Unless….

Unless that’s not the kind of payback Damon was talking about.

Michael breathed hard, shifting back and forth, and then his eyes fell on me.

And I saw his chin lift and his eyes turn resolute. “Ask her.”

I stilled. What?

He cocked his head, daring me as the rest of them slowly turned to me and waited.

What the hell? What was I supposed to do?

And then I realized what Damon had just asked. What are we going to do? It was my decision.

They’d all had each other’s backs tonight, and now they had mine. But they weren’t going to do my shit for me.

No, Michael never would. He’d never handled me lightly, and he was going to make me deal with this. And if I didn’t, I may as well have them take me home now.

I bit down, glaring through the windows of Sticks again. Miles leaned into his girlfriend, wrapping her thighs around his waist as she sat on a stool, and kissed her while pawing her breast. She giggled, and he backed away with a smug smile on his face, having no care in the world as he walked up to the bar and got a pat on the back from a teammate on the way.

I glanced at Astrid again, seeing her laughing with her friends and fluff her long red hair.

They thought they’d won. They didn’t fear me.

And I locked my teeth together so hard it hurt.

I didn’t know what I was doing, but fuck it.

Rubbing my knuckles along the corners of my eyes, I wiped away any remaining tears, making sure my mascara hadn’t run.

Grabbing the back of my sweatshirt, I pulled it over my head, slipping my arms out, and tossed it to Kai. I mussed the hem of my tight, gray tank top, bringing it up to show an inch of stomach, and fluffed my hair, trying to give it some temporary volume or sexy chaos or whatever.

“After you see me take him into the bathroom,” I told them, checking the rest of my clothes, “give me a minute and then follow.”

And then I looked up, checking for confirmation that they’d heard, and froze.

“What?” I asked in a low voice.

Four sets of eyes stared, their intense gazes falling down my body as if they’d never seen a girl before.

Kai tried to look away, but he kept stealing glances with narrowed eyes, as if he were almost angry, and Damon looked at me like I was naked.

Will’s eyebrows rose, and then he shot Michael a look, forming an “o” with his mouth and blowing out a long breath.

But turning my eyes on Michael, I saw his jaw flex and his fists clench. Who knew what he was thinking, but he looked mad. As usual.

I rolled my eyes at them.

I guess it felt kind of good. In fact, I hadn’t thought about my scar one time since I’d come out with them tonight. I never felt sexy, but what I liked even more was that it didn’t take much to get their attention. No mini-skirt, barely any make-up, and no games. I just took off my sweatshirt, and suddenly I wasn’t a little girl anymore.

Of course, that fact wasn’t difficult to forget when the tank didn’t leave much to the imagination with the low-cut neckline. And given the temperature outside, I didn’t even want to know what they could make out through the fabric.

Forcing a huge-ass smile to psych myself up, I grabbed Will’s flask out of his hands and spun around for the door.

“Hey!” I heard him bark behind me.

But I was inside before he could protest further, the door closing and leaving them outside.

The warmth of the pool hall, smelling of wood and hamburgers, greeted me as soon as I walked in, and despite the warmer air, the change in temperature made my sensitive skin tingle. I felt my nipples grow harder, and my hands shook.

Maybe it was just nerves.

Scanning the area and trying to appear like I had no idea the person I was looking for was right at the bar, I tried to act casual. Several people looked up from their pool tables and small groups to see who had just entered. Some smiled and others jerked their chins in hello, before turning back to their conversations.

Corrupt by Depeche Mode played over the speakers, and I flipped my hair to the side, tipping up the flask and taking a small swig, trying not to wince at the burn coating my throat. I caught Miles’ head turned toward me from the corner of my eye.

Holding the flask in one hand and sticking my other hand into the back pocket of my jeans, I walked down the aisle between the bar and the pool tables, forcing myself to smile and my hips to sway. I tried to look flirty, even though my heart was stretching my throat and sweat cooled the back of my neck.

Turning my head, I pretended to be interested in something happening at one of the tables and not watching where I was going.

And then I crashed into his arm, spinning my head back around and feeling the vodka from Will’s flask splash my arm and seeing the blotches on Miles’ shirt.

“Oh, my God!” I gasped, making a big show of wiping him off. “I’m so sorry. I—”

“It’s okay,” he cut in, running a hand down his shirt and then over his blond hair, fixing himself. “What are you drinking there, Pretty Girl?”

He took the opportunity and grabbed my waist with one hand, stealing my flask with the other and taking a drink.

His eyebrows shot up, probably surprised to actually find alcohol and not Kool-Aid in there. The perk about being the quiet girl was not many people really got to know you, which left you the advantage of surprise if you ever decided to switch gears in situations just like this.

I pinched my eyebrows together, trying to look worried and vulnerable.