Chapter 37
Julian
“When I say fuck, you say school!” I shout from atop my makeshift stage. “Fuck!”
“School!” everyone surrounding me chants.
“Fuck!”
“School!” they scream in unison.
Giggling into the mic, I take a swig of whatever I’m drinking while I try to brainstorm what I’ll make them say next. The harsh liquid burns my chest and makes me shudder, which makes sense ’cause it’s purple and that can’t be good, but … when did I get a purple drink?
“Shit,” I mumble as I look out at my waiting orchestra. “I’ll never know my fuck-it drink.”
“Alright,” comes Aiden’s voice from below as he raises two of his sexy arms—he must’ve hidden the others away. “Time to get down before you break something.”
“It’ll just heal tomorrow, stupid,” I snicker.
“Okay, seriously. Come down, Julian,” Aiden says, sounding all panicky as he grabs onto my hand, but I will not be stopped! I yank it away, stumbling back a little before I catch my balance, and once I do, I lift the mic to conduct our next symphony.
“When I say buzzkill, you say Aiden!” I shout, making everyone laugh. “Buzzkill!”
“Aiden!” they roar back.
“Buzzkill!”
“Aiden!”
“Buzz—wahh!” I shout as I fall forward, which feels like plummeting straight into hell. I don’t break anything though, and when I peek my eyes open, I’m in Aiden’s arms. He’s staring down at me with a wrinkly forehead.
“My prince,” I praise as I look him over. He really does look like a prince, but—“frowning makes you look old,” I tell him as I push my finger into his forehead, trying to erase the wiggly lines, but my finger isn’t an eraser.
Why isn’t my finger an eraser?
Aiden shakes his head with a sigh and carries me back to the couch we started at. There are familiar faces, but I can’t really remember any of their names.
“Aiden,” one—Russ? Rust?—says as Aiden sets me down on my feet. “Julian is the funniest guy I’ve ever met!”
“Thanks,” I reply, slipping out of Aiden’s grasp. “If you could get me a bouncy castle, that’d be great.”
Rust nods his understanding before he pulls his phone out and disappears into the much larger crowd. I blink after him, wondering if he really is going to do that, but then the world spins and I’m facing Aiden.
Aiden.
“How many fingers am I holding up?” he asks, putting one of his hands way too close to my face.
I push it away, then squint until I can see all his spread fingers.
“Six,” I say confidently.
“A hand only has … You know what—” Aiden laughs dryly as a large smile spreads across his handsome face. “You’re good for now. We’ll try again later.”
“Okayyy. Can we play beer pong next?” I ask, bouncing on my toes as I slide my arms around his neck.
“You can’t even see straight,” he replies, eyeing me while he takes a sip from his red cup. I can see, even through his shades, that he’s looking at me all sceptically.
“Then I’ll just tilt my head, duh.” I declare, which makes his pretty black eyes widen.
“Say no more,” he says, laughing as he leads us towards the ping-pong table near the front of the house.
It’s occupied, but I don’t let that stop me from ramming through the spectators and marching right up to the front.
“I want to play!” I declare, making all sorts of faces whip towards me.
“Wait your turn,” some girl snaps. I growl, turning towards her, but Aiden covers my mouth before I can get a word out.
“What’s this?” someone else asks.
My gaze falls onto the smug-looking fool standing at one end. He’s looking our way, specifically at the supporting hand Aiden has wrapped around my waist, and there’s a nasty smirk on his face.
“Brought your toy with you this time, Calderon?” the half-wit says while I swipe one of the strangely small balls from the table.
Ha. I said balls.
“Shut the fuck up, Rasputin’s long-lost son,” I say, earning choked laughs from the people around us.
The guy isn’t laughing though. “What did you just say?”
I frown. “Are you deaf or dumb? Pick one. You can’t be both—that’s greedy.”
Aiden’s hand tightens on my waist as he leans against me. He buries his face into my neck, laughing so hard that it makes me shake too. The guy is bristling now, red-faced with all the eyes on him, but he’s the one who called me a toy. He’s lucky I’m leaving this to words.
“Say another word,” he starts, “and I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” I growl, cutting him off. “Matter of fact, I don’t want to know. I want you to refrain from speaking. I have a sensitive nose, and your breath makes me want to kill myself.” It isn’t a lie. His breath smells like stale cheese and pickle juice. “So, are we going to play or what?”
The crowd around us answers with their roaring laughter that sounds a whole lot like yes to me.
“What happens to the loser?” Aiden asks, sliding off his jacket. He’s getting ready to play while others reset the table, but it feels like he’s teasing me as I watch his muscles shift beneath his tight button-up.
“The losers run home naked,” the angry, stupid guy declares with a wicked grin.
I think he believes that scares me, but it just confuses me. I face my mate with a frown.
“How is that a bad thing? It just makes the process easier when we get—”
“Let’s start!” Aiden shouts over me.
“Rude,” I mutter while he grabs the ball from my hand. He bounces it off the table and straight into the cup opposite him. I smile proudly as the stupid boy drinks angrily.
The other guy from his team lands his shot in one of our cups, but before I can reach for it, Aiden takes it. I guess it’s my turn now.
I throw the ball, but it doesn’t bounce straight. It flies high and disappears into the party. The vermin-boy laughs way too loudly as he points a finger at me. The only reason I don’t bite it off is because Aiden holds me back.
“I forgot to tilt my head,” I tell him, and Aiden nods in understanding. “I want a do-over.”
“You can’t have one, Jewels,” he says, brushing a hand over my hair. “That’s not how it works.”
“But I want one,” I grumble, and I know I’m pouting, but I know I can do better.
“It’s cool, let him have one. I’d love to watch him fail again,” the boy says, tossing a new ball my way.
With my second chance, I reposition myself, tilt my head, and bounce the ball just like Aiden had. I don’t breathe as I watch it sail high and drop straight into the cup in the middle.
“Woah!” Aiden shouts as the room erupts into cheers. He lifts me up like a trophy, and I laugh, fist-pumping the air.
“Suck on that, you piece of dog shit!” I yell at the boy.
“Not so fast. We aren’t done yet,” Aiden whispers as he puts me down. He’s trying to sound serious, but he’s clearly having the best time ever too.
“Alright,” I say with a firm nod. “Let’s fuck them up.”
He throws his head back laughing, “I fucking love Drunk Julian.”
Wide-eyed, I stare at him as another ping-pong ball sails into the air.
Did he just say he loved me?
Music pounds in my ears and the world swirls around me as I push through all the moving bodies.
Sometime in the last hour, the party had become far wilder, turning everyone into a mess, including the strangers who started pouring in halfway through. Someone told me it was because a post about it had gotten out, and everyone who was nearby decided to pop in.
Bodies suddenly part in front of me, making me stop in my tracks as I watch a man slide down the stairs in a jockstrap and land in a kiddie pool full of Jell-O. I clutch my chest as I pass him by, saluting him for his service.
Spinning in my tiny corner, I try to pick out shades, a suit, and the sexy man in them.
No matter how hard I look, I can’t find my mate anywhere.
I don’t even remember losing him, only that I saw a goat and chased after it to say hello, but it just turned out to be someone’s costume.
By the time I turned back, Aiden was gone.
I guess he didn’t want to meet the goat.
“Aiden!” I shout into the crowd, but it gets drowned out in all the noise.
Aiden!!! I scream into our link.
For fuck’s sake Julian, he replies instantly, but he doesn’t sound too happy.
Where are you? I whine, stumbling forward.
Where we’ve all been sitting this entire time, he says. Did you forget? That’s where we’re supposed to go if we lose each other.
Where’s that again? I ransack my head for the memory, but it’s all a blur.
He tries giving me directions, but I don’t think they really work because at some point, I end up at the front of the house where an angel that looks like his omega friend stands on the lawn with Emitt, but I must walk far enough because eventually I spot him.
“Found you!” I shout, launching myself onto his back.
“Fuck!” Aiden curses, glancing back at me. “Why do you turn into a banshee when you’re drunk?”
“Am I being loud?!” Aiden winces again, and I shrink into the crook of his neck. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. He doesn’t reply, which makes my heart sink with fear. I slide off his back and circle him quickly. “I’m sorry. I really am.”
“It’s alright, Jewels,” he says, and he’s smiling so he isn’t mad. I smile back at him. “Are you having a good time?”
“The best!” I clap a hand over my mouth. I do shout a lot. “The Jell-O pool came,” I whisper.
“And your bouncy castle,” he adds, making my eyes go wide. “You didn’t know?”
“No!” I shout, making him wince. “Sorry!”
He just shakes his head with a smile and offers his hand. “Come on. I’ll show you the way.”
He leads me to the backyard, where a massive pool sits in front of a huge red-and-yellow bouncy castle that brings tears to my eyes.
I slip away from Aiden and sprint for it. I dive straight inside, despite the line, and scream excitedly as I bounce.
There are people inside, ones that try not to step on me, but I soon make them leave. They don’t like it, but who cares? I reach out and pull Aiden in so we can bounce together.
“Higher!” I jump as hard as I can, but I’m laughing too hard to get much air. Before my fingers can touch the roof, I fall on my ass and bounce onto my side.