Chapter 15 - Zander
The drive to the party was quiet. Neither Rick nor Spencer said a word once we were in the car, but I didn’t really care.
Jade loved the boots I had picked up for her yesterday when I was out.
I saw them and just knew she needed them.
When I asked her how she liked them, her cheeks became a beautiful shade of pink, and I knew it wouldn’t be the last thing I got her, not if this was her reaction.
I would buy her every damn thing in the world just to see her cheeks fill with color and that shy smile that made her eyes sparkle.
Yeah, I’m fucked.
She also loved the twin knife set I left in her room with the boots. When I asked her about them, she gave me a sly grin and pressed a finger to her lips, pulling one from each boot with a wink.
It shouldn’t have been so fucking hot, but I swear this girl could make anything look appealing, and blades were a major weakness of mine even before her.
Sadly, the party isn’t far from the house.
The mayor's son, Jake, loves to host parties because he loves to show off his money, just like the rest of them.
We all grew up in the same area, so while the campus might be a little over an hour away, this party is local.
Once classes resume, the parties will be on campus or places closer to that, but for now, I enjoy the short ride with her.
I’m beyond excited to see how Jade will like the party scene. Something tells me life with her is going to be entertaining.
By the time we pull up, there are cars everywhere: in the driveway, across the lawn, and down the street.
Thankfully, the house isn’t in a closely packed neighborhood.
We can park anywhere, and there's no need to worry about the cops being called by nosey neighbors. Not that it’s a concern for us anyway, but knowing they won’t put a damper on the night is always a bonus. They can be a real buzz kill.
Jade's eyes go wide as we pull up to Jake's house, and she takes in the property before us. His house isn’t anything special, in my opinion. Rick’s parent’s house is easily just as big, just like mine and Spencer's parents, but she still looks at it with a sense of wonder I can’t really understand.
She hasn't even seen our house yet, and it beats the shit out of this entire neighborhood.
I try to look at it with the thought that she’s lived most of her life on a shitty single bed on floors in old abandoned buildings.
It kind of helped me understand the appeal of seeing new things, but the house still didn’t make me feel any wonder.
Maybe it's because I know who owns it and that sours it for me.
Jade is like a breath of fresh air. So many people that we deal with come from money or want our money. Jade wants none of it and looks at everything like it's amazing, not like she's entitled to it.
Rick parks right up by the porch. Everyone knows to leave a spot for us, even if we don’t show. It's open as a sign of respect. Respect that we earned and now demand, and nobody wants to see what happens when we're not respected.
I hop out of the back, reaching out to help Jade get down after me. I don’t think she needs the help, but she takes my hand and lets me help her anyway, so I’m going to count it as a win.
We round the front of the car to join up with Spencer and Rick who wait for us.
We always walk in together. I'm not sure why exactly, but it always felt good to have every head turn toward us as we did, so I never questioned it.
Now, I find myself a bit concerned with how Jade will handle the attention.
Only one way to find out, I guess.
“Make sure you stay with one of us, Jade,” Rick shouts over his shoulder as we head up the stairs to the front door, and the sound of bumping bass threatens to drown him out.
Spencer looks back at us, looking Jade over from head to toe before he seems to realize what he's doing. He sneers at her as if it was somehow her fault he was checking her out. I roll my eyes at his bullshit, but he doesn’t see it before he turns back around and disappears through the door after Rick.
He needs to get his head out of his ass, and if he keeps this shit up, I am more than happy to offer my services to do it for him.
I look over at Jade to see if she caught his shitty mood.
If she did, she doesn’t show it, so I let it go as well.
I want her to be able to enjoy tonight. I can beat the stupid out of Spencer later if he still needs it, but for tonight, I want to give her this experience the right way.
I walk in behind Jade, holding the door and letting her go first. Spencer and Rick are just inside, giving us enough room to enter but not leaving us behind.
Then, as if on cue, everyone comes to a grinding halt as they realize who just walked in.
The music still plays, and the lights are still low, but everyone knows somehow.
I only watch the crowd for a moment before I turn my attention back to Jade to see how she’s handling all eyes on us.
She stands tall, just like she had in the kitchen when she came down to leave, and I can’t help the smile that pulls at my lips. She was built for this. I know the guys have reservations about her, but I’m positive she will prove them wrong, given the time, and I can’t wait to see them eat that.
I grab her hand and pull her with me as I head to the kitchen for a drink.
People move out of our way as we pass, and I hear the whispers.
People ask one another, “Who’s the girl?
” and “Why she’s with them? They never have girls with them.
” We ignore them. It’s none of their business, and it’s not like they’re asking me. They know better than that.
When we get to the kitchen, I turn to Jade, grabbing her by her waist and setting her ass up on the island counter with a wink.
She glares at me, but I know she’s not really mad when she rolls her eyes and smiles at me after a moment.
Even on the counter, I tower over her. Every time I look at her, it blows my mind that someone so small can be so fierce.
It would seem Jade is full of surprises, and I can’t wait to figure them all out if she lets me.
“So what would you like to drink, Doll?” I ask her, leaning my hip against the counter to her left.
“Water would be great,” she says, her voice just loud enough to be heard over the music that pulses through the place like the house's own heartbeat. I want to give her shit about being boring, but I hold my tongue and grab her a bottle of water and a beer for myself.
I crack open the bottle before handing it to her.
She reaches out to grab it, her small fingers wrapping around it, but I don’t let go.
Instead, I lean into her so that I’m towering over her.
I let the bottle go and rest both hands on either side of her on the counter caging her in before I turn my head towards her, my mouth just inches from her ear.
“Don’t drink anything that isn’t sealed or that one of us doesn’t hand you,” I tell her, my voice just barely loud enough for her to hear me.
I feel more than see her shiver as my breath washes over her ear, and I don’t even think before I move my mouth forward, just enough to nip at her lobe before pulling back.
I don’t miss the way her breath hitches, though.
It takes more restraint than I thought I was capable of, to keep myself from pushing back into her and seeing how far she would let me go.
A hard smack to the back of my head makes me wince, and I reach up to rub at the spot.
Rick walks past me towards the fridge. He doesn’t say anything as he grabs a beer and hands it to Spence before grabbing one for himself.
Closing the fridge he comes around the counter to lean his ass against it to Jade’s right.
He stands at her side like some kind of bodyguard looking out at the sea of people as he takes a long pull from his beer.
“What was that for?” I finally ask, but he doesn’t answer.
Instead, he turns toward me with a blank look on his face before raising a brow at me in question.
It doesn’t take a genius to understand his silent words.
He knew what I was thinking when he walked by, knew I was seconds from throwing myself at Jade and praying I was worthy.
I roll my eyes and look away instead of arguing.
I can deny it all I want, but he knows me too damn well, and based on Jade’s confused expression as she looks back and forth between us, she doesn't understand. I’d like to keep it that way.
“Well, this is loads of fun, but I’m going to go now.
” Spencer downs his beer before all but slamming the bottle on the counter.
He grabs another one from the fridge and disappears around the corner without so much as glancing back.
Rick sighs before he roughly runs his fingers through his hair in irritation, glad to know it’s not just me who Spence seems to be pissing off lately.
“Zan!” A high-pitched female voice shrieking my name is the only warning I have before someone launches themselves at me.
Out of instinct, I wrap my arms around them to keep them from falling and me from falling over, earning me a face full of blonde hair before the smell of Chanel practically suffocates me.
Damn it.
My eyes meet Jade’s for just a moment before she looks away, the water bottle in her hands suddenly interesting.
I don’t miss it, though, the look of disappointment that crosses her face.
No matter how quickly she looked away, I saw it.
I put my hands up as if to show I want nothing to do with this girl, but instead of getting down as I hoped, she continues to hang off me like a fucking spider monkey.
Before I can do or say anything, she pushes herself further up my chest, pressing her lips to mine.
And that's the last straw.