I don’t want him looking at Ashley this way.

I was kind of taken aback by the thought that just bombarded my brain, but I realized it was true.  I hated seeing his eyes undress her.  Initially I was confused by my thoughts. 

I must like him more than I realized.

The sensual song Will had been singing ended, and he began one called “Woman, Be Strong,” which I realized I had heard before.  I loved it.  It was slow and meaningful, but it had so much energy to it.  The crowd was going wild, and the three-way awkwardfest was halted in its tracks as we all turned our attention to the stage for the remainder of the song.  Though we were all facing the stage, with Tyler standing between us, I couldn’t help but feel as though Ashley’s hands were still on me and her eyes were still baring into me.

Here goes my heart again.

As he finished up, I had sipped the remaining drops out of my vodka-cranberry and turned to Ashley, seeing her swallow the final gulps of what must have been her fifth Newcastle.  I decided that she probably needed to sit down.

“Follow me,” I instructed as I led her back to our table.  Tyler followed, which I didn’t mind.  We all took a seat, and I motioned at Madison across the bar to bring us three waters.  It was getting late.

We all should head home soon.

I realized that though my thought was correct, my two companions were still fighting for the opportunity to sleep somewhere other than their own beds.  I still couldn’t tell whose pants Tyler was trying to get into, but I knew that neither choice would be a success for him.  He was nice and all, but he was a lot older, and I had made myself promise that I would get Ashley home once I realized how much she drank.  And almost everyone else there knew why he wouldn’t be getting any Ashley action for the night.

After a little time had passed, I finally felt sober enough to drive, and had convinced Ashley that I wouldn’t wreck her car on the way to her house.  I stood up and tried to give a waving goodbye to the green-eyed hottie, but as soon as I signaled that I was leaving, he held a finger in the air and mouthed for me to wait a second.  I stopped and held onto Ashley to keep her from wondering away.  A few seconds later, I was inches away from Tyler and he was telling me how much enjoyed spending time with me that night.