The Distance Between Us (Book Two ✓)

thirty-three

EMMA

Gulping a long drink from my overpriced water bottle, I scan the crowd underneath the neon EXIT sign across the bar. I breathe a sigh of relief when Beau re-enters the club, Beck trailing behind him with a small smile on his face. As for Beau, his expression is more conflicted, dark brows furrowed over his eyes. Still, he doesn't look violently angry, like he so often does when talking about his brother. The sight warms my heart. They may never be close, but at least they're speaking.

It's funny seeing them together - similar in a lot of ways, but so starkly different. Beau's hair is dark and messy, Beck's is light and neatly kept, except for the stray strand that falls into his eyes. Blue eyes, instead of green. I've tried not to stare too much, but I feel like Beck's eyes are sad, too.

I shift my weight in the booth, alternating between sitting on my hands and keeping them folded in my lap. The club is crowded and the air is heavy with smoke and heat. Between the steam practically coming from peoples bodies and the strobe lights flashing intermittently, it's hard to focus on any one persons face. Still, Beau stands out from the rest - his strong jaw and pretty eyes dazzling even from a distance.

Across the table from me, Rey let's out a drunken burp and then a bubbly giggle. She follows my gaze to Beau and his brother, now cornered by a group of young women. One of them leans close to Beau, trailing a finger up his forearm tattoos as she inches closer to his body. Her friend runs her fingers through Beck's golden hair, batting her long lashes seductively. It might be hard to see in the dim lighting, but I'd have to be completely blind to miss their flirting.

I feel the crease forming between my brows and stare down at the soggy cocktail napkin under my water. Twisting the damp paper between my fingers, I refuse to let myself get worked up over some random fans at a bar.

After the show, Rey had given Beau a huge hug - one that Beau assured me was platonic. But I saw the glimmer in her eyes as they made contact - similar to the one in this woman's eyes now. Rey looks up to him - as a musician, as a brother, who knows. But there's more to it than that, whether Beau sees it or not.

"Does it bother you?" Rey leans across the table, her head a little wobbly on her shoulders. When I tear my eyes away from the crumbly napkin in my fingers, I notice that Rey, too, seems to be undressing him with her eyes. Bottom lip pulled under by her top teeth, she watches him with a dazed expression. Finally, she rolls her shaved head towards me and continues, "All the women all over him all the time, I mean?"

I wonder if she sees the irony in her question. Her dark eyes follow Beau's every movement, envy etched all over her face as a pretty brunette giggles and slaps Beau's shoulder. I watch as Beau shifts back a couple of steps uncomfortably, trying to tug Beck back to the table.

"Not really," I lie in between her band mates intoxicated hollering around the table. When she meets my gaze again, her thick brows pull together in confusion, like she's forgotten that she asked me anything at all. The colorful overhead lights sweep across the room, illuminating her sad, gap-toothed smile when she finally understands my words. Looking back to Beau, who is incredibly handsome in a black v-neck and jeans, I feel the corners of my lips pull into a grin. "I know who he goes home with at the end of the night."

As the words leave my mouth, I begin to believe them more and more. I make sure to meet Rey's eyes as I say it, hoping she never dares try me. Her eyes widen a little before she composes herself. The men of her band are too wrapped up in scouting the club for single women to notice the tension before it dissipates with a loud laugh from Rey.