“Well, if you were, you wouldn’t have it. Not the way you’ve been carrying on as if you don’t have responsibilities.”
“Is that all, Mother?”
Her face went red, and her shoulders rose before she shook her head and let them drop. “I don’t even know why I try anymore. You’re nothing like your brother.”
I closed my eyes and bowed my head. Those words again. Nobody had expected me to be like Jake until he died. Now all she wanted was for me to replace her dead son, and as much as I’d tried, I couldn’t.
“I’ll be going out. Have a good evening, Mother.”
I stalked from the room, turned the corner sharply, and headed for the front door. The hall seemed to stretch forever. I kept my eyes straight ahead, ignoring the dead stare from the paintings that lined the walls. I couldn’t wait to get out of the suffocating house.
I yanked the door open harder than necessary and slammed it shut behind me. Rue was already waiting for me by the car parked in the driveaway. He jerked upright when I approached, and his smile turned into a frown.
“Is everything okay, Master Ashton?”
“Everything is as usual,” I answered, not breaking my stride. He hurried to catch up with me and held the door open.
“I hope you don’t mind me saying so, sir, but you look rather upset.”
I forced a smile and patted his cheek affectionately. He was the one who never judged my behavior. He’d gotten out of the car and looked the other way while I lost my virginity to some unimportant guy in the back seat.
Not once had he called me a cheap hooker for it. I wished I could say the same for my mother, but I couldn’t.
“It’s the night of my twenty-first birthday.” I had things to do and people to see. The thought of running into Callum at the club brightened my mood. “The night is just about ready to begin, Rueben.”
“Well, I’ll be here as your ride in case you need to leave.”
“You’re a good man, Rue.” I slid into the back of the car.
I pushed my mother and our conversation from my mind, determined not to let them ruin my night. Instead, I considered Callum and whether he’d come to my party.
If he showed up, there would be no more need for pretense between us. I wouldn’t have to agonize so much over how he felt about me. If he came, he’d be doing so because of me.
That thought kept me in high spirits all the way to the club. I didn’t even want to think of the possibility of him not showing up. Just this once, I wanted everything to go my way. If all went according to plan, tomorrow morning, I’d be climbing out of Callum’s bed with my ass tender from his loving.
The party started at nine, and I arrived an hour late. Although I did believe fashionably late was a thing, and I couldn’t recall being on time for anything in my life, including my own delivery into the world, I’d wanted to be early tonight. I wanted to know the exact second Callum stepped inside the club. I wanted to be the first person at his side before he caught anyone else’s attention.
Upon arrival, I searched the club, scanning faces and walking the length of the dance floor, which wasn’t easy, given the various bodies already pressed together and gyrating on whatever was available.
The place was packed with people from the college I attended to Instagram influencers who I’d become friends with. Some I’d met before, and others I’d never spoken to, but all had been invited to celebrate my twenty-first birthday.
Thankfully, it was easy enough to go around the club, chatting and laughing while watching the entrance. I didn’t dare get drunk and do something stupid, like miss his arrival. I kept the one glass of martini in my hand and would sip at it absentmindedly but never enough to need another.
At some point, a group of my closest friends found me. I smiled in greeting until I saw Louis was with them. What the hell was he doing here? He’d been invited when we were still friends, but now that we barely spoke to each other, I’d never expected him to show up.
Still, it was my birthday, and I wasn’t about to start a scene like a month ago when he’d ruined the Never Have I Ever game. I ignored him, hugging everyone else. If he could show up as if nothing was wrong between us, then I could also forget that he was here.
“This party is really lit!” Justin said, nodding to the beat of the music.
“Thanks, man. I did try.”
And trying meant I’d hired an event planner to take care of the whole thing. When Ashton Keyes turned twenty-one, everyone expected it to be a big thing. I’d given them exactly what they’d had in mind, and if everyone but me was enjoying themselves, that was all fine.
I was content to wait all night for Callum to show up. I didn’t even consider it a possibility that he wouldn’t come.
Chapter Three
Callum
“What’s your name?”
I stared at the bouncer, my name the furthest thing from my mind when I was mentally kicking myself in the ass for turning up to this ridiculous birthday party. I’d intended to stay away. I’d made sure of it, giving Phillip the evening off to spend with his family so I’d be in charge of locking up the coffee shop. I’d even kept the doors opened half an hour beyond its usual time, convinced that I had nowhere to go afterward but my bed.
My bed was in the apartment above the coffee shop and not on 112 Crescent Park, where the posh club Rumor was located. It hadn’t been hard to find the club, even though I’d never been to this side of town before. It was notably different, classier, and more upscale than where Coffee Crave was. I’d braced myself to what I’d find, but the opulence was so very much in your face.
“What’s your name?”
The bouncer’s annoyed holler pulled me out of my thoughts, and I showed him the invitation Ashton had given me. “The name is Callum Davidson.”
He frowned at the invitation, then back at me. “You sure you’re in the right place? Where did you get this invitation?”
“Ashton invited me.”
It irritated me to no end that I had to stand there, explaining myself to a bouncer. If I’d stayed home, where I belonged, none of this would be happening.
He chuckled, stroking his chin as he eyed me up and down. I’d thought it best to do away with my apron and wear something more appropriate for clubbing. I’d still avoided my newest pair of jeans, instead opting for those threaded at the knees. The washout color, though stylish, was au naturel.
“Hell, I suppose you’re just his type,” the huge boulder before me decided aloud, then stepped aside and waved me ahead. “Good luck! Maybe he’ll pick you out of all the other men lining up for a shot at taking him home tonight. That Ashton Keyes is a hot piece of ass. Too bad.”
I paused and frowned at him, curious by what he meant. “Too bad what?”
“That boy is more trouble than he’s worth. Without his brother to keep him in check, he’s just about turned wild. He’s nothing but trouble with a mouth on him that needs to be put to good use, if you know what I mean.”
I did know exactly what he meant. It wasn’t as if I’d never contemplated the same thing. Wasn’t that the reason I’d stayed away from Ashton all these weeks?