Elise Richardson has been head over heels for Kade Dawson since she first laid eyes on him. Twelve years later and Elise is still too timid to act on her adoration towards a guy who barely notices her.
Parker Reynolds will do anything for her best f...
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Kade looks like he's about to pounce on Nick. Nick isn't stupid–his intelligence is what attracted me to him in the first place–but he's certainly acting stupid now. He's smirking subtly at a fuming Kade.
Nick is playing with fire and has no clue how badly he'll be burned. A furious Kade is extremely dangerous; I've witnessed this aggression first hand and it's not pretty.
Kade could crush Nick under his shoe like a bug. This is a sight I would pay thousands to see. Unfortunately, this is not the time or place for these impulsive shenanigans.
"Kadeee." Elise tugs on the sleeve of his dress shirt for the third time.
"What?" He stares down at his "girlfriend" in aggravation. Elise flinches at the hostility in his dark blue eyes and her lower lip starts to quiver.
She glances back at me, then at Nick's hand, then back at Kade. "Let's go."
"No," Kade almost growls, his eyes moving back to Nick's iron grip on my arm. Hopefully, Nick won't leave bruises, but I tend to bruise like a peach so it's highly likely I'll have finger marks on my arm.
"Why not?" Elise's hazel eyes widen in an attempt to sway Kade from Nick and I.
"Because I don't want to," he snaps.
Nick and I stand still as we watch Kade grab Elise's wrist to pry her fingers from his shirt.
Kade gestures towards the empty stage. "You're free to go, though."
Elise glances between the three of us again, shoots me a dirty look, and huffs. She stomps away from Kade childishly, but pauses to look over her shoulder. When she notices Kade's lack of attention, her eyes water with tears of hurt and she disappears into the crowd.
Elise can go cry about it for all I care. She's too oblivious to notice the severity of this situation.
"I figured you'd like to spend more time with your girlfriend, Dawson. It's good to see that Parker has a friend that cares so much about her wellbeing, but I'm here now and am more than happy to take this one–" He tightens his grip and shakes my arm. "–off your hands. I know she can be a handful." He winks. "Personal experience."
"I'm going to kill you." Kade's voice trembles with rage. His muscles bulge underneath his shirt when he balls his fists and his jaw locks. His narrowed eyes darken with sheer fury and a glint of promise.
Nick merely arches a brow, completely unbothered. "Is that a threat?"
"No." Kade stalks towards us, taking deliberately slow steps. He stops a foot away from us and towers over Nick. "It's a fucking promise."
Nick's dumbass still isn't intimidated. His vice-like grip on my arm remains despite Kade's promise for punishment.
I take my lower lip between my teeth and chew, waiting for Kade's fist to meet Nick's annoyingly smug ugly face. There are a few murmurs and whispers around us as we start to attract an audience. I fidget between my feet nervously and try to pull my arm from Nick's hold.
