12|Obsession

Crush was hopping when Liam finally made it there almost an hour later.

There were people everywhere, grinding and stepping on each other. Liam was glad his cousins had a VIP booth. He couldn't handle all the rowdiness tonight.

"You made it!" Julian hiccupped over the loud music; his speech was already slurred as he stood and hugged him, almost toppling him over.

"Easy buddy." Liam pushed him back on the sectional couch and turned to Matthew. "How much did he drink?"

"All those," his cousin pointed at a line of empty shot glasses lined up on the bright yellow cube.

"What happened?" Liam asked as a scantily dressed waitress appeared at his side. He ordered the most expensive bottle of bourbon. After the hellish day, no, few weeks he's had he deserved every drop.

"He got dumped," Matthew said. "She left him for a wealthier, older man."

"Ouch!" Liam touched his heart dramatically and rolled his eyes heavenward.

"How's the old man?"

Liam filled him in on his hospital visit with his father as he scanned the crowd.

There she is, he thought excitedly, his heart soaring to life as he caught sight of a petite brunette swaying her hips on the dance floor.

"I think that's her," Liam pointed at the brown-haired girl in the crowd. But when she turned to her friends, he saw it was not Eden. Disappointed, he slumped back in his chair and sighed, "Scratch that, it's not."

"You can't tell me you're still looking for her?" Julian surged to life beside him and sat up.

Yes, he was still searching for Eden. He'll never stop looking for her. He wanted his shirt back, and he needed to return her panties. While he's at it, maybe get some answers too. He’d asked his security detail to look for her discreetly and bring her to him. But so far their search had been fruitless and made especially hard because other than her first name and her description, they had nothing else to go by.

As much as his life had changed drastically over the past few weeks, one thing hadn't changed: his fascination with Eden. It was starting to border on obsession the longer he searched for her and didn't find her.

"You need to move on–" Matthew said, pausing when the waitress returned with the bourbon and a tray of snacks.

“Is there anything else you need?” She asked as she picked up the empty glasses. Her question was directed at Liam but her gaze never left Matthew’s face. His cousin waved her off with his killer smile and a flick of his wrist.

Alone again, Liam poured a shot and gulped it down swiftly, enjoying the smooth way it rushed down his throat and warmed his chest.

"As I was saying," Matthew continued as Liam poured all of them another round of shots. "That woman can very well become your white whale if you keep this up. Let her go. Move on."

"I'll move on once I get all my answers," he promised and raised his glass. That's all he wanted, answers. Was he not good enough for her? Why did she run off without even putting on her underwear? The idea that he didn't meet her expectations in bed terrified him. No woman had ever complained before. He may be many things, but a selfish lover was not one of them. Granted, they were all meaningless hookups, but he wanted the experience for both parties to be memorable with very few regrets.

He had plenty of regrets after Eden.

"What is about her that's got you so hooked?"

Julian's question startled him, but he took a moment to think it over anyway.

If he was ‘hooked’ as his cousin suggested, it would explain why he couldn't move on from her, and his obsessive need to find her, but–

No way, Liam shook his head, horrified by the direction his thoughts were taking. Eden was a five at best in looks and wealth and maybe intellect. He could do so much better. He’d done so much better in the past.

"I am not 'hooked' on her," he insisted, hating that the notion had even come up. "She's not even my type!"

"'T'is true!" Julian belched on his shoulder, spraying a cloud of alcohol fumes on his face as he wrapped his arms around him. "But what is your type?"

"Yeah, you don't have a type," Matthew agreed and tipped his glass at Liam mockingly. "You screw anything that moves, and you leave them as soon as you can!"

"That's not true!"

"How else do you think you earned your infamous moniker?"

"Don't remind me," Liam grumbled. The tabloids dubbed him the 'Three Months Prince' after they noticed a pattern in his love life. His relationships never seemed to last longer than three months. What the gossip rags failed to mention though was that it wasn't always his fault. Life happened, he'd get busy with tournaments and training and things would eventually fizzle out.

"Well at least you earned yourself a spot in the Business Insider with your exec shakeup," Matthew smirked. "The old man can't complain about your scandals anymore."

Liam shrugged and gulped down his drink. His decision to disband the executive committee was so radical it earned him the coveted Business Insider cover and legendary status overnight. He thought his father would be chuffed. But when Senior read the article, he lost his head. Clarke only wanted him to take over the company and not change the status quo completely.

Liam’s gaze drifted back to the dance floor, clashing with the girl he mistook for Eden earlier. She smiled and batted her eyes in his direction. He ignored her. He had no intention of wasting his evening flirting with anyone, especially when he knew it wasn't going to go anywhere.

Matthew yawned and stretched and decided to call it a night before they even finished half the bottle. He had a meeting with a potential client, a small-scale eCommerce outfit needing their shipping expertise.

Liam helped him get Julian into his car and carried him on his way.