LAILAH #2
Then I caught sight of Micah and Jay walking over to our group.
I gulped at the sight of the black T-shirt poured onto Jay’s chest. I could see the outline of all the muscles I knew were under there.
He paired it with a pair of black and white military camo pants and black boots.
He looked more ready to kill than to party, but I was just glad he was here.
Micah had on a bright-red shirt covered with a leather jacket that had flames crawling up it.
He looked like the leader of some motorcycle gang, and it was totally working for me.
“Looks like the gang’s all here,” Cami yelled at me. “We’re going to do our own thing since it seems like you’re going to be busy.” With a wink, she was gone, leaving me with the best eye candy our school had to offer.
I wasn’t sure if it was the fact that we had spent time away, but feeling them close to me seemed to settle me in a way I didn’t know I was missing. They had become such a huge part of my life in such a short time. It scared me as much as I loved it.
“So, are we going to stand here all night staring at each other or what?” Parker said, making everyone glare at him. “What? This is a party, right? Let's party!”
Without warning, Hudson surprised me by grabbing my wrist and pulling me onto the dance floor with the ever-growing mass of bodies.
He shoved his way through the crowd, causing people to swear at him until they saw who it was, and then they moved out of his way with apologies.
Once we got to a spot that seemed to work for him, he let go of my hand and started to sway to the music.
I was nervous, since I’d only ever danced once before, and I’d been drunk at the time.
Hudson, much to my amazement, was very comfortable on the dance floor.
They always said that it was the quiet ones you needed to watch out for.
A new song started that moved a little faster than the last one, and I was caught off guard when he stepped into my space, causing me to step back.
“Trust me,” he said as he gently put his hands on my hips and guided me in how he wanted me to move.
Once I figured out what he was trying to get from me, I relaxed to the rhythm of the song.
I was so caught up that I didn’t realize that Parker had come up behind me and was following along with our movements.
This reminded me of the dream I’d had some weeks ago, but that was Brayden and Parker on the dance floor, not Hudson.
I was about to bolt from the dance floor, when the song changed to something slower.
Hudson backed off, and Parker wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.
Of all the guys, I was strangely comfortable with Parker manhandling me.
This, however, sent my libido into overdrive.
I was covered from head to toe, but I still felt like this dress didn’t give me much coverage.
“You’ve gotten better at this, Trouble,” Parker whispered along my neck.
I shivered at his touch and fought against everything in me to turn in his arms. I wasn’t willing to make a move on any of them until we had talked about things between us.
If they knew about Mallory, then they knew about what I’d said.
I couldn’t let something as big as this be a misunderstanding.
I allowed myself to relax in his hold and let him guide my body how he wished.
I closed my eyes, enjoying the contact when someone was shoved into me.
My eyes flew open as I felt a bone-chilling cold fill my body.
I was suddenly scared, my heart racing as I looked around to see who had run into us.
With everyone in costume, I couldn’t tell who anyone was at a glance.
I pulled out of Parker’s arms and looked around.
“What’s wrong?” Parker asked, grabbing my arm to stop me from running off.
“Nothing, I just need some air, there are too many people,” I said, needing to get out of the crowd.
I don’t know who or what I’d come into contact with, but I knew I didn’t want it to happen again.
This many people packed into a small space was just too unnerving for me right now.
Parker took my hand and led me off the dance floor to an area where we had set up tables.
I pulled on his arm and shook my head, pointing to the door, so we could head outside.
I needed to hear myself think, and the music was way too loud.
Smiling, he changed his direction and led us outside where I took a deep calming breath.
“Hey, everything okay?” Brayden asked, jogging up to us.
“Yeah, I just got overwhelmed with so many people,” I said, sitting on a bench off to the side.
A short while later, Hudson joined us with drinks for everyone. Thankfully, it was just water, and none of that spiked punch. “You looked like you needed some hydration.”
I smiled at him. “Thanks for looking out.”
Gulping down the water helped to even out my adrenaline.
Something about that cold feeling had me remembering that awful nightmare I had earlier that week.
I shivered, thinking of that darkness that made me want to give up in defeat.
Turning to set the empty cup down beside me, I jumped as I noticed that Jay was sitting there, watching me with his dark, unreadable eyes.
“You really need to stop trying to give me a heart attack, Jay,” I said, glowering at him.
Jay smirked at me. “You just need to get better at reading your surroundings.”
“Leave it to you to turn this into a training session.”
“Speaking of which, did you keep up with your running?”
I shook my head but grinned knowingly. “I decided to try something else. Cami and I did a bunch of kickboxing and self-defense classes.”
“Good.” He nodded. “Building your strength is smart since you have good stamina.”
“I’m glad you approve. We’ll have to test out my skills one of these days. I seem to remember you telling me you know quite a few fighting styles,” I said, smiling at him.
Jay returned my smile with his own version. “That could be interesting.”
I looked up to see all the guys were milling about, watching over me while I pulled myself together. “You guys don’t need to wait on me. Go, have fun, enjoy the party.”
“Nah, I’m good hanging out with you,” Parker said, plopping down on my other side. “Besides, I heard somewhere around school that no females were allowed to hang around us, or they would get punched by a certain someone.”
I blushed and ducked my head, so I didn’t have to look at them. “Yeah, sorry about that. It came out in the heat of the moment.”
“I should be thanking you. Ever since that happened, the vultures stopped circling,” Micah said.
My head shot up, hearing Micah’s response. I wanted to gape at him but didn’t want to let on how surprised I was in case he was just pulling my leg.
“Man, I can’t believe you really did it. I saw her the next day, and her jaw was all swollen and black-and-blue,” Hudson said, rubbing his own jaw.
“Growing up with brothers was useful for something. I may never have wanted to fight with anyone, but my older brother made sure I knew how to throw a decent jab,” I said, rubbing my knuckles, remembering how sore they’d been for a few days.
“Smart brother,” Jay said.
“About the rumors, though, I said them because I was mad, and it came out before I realized what I was saying. I hope you guys don’t hate me for making it harder to find a date or whatever.” I stopped myself, realizing that I was rambling because I was nervous.
“Why would we hate you for that?” Brayden asked.
I looked over at him as he stepped closer to me, then sat on his heels, so we were eye to eye. His beautiful hazel eyes shone with something I was scared to name, but looked a lot like desire.
“Well, I just became the biggest cockblock to the five of you. I can’t imagine that was a helpful thing to do as a friend.”
“Hmm, I can see that you might view it that way,” Brayden said, bobbing his head and then turning his gaze to me, locking me in place. “What if we were all yours and not interested in anyone else?”
I laughed at his outlandish suggestion. “How could that ever be a real thing? I mean, for starters, I’m fairly positive that Micah doesn’t like me as a person, let alone as a love interest.”
“How the fuck did you come to that conclusion?” Micah barked, pulling my attention from Brayden.
“Um, case in point. I don’t know if you’ve ever been nice to me since our unfortunate meeting at the library,” I pointed out.
Micah stepped over to me and glowered down at me. “What do you call me taking a bath in soda to keep you from getting hit with it? Let’s not even add the fact that I’m always watching your back when you’re studying in the library alone at night. You saying that doesn’t make us friends?”
I sat blinking at him, unable to answer, stunned by his words.
“Why do I even bother?” he said, throwing up his hands and stomping off.
Watching him walk away, I still had no idea what was going on. I leaned in closer to Brayden and whispered, “Am I dreaming right now?”
Brayden leaned in and kissed my cheek, letting it linger longer than normal. “I don’t think so, unless we’re having the same dream.”
Brayden’s eyes glowed with humor and heat, and he did not move back from my personal space. I slowly leaned back so I could think again, which I wasn’t able to do when I was so close to him. Clearing my throat, I stood up, careful not to knock Brayden over.
“I need to use the ladies’ room. I’ll be right back,” I said before I turned and bolted, needing some space from a situation I never thought I would be in.