Even if I could still feel him looking at me from across the bonfire.
“Here.” Allie handed me a small flask. “This will help you forget all about him.”
It was like she was reading my mind. I took a small sip from the flask, and I coughed as the rich liquor burned my throat.
It tasted worse than the beer. Allie grinned and patted my back.
I could feel the alcohol buzzing through me as the night went on, but I didn’t stop. Beck tracked my every movement, but I didn’t care. I laughed with Allie and made lots of new friends, even though I couldn’t remember their names, and I was pretty sure I barely even looked over at him or the girls who were vying for his attention.
I barely noticed the smirk on his face when he saw me watching him or the way that damn smirk made my stomach feel so tight that I couldn’t clear him from my thoughts.
I had no idea what time it was by the time Allie grabbed my arm in hers and giggled. It was beyond clear that the two of us would be Ubering home.
“Beck is looking at you again.” She rested her arms on my shoulders and looked behind me to where I knew he still stood.
“He can keep looking.” I actually sounded like I meant it.
“He looks like he wants to eat you alive.” She swayed slightly, and I barely managed to hold us both up as my thighs tightened. “It’s kind of hot.”
“It’s not hot.” I lied to both of us. “It’s neurotic.”
“Uh-huh.” She sounded like she didn’t believe me at all, and I didn’t blame her. I didn’t even sound believable to my own ears.
“Do you just want to stay the night at my place?” I didn’t want to go home alone tonight. I wasn’t sure if Lucas was even there, and I didn’t want to sit in my room and dissect every single moment I had with Beck.
“Sure. Your parents won’t care?”
My heart cracked open at her words. My mom would have cared. She would have given me a speech about responsibility while simultaneously trying to get any juicy details out of me about my night.
“No.” I shook my head and finished my beer. “My dad probably won’t even be there.”
“We need to call an Uber.” She poked the tip of my nose, and even though I wasn’t used to having such a close relationship with another girl, I felt so comfortable with Allie so quickly.
“I’ll give you all a ride.” I turned my head to the left, where Will stood now covered in a t-shirt. He had barely spoken to me since Beck interrupted us earlier, and he hadn’t looked at me the same.
I hated Beck even more for that.
“Thank you.” I had barely managed to speak the words before I felt him at my back.
“Allie, me and the boys will give you all a ride home.”
Allie smiled up at Beck as he spoke, and I tried to catch her eye. Tell him no.
But Allie wasn’t looking at me. She was staring up at him like he had just offered her the moon.
“Thanks, Beck. That would be amazing.”
I dared to glance over my shoulder, and he was still smiling at Allie. He glanced from her to me, and I knew from the spark in his eyes that I shouldn’t go anywhere with him. Whether I was drunk or not, I didn’t trust Beck Clermont.
“Will actually already offered to take us.” I turned so I was facing Beck more, and Allie snickered in my ear.
“Will’s been drinking.” Beck tucked his hands in his pockets, and he looked so damn smug.
“Only a couple.” Will shrugged, and I knew I wouldn’t be riding home with him tonight. Even if I absolutely despised the idea of Beck being my ride home, I wasn’t stupid enough to get in the car with some guy I had just met who had been drinking.
I wasn’t that reckless.
“I haven’t had any.” Beck shrugged his shoulders with a cocky smile, and I wanted to knock that damn smug look right off his face.
“I think we’ll take our chances with the Uber.” I tightened my grip on Allie, and I couldn’t stop smiling as she laughed.
“Or I could call your dad.” Beck pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I think he’d much prefer it be me to get you home safely than some college student trying to make an extra buck.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, but I didn’t doubt he’d do it. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me, Vos.” He tapped his thumb against his phone.
“There’s no need for that.” Allie linked her fingers in mine and squeezed them before she spoke. “We’ll ride with you, Beck.”
He didn’t look at her though. He stared down at me, and I swear he wanted me to challenge him. There was a dare in his eyes. “You good with that?”
I wanted to say no. It was on the tip of my tongue, but Allie squeezed my hand tightly in hers and I took a deep breath as I stared at him. “Perfect.”
Chapter Eight
Beck
Josie looked pissed as hell as she climbed into the back seat with Allie.
I couldn’t stop smiling as I shut the door behind her.
“What the hell are we doing?” Olly was standing near the hood of my SUV, and I knew he thought I was crazy.
I didn’t give a shit though.
There was something about her that made me crave being near her. I wanted to crush her, but I wanted to do it where I could see. I wanted to do it where I had a front-row view.
“Taking two drunk girls home safely.” I tossed my keys in the air and caught them back into my hand.
“You know that’s not what I mean.” He looked between me and Carson, but Carson knew as much as he did.
They were my best friends, more like brothers, really, and while I knew they hated Lucas Vos as much as I did, it wasn’t the same.
They were close to Frankie, but she wasn’t their baby sister. They didn’t have to watch her helplessly as she cried like I hadn’t seen since she was a little girl. They could see how she’s changed since that day, but I could feel it.
I felt every second of it, and it burned in my blood.
“Just get in the fucking car, Olly.”
I opened my driver’s side door and climbed in. Josie sat directly behind me, and I couldn’t help checking my rearview mirror as soon as she was in view.
And she was staring daggers at me.
She was pissed, that much was obvious, but there was no way I was going to let Will Hollis take them home. I had been watching him drink all damn night, and more than that, I had been watching him watch her.
I shouldn’t have fucking cared.
But for some stupid reason, I couldn’t let her leave with him.
The thought of her smiling at him like I had seen her do when I arrived at this stupid fucking party made me want to smash Will’s face in.
That anger was irrational and dumb, but Josie was mine. My want for her felt carnal and predatory.
Allie’s head was resting on her shoulder, and she was clearly already passed out. Allie was fun. I had always liked her since she had started working at the country club several years ago, but she also had a bit of a wild streak.
That fact always seemed to bug the shit out of Carson, but he never acted on it. If he was really into her, he never made a move.
Right now, he sat beside her and stared down at her like she had pissed him off beyond measure tonight, but the two of them barely even spoke.