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to burst from my skin. I inhaled his clean soapy smell. It was nice. Especially in this place where the odors mostly consisted of sweat and smoke.
    He clucked his tongue and peered closely at my face. “Oh, you’re gonna have a shiner there.”
    With a grimace, I touched my tender eye. “I’ll just get my friends and go.”
    “Yeah. That would be a good idea.”
    Scowling, I dropped my hand and whirled around. Leaving him behind, I found Annie with an arm wrapped around Noah’s waist. He didn’t look good. The right side of his face was swollen, his eye puffy and sealed shut. His band members didn’t look much better as they clumsily gathered up their instruments.
    “Let me help.” I moved to wrap another arm around Noah, but Annie yanked away.
    “You’ve done enough.”
    “Me?” I pressed a hand to my chest.
    “Thanks to you Noah got jumped.”
    “Me?” I repeated dumbly.
    “Yeah.” Annie’s faced scrunched up, looking almost unattractive. “Get your own ride home.”
    “Are you serious?” I looked around me. “You can’t leave me alone—”
    “It’s not my problem.” She shouldered past me. I gaped at her, watching as she headed for the door. Granted, I knew that Annie wasn’t the nicest girl. I hadn’t liked the way she treated Pepper last fall when Pepper and Reece were first hooking up. I’m sure jealousy had been a factor in her catty remarks, but that was months ago. She’d been decent since. I never would have imagined she’d leave me stranded like this.
    So much for a fun night out. I should have stayed in and studied.
    Noah’s band members followed, lugging their instruments and amps. They didn’t even move toward the bar to get paid. Although a guy who drove a Lexus probably wasn’t in this for the money anyway.
    I reached a hand out for the drummer—he was my only hope—but he just glared at me with one eye that looked like it was warming up to a nice shade of blue. Clearly they all blamed me. And they were leaving me here. Unbelievable.
    I hurried after them, weaving between tables on unsteady legs. Someone bumped into me and I had to grab the surface of a table to keep from falling. The sudden action made my world spin and I squeezed my eyes in one long blink in an attempt to quell the dizziness.
    “Hey, watch it,” a woman’s scratchy voice warned.
    My gaze lifted toward the door, panicked that they had already left and I’d lost my chance to change their minds. I caught sight of their retreating backs an instant before the doors slammed shut behind them.
    With a curse, I pushed after them. By the time I stepped outside, they were already getting into their cars. Sudden cold that had nothing to do with the wintry air swam through my veins. My boots crunched over the snow-packed parking lot.
    “Annie!” I shouted just as my foot hit an icy patch and I went down hard. My ass took the brunt of the fall and for once I was glad that it was well padded. I might be petite, but I’d been cursed with a backside that could serve as a flotation device.
    Annie heard me. I watched helplessly as she looked back at me before ducking inside the car behind the wheel. Struggling less than gracefully to my feet, I gawked as she started the car and reversed it out of the parking spot. Noah’s Lexus followed, his drummer driving.
    I stared after the taillights, my teeth chattering. My jeans were wet from my fall. Looking down, I swatted at my thighs, trying to dust off the white powder.
    Snow started to fall softly then. Blinking against the wet flurries, I turned and moved back toward the bar, taking shuffling steps to keep from falling again.
    My legs felt heavy, every step a chore, but I forced myself to cross the threshold. It was warmer inside at least—even if it smelled like one giant ashtray.
    I stayed near the door, scooting along the wall, trying to be inconspicuous. No easy feat when I’d started a brawl not ten minutes ago. I’m guessing I was on people’s radar.
    Teeth