CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Colton — 18 years old
It’s sickening.
Watching Maddox and Lila flirt constantly while they claim to be “just friends.”
Yeah, I call bullshit.
It’s sickening.
Watching Riley and Grayson be so cozy with each other. So blindly in love.
Yeah, that’s bullshit too.
They are wrapped up in their own little world, not really paying attention to anyone else around them. I’ve never seen Riley so… content before. Blissful. Calm. She beams up at Grayson, at whatever he’s saying to her. And then she throws her head back and laughs.
A soft, feminine laugh that sends tingles up my spine. My chest tightens.
And fuck, it’s maddening.
Her pretty smile. Her genuine laughter. Her large wistful eyes.
It’s like she’s found all her answers in Grayson’s arms and that pisses me off.
I can’t understand why. I’ve always been a little fucked in the head, but Riley? She’s messing with my mind with her mere existence. I thought I’d have some fun tormenting her, but she’s causing me trouble now. Oh, how the tables have turned.
The events of Halloween night keep playing over and over in my mind. The scent of her pussy and juices, the way she rocked against my fingers and dug her nails into my shoulders. Her flushed face, her swollen lips, her hazy eyes. Everything is ingrained in my head.
Her heartbreak and her sorrow…
The utter defeat on her tear-stained face at my cruel words.
And then her falling into Grayson’s arm after running away from me. I saw it. Them in the middle of the field, under the moonlight. Him picking up the pieces that I broke.
I stayed and watched them.
I watched the moment Riley fell in love with Grayson.
My dislike for him seems to increase with each passing day. He’s a fucking nobody, but he waltzed into Berkshire Academy and stole the little wallflower from me.
Riley Johnson was supposed to be mine —to tease and to torment. To watch her break under my touch, to see if the petals of her soul wither or blossom under my cruelty.
I don’t know when my curiosity about Riley became a mindless obsession.
But now she’s deliriously in love with that damn nerd.
“Colton,” Kate purrs in my ear.
My jaw twitches as I catch a whiff of her strong perfume and the overpowering stench of alcohol on her breath. She’s drunk and humping me like a bitch in heat.
My father and Sienna are out of town for two days, and what’s a guy to do when he needs some entertainment from his mundane, boring life? He throws a rash party. That’s exactly what I did.
The party is in full swing. Surprisingly, Maddox doesn’t have a chick in his lap tonight. Instead, he’s drunkenly eyeing Lila’s ass like he’s a starving man and she’s his last damn meal. He’s fucking whipped for her and hasn’t even realized it yet. They are the two most stubborn people I’ve ever seen. Unreasonably stubborn and willfully blind.
Kate rocks against me, her lips brushing against mine suggestively. My dick is not in the mood for her, but when I’ve had enough of Riley and Grayson being all lovey dovey on the couch across from me, I grab Kate by the ass and rise to my feet. She makes a pleased sound in the back of her throat and we barely make it upstairs before her hand reaches for my belt and she goes straight for the buckle.
I’m drunk and bored.
And pissed.
We don’t even make it to my room. I stop in the corridor, and Kate slides down my body, dropping to her knees. She blinks up at me, her lips curling with a smirk. “You don’t mind an audience?”
I take out the joint from my pocket and light it up, watching the flames flicker. I take a hit, exhaling the smoke with a bored smile. “I don’t mind anything as long as you’re sucking my dick. Stop talking and put your mouth to good use.”
She unbuckles my jeans and takes out my dick. I take another hit of my joint, as she wraps her lips around my length. I lean back against the wall, tilting my head up and looking at the ceiling and noticing one of the bulbs flickering from the heavy chandelier in the middle of the corridor.
I take another long drag, enjoying the burn in my throat.
Kate deep-throats me, and she’s sloppy. But whatever. I soon find my release, and she swallows, some of it spilling past her lips. She’s a little messy, but I guess she’s getting off on that. A moan slips from her, and I roll my eyes.
I drop the joint, stepping on it with my foot. Kate wipes the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand and rises to her feet. She leans forward, pressing her chest against mine, and brings our faces closer. She curls her arms around the back of my neck, but I tilt my head back before she can kiss me.
Kate glowers at me suspiciously. “What? I sucked your dick, but you can’t kiss me?”
I grunt in response. “Don’t be clingy now. I despise that.”
I’m tucking my dick back in my jeans when I see a flash of blonde hair from the corner of my eyes. My gaze snaps to her, and I see Riley coming to halt at the top of the stairs when she sees me and Kate together. Her lips twist, scowling at us and our compromising position.
When Kate notices my attention’s diverted, she brings her lips to my throat, nibbling on the flesh. Putting on an inappropriate show in front of the little wallflower.
Riley flushes, her cheeks pinkening in a way that makes me wonder where else she’s pink like this. It makes me want to sink my teeth into her delicate skin, just to feast on her reaction.
Riley swivels around to go back downstairs. Probably back into Grayson’s arms. My body moves on its own, before I can even process my reaction. I jerk away from Kate, and stagger toward Riley, my arm snaking out to grab her around the waist.
She gasps when I tug her to me, her back slamming against my chest. I keep my hand pressed against her abdomen, pinning her to me. “What the hell? Let go, Bennett,” Riley hisses under her breath.
Kate makes an enraged sound behind me, and then she’s stomping past us, her shoulder roughly bumping into mine as she makes her way downstairs.
Riley claws at my arm that’s around her, her nails biting into my skin. With a frustrated snarl, I spin us around. I blame my drunkenness for my reaction. I can’t fucking think clearly when Riley is around me. I’m bitter, angry…She infuriates me.
Her back slams against the wall, and I cage her smaller body between my arms, towering over her. Her chest heaves, her head tilting upward, and our gazes lock.
Thud.
My head lowers, my breath caressing her soft, pink lips. Lips that tasted of clementines. “Why him?” I hiss, my harsh voice barely recognizable to my own ears. “Why Grayson? Why that fucking nerd?”
I don’t fucking understand her.
No, that’s a goddamn lie.
I don’t understand why she makes me feel the way I do.
And the worst of it? I can’t even begin to comprehend why she and Grayson together infuriates me.
Riley pushes at my chest, but her strength is unmatched against mine. Her eyes harden with a dark glare. “You were doing really well for the last few months, Colton. But here you go, acting like a jerk again. Your assholery really has no limits.”
My fingers wrap around the base of her slender throat, my thumb brushing against her pulsing vein. She sucks in a shuddering breath at my touch and my dick hardens.
“ Why? ” I ask again, my words slightly slurred.
Her lips twist angrily. “Because Grayson is everything you’re not.”
My heart slams into my chest.
“Riley?” Her eyes widen at the sound of her name. From his lips. She roughly shoves at my chest, her sudden aggressiveness causing me to stumble back, letting her go.
She skirts away from me and moves toward Grayson, standing by his side. His body is tense, and his brows furrow with questions. “Is there a problem here?”
Riley swallows. “I was just looking for the bathroom, and um…Colton is drunk. He staggered into me. It’s fine.”
My chest rumbles with a humorless laugh. Grayson’s gaze darkens with silent menace, and he protectively wraps his arm around her shoulder. She instinctively curls into him, pressing into his side. Bitterness courses through my veins, and I suddenly feel antagonistic.
Yeah, fuck this shit.
“Let’s just go.” Riley tries to tug Grayson away.
Not so fast, little wallflower. I’m not done with you yet.
“You know,” I drawl lazily, shoving my hands into the pockets of my jeans. My lips twitch with a smirk, knowing damn well I’m about to fuck with them. “I had your girlfriend’s pussy juices all over my fingers on Halloween night. I made her feel real good, before sending her back to you.”
Riley gasps loudly, her eyes widening in absolute horror.
Grayson suddenly lurches forward, and his fist slams into my face, knocking me back against the wall. The floor sways underneath my feet, and I hear a distant scream and approaching footsteps. I don’t bother fighting back, because I know I deserve that punch. I was waiting for it, egging him on, knowing full well what the outcome would be.
I see Maddox and Lila out of the corner of my eye.
I hear Riley’s voice, begging Grayson to let go of me.
He grips the collar of my shirt and leans into my face, his expression dark and thunderous. “What happened between you and Riley that night stays between the two of you,” Grayson hisses, low enough that no one else can hear him but me. “Because I know whatever happened, broke her heart and I was the one there to hold her. But don’t ever disrespect my girl like that again. I don’t care what your problem is, Colton. But grow the fuck up and keep Riley out of your mouth.”
He releases me and steps away, his jaw tight with fury. Riley makes a choked sound in the back of her throat, and she holds his hand, their fingers entwined. Grayson pushes his glasses up his nose, before steering her away from me, and I watch them disappear down the stairs.
Lila gives me a disgruntled look.
Maddox shakes his head, displeased with my stupid hostility.
I rub my sore jaw, where Grayson’s fist landed, and grimace. Leaning my head back against the wall, I squeeze my eyes shut.
I know that when tomorrow morning comes…
My sober ass is going to regret every drunken word I spoke tonight.