My Only Exception Read Online Free Page B

be completely aware of your decision. When you’re sober, we’ll try this again.”
    As much as that statement made perfect sense, for some reason in my drunken state, it highly pissed me off.
    I pulled away from him and swayed slightly without the support of his body. He reached out to steady me, but I snatched my arm back, almost falling if it hadn ’t been for Ryan’s hands grabbing me from behind to prevent it.
    “Whatever, Braden. There won’t be a next time.” Somehow I could think straight enough to know that much about what my feelings on Braden were supposed to be, but I also knew what my feelings for Braden actually were. And the filter from my brain to my mouth in my drunken state was currently not working. “But just so you know,” I continued on, “if you weren’t so much of a womanizer, I’d be all. Over. You.”
    Oh God, did I really just say that out loud to Braden ’s face —in front of everyone? Even in my drunken state that horrifying realization got through my foggy brain.
    Another burst of laughter from those around us followed this statement and Braden smirked at me, obviously amused. “Uh, Presley? I think you already threw yourself at me.”
    Bree giggled next to me and grabbed my arm. “Come on, Pres. Let’s get you home. You are torn up!”
    Jack ’s girlfriend Katie appeared on my other side and the two of them steered me toward the door. Once we were just through the doorway, I turned to get one last look at Braden.
    And what I saw royally ticked me off.
    The tall, leggy brunette from earlier had herself wrapped ridiculously around Braden now. He was laughing and appeared not bothered at all by the new appendage to his person.
    Groupie , obviously.
    And I was boiling. Not that I had a right to be. But the fact that he ’d just blown me off, and now had already moved on to some random girl, had me unreasonably livid.
    Braden glanced over and our eyes met. His widened slightly when he saw the look on my face, but I didn ’t stick around to see any more than that. I stormed clumsily to Katie ’s car and then promptly threw up on the ground next to it.

    My last thought was that I was never drinking again.

CHAPTER 4
     
    I entered Luigi’s Italian Grill from the back entrance, stepping into the busy kitchen bustling with cooks and waiters rushing every which way. It had taken me a full day to recover from the horrible hangover I had from my night of overdrinking. This was the first day that I actually felt like myself.
    I smiled and waved at the head cook, Johnny, as I passed by. He was wearing a white chef’s shirt with the green logo of Luigi’s Italian Grill embroidered over the left pocket. Johnny was a fairly large man with an equally large personality and he spoke Italian fluently, often combining both English and his native language whenever he spoke. Most of the time I could make out what he was saying based on the words I understood and then guessing at the rest.
    “ Salve , Presley!” he called out. He had a way of rolling his r’s that I could never quite replicate.
    “Hello, Johnny!” I called back. I gave him and the other line cooks a quick wave as I made my way to the employee break room to put my things away. I was working the closing shift that night and I’d packed a few high protein snacks to get me through. If I was lucky, I’d get a chance to stop back by my locker and grab a snack between running around waiting on my tables.
    As I slid my things into my locker, I was greeted by the one person that I was dying to see but would die before I let him know it —Braden Worthington.
    With his dark tousled hair, gorgeous face, and a lean chiseled body that made girl’s everywhere fall all over him, he was by far the most popular male waiter that worked at the grill. Of course, the fact that he was also the lead singer and guitarist for Chronic Need, had girls traveling from all over the place to eat here. They’d wait hours just to sit in his section.
    I