Page 104 of Only Ever You

Damn, she looks good.

I push away the thought and inhale, ready to call out to her. But before I can, I realize she’s wearing earbuds and probably can’t hear me.

So, I follow her, keeping my distance. Why I don’t make myself known is beyond me.

She pushes on the door to the parking lot, but it doesn’t budge. I pause several feet away, frowning. What the hell?

She tries again, harder this time, but to no avail.

“What’s going on?” she mutters, taking out her earbud.

“It shouldn’t be locked yet. It’s not quite six,” I say quietly.

Screeching, she turns on her heel, hand pressed to her chest, eyes wide and blazing. The moment she realizes it’s me, she pulls her hand back and smacks me.

“You scared me!”

I’ve never noticed before, but she’s kind of adorable when she’s furious. Her plump lips are pursed in a pout, her perfectly plucked eyebrows knitted together. She glares at me, and the look sends warmth through my body…because she’s looking at me.

I chuckle. “Sorry. You had your earbuds in, and I didn’t want to grab you.”

“Yeah, it’s much better to scare me half to death by talking when I think I’m here alone.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “Can you please try to open the door? Maybe it’s jammed and I didn’t push hard enough.”

“Sure.”

I lean into the bar, but it doesn’t budge. Dammit.

It’s only been a couple of minutes since I heard this door close. Asher is probably waiting by my car. Or maybe Kellan is still here.

“Ash should be in the parking lot. He’s here with me,” I explain, pulling my phone out of my pocket.

I dial his number, and when he answers, his voice is strangely cheerful. “What’s up?”

“The door is locked.” I glance at Isla, who’s standing close, like she’s listening to the conversation. “Isla’s here too. We can’t get out.”

“I know.”

It takes a second for his words to register, but then my insides freeze. “What?”

“It took me a week to convince Kellan to help me. He’s harder to crack than I thought, but he finally gave in. He locked the arena for the night, but he left me the key.” His tone is full of mischief. “All the other exits are locked too. There’s no way out. But I’ll unlock the door once you and Isla talk. For real. Hash it out. Yell at each other. Get everything out in the open. I don’t care. Just talk.”

My ears ring, and my head spins. Is he out of his mind?

Isla lifts her hand, opening and closing her fingers in that unmistakable “give it” gesture. Despite the situation we’re in, laughter nearly escapes me. I push my phone into her hand.

She takes it and puts Asher on speaker. “When you open this door, Ash, I’m going to kill you.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time, sweet Isla,” he taunts. “I’ll check on you in forty-five minutes. Wish I’d thought it through and brought something to keep me occupied… Oh well. Guess I’ll sit in Michael’s car and wait. What I wouldn’t do for my friends.”

With that, he hangs up.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

then stop kissing me back

MICHAEL

Nineteen years old