She stayed silent as she looked at him.
“Will you back away?” She gazed over his shoulder.
“No.”
“No matter what I say?”
“I’m not going anywhere. From the night of Heather’s eighteenth, you’ve been mine. You’ll continue to be mine.” He cupped her cheek, tilting her head back to look at him.
The door to the bathroom opened. He turned to see Ashley stood, glaring at him.
“Amber, your date is waiting. This is your chance to experience something new. Go, now.”
His woman ducked under his arm and left the bathroom. Elijah turned to Ashley. The other woman was glaring at him.
“She told you about us?” he asked.
Ashley entered the room, letting the door swing closed. She folded her arms and stared at him. “She told me everything.”
“I doubt that.”
“Then you’re a jerk, Sir.”
He gasped, staring at Ashley.
“We may not share everything, but we get there in the end. There are parts of ourselves we keep silent about. Not everyone needs to know the sordid truth of our past.”
She stepped closer. The anger radiated off her, startling him.
“She loves me, and I love her.”
“I have no doubt, but what you’ve done to Amber is not acceptable to me. When she was supposed to be dating, she wasn’t. My girl has been hung up on you.”
“I’m going to make it right by her,” he said.
“I’m not some dumb innocent you can blind with your words, Elijah. I’ve been out in the world, and I know it’s cold, harsh and downright f**king painful but you get through it. Amber has been getting through her life, and I don’t think it’s fair for her. She deserves to be loved, and you’re not the right man for the job.”
They were stood toe to toe. Her eyes were blazing with accusation. His earlier assessment of the four friends was not entirely accurate. They kept secrets from each other, but no matter what the secret, each of them had the others’ backs regardless.
“I love her. You’re not going to stop me from loving her.”
“It’s not my intention of stopping you. I’m telling you right here and now, you either do right by her, or you’ll be answering to me and I don’t play nice at all.”
She turned on her heel and walked out of the ladies’ room. Ashley was quite terrifying. He’d never seen her look so dangerous. She looked ready to castrate him. The idea was not a fun one at all.
Leaving the ladies’ room, he walked toward the bar. He searched the whole bar looking for his woman. Elijah spotted her on the dance floor. Her date had his arms wrapped around her waist.
“Hey, butt-head,” Heather said, coming up beside him.
“Are you ever going to call me by my given name? I believe our parents took forever to name both of us.”
“No can do.” Heather flicked the hair of her neck, bouncing to the beat. “What are you going to do about Amber?” she asked, taking him completely by surprise.
“What?”
His sister snorted at him. “I wasn’t born yesterday. I see the way you look at her, and I also saw your boxers in her laundry. I’ve seen her naked, so unless she’s got a male underwear fetish then they’re yours.”
“You’re far more observant than I thought you were.”
“Also taught you a lesson. I made sure you could hear me that day.” Heather leaned against the bar with a hand on her hip. “We’re not perfect, but we’re the best of friends.”
“I love her, Heather. She means everything to me.”
“I don’t know how long this is going on, and to be honest, I don’t really care. If you have feelings for her and care about your, erm, stuff, you’ll do right by her.” She nodded at Wade, and the barman started walking toward them.
“You’re giving me your blessing?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m giving you my blessing within reason. Treat her right, Elijah. She deserves a man who’ll love her for her.”
His gaze found hers. The song had changed to a slow number, and Amber’s date had his arms wrapped around her.
Amber was staring at him as she danced with another man. Pain shot through him at the sight of his woman in another man’s arms. Amber was getting from her date what he’d not been able to give her. He’d never dated her, and he’d never even tried to get to know her outside of the club and the sex they shared. Not only did he not want to date, but Amber insisted on keeping their relationship secret. He couldn’t force her to date him when she didn’t want Heather to know about them.
Heather grabbed her drink and left him alone with his thoughts.
He spent the entire time watching Amber on her date. When it was time for them to leave, he turned into a stalker. Elijah followed her home and even took the stairs, hiding behind a large planter to watch the scene unfold.
“I had a nice time tonight,” Amber said, getting her key and turning her back to the guy. “You really didn’t need to bring me up to my room.”
Her door was opened, and her date circled a hand around her waist. Elijah destroyed a branch of the plant he was hiding behind. He tightened his fist and forced himself to be rooted to the spot.
She was turned and pressed against the wall. The door to her apartment was partially open.
Her date kissed her. Elijah didn’t know how he managed to stay seated during the whole episode, but he watched without giving himself away.
The date pulled away. “You don’t want me, do you?” he asked.
“I’m really sorry, Dale. It has been someone else for a long time.”
“Call me if things go badly.” Dale stroked her cheek and then turned away.
Amber let out a sigh before going inside her apartment and closing the door.
Elijah left the building seconds later. His hands were shaking as he took out his cell phone. Amber had turned him into a stalker. He opened up a new message and sent Amber a text.
Elijah: Give me a chance. Meet me @ the café across the street tomorrow.
He hated text talk. Walking down the street he waited for his cell phone to go off.
Amber: Y?
Elijah: I can make it worth your while.
Amber: Y shud I trust u?
Elijah: I’m putting up with your bad text spelling. Meet me there or I’ll come and get you.
Minutes passed, and Elijah stared down at his phone.
Amber: Fine!
Pocketing his cell, Elijah started to make some plans. There was no way he was sitting through another one of Amber’s dates. It was not going to happen again.