“Or maybe I should take what I want,” he said. “After all, I’m a Troc. Right?”
He moved my hand away and I stepped back again.
Hands touched my hips and I was tossed out of the way.
I screamed, thinking it was Brock.
But it was Talon.
He moved me so he could face off with Brock.
“Ah,” Brock said. “So you’re fucking her.”
“What is your problem?” Talon asked.
“She doesn’t belong here,” Brock growled.
“She’s here for right now,” Talon said. “This is my house. Don’t like it? Leave.”
“I’m not leaving, Talon.”
“So we’re going to settle this the other way?” Talon asked.
Brock nodded.
“What’s the other way?” I asked.
Brock let out a whistle.
Emily and Kace stopped tongue fucking each other and Raine stood up.
She lifted her sunglasses.
Then she screamed one word.
“Fight!”
“What the hell are you trying to prove?” I asked Talon as I blocked his path.
“You don’t get it, darling,” he said without looking at me. “Just move out of the way.”
“I can handle myself with Brock,” I said.
“Move, Winter,” Talon ordered.
I stepped to the side.
Talon walked out in the middle of the yard area where Brock was waiting.
“This is fucking hot,” Emily said as she wrapped her arms around my arm.
She was now wearing a towel, which was nice to see.
“What is this?” I asked.
“They always fight,” she said. “Trocs love getting the stress out. Fight, drink, fuck. It’s all the same. They’re fine.”
“This is crazy,” I said. “They’re fighting over me.”
“Lucky you,” Kace said as he stepped up behind Emily.
“Not lucky…”
“A nice Bump ass is on the line,” Kace said.
His fingertips touched my butt and I looked back at him.
He winked and took his hand away.
“Kill him!” Raine yelled.
Then she snorted and laughed.
This was just stupid.
Brock and Talon circled each other a few times.
They were saying stuff to one another but I couldn’t hear it.
The music was too loud.
Brock threw the first punch.
And Talon took it.
Right to his jaw.
Talon turned and stepped away.
He looked right at me.
I put my hands together. “Please stop…”
“You can beg him later,” Kace said.
“Nothing is happening between us,” I said.
“Yet,” Emily said.
I opened my mouth but stopped when Talon turned and threw a wild punch at Brock.
He hit Brock so hard in the eye that Brock started to bleed.
They each got that one punch in… and then all hell broke loose.
They attacked each other, both hitting the ground hard.
They rolled around, throwing punches at each other, kicking up dirt and a cloud of dust.
When they got too close to Raine, she put her foot out.
Then they started to roll the other way.
Toward the fire.
“Oh, fuck,” Emily said.
“If they set themselves on fire, this is going to be epic,” Kace said.
This wasn’t epic at all.
As they approached the fire, Talon had the brains to look and make sure they didn’t catch fire. That gave Brock the chance to take some cheap punches at Talon.
I saw Brock’s fist hit Talon’s face twice and my stomach felt sick.
I covered my mouth.
My knees grew weak.
But Talon didn’t give up.
He made a move and threw Brock off him.
They both got to their feet and Talon went in for the attack.
A series of punches sent Brock dancing back on his feet.
He moved so fast in Raine’s direction that Raine put her arms up.
Brock crashed into her and she flipped over into the pool.
Emily and Kace started to laugh.
Talon and Brock kept fighting and I kept my eyes on the pool.
After five seconds, I realized Raine hadn’t popped up from the water yet.
The pool was cheap and shallow. Raine was drunk and high.
I ran right into the middle of the fight.
I didn’t care if I got hit.
My stomach felt even sicker.
I feared Raine was dead.
“She’s hurt!” I screamed at Talon.
I jumped over the edge of the pool and saw Raine face down in the water.
“Help!” I yelled.
I dropped to my knees and turned her around and cradled her head.
“Oh, fuck,” Brock said. He climbed into the pool and scooped Raine up. “Raine… I’ve got you…”
He hurried out of the water as Emily spread a towel down on the ground.
“Raine!” Emily cried. “Raine!”
I looked at Talon.
His lip and eye were bleeding.
I jumped out of the pool and pushed him out of the way.
This was their fault. For fighting. For being so fucking stupid.
“Tilt her head back,” Kace said. “Do mouth to mouth. Turn her on her side. Hit her back.”
“Just fucking pick one thing!” Brock yelled.
“Raine,” Emily said. “Raine…”
Brock moved his hand to the back of Raine’s neck and he gently turned her to her side.
There was total silence for a second as we all thought about what to do next.
Raine let out a gasping sound and coughed.
She didn’t spit up water or anything dramatic like they showed in movies.
Raine looked at Brock.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Raine,” he said. “I didn’t mean to bump into you.”
“No, it was my fault,” Talon said. “I sent him into you.”
“I hit her,” Brock said. “I can’t believe…”
“You saved me,” Raine said.
“Yeah, I kind of did,” Brock said.
Raine threw her arms around Brock’s neck and they started to kiss.
“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Emily said.
I gasped for a breath.
Talon stood up and turned to look at me.
I shook my head.
I didn’t want to hear a thing he had to say.
I walked by Talon and grabbed one of the red cups off a table and started to drink.
I was not cut out for the Troc life.
Chapter 4
So this is what’s happening?
The Troc party raged on.
A few more people came and went.
Nobody I cared to meet or know.
I just hung back, alone, wearing a big hoodie with the hood up, drinking from the red cups to make all my thoughts go away.
Raine and Brock were humping each other by the fire, in the pool, and then at one point they hurried away into the night, laughing with each other. When they returned twenty minutes later, they were calm but still smiling.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know what they had done in the woods.
Emily and Kace weren’t much better. They didn’t even care about privacy.