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━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ❝ BREAK MY HEART, TALI. IT'S YOURS IF YOU WANTIT. ❞ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
TALIA APPROACHED THE table lined with an assortment of drinks, the air buzzing with chatter and the faint smell of alcohol. The guy behind the table grinned at her, clearly enjoying his role as the night's amateur bartender.
"What can I get for you?" he asked smoothly, leaning forward a little.
Talia glanced at the bottles, tapping her fingers against the table. "Can you make a lemon drop?"
The guy raised a brow but nodded. "Of course," he said, grabbing the ingredients. He took his time, mixing the drink with an air of exaggerated flair, shaking the cocktail shaker a little longer than necessary before pouring it into a glass. What Talia didn't notice was the extra pour of vodka he added at the end.
"Here you go," he said, sliding the drink across to her with a smirk. "Made it extra special for you."
"Uh, thanks," Talia replied, picking up the drink. She raised it to him in a quick toast before turning away, heading back toward the group.
But just as she reached the edge of the dance floor, Bella intercepted her, grabbing her by the arm.
"Hey, maybe we should step outside for a bit," Bella suggested, her tone light but her expression tense.
Talia frowned, pulling her arm back. "Why? I just got this drink." She glanced toward the group, her brow furrowing. Bella was acting weird, and it wasn't hard to tell she was trying to block her view.
"Just for some fresh air," Bella pressed, her voice tight.
"Bella..." Talia's voice trailed off as her eyes shifted past her friend, landing on the corner of the room.
Her heart sank.
There was Embry, sitting at a table with a group of people, clearly in the middle of a drinking game. And sitting next to him, laughing a little too hard at something he'd said, was the same girl he'd been dancing with earlier. She leaned in close, her hand looped around his arm, drinking out of his drink.
Talia felt her jealousy spike, hot and suffocating. Her grip on the glass in her hand tightened, and she blinked rapidly, trying to keep her emotions in check. It wasn't like she had any claim on Embry, but seeing him like this—laughing, relaxed, and comfortable with another girl—was driving her insane.
Bella followed her gaze and sighed. "Talia, don't."
"Don't what?" Talia snapped, her voice sharper than she intended.
