The Risk of Falling

Chapter Thirteen: All The Words We Can't Say

A/N: Hi everyone! Here's the latest chapter for Luke and Max. Hope you like it! :)

I easily lost track of the number of songs the band played, much like I lost track of the number of drinks I had. Sadly, even tipsy, I was still more self-aware than I would’ve liked. I still noticed the uncomfortable, lonely distance between me and Luke. I still noticed the countless women he’d flirted with throughout the whole gig. 

He and Ryan came up to where Jillian and I were, close enough but not too close since she and I were practically halfway up the stage. Jillian was much more of a lightweight than I was, even though I didn’t drink much. Three drinks in and she was already swaying and being even more sassy. By the fifth drink, she was about to go out like a light and Ryan came over and hauled her up against him, taking her back to his seat at a nearby table with Luke. He cut her off from any more alcohol and ordered her to only drink water which she pouted about. As much as I wanted to stay with Jillian, I stayed where I was, determined to keep my distance from Luke. He kept to himself just as well as I did, which was fine with me.

I was singing along with the band when I felt big hands settle on my hip.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw this guy of average height but not so average width smiling at me and not so subtly trying to grind against me. The muscles he had packed on suggested he was obsessed with the gym and the overconfident grin on his face told me I should somehow appreciate that. He wasn’t bad-looking but I harbored no interest in getting to know his muscles really well so I smiled politely and inched away until his hands slipped off my hips.

Those muscles must’ve taken over his brain too because he didn’t take the hint. Instead, he just edged closer, his paws reaching for me again. This time, my spine steeling with sheer annoyance, I shoved my hand against his rock-hard chest. It hurt, it honestly did, but it did send him back a step especially since I kept my throbbing wrist straight and my hand steady against this wall of a man. 

“Your hands and other bodily parts are not welcome on any part of my person so keep them to yourself,” I warned in a low, angry tone that strangely carried over the loud noise. Shoulders squaring, I thrust my chin up, pulled my hand back and waved it dismissively at him. “Now, step aside and let me through.”

Just then, I could see Luke heading my way, his face dark and stony. 

He was angry and he was probably fancying himself my protector. 

“I’m just having fun, missy,” Wall-Man said, holding his hands up in mock surrender and grinning goofily. “No need to get your panties up in a twist.”

Hazy heat seeped through my eyes at the mention of panties because seriously, couldn’t people just leave the underwear alone?

“No need to make it obvious that you so desperately want to wear one under all those extra-tight clothes,”I hissed, whacking the back of my arm against the man’s abdomen, which was no softer than his chest, as I stormed my way past him. 

Nothing felt broken or seriously bruised but my entire right arm was now throbbing and I clutched it close to me as I shouldered my way through the crowd. 

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a pair of hands grabbed me by the shoulders.

“What is it with everyone manhandling me tonight?” I demanded as I looked up into Luke’s furious face. “Am I wearing an invitation for it or what?”

I wasn’t drunk but I sure as hell sound uninhibited now. 

I glared at him, mad because I didn’t mind his hands on me when I was freaking out with Wall-Man, and because he was mad at me and the questions I had to ask.