“Can I help you?” he asked, flicking a toothpick to the side of his mouth. Dark hair and even darker eyes, he pulled his gaze over the two of us, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans that housed thighs the size of tree trunks and a shirt he left open for all to see. He had a freakin’ twelve pack. This guy was huge, and he clearly, had no idea why Sinclair and I were standing on his front stoop.
Sinclair wet his lips. “Yes, um. Across the street. Um…” He must have been frazzled like me because he waved his hands a little. He pointed at me. “She lives across the street.”
“Okay.” Ebony dark eyes flicked over to me. He took his toothpick out. “What do you want?”
I started to say something, but apparently Sinclair got his wits back. He dampened his lips again at the guy before staring at me. “She, Billie, my girlfriend, is your new neighbor.”
Apparently curious now, the demigod lounged against the door. He tossed the toothpick outside, then tipped his chin at me. “You here to say hi or…”
“Not exactly.” Sinclair held me back again, and I didn’t understand why. His hand cuffed my arm. “There’s a little bit of a noise issue here.”
“A noise issue?”
Sinclair nodded, but I noticed he did swallow after. It was like this guy was seriously bothering the shit out of him for some reason. Sinclair rubbed my arm, and when my teeth started clacking, Demigod pushed off the door frame.
“Why don’t, uh, y’all come inside?” he requested, scrubbing into his lengthy, dark hair. It was like waxy blades. His gaze circulating over my naked legs and furry UGG boots, the guy grinned a little. “Get out of the cold or whatever. Name’s Niko, and as you can see, we’re having a little party inside. The least I can do for the noise.”
That sounding actually really good right now considering the cold, I started to walk in, but Sinclair tugged me back a little. I removed my arm. “What’s your deal?”
But Sinclair was only looking at Niko, his gaze traveling over to me while the demigod waited. He eyed me. “We should just go. We already said what we had to say—”
“In or out, folks?” Niko widened the door, and though he appeared abrasive when he first opened it, he obviously was having a good time here watching us. His smirk was more than wide, and whatever challenge I saw there, I decided to take.
“Just for a few moments,” I told Sinclair, sliding past him before cutting in front of Niko. He smelled good and so obviously knew that, the delight in his eyes as peered over me and to my boyfriend.
Niko put his hand out. “And you’re…”
“Sinclair,” he said, his shake hard and smile more than stiff. He hadn’t even graced Niko with the look he reserved for clients before coming inside, rubbing his arms. “Sinclair Huntington.”
“Well, Sinclair Huntington…” Niko flicked a finger at me. “Billie, my new neighbor. Welcome to Never Never Land.”
And never have I ever seen such a display, people, college students I assumed, bumping and grinding in little to no clothing. Many were just as half naked as Niko, women letting men pour booze into their mouths while colorful lights flickered and glistened off the crystal chandeliers and walls. I felt like I was in some bachelor pad off the beach, not in a college neighborhood in the Midwest.
“Nice place,” I stated. Though a bit uncivilized. I sneered as some guy drank shots off a girls tits who lay on the middle of a table like a buffet. She literally was the buffet. Covered completely in body paint, she had tropical fruit and sushi decorating her body, people pulling California rolls off her like that was normal.
Niko smirked. “Thanks. Appreciate it.” Then he pointed over to Sinclair. “Sinclair, bro. Drink for you and your girl?”
“Sure.” Though something of a grumble left Sinclair’s lips as Niko guided us through the circus and circus it was. There were people everywhere and basically falling out the windows there were so many. I couldn’t believe all this was going on across the street from my rental, a modest cottage-style. We followed Niko’s wide frame through and while he stalked, Sinclair grabbed me. “I asked you to let me do the talking outside.”
He never asked. He told me. I shook my head. “I know, but it’s not a big deal.”
“Actually, it is a big deal. You don’t know these people—”
A collision, red wine completely covering my white fleece. A girl had dropped it, a beautiful girl with dark hair in a red dress, and the guy across from her joined the party too with his beer. Surprised, he sloshed the contents of the mug all over me, completely drenching me through to my T-shirt underneath. I knew because I felt immediately sticky, freaking out.
Both parties involved stopped dancing around me.
“Oh, my gosh I’m so sorry!” The girl with the now empty wine glass waved her arms wildly. Beside her, the guy with the empty mug just stared. She hit him. “Knight! Get her a towel or something.”
“Right. Towel.” He looked around, a blond girl under his arm. “Okay. Don’t have a towel.” He frowned at the girl with the wine glass. “You got a towel, December? You should look too. You dropped the wine on her.”
“I don’t have a towel. Fuck!” She flailed again and beside her was another guy, a blond one who was beautiful as fuck like basically the rest of them. He had his arm around December’s waist, and when she looked at him, he simply shrugged.
He shook his head. “I don’t have anything,” he said, then looked at me. He put a hand out, patting the air. “We’ll figure this out.”
“What’s to figure out? She’s covered in wine and booze.” The girl with platinum blond hair under Knight’s arm tugged his shirt. “Knight?”
He groaned. “I said I didn’t have anything.”
“Eh. What’s the hold up?” Niko swung back around, and at this point, Sinclair had stripped his coat off and was attempting to pat me dry with that. Niko’s eyebrows dashed up, a chuckle curling his lips up. He shot a thumb back. “We got towels in the kitchen.”
At least someone had something, and groaning, I left Sinclair and stalked away from the crew freaking out on me. The girls were completely out of sorts while the two guys just stood there. Meanwhile, my boyfriend was trailing after me, still trying to pat me down with his coat, and chuckling, Niko led us on.
“I feel so bad. I didn’t even see her.”
The dark-haired girl had said that, December as I recognized her voice. I was more so focusing on getting dry and saving my fleece at this point, and getting to the kitchen, Niko redirected Sinclair and me to the bar there. He had an array of booze set up on the counter and taking some club soda, he lifted it. “For the wine stain?”
“Good idea,” Sinclair said, waving for my fleece, and though I took it off, I exchanged it for his coat. I pressed it up to my beer-soaked tits. Since I wasn’t wearing a bra on under my oversized shirt on, I looked like I was going for a wet t-shirt contest. My shirt was even white to boot.
Trying not to call attention to myself, I waited as Niko grabbed a bunch of kitchen towels across the kitchen. He handed them off to me, and with a muffled thanks, I took them before tucking Sinclair’s coat between my legs and attempting to get some of the beer off my shirt. The thing was soaked through so I immediately went for the sink to at least try to get some of the beer out. They had a sprayer there. I turned on the water, then grabbed for it, but Niko launched for me.