a devilish grin. Desire instantly begins swimming in his eyes and he tries to shake his head back and forth, but it’s obvious he wants this too. I ignore him and reach for the waistband of his jeans. The button takes me a second, but I have the zipper down in no time. My eyes never leave his face.

“Baby, not here. Not while you’re drunk.” His hoarse words are barely audible.

“Shut it, Jace. You don’t get to control this. You control everything and usually I like that, but not when it’s to tell me to go away. It’s my turn,” I demand.

He groans and places his hands on each side of my face. “Audrey, I’m so...”

“Shh,” I rush to say. I reach inside of his pants and pull him out, and he hisses as the air hits his naked skin. Or maybe it’s because my hand immediately begins to pump up and down. I’ve missed him. And in this moment, I realize I’ll never get enough of him. I’ll never tire of him. I wet my lips and slowly slide him inside my impatient mouth. He moans as I move him in and out, with the rhythm of my hand sliding across his skin at the same time.

“Christ, Audrey.” The words whistle past his teeth. He shifts on his feet and braces his hands against the wall. Without removing my mouth, I reach for his hands and bring them to my head. He groans as he receives my message. I guess I still need him to have some control. Slowly, he threads his fingers through my loose hair and grips my scalp, applying just enough pressure to bring a moan out of my throat that vibrates onto him.

I release more of my control and allow him to thrust in and out of my mouth. I stare up into his eyes and watch as he finds his pleasure with me. This is my favorite part of any act with Jace. Watching him claim what’s his is the most euphoric sensation I could ever feel.

His mouth begins to open and close and he seems to be having trouble getting the words he wants to say out. His unspoken thoughts let me know he’s close. I grab onto his thighs so I can feel his strong muscles working toward his release.

“Ahh...” he calls out loudly, and I smile around him at his shameless abandon. Knowing that anyone within a close proximity could hear what I’m doing to him right now gives me a wanton feeling. When he’s finished, he lays his head against the wall and looks up at the sky, breathing heavily. I gently place him back inside of his jeans and carefully zip them up. Slowly, I pull myself up and wobble a bit as the alcohol takes another hit at my balance.

Jace drops to his knees in the same moment and runs his hands down the length of my legs. I’ve never been more thankful for long legs than when I’m around him. He’s undeniably a leg man. His roaming fingers reach my knees and he gently dusts the dirt off of my skin. When he leans in to give each of my knees a gentle kiss, I run my fingers through his messy hair. With one more fleeting touch of my legs, he stands back up to his full height. He runs a hand down the side of my face, and I blink hard so I can focus past the fogginess in my vision.

“You’re perfect,” he whispers.

Just as I try to think of a snarky comment, the sky begins to spin and I suddenly don’t feel as well as I did two minutes ago. I must have stood up too fast. I feel a clammy coldness engulf my skin. I push off of Jace and try to step as far away from him as possible. When I reach the opposite side of the large air-conditioning unit, my stomach heaves.

Jace is immediately behind me, scooping my hair out of my face and steadying me with one hand on my hip. Embarrassed, I remember one of my many reasons I’ve never had a drink. With my hair safely out of the disaster zone, he rubs my back gently.

Jace was right earlier. Who was going to help me when I reached this point? I’d be lying to myself if I thought Garrett or Mason would actually stand here and help me while I’m sick and humiliated.

Tears begin to squeeze out of my eyes and Jace soothes my discomfort.

“Shh, it’s okay. You’re not alone, I’m here,” he whispers. He doesn’t rush or condemn me. He waits patiently for the moment when my stomach is finally empty and my body begins to sag in exhaustion. Gently, he scoops me up into his arms and carries me away.

- Twenty -

JACE -

If someone had asked me a year ago if I would ever lie on the cold, hard tile of my bathroom floor for a girl, I would have laughed in their face. But here I am with my cheek squashed into the freezing stone and a little bit of my drool underneath. I push off the ground, wipe off my face, and rise to a sitting position.