ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖

I take a sip of what I think is a martini then hand it back to Kieran.

That is really not my drink.

"There you go, mate," I say. "Have fun."

"Thanks, bro," he says with a devious look in his eye.

I wash it down with another sip of my beer. Kieran delivers the glass to his latest conquest—a thin-yet-muscular gentleman with curly hair sitting several stools down from me. I give it five minutes max before they disappear to the back room.

It's probably time for me to head home anyway. I might text Ava and see what she's up to, if she's still awake.

"So, if it isn't the British dude who fucked my girlfriend..." a slurring, drunk voice says from behind me.

I'd assume he was talking to Kieran if he hadn't said British. I don't bother turning around to engage with whoever this is.

"Oi, you got the wrong 'British dude,' mate," I say.

"Do you fuck that many men's girlfriends that you've lost track?" he says with a drunken mumble.

"Mate, you're clearly pissed off your arse."

Kieran chuckles to himself, but his laugh seems to fade and his expression morphs into a devious smirk.

"Oh, this just got interesting," Kieran says. He turns to his latest target and says, "Don't you go anywhere, gorgeous. I just have to see how this goes down."

What does Kieran think I'm going to do? I bust up a guy in the bar one time, and now he thinks I'm going to get into a fistfight with every drunkard I meet?

The guy leans into the bar next to me and sets a beer on the counter. He's got a smug, basic white guy face that I can't seem to place.

"You know what, you did me a favor. Apparently Ava is a massive whore anyway."

Oh fuck. This twat is Mike.

"You don't know what you're fucking talking about," I say with an eye roll.

He's trying to get a rise out of me, but I didn't have sex with Ava—let alone when they were together—and I especially don't care what this wanker thinks of her.

"Oh yeah?" he asks. "So you want me to believe you didn't fuck my girlfriend?"

Kieran is watching with a sly smirk. He's just waiting to see if I'll lose my cool.

"I don't think you have a girlfriend, mate," I say, taking another sip of my beer.

Kieran busts up laughing.

"Yeah, thanks to some British son of a bitch who doesn't respect other people's property," he snaps.

"Again, pretty sure you don't have any property." I turn slightly toward him to make eye contact and smile.

"If I wasn't fucking clear," he says, jabbing my shoulder with his fingers, "when I stuck my dick in her that made her my property."

In a flash, I've got the collar of his shirt twisted up in my fist. He struggles to breathe as the fabric tightens around his neck.

"Okay, okay," Kieran says, putting a hand on my chest and turning to address Mike. "This has been fun, dude—it really has—but you seriously have no idea what you're doing here. I'd prefer not to have to clean your brains off the walls."

Kieran leans into me and whispers, "Remember what Kami said? About trying not to draw unwanted attention?"

I loosen my grip on Mike's collar, his face already a deep red. His eyes are bulging with panic. I exhale hard and release him. He takes several steps back and readjusts his shirt.

"Leave Ava the fuck alone," I say.

As he steadies himself, his courage seems to rebuild.

"Don't worry," he says with a smirk. "There's nothing I could do to her that I haven't already done."

I see red. My hand grips his arm tight by the wrist and I'm overwhelmed with options.

Do I break his arm? Choke him? Kick his kneecaps in?

"Zane," Kieran says sternly with a hand on my shoulder. He seems slightly baffled, out of his element as the voice of reason between us.

Fuck! Fine!

"Alright, Michael," I say, tightening my fingers around his wrist. I scan the room for a moment. "You see that big bloke in the corner with the neck tattoo?"

He nods, his drunken boldness instantly replaced with fear.

"You see that girl he's got his arm around?" I ask. "You're gonna tell her, in excruciating detail, how you want to fuck her. And you do want to, don't you, Michael?"

He nods and I release his arm. Kieran's eyes go wide and Mike walks toward the back corner of the bar.

"Damn it, Zane," he says with a hand combing through his hair. "That wasn't really what I meant."

A rumbling of voices in the corner grows louder and louder as I down the last bit of my beer. Kieran's look of frustration turns into a medley of shock, horror, and amusement.

"You're helping me clean up," he says to me, before returning to his date for the evening.

I hear a loud crash behind me and can't help but smile.

𝔸𝕧𝕒

My vision is hazy as I try to find my phone to check the time. It's pitch black outside, maybe 1 or 2 in the morning?

"What is it about you, Ava?" I hear a voice ask.

I jump and sit straight up in a panic.

Where did that come from? Is someone in my apartment?

A male figure is seated at the corner of my bed.

Oh god, I'm definitely going to be murdered.

The man turns and I recognize the face—it's Kieran.

"Uh... what are you doing here?" I ask.

"It's okay, Ava," he says. I don't know why, but I'm not as scared now, maybe because I know it's Kieran.

How did he even get in? Could Jen have given him a key?

"So what is it?" he asks. "What makes men lose their minds over you?"

"I um... they don't? I don't think they do."

"They do, Ava," he says, inching closer to me.

I'm in a bit of a fog as I try to wake up. Why is Kieran here?

"Are you great in bed, Ava?" he asks. "You must be."

His hand wraps around my neck, the other bracing himself on the bed. His touch is oddly cold.

"Kieran?" I ask. "What are you doing?"

"I just want to try something," he says, leaning into me.

He pulls me in and our lips meet. His lips are cold too, but it feels nice at the same time.

He closes his deep, dark eyes and I feel his long hair brush against my shoulders. I'm so exhausted I'm practically powerless to resist.

"I'm starting to get it," he says, breaking our kiss. "But I'd like to gather a little more information."

His other hand moves off the bed and slinks around my waist.

"Kieran," I say. "We shouldn't. I... I can't think straight right now. What time is it?"

Without answering he pulls me toward him so that we're both on our knees atop the mattress. He kisses me again, slipping his icy tongue between my lips. He's freezing to the touch, but somehow I'm feeling almost overheated.

His hand moves from my waist to grab a firm handful of my ass.

I'm dizzy and exhausted, but the feeling is still intense. Not as intense as it is with Zane, but still good.

Zane.

Oh my god, Zane. What the hell am I doing?

I pull away sharply.

"No, Kieran," I say. "I don't want this, this isn't right. Zane and I..."

"Relax," he says. "Zane doesn't do relationships anyway, right? You don't have any responsibility to him."

"I..."

Zane doesn't do relationships? I mean...I know we haven't explicitly said we're exclusive, but it feels like we are.

"I can't," I say, pulling away and covering myself with the blanket. "Why are you here, Kieran?"

"I'm not," he says with a smirk.

Suddenly, I open my eyes to an empty room.

Holy crap. Did I just have a sexy dream about Kieran?