Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
RYDER
“How the hell did I let you rope me into coming here again?” I ask Elizabeth.
As soon as I got to her apartment after my last class, she rushed me back out the door, saying we were meeting up with Fallon. I was not happy. I had been looking forward to doing all those naughty things she wrote on the notes that she left around the apartment this morning.
We have to park down the road from Fallon’s frat because most of the fraternities are having parties tonight. The different styles of music blast out from every Greek house and meld together in a raucous melody that reminds me of fingernails down a chalkboard. We’ve only walked a block, and I’ve already been stopped by six people I know. Elizabeth doesn’t seem to mind, especially when I introduce her as my girlfriend. She looks gorgeous tonight in her tight black jeans and red blouse that hangs off one shoulder. She left her hair down, and my fingers have been playing through the soft, messy waves.
“There he is!” I hear from a lawn across the way. Fallon is hanging out with a group of people sitting on a sofa that has been placed in the middle of the yard. He walks over and grabs Elizabeth, lifting her up and spinning her around. “And here’s my kitten!”
“Put me down, Fallon,” she tells him, but she’s laughing.
I’m so confused right now.
“What’s up, Ry?” he says to me.
“Not much.” I take Elizabeth’s hand.
“Come on,” he tells us, then yells, “John! Heading in.”
John answers by lifting his red cup high.
Fallon always knew how to throw a party in high school. This is the first one of his I have come to while at CU. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a bonfire out back, even though it’s against campus fire code.
As Fallon takes us up the porch stairs and into the house, several girls try to get his attention, but he ignores every single one. His attention has been completely on Elizabeth. She smiles as they chat. I hear Fallon tell her something that sounds like burned marshmallows, and she throws her head back laughing. My confusion at their sudden camaraderie turns into wanting to know what the hell burned marshmallows mean.
Elizabeth hated Fallon’s parties in high school, so I’m worried that she’s going to feel uncomfortable here tonight.
I bend down to her ear. “Babe. You good?”
She turns her head and kisses my cheek. “This is my first party,” she says excitedly.
I guess that’s my answer.
I kiss her temple and move her in front of me, taking her hips in my hands as we follow Fallon to the back of the house. I can feel her ass sway to the music as we walk.
“Preference?” Fallon asks us when we get to where the alcohol is.
“Shots?” Elizabeth queries.
“Woman after my own heart. Ry, you want a Three Wise Men?” he shouts over the music.
“Water,” I tell him.
If Elizabeth is doing shots, I need to stay sober.
He passes me a bottle and makes two shots, one for himself and one for Elizabeth.
“Clowns,” Fallon tells her.
“The color orange,” she says.
They clink glasses and tip them back.
I bend down to her ear again, so she can hear me. “What are you and Fallon talking about?”
She takes the beer bottle he hands her. “Our worst fears.”
Fallon motions for us to follow him outside. The backyard is decked out in patio lights strung from tree to tree and across the large deck. The lot for the frat house is expansive. There’s a swimming pool on one side and a single tennis court on the other. Someone throws a football from across the yard to the swimming pool, and cheers erupt when a guy catches it before diving under the water.
Fallon approaches a group of girls congregated on one of the love seats. A redhead, a blond, and a brunette. I’m suddenly craving Neapolitan ice cream.
The redhead smiles broadly at him and offers him her joint.
He takes it and tosses it into the bushes. “Get the fuck off my furniture.”
Her smile falls.
The blond to her right stares at me as she yanks her friend up. Her eyes widen, and she whispers to the third girl, but it comes out louder than I think she intended.
“That’s Ryder Cutton. He’s so fucking hot.”
Hearing her, Elizabeth hooks the back of my jeans and hauls me in for a kiss not suitable for public display. I’m all for it.
“Want to whip it out and piss a circle around him?” Fallon says.
“If I had a dick, that’s exactly what I’d do,” she replies.
We take the seats just vacated, and Elizabeth sits down in my lap. She wraps her arm around my shoulders, and I rest my hand on the side of her hip. My eyes involuntarily close when she starts massaging the back of my neck. It’s such an innocent touch but one that’s monumentally significant. It’s a touch of familiarity. A touch that couples who are comfortable with one another do. I settle back with my girl in my arms, and for the first time in over a week, I relax.
“Where’d you go last week?” Fallon asks me.
I guess Elizabeth hasn’t said anything to him.
“Family stuff,” I reply, taking a swallow of water.
“So, Kitten. What do you think?” he says, spreading his arms wide and looking around as if he’s showing off his kingdom.
More cheers go up from the pool area. I crane my neck to see what’s going on.
“For the king of CU, it’s not too shabby.”
He snorts and finishes his beer.
Fallon snaps his fingers at some random guy I’ve never seen before. “Chris, get me another.”
Chris runs inside and comes back out a minute later, drink in hand. “Anything else, sir?”
Fallon dismisses him with a flick of the hand. “No. Get lost.”
Elizabeth bursts out laughing. “Is one of your talents ordering people around? You’re really good at it.”
“He’s a freshman pledge. He has to do whatever I tell him. Just part of the initiation.”
“And part of the reason why I will never join a frat,” I tell her.
A piercingly loud squeal erupts behind us, and Meredith pops up next to Elizabeth.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming out tonight?”
“Hey!” Elizabeth happily replies, then frowns and looks around. She crooks her finger at Meredith to come closer. “Is Trevor here with you?” she whispers.
“Yeah. He’s inside.”
“Meredith, this is Fallon’s frat.”
“Oh, shit.”
Oh, shit indeed. And it’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to Fallon about, but with everything going on, I haven’t had the time. I thought I knew everything about him, so the whole brother thing is shocking, to say the least.
“What should I do?” Meredith asks her.
I already had to stop Fallon from attacking Trevor in the cafeteria. No telling what will happen here if they come face-to-face. Trevor seems to know a lot about his little brother, and I have no doubt he knew this was Fallon’s frat. So why is he here?
Trevor walks out of the house and stops short when his gaze lands on us. “Fallon.”
When Fallon looks at Elizabeth, she says, “Not tonight.”
I don’t know what kind of voodoo magic she has over him, but he gives her a small salute with his beer bottle and relaxes back into the couch.
Trevor watches this play out and cautiously walks over. “Hey, Wildcat.”
“Hey, Trevor.”
He passes a wine cooler to Meredith.
The music in the house changes from hard rock to pop. It’s awful, but Meredith seems to like it because she asks Trevor, “Want to dance, big guy?”
Not a bad idea.
“Fal, I’m taking my girl to dance,” I tell him and lift Elizabeth.
She giggles as I carry her inside to where everyone is dancing in the living room. The beat of a Top 40 song is pounding, and colored strobe lights flash around the room. As soon as we join the throngs of moving bodies, sweat trickles down my spine in response to the collective heat being given off.
I set Elizabeth on her feet. There’s not much room to move, let alone dance, but that doesn’t stop my girl from writhing against my body.
Elizabeth turns my face until I’m looking directly into her eyes. “That’s better,” she says and loops her arms around my neck.
One song melds into another, but Elizabeth and I get lost in our own rhythm as we sway to the music of our heartbeats.
“Thanks for coming with me. I’m having a good time.” Elizabeth lifts her heels and hushes in my ear, “But parties are overrated. I’d rather be at home. How many notes did you find?”
“Six.”
“I wrote thirteen,” she says, licking up the column of my neck.
I’m instantly hard. “Want to get out of here?”
“Yes, please.”
She doesn’t have to tell me twice. I rush her outside so I can tell Fallon we’re leaving.
If I thought things were bad between Fallon and Trevor, that’s nothing compared to the dread that hits me when I see Maria and Jacinda walking up the steps of the back patio.
They’re wearing bikinis and must have been at the pool when we arrived. I’m going to kill Fallon.
Maria’s eyes lock onto me, and a look of shock crosses her face. Then she notices Elizabeth, and my stomach clenches when I see the pure hatred that overtakes her expression.
Jacinda follows Maria’s gaze and starts laughing hysterically. “Holy shit! She’s like a fucking cockroach. I thought she was supposed to be dead.”
Fallon appears at my side. “I swear I didn’t know they were here. Let me handle this.”
“You’re a fucking liar,” Maria seethes at me. “You’re here with her ?”
“Ryder, what’s going on?” Elizabeth asks.
It’s been almost two years since I broke up with Maria. She and Elizabeth used to be best friends, or that’s what I thought. Maria used her friendship with Elizabeth to get close to me, and I was stupid enough to ask Maria out because Elizabeth was with Jayson. The fact that Maria is still jealous of Elizabeth after all this time makes me pity her.
A crowd gathers knowing something is about to go down. Memories of another party at Fallon’s house creep into the back of my mind. For once, I’m glad Elizabeth has amnesia.
“Get the fuck out,” Fallon tells them.
Jacinda was always a viper. She was like the female equivalent of Fallon but with the last shred of decency stripped away.
“My boyfriend happens to live here. You can’t make me do shit.”
“Watch me. As soon as I find out who he is, I’m kicking his ass out of the frat.”
“You can’t do that!” Jacinda screeches.
“I can do a lot worse.”
Jacinda inches back to get distance from Fallon. She knows firsthand he means what he says.
“What’s going on?” Meredith asks.
“I have no idea,” Elizabeth tells her.
Maria makes the bad decision to run her mouth. “You’re such a bitch, Lizzie! I knew you were fucking Ryder, even though you were with Jayson.”
“I said leave. Not telling you again,” Fallon says at the same time Elizabeth asks, “Are you talking to me?”
“Who the fuck would I be talking to? You’re a selfish bitch. You stole him away from me!”
I try to pull Elizabeth away from the scene unfolding, but she’s not budging.
Meredith flies forward, her tiny fists clenched into tight balls. “Did you just call her a bitch?”
Things get worse when Trevor joins in. “You better watch your fucking mouth. Apologize.”
Elizabeth’s hand wraps around my bicep. “Do I know her?”
“Baby, I need to get you out of here. I’ll explain everything when we get home.”
I don’t catch what Maria says to Meredith, but she tackles Maria like a linebacker, taking her down. And then, it’s a free-for-all. Everything disintegrates into complete chaos, a tangle of fists and grunts.
Goddammit. Every fucking party.
“Don’t move. Stay here,” I tell Elizabeth when I see some huge guy charging toward Fallon.
Fallon’s back is turned, so he doesn’t see him coming. I reach him just in time. The guy’s fist is reared back, but I catch it mid-flight, bend it down, and twist. He screams in agony when I snap his wrist and shove him back.
He goes down, cradling his arm against his body. “You broke my hand!”
Fallon whips around and flashes me a grin. “Just like old times,” he says, reminding me of a past I’d rather keep buried.
He snakes a fist out, and it connects with some dude’s head. I grab another guy who is swinging for Fallon and flip him over in a body slam, the impact causing the deck flooring to shake.
“I highly suggest you don’t get back up,” I warn him.
I look for Meredith, knowing Elizabeth will be worried about her friend. Trevor is with her. I don’t see Maria or Jacinda anywhere. They must have high-tailed it after the fighting began.
As quickly as the madness starts, it ends.
Fallon wipes the blood from his hands onto his slacks and shouts to the crowd, “Party is over! And if I find any video of this online, I will find you.”
I touch the side of my mouth where Jayson clocked me the other night. A small amount of blood trickles from the scabbed-over cut. I search for Elizabeth and spot her immediately. She hasn’t moved from where I left her. Worry hits me like a ton of bricks, and I run over to her, praying she’s not having another memory blackout. She says they’re triggered by certain words or intense emotions.
“Babe,” is all I get out when she jumps into my arms.
“You are the sexiest man I have ever seen,” she says and kisses the hell out of me.
Worries about her instantaneously transform into lust. My adrenaline is still high, and all I want to do is slam her against the nearest wall and fuck her senseless.
“Who was that bitch?” Meredith asks.
Elizabeth breaks our kiss. “Are you okay?”
“He calls me Firecracker for a reason,” she happily replies.
“That you are,” Trevor says.
Fallon makes his way over, and even though he and his older brother hate each other, Fallon gives Trevor a nod of thanks before walking inside.
“Was that your ex?” Trevor asks, and I want to tell him to shut the hell up.
“Not here,” I murmur to Elizabeth.
She nods her head, her cheek rubbing against mine.
With Elizabeth in my arms, I walk us inside the suddenly deserted house. Several frat brothers, who I assume are part of the freshman initiates, are picking up trash and putting things away. I find Fallon in the kitchen icing his hand.
“Taking Elizabeth home.”
“Hope we get to do that again soon. That was fucking awesome.”
I bark out a laugh. “You know that’s not my thing anymore.”
“See ya around, Kitten.”
Elizabeth waves bye, then calls out, “Inflatable tube guys” as we reach the front door. Fallon shouts back, “Cicadas.”
“You guys are really weird.”
“He’s a good guy. I’m glad he’s your friend.”
“A lot of people would say Fallon is anything but a good guy.”
“New Elizabeth, remember? I have certain superpowers that allow me to see past a person’s bullshit to the center of their inner Tootsie Pop.”
I nip the skin under her earlobe, and she shivers.
“Why am I getting the feeling that having you and Fallon hang out together is a bad idea?”
She nips me back. “Sometimes bad ideas can bring about great things.”
In less than five minutes, we cover the distance it takes to walk back to where I parked my car. Elizabeth has been mostly quiet, lost in contemplation.
Once I get her buckled in and start the engine, she says, “Ryder, who were those girls? I knew them, didn’t I? I felt like I knew them somehow, and that one girl definitely knew me.”
“The blond was Jacinda. She was a cheerleader at our school. She did some stuff that hurt you. The two of you were definitely not friends.”
“And the other girl?”
“Maria. You guys used to be best friends.”
“Clearly not anymore. Was Trevor right? Did you date her?”
I turn in my seat and take her hand. “I will never lie to you. I did some stuff that I’m not proud of, but they are things I won’t apologize for either.”
“I understand.”
“Do you, Elizabeth? Because once you open a door, you may not be able to close it if you don’t like what you hear.”
She unbuckles her seat belt and crawls over the gear stick into my lap. She pierces me with her green gaze. “Did you date her?”
“Yes. We dated for about a year. I was never intimate with her. I couldn’t touch her like that because she wasn’t you. I used her because I was lonely. I was tired of waiting on the sidelines, watching you and Jayson. Every fucking time, having to see you two together was like a dull knife stabbing my heart. I was desperate. I just wanted someone to make the heartache go away.”
“And she did that for you? She helped make the pain go away?”
“That’s the sad part. She didn’t. I tried so hard to let her in, but Maria could never fill that ache for the one girl my heart wanted more than any other. She wanted more from me than I was willing to give. What I found out later was that she used you to get to me. You, me, Jay, and Jules were always a unit. Basically, where one of us went, the rest would follow. Maria pretended to be your friend so she could get access to me. And I was stupid enough to let her.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
I know she must be uncomfortable with the steering wheel at her back, so I adjust the seat to give us more room.
“Ryder?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what, baby?”
“I don’t know. I guess—it’s just all the stuff I’ve been learning about the old Elizabeth…I don’t like her much. How could I be in love with two different men? Be in a relationship with one and string along the other?”
“Look at what I did. I dated Maria to distract me from not being able to have you. We all do things to cope that we later look back on with regret.”
“I will not be that girl again, Ryder. I don’t want to be old Elizabeth. I won’t hurt you like that ever again.”
Why do I have the feeling that she’s not talking about what happened tonight?