43. Alexis
CHAPTER 43
Alexis
I stand beside Sophia inside the crowded, massive house, sipping my drink and feeling out of my element.
My gaze darts around the room, watching the writhing, sweaty bodies on the dance floor. The bass pounds so hard that my heartbeat bangs along with it.
“Hey, there.” A dark-haired, good-looking guy strolls up to me with a smile. “Lexi, right?”
“Yes.” My tone is guarded as I study his features.“Do I know you?”
He chuckles. “I doubt it. My name is Bentley Cooper.” He nods to the muscular guy who strolls up beside him. “And this is Phoenix Carver. We call him Nyx for short. He’s the tight end for the team. I’m the quarterback.”
“Aren’t you in my Psychology class, Nyx?”
He grins at me and nods. “Professor Whitmore is one helluva instructor and an awesome guy. He tutored me last year when I was struggling.”
My smile falters, and every muscle in my body tenses. I nod, not trusting myself to speak, especially with alcohol coursing through my veins.
I lift my cup and drain it. When I lower it, I give Nyx and Bentley a fake smile. “It’s very nice meeting you. Excuse me. I need another drink.”
“I’ll come with you.” Bentley steps closer and puts his hand on my arm. “You can never be too careful around these spoiled assholes.”
My eyes dart to Sophia, who is busy talking with two other girls. When I glance at Nyx, his eyes are boring into the pretty but shy blonde-haired girl. When she spots Nyx staring, her gaze drops to her shoes, and her cheeks flame scarlet from embarrassment.
Interesting. He seems into the shy, nerdy girl.
I smile at Bentley as we walk away from the group, thinking about Nyx and… What did Sophia say her name was?
I lean into Bentley’s ear and ask, “What is the shy blonde’s name again? The one talking to Sophia?”
He looks over his shoulder. “Skylar Nash. Her dad was a big football legend for our team.” He grins at me, steering me through the crowd toward the kitchen.
My brows shoot up as I glance over my shoulder. “That’s shocking. Skylar barely said two words to me. It doesn’t seem to go with the whole legacy football dad. Londyn is the one doing most of the talking.” A drunken guy slams into me, sending me crashing into Bentley.
“Watch it, asshole.” Bentley reaches over me, shoving the guy, before throwing his arm over my shoulder. He glances over at Londyn, his jaw clenching.
“Are you and Londyn… not friendly?”
Bentley’s eyes drop to mine. “I wouldn’t say that. She’s just… dating an asshole.”
“Oh.” I grin, seeing precisely what the issue is. There’s a hurt look on his face before he masks it, gesturing for me to head into the kitchen first.
He likes Londyn.
I head to the punch, but Bentley stops me with a hand on my arm. “Don’t trust that. It’s too easy to spike it.” He glares at the guys in the kitchen as they leer at me. I’m surprised when they immediately look away.
Bentley moves to the refrigerator and pulls out a wine cooler. He removes the lid and hands it to me. “Don’t set that down anywhere. If you wanna dance, drink it or give it to me.”
“Seagram’s Strawberry Daiquiri. My favorite.” I take a drink, relishing the cool liquid sliding down my throat. “Thank you.”
Bentley nods. “You’re welcome.” His expression is wistful as he steers me from the kitchen. “They’re Londyn’s favorites, too.”
“If you like her, why don’t you go after her?”
He scratches the back of his neck. “I’d like to, but she has a boyfriend.” His eyes move across the room. I follow his murderous gaze, knowing instantly the guy he’s glaring at is Londyn’s boyfriend. “Zac Newman. Fucking asshole,” he mutters.
The cocky, dark-haired guy throws his head back, draining the shot glass. He slams it down before releasing a war cry, throwing his arms in the air.
“Not to sound critical, but why the hell is she with him and not you? I’ve watched him for thirty seconds and got an arrogant asshole vibe from him. You’re clearly the superior choice.”
Bentley’s expression softens. “Thanks, Lexi. I appreciate it.” Putting his arm around me, he steers me through the exuberant partygoers, who have gotten louder and drunker since he and I went to the kitchen.
He leans into my ear. “I hate that fucker. He’s not good enough for her.” His gaze drops to the floor, his jaw ticking as we move toward our friends.
“If you don’t wanna talk about it, that’s okay. I won’t press it.”
His expression softens. “Thanks, Lexi. I wanna avoid it tonight.” He wiggles his brows. “How are things with Evan?”
It’s my turn to bristle. “I’m not gonna answer that.”
Bentley laughs. “Listen, I know Evan can come off as an arrogant asshole. But, at his core, he’s a decent person. He’s had a rough life.”
“Oh, yes. Being rich as hell, traveling the world, and getting everything he wants is such a tough life.” I roll my eyes, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
“That’s the persona he presents to the world. Dig deeper, Lexi.” He nods toward Nyx. “I thought Nyx was an overbearing, obsessive asshole who only cared about football when we were assigned as roommates my freshman year. But there’s a lot more depth to him. You can’t take what you see on the surface and think you know someone based on that. You have to peel back the layers. Otherwise, you never know what you’ll miss out on.”
I blink at him in surprise, shocked at his wisdom. “Holy hell, Bentley. That was deep.” I give him a teasing smile before getting serious. “You’re right about most things. Although Evan… I’m afraid I have to disagree with you.”
“When I first came here as a freshman and had some asshole football players giving me shit, Evan was the one who intervened.” He stares at me for a moment. “I’m three years younger than him. Most of the older guys on the team treated me like shit. Not him.”
I snort. “Maybe he’s nice to you, but he’s a controlling asshole to me.” I pat his shoulder. “You’re too na?ve. He’s nice to you because you’re a man. Not a woman he wants to control.”
“Sometimes, perceptions are wrong.” As we approach our group, Bentley starts to move his arm, but I grab his hand and hang onto it, keeping it over my shoulder. Jealousy flares in Londyn’s eyes before she quickly looks away.
Bentley stares down at me, brows raised. I lean up on my tiptoes and whisper in his ear, “Flirt with me a little bit. Londyn is burning up from jealousy.”
Bentley’s smile when I pull back is adorable. He leans into my ear and says, “You think she’s jealous?”
“Yes. She’s glaring daggers at me now. Play it cool.”
He nods, tipping his head back and laughing, squeezing me against him. Then he looks around, his eyes briefly locking with hers before he takes a drink. Her cheeks flush, and her lips purse. Her gaze moves to me and back to him.
“You’re right,” he whispers into my ear. “She is jealous.”
“Uh huh. She likes you.”
Sophia’s brows furrow when she notices Bentley has his arm around me. “Come on, Lexi. Let’s dance.”
I shove my drink into Bentley’s hand as Sophia drags me away. “What the hell are you doing? Evan will freak out if he sees you and Bentley all over one another.”
“First, Evan isn’t here. Second, Bentley and I aren’t all over each other. Third, I don’t give a rat’s ass what Evan thinks. He doesn’t own me.” We move through the throng of writhing bodies. “I only did it as a favor to Bentley. Did you see how jealous Londyn looked?”
Sophia and I find a spot on the dance floor and start gyrating our hips to the music. “I missed that part. Londyn needs to dump Zac. He’s a pretentious asshole.”
Disgust contorts her face as she glares at Zac. “Her parents want her with that asshole. It has everything to do with his father owning a tech company. The delusional motherfuckers think Zac is going to take it over someday.” Sophia shakes her head. “If he does, he’ll run it into the ground.”
“Sounds about right. Londyn should dump him and go with Bentley.”
Sophia nods. “ Let’s hope she does.” She grins at me. “Let’s forget about them and dance our cares away.” She throws her hands in the air, and I grin, doing the same.
She’s right. Time to let loose like irresponsible nineteen-year-old college girls.