Chapter 2
Trying to break the tension, Adam suggested a game before dinner. He set a bottle in the middle of the round table and spun it hard. Almost every girl there, except Olivia, hoped it would stop on Alex.
When it finally did, the room erupted. "It's Alex. Truth or dare?"
Alex's expression didn't change. "Dare."
Adam pulled a slip and read in surprise, "Kiss one woman here for two minutes with a tissue between you."
Alex frowned. Olivia clenched the fabric over her thigh, a sour ache filling her chest as the urge to leave surged again.
Smiling brightly, Emily pulled out a tissue. "You girls don't stand a chance. Alex is definitely picking me." She pressed the tissue to her lips and leaned toward him.
As the tissue was about to brush Alex's lips, he caught one corner between two long fingers and tugged. The tissue slipped free from Emily's mouth. She froze.
The whole room went silent as Alex crumpled it into a ball and dropped it into his glass. The liquor quickly soaked through it.
Then he looked past everyone and fixed his eyes on Olivia. "Weren't we supposed to bury the hatchet?"
He picked up the whiskey, a balled-up paper still floating inside, and pushed it into the middle of the round table. "Drink it, and I'll act like I never saw you."
Olivia stared at the cloudy liquor, her nails digging into her palm. Emily's face turned livid for a second before a smug smile crept back on.
Sophie had opened her mouth to speak when Olivia stood, picked up the glass, and drained it in one swallow. The harsh liquor scorched her throat.
She set the empty glass upside down on the table and met Alex's eyes, her own rimmed red but her voice steady. "Mr. Walker, satisfied now?"
Alex's gaze darkened. Olivia grabbed her bag and turned to leave, but his low voice stopped her from behind. She didn't stop walking. Then came the second line, colder and sharper. "Did I say you could leave?"
Without turning back, Olivia gripped the doorknob and said that since Mr. Walker didn't know her, staying would only make her an eyesore. She had barely pulled the door open a crack when a hand slammed against it from behind, sealing her in place.
Alex bent close, his breath brushing her ear. "Five years apart, and now you'd rather do this the hard way?" Olivia's whole body went rigid.
His fingers closed around her chin and turned her face toward him. Their eyes met. In his, Olivia saw surging hatred, and something burning even hotter than hate.
"Did I tell you to drink that?" he said. "I told you to feed it to me." Then the lock clicked shut.
Everyone in the private room froze. Emily's face went completely dark. The click of the lock sounded especially sharp in the silence.
Olivia's back pressed against the cold door as Alex braced a hand beside her head, caging her in. His familiar cedar scent mixed with liquor and stung her eyes.
"Let go," Olivia said in a low voice, turning her face aside.
Alex didn't move. Instead, he brushed the liquor from the corner of her lips with his thumb, the touch light and his gaze sharp as a blade. "Five years, and you still can't even look at me?"
Olivia gritted her teeth and looked up. "You said you didn't know me, Mr. Walker, and now you're blocking the door. What exactly do you want from me?"
Alex stared at her. Her eyes were red, but she stubbornly kept her chin lifted like a cat cornered into baring all its claws. She looked exactly like she had five years ago.
A low laugh slipped from Alex, though it never reached his eyes. "What do I want?" he murmured, bending until his lips nearly brushed her earlobe. "I want you to pay back, little by little, everything you owed me from five years ago."
Olivia's heart jolted.
Sophie shot to her feet, face dark. "Alex. Don't push it too far."