Chapter 4 ZAYDEN
ZAYDEN
‘WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE uncontrollable hiccups each time you make out with someone or cry each time you ejaculate?’
I turn to face Andy, staring at him blankly. ‘And hello to you, too.’
‘Answer the question!’ he demands, that annoying smirk stretched across his face.
His eyes are bloodshot and sweat dots his forehead.
That guy is always up to no good, but as long as he keeps turning up to practice and playing well, I couldn’t care less what he does in his spare time.
Except when he annoys me, like he is now.
‘Can’t you harass someone else?’ I ask.
‘I have, you and Mase are the last ones to answer.’
Mason and I exchange a glance, and both completely ignore him. We bypass the group that he has gathered around him and move in the direction of the music.
‘Well fuck you too!’ he shouts at our backs, and neither of us acknowledges it.
‘Zayden!’ a voice to my left shouts, and I turn, seeing a redhead strutting towards me – Avery.
Her lips are cherry-red, making the tight white top she has on pop.
She’s a gorgeous girl, one I have made out with a few times at these parties, and I’m quite positive she plans on going all the way tonight, after the things she’s been sending me.
‘Glad you finally turned up. Took your sweet time.’
‘Just be thankful I’m even here,’ I wink at her. ‘Got places to be. You know how it is.’
‘You do,’ she nods in agreement. ‘My bed, one hour.’
I raise a brow. ‘Oh yeah?’
‘Yeah,’ she breathes, biting her lip, smearing a little lipstick across her teeth, but it’s kinda hot. As if it’s an invitation to lick it off. ‘I’m not wearing any underwear.’
‘Dangerous information to be shared with me.’
Flashing me a flirtatious grin, she trails her fingers across my shoulder before she sidles away. I watch her ass sway as she exits the room. Mason releases a low whistle and I side-eye him.
‘Well, I know where you’ll disappear to in an hour.’
Usually, an invitation like that would fire me up. I’ve been neck-deep in distractions lately and she is one stunning distraction I could have a lot of fun with. But for some reason, the thought of it doesn’t excite me like it usually does.
‘What’s wrong?’ Mason asks, frowning. ‘Not into it?’
‘What?’ I ask distractedly, before shaking my head. ‘Oh, nah, of course I’m into it.’
‘Okay.’ He eyes me for a moment, before pouring us a shot each.
I throw it back, then stare at the doorway, watching the redhead rejoin her friends. She glances my way, holding up a finger indicating ‘one hour’, then blows me a kiss.
And then for some damn reason, blue eyes, dark brown hair and a stunningly gorgeous face appears in my mind.
I think back to the situation with Nora.
Her standing in my bathroom, silk shorts hugging her waist, her curves begging to have my hands running over them.
Then, those more-than-a-handful-sized breasts that have been plaguing my mind for twenty-four hours straight.
I already had the hots for Nora, there was something about her that always made me look twice when she entered a room, but now, I might be a little obsessed with her.
Sweet, innocent Nora has her nipples pierced.
Fucking hell. If that is not the hottest thing.
She might be exactly my type. Sweet and innocent on the outside, but not so much on the inside. I was shocked to see those bars, and the way she met my gaze like that, it did something to me. I can’t stop thinking about it.
‘Zay?’ Mason interrupts my thoughts, waving a hand in front of my face. ‘Anyone home?’
‘What?’ I ask.
Mason leans back against the wall, crossing his heavily tattooed biceps over his chest. His arms are almost a mirror of mine, since we got a lot of our ink together. We became a little addicted to it.
‘Who?’ he asks.
‘Huh?’
‘Who?’ he repeats, giving me that ‘cut-the-bullshit-I see-rightthrough-you’ look he often directs at me. When you have been best friends with someone your whole life, there comes a point where you can communicate entirely through a look.
‘Who?’ I echo, playing dumb.
‘Who are you thinking about?’ He grins. ‘There’s someone, I can tell.’
‘No, there’s not.’
‘You just had that girl all up over you and you couldn’t care less.’
‘I care!’ I protest. ‘Did it look like I didn’t?’
‘You reacted about as much as I would watching paint dry.’
‘I did not.’ I scoff.
‘Did so.’
‘Did not.’
‘Oh my God,’ Christian groans, appearing out of nowhere and shooting us both a withering glare. ‘You two are like toddlers with the way you argue sometimes.’
‘We are not!’ we say in unison.
His eyes ping-pong between us before he shakes his head and turns to leave.
Mason is right. He knows me too well.
My mind has replayed that moment with Nora over and over again. The way she locked eyes with me and dropped her arm like that … goddamn. It was completely out of nowhere.
Knowing she was just down the hall made me feel hot under the collar. I’m a little ashamed to admit the things I did thinking about her, and how dirty it felt to be thinking of my sister’s best friend like that.
The next morning, the girls went for a walk and breakfast, and all of them were gone by the time I woke up.
To be fair, it was close to lunch time by then, so that was a given.
I’m terrible at getting out of bed in the morning.
Always have been. I haven’t seen Nora since and it’s starting to drive me a little crazy.
I even went down the rabbit hole of her social media last night.
Mason throws a hand through his dark hair, a smile on his lips. ‘Fine, fine, keep it to yourself, brother. Have fun.’
Clapping my shoulder, he weaves through the crowd forming in the kitchen.
I’m pulled into different directions as everyone wants to talk to me or has something to say.
I do this – jump from group to group, making it almost a mission of mine to talk to every single person in the room.
I love conversation and getting to know people.
When Mason reappears a moment later, I step towards him.
‘Hey, are the girls coming tonight?’ I ask.
He raises a brow. ‘Girls, as in, Anya and her friends?’
‘Yeah.’
He studies me. ‘I don’t think so. Why?’
‘Just wondering.’
Not giving him a chance to probe any further, I slip past him and through the doorway.
‘Drink?’ Christian offers.
‘Nah,’ I dismiss him, almost a little rudely.
I continue my way out into the lounge room, scanning the area, just in case Nora happens to make an appearance. Now that I think about it, I never see her out, or at parties. The only time I ever run into her is at my own house.
Vibrations have me glancing down at my phone.
‘Mum’ reads across the screen. Grimacing, I decline the call, shoving the phone deep into my pocket.
My good mood evaporates. I’m still avoiding that entire situation.
I know it’s not healthy, and it’s not something I can continue to outrun, but I just can’t invest energy into it right now. I have enough going on as it is.
The front door opens. Turning around, I find myself hopeful it might be Anya, with Nora and Cami in tow. My already-darkened mood deflates considerably when my ex walks inside, laughing at something her friend said.
What the fuck? Why is she here?
Our gazes connect immediately and she smiles at me. The redhead from earlier walks over to her and they hug. Oh. Great. They must be friends.
‘Fuck my life,’ I mutter, striding back to the kitchen. ‘I’ve changed my mind,’ I say to Christian, who’s mid-conversation with a dude I don’t recognise. He’s mixing himself and this guy a drink by the looks of it. ‘Pour me a drink.’