Fear of Falling

hesitance.
    My mouth was hanging open, unable to formulate even a mutter of defense, when a familiar squeal saved me from further awkwardness.
    “Kam! Holy shit, can you believe the size of this crowd?” Angel yelled over the roar of bar chatter. She leaned over the bar, her cleavage nearly spilling over into a pitcher of beer, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I greeted the other girls with a wave before rushing to take the next order.
    “So, Blaine, how’s my girl working out here?” I heard her say as soon as I turned towards a group of girls who were blatantly checking out Blaine’s backside.
    “Oh my God, is that Blaine Jacobs? When did he get back?”
    “I’m not sure but–Wow–he’s even hotter! Looks like getting rid of that dead weight worked out for him because, DAMN!”
    “I know! Can you believe what that bitch did to him? I’m not complaining because that means he’s back on the market!”
    “Did you hear what he did to that guy? I heard they released him from prison early for good behavior.”
    “I don’t care. I want him. Look at those arms. I can’t wait to feel them wrapped around my naked body.”
    “Hell no, bitch, I saw him first. Mark my words, Blaine will be between my legs by the end of the night!”
    “Can I help you?” I asked with more attitude than absolutely necessary. I couldn’t help it; the way they were talking about Blaine had my blood boiling and my bitch-slap hand twitching.
    The girls, who had to be in their early twenties, looked at me with stunned expressions. I tried to plaster on a tight smile to ease the tension, but that didn’t make me feel any better. Was I…jealous? No. Of course not. I’d never been jealous a day in my life. I’d never even cared enough about a guy to be jealous. Yet, for some reason, I wanted nothing more than to reach across that bar and snatch those gossipy bitches bald-headed.
    And what dead weight were they talking about? And prison? I knew it was quite possible that Blaine had a dark side. Yeah, he was covered in tattoos and had a particular…I don’t know…swagger that spoke of his seamless confidence. Yet, he didn’t seem cocky or douchey. Blaine just seemed completely at home in his ink-adorned skin.
    The boldest of the flock spoke up first. “Oh, I love your earrings.” (She was lying.) “Do you think you could do us a huge favor and get that guy to serve us instead? We’re old friends from high school, and I know he’d love to catch up with us,” she said with a sickly sweet smile that nauseated me. I returned the sentiment with one of my own before spinning around and marching across the bar.
    As if he could somehow feel my presence, Blaine turned and smiled at me while ringing up a patron’s order. However, it quickly faded when he eyed my irritated expression. “What’s wrong?”
    I shook off the annoyance and grinned. “Nothing at all. Some friends of yours are requesting you down there,” I said with a nod towards the group of fan-girls.
    Blaine followed my gaze and I could have sworn there was a trace of a frown on his lips when his eyes fell on the pack of hyenas. Or maybe that’s just what I wanted to see. He turned back to me and nodded. “Thanks. I got this.”
    I followed his fluid movement towards them and could visibly see the girls light up as he got closer. Even over the roar of the crowd, I could hear their squeals and laughter, especially when he brushed his sexy mussed hair from his eyes with a tattooed hand.
    “I never thought I’d see the day that Kami Duvall would get jealous over a guy,” Angel remarked just loud enough for me to hear. I returned my attention to the line of waiting customers and took an order, hoping that my indifference would lead her off the scent of my true feelings. I didn’t want her to see just how much Blaine, or any guy for that matter, affected me. And I damn sure didn’t need to witness Blaine flirting with a group of cock-hungry bar sluts.
    “Who’s jealous?” a deep masculine voice asked, adding fuel to Angel’s accusatory fire. I turned just in time to see Dominic plant a kiss on her cheek. Even though I was annoyed that Angel was on to me, I couldn’t help but beam at the sight of my dearest friend.
    “Dom! You came!” I leaned across the bar to greet him so he could press his lips against mine. The greeting may have been oddly intimate to some, but he and I had always been touchy. Affection amongst the three of us was something that most