Chapter 8
EIGHT
My stomach is in knots as we push through the party with drinks in our hands.
Josie walks in front of me, holding my hand and pulling me along behind her.
My roommate is a lot more social than I am.
It isn’t that I never go out, but most weekends, I prefer hanging with Josie or Olivia or, yes, watching true crime documentaries.
I find it reassuring that terrible things happen to even really good people. Make out of that what you will.
My gaze darts around, looking for Rhett as we weave across the backyard of the basketball house.
A huge pool takes up a large portion of it.
People stand in groups in and around it.
On one side of the yard, a DJ booth is set up, and there’s a mass of bodies moving to the music.
The other side of the yard has the keg, according to Josie, and that’s the direction we head.
“Are you supposed to be meeting him somewhere?” she asks when we finally reach the line at the keg.
“Not exactly.” I twist my hands in front of me. “He doesn’t know I’m coming.”
She laughs, fills us each a cup of beer, and then starts back toward the middle of the yard. I was perfectly content hanging on the side and out of the chaos.
I continually scan the party, but I don’t see Rhett anywhere. I was so sure he’d be here. I didn’t even consider the possibility that he made other plans.
“We’re dancing,” Josie announces and pulls me again, sloshing half of my beer on the ground.
“We are?” I ask, the question gets lost in the noise as we step closer to the source of the booming music. She drags me behind her and I squeeze her hand to work out some of my nerves.
She stops a few yards away from the people dancing. “What’s up with you? You’re acting like you’re nervous, and you have no reason to be. Is it the dress? Are you uncomfortable? Because you look amazing.”
“No. It isn’t the dress. Looove the dress,” I assure her, smoothing a hand down the skintight pink dress from her closet that she insisted I wear tonight. “It’s Rhett. I think I like him.” Damn him. “I don’t even really know him, but I can’t stop thinking about him. I’m all out of sorts.”
“I hate it when that happens.” She smiles at me. “Forget about Rhett for an hour. Let’s just have a good time and then we’ll ask around and see if he’s here.”
As she speaks, I spot him. I grab her arm, so she doesn’t step any closer. There he is. The guy I stupidly can’t stop thinking about. He’s on the dance floor sandwiched between two girls. One plastered on his front with her hands on his chest and another at his back rubbing her boobs all over him.
A surge of annoyance and frustration blasts through me. Followed quickly with jealousy. The latter pisses me off the most. Of course, he came anyway and is dancing with other girls. I said no. Which is why the jealousy I feel is particularly annoying.
Josie follows my gawking stare. “Guess he came.”
“Yeah. Found him. Now can we go?”
“Sienna!” Maverick’s voice manages to boom over the music. I glance back to the dance floor to see him in a similar position as his teammate.
I wave, and he untangles himself from two girls, who move on to someone else in his absence.
Mav moves toward Rhett, who speaking of, still hasn’t noticed me, but the two girls he’s dancing with are inching up his shirt, and four hands move over his back, stomach, and pecs.
The one in front squats down and licks his abs.
That’s as much as I see before I turn and walk away.
Josie jogs beside me to keep up. “Where are you going?”
“This was a mistake.”
Maverick, half naked, tattoos rippling under his muscles, catches us. “Hey, no way, you came! Rhett’s going to be so stoked.”
“Right. He looks pretty stoked.” I wave a hand of indifference toward him. He’s finally spotted me and is attempting to squeeze out from between his dance partners. They are not letting him go without a fight. I can hardly blame them.
He looks sinful in a plain white T-shirt and jeans, staring at me with apologetic eyes.
The thing is, I’m not even pissed at him.
I’m pissed at myself for assuming he was going to be hanging off to the side, waiting and hoping that I’d come.
I told him no because this is who he is, and I didn’t want to get my feelings hurt, but then convinced myself otherwise because that’s what I wanted to believe.
“Ah, don’t be mad at him. I had to practically drag him out there. Let’s go save him.” Mav wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me back toward the dance floor. Rhett’s managed to get free and heads toward us.
“Hey,” he says tentatively. “I didn’t think you were coming.”
“Surprise!” Sarcasm drips from the word.
Josie and Maverick look between us. An awkward silence falls over our small group.
“Dance?” Maverick asks my friend, holding his hand out to her.
“Absolutely.” Josie slides her palm into his. She looks over her shoulder as they move into the center of the dancers.
Rhett shifts nervously in front of me. “You look nice. I’ve been wondering if your hair was short or long. I can never tell when it’s all up.”
“You have?”
“I like it.” He lifts a hand and brushes his fingers along the ends of my hair. He sways and inadvertently pulls my hair as he does. “Oh shit, sorry.”
He untangles his fingers with a sheepish grin.
Rhett is drunk and for some reason I find it a little charming.
“Do you want to dance?”
I shake my head. “No, I think I’m good.”
I don’t think I can live up to the threesome he had going earlier.
“Okay, uh, drink?”
I’m still carrying a mostly full cup of beer, but I nod.
We walk side by side. His arm brushes against mine, and neither of us pulls away. Now that I’ve found him, I have no idea what to say.
At the keg, he takes my cup, looks at how full it is, and laughs. “Do you actually want another beer?”
“I’m not much of a drinker.”
He tops it off and takes a sip of it.
“I’m gonna level with you.” He runs a hand through his messy hair. “I’m really drunk.”
I can’t help but laugh as he disarms me with a cocky grin.
“I didn’t think you were coming, and I decided to say fuck it.” He shakes his head. “Not fuck you, just it. You know girls, dating, life?”
“You realize I’m a girl, right?”
He closes one eye and pulls his bottom lip behind his teeth for a second. “I really suck at this. Like epic-levels of suckage.” He waves his arm around dramatically, and the beer in his cup sloshes onto me, soaking the front of my dress.
It’s cold. Really cold. I shriek and jump back. “Okay, well, this has been fun.”
“Fuck. I’m sorry. Come on.” Rhett takes over, gripping me by the arm and walking fast toward the house. He commands people out of the way, leading me inside and cutting to the front of the line for the bathroom. The door opens, and three girls stumble out.
“Excuse us.”
Drunk, bossy Rhett is hot. Almost hot enough to ignore the stench of beer now coating my dress.
The next girl in line smiles at him. Her hand goes to her hair, and she curls a finger around a long, brunette strand. “No problem. Need any company?”
“Wha—” He fumbles, clearly trying to piece together why he’d need company in the bathroom. Before he can, I charge ahead. The beer is dripping down the front of me. Even my panties are wet.
To my surprise, he follows me in and shuts the door.
I find a towel, hope it isn’t too used, and blot the front of my dress. Or Josie’s dress.
“What can I do to help?”
I’m not making a lot of progress. With a sigh, I drop the towel to the vanity. “It’ll dry.”
A shiver wracks my body. The air conditioning vent in the bathroom has kept this small room cold, which probably feels nice if you aren’t soaked.
“Here. Take my shirt.” He pulls it over his head without a second thought and holds it out to me.
I stare. Not at the white ball of cotton in his hand, but at his chest. My mouth goes dry.
“Are you freaking kidding me?”
“Uhh…” His gaze drops from me to the shirt, back to me. “It’s clean. I promise.”
“You can’t walk around like that.” I fling a hand toward his abs. All eight of them.
The corners of his mouth tip up. “Like what?”
“Don’t play dumb with me.”
“Angel, around you, I don’t have to play. You make me stupid. I can’t get anything right.”
“Looking like that, who needs a brain?” I mutter.
He stalks toward me, a cocky glint shining in his eyes. “Are you trying to say that you like what you see?”
“I mean, it’s whatever.” My gaze dips over his chest, though, and my nipples tighten. “Gah.” I can’t even pretend. “Your body is ridiculous.”
“I’m glad you think so. I might never wear a shirt again if you keep looking at me like that.
” He gently places the T-shirt over my head and pulls it down.
The heat of the fabric and the nearness of our bodies does funny things to my insides.
My heart rate climbs, and my chest feels tight. I slow my breathing out of habit.
“Like what?” I reach out and slide my fingers over the ridges of muscle.
He inhales, and those blue eyes darken. He ignores my question. Not that it requires much of an answer. “Your hands are cold.”
“Someone tossed a beer on me.”
“I’m really sorry about that.”
“You say that a lot.”
“I’ve fucked up a lot. And I’m sorry for that too.”
“The list keeps getting longer.” My laugh dies when he places a calloused thumb at the corner of my mouth.
Staring at my lips, he traces along the bottom one with the pad of his thumb. “Add this to the list.”
I’m in an alternate reality as he leans forward, still distracted by his body and the way mine feels when he’s this close. It’s only when his mouth slants over mine that my brain processes he’s kissing me.
His hand on my face slides down to my neck in a possessive hold that contradicts the softness of his lips. My back is to the vanity, legs hitting against it, and Rhett crowds into my space as his tongue slides into my mouth.