Dominate Me

Chapter 18

The week passed without a hitch, vendors all in place for the night ahead, the large hall already decorated. I was ready. Excited. Proud.

And hungry. My stomach growled angrily as Miles whispered his apology, pacing the room while on the phone with his chief. A knock on the door pulled my attention, and knowing who it was wreaked havoc on my body as I stepped over.

I'd been able to avoid Liam all week, Miles having gone with me to each meeting and setup needed, but my luck ran out.

I opened the door, no greeting, just eyebrows raised as Liam stood in front of me, his leather jacket taunting me, reminding me how it felt under my fingertips the night I'd worn it.

"Ready?"

More than you know. I nodded absently, but shook my head a second later. "Wait what?"

"Miles said you were getting hungry. Asked if I could go with you to grab a little food now before we head down for the party later."

"Oh! Food. Yup. Ready."

I turned to blow Miles a kiss before bolting out the door, my stomach leading me to the nearest restaurant.

We stood at the counter to wait for our order, Liam keeping his distance as he leaned against the wall a few feet away.

I stared at him for a moment before he rolled his eyes and glared at me. "What?"

"You never told me why you left two years ago."

Liam flinched, clenching his jaw. "Nothing to say."

He grabbed the bag as it was set on the counter and strode out past me, leaving me to fester in the restaurant behind him.

Oh hell no. I ran to catch up, spearing in front of him and slamming on the brakes.

"Ava. Move."

"No. Not until you tell me why you up and left Miles like you don't give a flying fuck about him."

"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about, Avery. Drop it."

I knew I should've - Miles clearly already had, or maybe he'd already figured out why. But for some reason, I couldn't stop the anger that bubbled through my body. I needed to hear why he left. Maybe I wanted to throw a strong emotion at him, and it couldn't be love, so it had to be hate.

"No! You left your best fucking friend because what? You were jealous? Jealous that he was happy and wasn't spending as much time with you?"

He laughed darkly, glaring back at me, his knuckles white as he stepped around me to grab the car door. "Not even close."

"Then what? God, you're fucking infuriating!"

"Yeah, well, don't worry sweetheart. The feeling is fucking mutual there."

"You really won't let anyone in. Why?"

"For good reason! Now drop it."

"Look, I know you two have been through some shit. I don't know what, but I know it was together and it's why you're so close. But god dammit, Liam, you left like it was nothing and it hurt Miles! So why the fuck did you do it?"