44. Tori
44
TORI
“This is fun,” I shouted at Jayden. The party was so damn loud that shouting was the only way to communicate. Well, except for grinding my body against his—I suppose that was a type of communication. Or maybe the only thing it communicated was how hot I thought he looked tonight.
When Jayden had told me about the party, he’d told me everyone would be dressed in costumes even though it was weeks before Halloween. And he’d been right. All around me were sexy nurses, sexy vampires, sexy angels, and more. Most costumes seemed to have been designed to cover as little as possible.
“Yes, it is,” Jayden said, his lips an inch from my ear. “Have I told you how hot you look in that little green dress?” His hand slid over my ass, which was one of the few parts of me my costume covered. He was Peter Pan, wearing a tunic that was open in the front to nearly his waist, and I could feel his hard pectoral muscles pressing against my chest.
“You did,” I said, tired of shouting but not tired of the way his hands were all over me. Everybody here was grinding against each other as they danced to the music—if you could call it that. It seemed to consist mostly of a deep thumping base.
“I bet it was expensive,” Jayden continued in a knowing voice. “After all, that little dress probably used up at least a half yard of fabric.” It was a Tinker Bell costume, and he was right. The strapless little green dress was pretty small, but I was far from the most scantily clad woman here.
It was my first time wearing a couples costume, though, and I liked being here on Jayden’s arm.
He pulled me close, our bodies pressed together as we danced. And then someone bumped into me from behind. I thought it was an accident at first until I felt the hard male body behind me.
Kyle. It had to be—I was pretty sure that Jayden wouldn’t let some random dude rub up against me. Ooh those large hands on my hips… I knew that touch.
We’d reluctantly decided to pretend that I was here with Jayden, and that Kyle was a friend we’d come with. They’d both insisted, saying they didn’t want me to get a reputation. As if anyone here was sober enough to remember who was with who the next day.
I wiggled my hips, rubbing my backside against Kyle’s front. He was dressed as a pirate, which we’d thought kind of connected his costume to ours. He’d looked hot as hell, too, in those black leather pants, the black vest that showed off his ripped bare chest, and the eyepatch. I’d seen a lot of women eyeing him tonight. “Be good, little Tinker Bell,” he growled in my ear. Then his hands slid up my side, digging into my ribs as I shrieked. “Or should I call you Tickle Bell?”
Jayden apparently decided that me being sandwiched between them was a bit too much. He pulled me out of Kyle’s grasp and slung his arm around my shoulder. “Having fun?” he asked our pirate friend.
Kyle shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.” He had a red cup of beer, and I was impressed he hadn‘t spilled it on me when he’d been pressed up against me.
“Too bad this isn’t Lucas’s scene,” I said, and both men nodded. I’d been a little disappointed when he didn’t come, but he would’ve hated this. To be honest, it wasn’t really my scene, either, but I liked being here with my date and our “friend.”
“He’ll take you somewhere next time,” Kyle said. “To some boring thing he’s into.”
“Yeah,” Jayden said, grinning. “Like anything with the phrase ‘University Lecture Series’ after it.”
Kyle laughed. He and Lucas still bickered, but it wasn’t at all like it had been before. Nowadays, it just kind of seemed like a habit for them, and I was so glad that the real anger was gone.
“I’m going to get another beer.” Kyle disappeared into the crowd, and I noted a lot of women watching him. One even tried to wrap her arms around his neck when he passed, but he dodged her on his way to the kitchen.
Then someone squealed. “Tayden!”
A black shape threw itself at us, hugging first me and then Jayden. It took me a moment to realize it was Mia.
“Tayden?” Jayden asked as he wiped off the beer that had flown out of her cup.
“It’s your couple name,” Mia said loudly. She was dressed as a black cat, complete with pointed ears poking up out of her hair. Her dress was as short as mine was.
“Are you drunk?” Jayden asked her, looking concerned.
“Not enough,” she said. “You two look good together.” She made an expansive gesture that ended up splashing beer on me this time.
“Are you having fun?” I asked her.
She stilled, and for a split second, her face turned pale. But then she nodded and drank thirstily from a red cup. I glanced up at Jayden—he’d seen it, too.
“Let’s go get some air. Too hard to talk in here,” he said.
“Okay.” She surveyed us. “You guys look good together.”
I slipped an arm around her waist. “Let’s go out front.”
Jayden and I guided her through the crowd. The front porch was full of couples making out, but we steered Mia over to a less crowded spot under a large maple tree.
“Do you want us to take you home?” I asked her.
She stared at me as if just realizing I was there. “Hi Tori! No, I’m having fun.”
Yeah, fun. She was acting like the ultimate party girl, but her eyes were red.
“Hey, can I have some of that?” Jayden asked, pointing at her cup.
“Sure!” She handed it to him, and he poured the rest of the beer out on the ground when she wasn’t looking.
I tried again. “I have an idea. Why don’t Jayden and I drive you back to your room?”
She laughed as if I’d said something funny. “No, I want to stay. This is fun!”
Jayden had an inspiration. “Yeah, we should take you back. Then we can meet Sara.”
I chimed in. “Yeah, I’d really like to meet your sister.”
And just like that, Mia’s face crumbled, and she slumped to the ground.
Jayden knelt, catching her, and I lowered myself down next to them, keeping my knees locked together due to how short my dress was. “What’s wrong?”
Tears poured down Mia’s face as she leaned against the trunk of the tree. “She’s gone.”
“We can wait with you until she gets back,” Jayden said, but I knew that’s not what Mia meant.
“What happened?” I asked gently.
“She got kicked out.”
“Of the Stepping Stones program?” I asked, patting her arm.
“Out of Langley.”
“Oh shit,” Jayden murmured. “What happened?”
Mia hiccupped and then thought a moment before answering. “I guess at the last foster house she was at, she started doing drugs. I caught her once, last week, but she said it was a onetime thing. I didn’t know.”
“I’m sorry, Mia.” Jayden’s voice was steady and kind, and I didn’t feel any jealousy at all when he put his arm around her shoulders.
More tears poured down her face. “I thought we’d live together again, finally. At that house for former foster kids. But now she’s not even in Haverford anymore.”
“I’m so sorry.” I squeezed her hand. “Why don’t we go get somewhere and get you some coffee? Then we can talk.” That made me think of the diner Jayden and Lucas had taken me to when that night they’d first brought me back to their house.
“Okay,” Mia said, and together, Jayden and I pulled her to her feet. Then, when I was smoothing down the front of my dress, she dashed away. “I’m just going to get one more beer.”
She ran up the steps and back into the house, and Jayden I exchanged an unhappy look.
“Shit,” he muttered. “Let’s go get her.”
I agreed. She was in no condition to be here on her own. “Let’s get Kyle to help us look.”
Jayden put his arm around my waist as we climbed the stairs back to the house. “He can try, but one out of every four women here are dressed as black cats, and he doesn’t know what she looks like.”
“Good point.” I shook my head. “Too bad, though.” If you’d told me a month or two ago that I’d be fine with sending a frat bro to go look after a drunken girl at a party, I wouldn’t have believed it. But I trusted Kyle.
We searched the house as best we could, interrupting many amorous couples, but we didn’t find Mia. I texted her, but she didn’t answer. “That really sucks about her sister,” I said.
Jayden nodded unhappily. “Especially since she was really looking forward to living together at that place for the rest of the year.”
“Yeah.”
We danced a bit more, but my heart wasn’t in it.
Jayden got a text fifteen minutes later. “Is it from Mia?” I asked as he checked the screen.
“No, not her.” He had an odd expression on his face. “I think I’ll take another look around for her. Can you go to the kitchen to get me another beer?”
“Sure,” I said, frowning a little. But I guess it was okay that he wanted another beer since Kyle drove, not him. “Good luck.”
It wasn’t until I was dodging between drunken dancers that his request struck me as strange. He didn’t seem like the type to leave me alone at a party like this. Several guys were already eyeing me, and I had to smack one dude’s hand away as he grabbed at my ass. But maybe Jayden was just worried about Mia.
I reached the kitchen and tottered on my heels. The floor was slippery, no doubt from spilled drinks. Aiming for the counter with all the red cups on it, I passed by a narrow door that was slightly open. Then a hand grasped my wrist, and someone pulled me inside.
I shrieked before I realized it was Kyle. By that point, he already had his mouth on mine and his hands all over me. Tension left my body, and I enjoyed the sensations until I finally pulled away. It was only then that I noticed that we were in the pantry.
“You scared me,” I said, smacking him on his hard, ripped abs. Though that kiss had been more than worth it.
“I’m a pirate.” Kyle shrugged. “I’m supposed to be scary.”
I laughed. “Going to make me walk the plank?”
“No,” he leaned in close again, palming my ass. “I’m going to make you fake an orgasm. Right now.”
What? My gasp was lost to the loud music outside the pantry, but the way his blue eyes glittered showed me he was serious.
“Here?” I finally managed.
“Why not? No one’s going to hear you over that noise. And if someone comes in while you’re doing that, it’ll be easier to claim we made a wrong turn than if my tongue’s down your throat and my hand up your dress.”
His words made me shiver, and suddenly, I was turned on even more. He always did that to me. I thought of how good it felt when his hands were on me, and I bit my bottom lip, letting out a moan.
“Good girl,” he said, his eyes darkening. I took another deep breath and ran my hands down my dress. He followed the movement, and it was clear he liked what he saw. A whimper issued from the back of my throat as my breathing sped up.
“That’s it, baby.” He grasped my waist and sat me on the narrow counter that lined one side of the pantry. Several boxes fell off a nearby shelf.
I let my breathing grow louder as delicious shivers shot across my skin. How could something not real feel this good? But maybe it was the way he watched me that was the real turn-on.
I arched my back and let my head fall back. I could all but feel Kyle’s gaze glued to the top of my breasts, and I took another deep breath, making my chest rise and fall.
“Louder, Victoria. Show me you remember how I can make you scream.”
I gasped, licking my lips. Even from the loud thumping of the music, my heavy breathing filled the small space, and I moaned deep from my chest.
“Fuck, that sounds hot,” Kyle growled. “Cry out like you do when you come.”
Oh god. I really was getting turned on. I moaned again, my eyes closed and added a gasp. It was fake, but also not—my pulse was fast and unsteady, and I clenched my thighs. I moaned again and this time let it end in a gasp. My breath caught in my throat, as if the beginning of an orgasm had just hit me.
“I’ll make you scream for real when we’re back home,” Kyle promised.
I cried out, my back arched, my chest heaving. I could barely catch my breath for real. Kyle pushed my knees apart, standing in between them, and then he found my mouth again, capturing my ragged breaths with his mouth.
Shit, that felt good. All it would take was a couple strokes of his talented fingers and I’d come for real. But we’d do that later, at home.
No matter how damn tempting it was. And the bulge in his pants showed me how turned on he was, too. He leaned in, whispering in my ear, “I like getting you hot and bothered, and then making you wait to get the real thing.” He slid his fingers across my breast. “When we get back, I’m going to?—”
The door flew open, and a laughing couple pushed inside, freezing when they saw us.
Kyle didn’t miss a beat. He turned toward them, his body blocking their view of my spread legs. But his hand slid down my calf, squeezing lightly. “See, honey? This is how a pantry is supposed to be organized. Not by fiber count like you insist on.”
I laughed and hugged him from behind. The couple took a long look at the surrounding shelves—which were well organized, now that I thought about it—and left. Kyle stepped away, and I slid down. But before I could adjust my tiny costume, he was doing it for me, his hands sliding all over me as he tugged the fabric into place. The unnecessarily thorough way he adjusted the built-in bra cups made me groan again.
But we were good and left the privacy of the little room to go find Jayden.
“You guys want to get out of here?” Kyle asked once we had.
I exchanged a glance with Jayden.
“We have to find someone first,” he told Kyle. “Our friend—she’s had a very rough day.”
Kyle nodded his understanding. “Great. That kind of thing, plus beer, always leads to good decision-making.”
“Exactly.”
We split up, me going with Kyle, since he didn’t know what Mia looked like. I stuck close to his side, a little embarrassed. Inhibitions were clearly lowered, and I saw couples doing things that made me blush. We were on our second pass of the living room when I saw a woman writhing up and down on the lap of a man sprawled out on the couch. He had his hands on her ass as she ground against him, the skirt of her dress barely covering her ass. I had to look closer. Were they actually—? And then I saw the black cat ears and the red highlights in the woman’s hair. “Shit.”
I dragged Kyle over there. “Mia, we’ve been looking for you.”
There was no response as she kissed the guy harder. If I thought she was in control of herself and her emotions, I would’ve let her be, but that clearly wasn’t the case.
I looked up at Kyle. “Can you find Jayden?”
He nodded and disappeared into the crowd. I crouched down next to the arm of the couch and put my hand on Mia’s shoulder. “Mia? Hey, Mia. I have to tell you a secret.”
She surfaced for air at that moment. The dude under her groaned as she pulled away. “Is it the same secret your friend Hailey has?”
My cheeks turned red. Of all the things for her to remember when she was this drunk.
And then Jayden was there, lifting her up. I was very relieved to see that the man she’d been crawling all over still had his pants zipped. “You stay there,” I told him as I got to my feet. He nodded, looking like he was seconds from passing out. But then his expression cleared, and he looked up at Mia. His mouth opened, and I thought he was going to say something, but he didn’t.
His gaze cut to me, his eyes bleak. I had a sudden feeling that maybe Mia wasn’t the only one who’d had a really difficult day. But he wasn’t my concern—Mia was.
I stood up and helped Jayden as he half carried Mia. She was completely wasted and kept trying to wander off. But between the three of us, we got her out the front door.
“Do you know who that guy was?” she said loudly, trying to throw her arm around my neck.
“No, who?”
Jayden shook his head. “I think she’s asking you if you know his name.”
Oh. “No, but he was hot,” I said, in part to cover the awkward moment.
“I know, right?” she giggled. “Do you think he’ll call me?”
“Did you give him your number?” Jayden asked, his arm around her waist, supporting her. “Or exchange socials?”
“No, why?”
Kyle gave a low laugh. “Don’t hold your breath.”
We got her to Kyle’s truck, pausing once when she was sick. Kyle made Jayden hold her on his lap in the passenger seat, which was where I wanted to be sitting—but it was probably a good idea that she was near the door, just in case. Kyle was rightly protective of the interior of his beloved truck.
It took some coaxing, but we got her to tell us where she was staying. It broke my heart a little, too, because at one point she turned to me and said, “But Sara’s not there.” Her eyes were suddenly clear. “It’s just me.”
I patted her back. “I know, and I’m sorry.”
When we pulled up to the building where the students in the Stepping Stones program were staying, Kyle carried Mia while Jayden and I convinced the student at the front desk that we were just looking out for her.
After we found her room, Kyle went in search of water while I got her settled under the covers. Jayden pulled the trash can next to her bed.
She was asleep almost instantly. After making sure her phone was near her, we left.
The cool night air hit me as we walked back to Kyle’s truck. “Thank you,” I said, taking each of their arms. “You guys were great.”
“You helped as much as we did,” Jayden pointed out as we reached the parking lot.
“I know, but—some women don’t have anyone looking out for them at parties, and you two were so gentle with her. I love you guys.”
Kyle froze, his hand on the passenger door handle. After a long moment, he pulled it open. I smiled at them once more and then climbed into the truck, making sure not to flash anyone with my short skirt. I slid over to the middle and?—
Oh my god. Had I just told them I loved them?