I know if I don’t go inside, I’m going to leave him in no condition to train tomorrow. Using all the restraint I can manage, I force myself to turn around and walk away.
“Knox,” he calls out.
“Fuck off, Pretty Boy.”
4
DELANEY
I look at the shirt my sister has in her hand, scrunching my face up in distaste. She sighs exasperatedly and throws it down onto the floor with the rest of them.
“Laney, that’s the fifth one you’ve turned down,” she complains.
Giving her an innocent grin, I shrug. “It’s not my fault all your clothes look like they’re missing half the material.”
“It’s called fashion.”
“It’s called public indecency.”
Savannah chuckles from her place on my bed. Tess turns to glare at her. “Watch it, bitch. I’m still not sure how I feel about you yet.”
As my sister goes to fetch another shirt, Sav glances up from her phone and rolls her eyes. She acts like Tessa disliking her doesn’t matter, but I know it gets under her skin. I’ve talked to my sister about it as much as I can with always the same outcome—she needs time. After Savannah disappeared when we were eleven, it was hard for me. I had lost both my best friends in such a short time, and it made me even more hesitant to make new ones. That only got worse when Sav showed up at our high school and acted like she didn’t even know who Tessa and I were.
Knowing her story now, I can understand why she made the choices she did, but I also see where Tess is coming from. If I watched someone hurt her that way, I probably wouldn’t forgive them so quickly either. I love Savannah to death, but she can stand to work for it a little.
“Okay, what about this one?”
Tess comes back in, holding a black shirt I’d never buy, but it’s the best out of the options so far. At least this one has sleeves and covers my belly button. The cleavage is a little much, but if I tell her no again, she might rip my head off.
“It’s cute,” I say honestly.
She cheers at her small victory then stops. “Now for bottoms. I’m thinking miniskirt.”
The smile drops right off my face. “It’s January.”
“Oh, please.” She waves me off dismissively. “Once we get a little booze in you, you’ll warm right up.”
My eyes widen as they meet Savannah’s, and I can tell she’s trying to mask her amusement. This is going to be a long night.
PULLING UP TO THE house, I can already tell this is nothing like what I’m used to. For one, the house is only a third of the size Jace’s, and not nearly as fancy. Thankfully, Sav helped talk Tess into letting me wear jeans before she left to go spend the night with Grayson. Apparently, he texted her and said his mom was going to his aunt’s for the weekend—aka they’re going to be indisposed for the next forty-eight hours.
I follow Tessa inside, and the scent of weed and alcohol instantly fills my nose. It’s not a very pleasant smell, but I assume everyone here is far too trashed to mind it. Either that or they’re so used to it they don’t even notice.
So many people are crammed into this house that I feel claustrophobic. I grab my sister’s hand to keep from getting lost in the crowd as she leads us through the house and into the living room. As soon as she sees Easton, she releases me and jumps into his arms. Great. I’m already getting ditched.
“Guys, this is my sister, Delaney,” she says with a wave of an arm. “Laney, this is Gage, Stone, and Zayn.”
I sport a shy, yet uncomfortable, smile as the three of them blatantly check me out. Recognizing the black-haired one as the guy Knox got into a car with the other day, I start to wonder if he’s here. As I subtly look around, I don’t find him anywhere, but I see plenty of other stuff I’m not used to.
A girl snorting a line of coke off a guy’s stomach.
A couple practically having sex in the corner.
And what I’m pretty sure is a crappy attempt at a secret blow job.
I don’t know what I expected, coming here, but it certainly wasn’t this.
MAKING SAVANNAH THE WINNER of the bet, it only takes Tessa twenty-seven minutes before she sneaks off somewhere with Easton and leaves me to fend for myself. I knew it would happen eventually, but I thought she’d at least stay by my side for an hour. A part of me considers leaving—it’s not like she’d notice I’m gone—but I promised her I’d give this place two hours to win me over.
Reluctantly, I decide to stick it out and head into the kitchen to get a drink. Bottles of liquor cover the counters, and a group of people hoard around what I assume is the beer. I go to the fridge and open it in search of water. Just as I grab a bottle, the sound of someone behind me catches me off guard.
“You lost?” he asks, and goose bumps raise across my skin as I recognize that voice. I straighten up and turn around, coming face to face with the guy who has plagued my mind for the last couple weeks. Knox Vaughn. “Keg is over there.” His head gestures toward the crowd in the corner of the room.
“Oh, n-no, I’m okay,” I mutter. “I just wanted water.”
He snorts and stares at the bottle in my hand like it’s diseased. “Who comes to a party and drinks water?”
“Me, apparently.”
His gaze moves down to my cleavage and he leans back against the counter as he bites his lip. “Are you sure you don’t want me to get you a beer?”
I shake my head faster than necessary. “My dad said beer makes you fat.” Ugh, did I really just say that?
He raises his brows before his expression changes to a smirk. Grabbing the bottom of his shirt, he lifts it up to reveal perfectly toned abs. I gulp. “Your daddy lied.”
For the first time in my life, the thoughts that run through my head are anything but innocent. The only thing I can think to do is get the hell out of here and away from him. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know what a guy like him looks for at these kind of parties, and I’m nothing like the girls here.
I SEARCH FOR TESSA for thirty minutes straight, which is longer than the time I’ve spent with her at this stupid party, but I come up empty. She’s probably in a room somewhere, having sex with her boyfriend, like everyone else here. Meanwhile, I’m in the middle of what could probably constitute an orgy, and all I want is to go home. If only I could get Tess’s keys.
Taking a break from looking, I sit down on the couch and start to scroll through my phone. Maybe if I stay still, she’ll end up finding me. Yeah, wishful thinking. I consider texting Savannah and asking her to come get me, but I don’t want to interrupt her time with Grayson. Besides, checking her phone is probably the last thing on her mind.
A couple collapses onto the couch next to me, their mouths not separating for a second as they basically try to eat each other’s faces. I scoot over slightly to give them more room, but it doesn’t do much. I feel something on my thigh. Looking down, I notice the guy is sliding his hand up my leg as he makes out with someone else. I cringe and push it off, but he puts it right back.