"Riley!" A sharp voice called out my girl's name from the darkness behind me.

Riley's eyes darted wide open, brimming with panic and uncertainty. The luminous green continued to bore into me in disbelief like I was some sort of lucid hallucination spawned from a fever dream. My lips were only a half second from smashing against hers and proving I was the real me when she turned her head away.

"Fucking cockblock." I hissed under my breath, swearing at the troll behind me who had killed the mood and stole Riley's attention away from me. I was only one poorly timed interruption from having my whole life back again.

Riley shook her head, attempting to obliterate the nearly impenetrable haze clouding her mind. She lowered herself off her tiptoes, snapping the connection between us in half like a useless, dried-out twig.

"I'm coming! Be there in a second!" Riley craned her head around me and shouted out a strangled reply. I could see her stealing a peek at me out of the corner of her eye like leaving my side was the absolute last thing on Earth she wanted to do.

I felt the exact same way.

Feeling Riley's warmth against me and smelling the sweet citrus that lingered on her skin, both calmed and excited me at the same time. It had been such a long time since I felt this normal and I didn't want it to stop.

"Don't go, beautiful, stay here with me." I softly pleaded with her, begging her to realize how much it meant to me. My long fingers circled her delicate wrist as I fought to pull her back to me and forget everything else. Letting go and losing this girl again would be the end of me.

It had to be us—here and now—nothing else.

"We are done," Riley stated in a flattened tone. Her body grew rigid and her eyes narrowed when she squinted into the black night to the spot where my hand was holding onto her for dear life.

The finality in her voice was devastating, shattering my will to keep going as it pierced my chest like an arrow finding the center of a bullseye. There were no words to describe the desperation and agony surging through my veins. Ending what we had couldn't be what she really wanted and I wasn't going to let her make that decision without me.

It wasn't just her choice.

My self-control evaporated on the spot as I studied the tenacious blond who was hurriedly reconstructing the wall around herself to keep me out. She was challenging every ounce of strength I had to hold myself together—not that I ever had much to begin with.

"I will never move on from you. I will be with you again." I angrily lashed out at her.

If Riley wasn't absolutely clear on my intentions before, there would be no doubt after I finished saying what I had to say. Giving her the opportunity to turn me away wasn't an option for either one of us any longer. We were a part of each other now.

Neither of us would ever be whole again without the other one.

My body began shaking from the fear of not being able to get through to her. It began taking over and did the only thing it knew how to do when it was scared— it wanted to fight. I stood behind myself like a spectator as I silently watched my world collapsing around me.

"Is that a threat?" Riley asked and began digging in the same pocket as earlier with her free hand. I assumed she was going for her phone. I wondered who she thought she was going to call to avoid admitting to herself that she was tired of feeling the emptiness too.

Aiden was probably on speakerphone in her pocket, heavily mouth-breathing into the receiver with his tiny dick in his hand. I had no doubt that he was already furiously yanking on it as he listened in like the fucking pesky rodent he was.

I secretly hoped he would come here tonight and try to get between Riley and me again. I would welcome another chance to settle the unfinished business he and I had. I disappeared into the dark recesses of my brain, envisioning every conceivable way to decimate Aiden's stupid fucking face.

How long would he live after I gouged his eyeballs out with my thumbs?

Riley struggled to pull her wrist away from me, which was still locked tightly in my grasp. I didn't even realize I was still holding her in place until she started squirming in front of me. The muscles in my forearm began spasming and burning when I cinched down harder. Of course, hurting Riley was never a part of my plan, but I couldn't let her leave me before I had a chance to make everything right between us.

Knowing Riley's irrational temper, I would have to pick her up and throw her over my shoulder to drag her away from this place until she cooled off enough to talk to me. It would be a last resort only, but I would do it if I had to.

Whatever it took—by any means necessary—I was going to get her back.

Riley continued her little wiggle tantrum in my hand and I towered over her to catch her attention to get her to stop. Her breath hitched in her throat when my shadow overtook hers. She took a step back and I mimicked her movement, narrowly avoiding running her over with my big feet and long strides when her steps began to stutter.

Riley swallowed slowly and her eyes traced the whole span of my chest, up my neck, and then to my lips. Her seductive gaze finally landed timidly on my dry, red-rimmed eyes. Riley breathed in slow and deep as she batted her "fuck me" bedroom eyes in my direction. The animalistic lust in her body began taking over as she submitted herself to me once again.

There she was, I knew my girl was still in there.

I chuckled softly as my dick quadrupled in size near her belly. I fucking loved Riley's chaos. The one hundred and eighty degree turn her wild ride took me on was a constant sprint of madness. I hungered for this feeling every second, every single day since I had crashed into her.

The angry, sad girl in my arms was replaced by a pouty little sex kitten who wanted the release as much as I did.

And I would give it to her.

The second Riley asked me for anything, it was hers. I could never deny my girl of anything ever again for the rest of our lives. If she wanted a whole fucking universe worth of butterflies in a glass jar, I would find a way to give it to her. Unfortunately for me, Riley wasn't the type of girl who would ask for what she wanted, not now or ever. The beautiful blond always needed a little encouragement in that department.

Luckily, I was here to nudge her in the right direction tonight.

I ran my tongue across my bottom lip and lowered my head down to hers. I brushed my teeth across her juicy pink bottom lip, nipping and teasing at it to drive her insane.

"Mmmm." Riley exhaled an involuntary whimper that bounced and echoed off the brick walls around us. My body shivered from the memories of her writhing underneath me, moaning my name.

It was the best music I had ever created.

"Tell me you don't want me." I dared her in a low throaty growl as her thighs clenched together for me. Behind her eyes was the same excitement I saw the first night we ever touched.

"Ezra, I don't." Riley lowered her head down to the ground to avoid mine.

She was lying—Riley was always such a terrible liar.

"You're always such a good girl for me." I praised her for falling apart for me.

"Stop. Please stop." She whined, scolding herself.

"Riley!" The shrieking seagull cawed behind us to get my girl's attention again.

Didn't that girl have a job to go do or something? Did she really just want to hang out here and watch?

Fuck, the nosey bitch was annoying me.

Riley placed her hand on my chest and pushed me off-balance. I tried to steady myself and capture her arm at the same time. I was a second too late to catch her again. My reaction time was still too slow from the pills in my system and the lack of blood flowing to my brain. I cursed at myself for giving in and taking the drugs before coming here tonight as Riley took step after step away from me.

"This isn't over. You don't get to walk away from me." I spun around and yelled at her.

"What, like you did? You walked first, Ezra. You messed this up. Don't forget that." She screamed at me like they were her dying words.

I started to argue with Riley to tell her she was wrong. I never wanted to walk away. It wasn't like I was given a choice. Mark cornered me and forced me to leave that night, and I went because I didn't know what else to do. Everyone hated me for hurting Riley and killing the baby inside her. I couldn't stand up on my own two feet to face the consequences head-on.

I left because—

Fuck me, Riley was right.

"You walked first, Ezra. You messed this up." Her words replayed in my head, and the wind knocked me out. The truth in Riley's words stung and tasted sour like battery acid as they filled up my stomach. I walked away from the only girl I had ever loved—not only once when she needed me, but twice.

When Riley told me she was pregnant, I ran as fast as I could. Then when she was lying in the hospital, barely hanging on, I disappeared again—all because I was a pussy and too terrified to let her in. I wanted Riley to give every part of herself to me, and I couldn't do the same. Even right now, I was high as a fucking kite and would never be able to tell her all the things I was struggling with inside.

Nine months away and I still was the same scared little kid. I wasn't any better than I was before and I sure as hell wasn't worthy of her forgiveness.

I couldn't move me feet to chase after Riley as she ran up the stairs to meet the brunette at the top. The irritating girl was staring at me wide-eyed with her mouth hanging open. She kept switching back and forth between staring at Riley and giving me a curious side-eyed stare.

Riley turned her head back to look at me one last time. There was so much she was saying in the expression she wore. It was filled with a longing for what we had and lost together but also tainted with a sad bitterness of goodbye. The anguish and hatred on her face was etched into my soul. I had never felt as alone and empty inside as I did staring at the girl who had lost all her hope and light.

Riley turned around and rushed back inside the bar without saying another word. The brunette followed behind her quickly without a second glance in my direction. I waited a few seconds longer, holding out the hope that Riley would come bounding out the door and change her mind about coming home with me tonight.

But she didn't.

I shoved my hands in my pocket and trudged in defeat back to my car, trying to convince myself Riley just needed a little more time. I would give her some space for a few days until she was ready to reach out to me to talk.

And if she didn't, I would come back here to see her again—clean and sober this time around.