So Over You by Gwen Hayes Read Free Book Online Page A

effortless.
    As only the very entitled would dare, he snaked his arm behind me and lounged in his seat, probably waiting for me to gush about the privilege of his company.
    “Hey, Dean.”
    “Hey, Laynster.”
    “How are you?” I asked, pretending to care. We weren’t exactly friends, but we had friends in common. Well, as close to friends as I had. I didn’t hate Dean; I just really didn’t care how he was one way or the other.
    “I’ll be better when we get out of here.” He didn’t have skates on, and he hadn’t rented any either.
    “Sorry, you’ll have to suffer for one hour. Where are your skates?”
    Dean leaned in close, way too close. Like get-out-of-my-bubble-bad-man too close. “You don’t seriously want to stay here, do you? We could go for a drive.”
    The scent of alcohol on his breath drifted my way, and with it a deluge of unwanted memories landslided their way through my head. Random blips of ugly things I wanted to forget threw themselves into my path, throwing me off-kilter. The smell of whiskey…the heaviness of a hand…the spinning of the room. Things I hadn’t thought about in a long time.
    I stood up quickly, forgetting I was on skates. Dean rose also, righting me as I slipped. “Thanks. Um, you better go get your skates. I think there’s a rule…”
    “Everyone has to pay for skate rental. There’s no rule that you have to put them on your feet. Besides, we can’t really get to know each other here. Let’s go for a drive. C’mon.”
    My gut twisted and I grew light-headed. I’d never had a panic attack before, and I sure didn’t want to start in a skating rink. My world spiraled to a pinpoint of light and my hands grew clammy.
    “Are you okay? Do you need some air?” He reached for my hand, but I shook him off. “Okay, okay.” He held his hands in mock surrender. “We’ll stay here.” Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a flask. “Besides, I brought the party to us.”
    We can have a party right here. Just you and me.
    The rink pitched sideways as that voice from my past rang out in my mind as clear as the day he said it.
    No, clearer. Clarity was one thing I had lacked that night.
    My face flushed hot and cold and I fought the urge to throw up or run away. I couldn’t be scared. I don’t do scared. I stared at a candy wrapper on the floor until the world leveled again.
    “Put the booze away, Dean.” Hugging my arms to my chest, irrational fear and anger coursed through me. Pride, perhaps my biggest flaw, was also the only one that kept me from falling part all these years, and I’d be damned if I lost my sense of self now, after all this time.
    He pocketed the flask and his face pinched into a worried look. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look kinda pale.”
    He grabbed my elbow, but this time he held on when I tried to shrug out of his grasp. Having all these feelings was sort of foreign to me, and having him clutch at me sort of popped my cork. I yanked my arm wildly, and when he saw the look in my eyes, he released me immediately, causing me to reel backward on the stupid wheels on my feet. Dean reached for me again to stop my fall, only he got slammed from behind by another skater who came out of nowhere.
    The skater pushed Dean into the wall, pinning him in place. “Sorry, man,” he said but didn’t back off. “I lost my balance.”
    I grabbed the bench and steadied myself again but recognized the voice. “Foster?” What was he doing here? “What are you doing here?”
    Dean growled at him. “Get off me, dude.”
    Foster had braced his arm across Dean’s chest just below his neck. “Sorry, my bad. Haven’t been skating in a few years. Are you both okay?” He spoke to me over his shoulder. “Are you all right, Logan?”
    “I’m fine.” Oh my God. Was he pinning Dean to the wall for me? “Foster, let him go.”
    “So your date is over, then, Dean.” It wasn’t a question; it was a statement. Things were definitely veering toward