Chapter 7
Seven
Liam
I don’t bullshit anyone so I sure as shit won’t bullshit myself. I wish I could explain away what happened last night, but there’s a few things I’ve realized.
First of all, I burned Teddy with a cigarette because I wanted to. I wanted to put a mark on him that won’t go away. Asher’s stupid fucking hickey will be gone by tomorrow, since it was weak as fuck—even I could do better than that. But my mark will stay, just like me.
And another thing. Teddy ran away after kissing me. But he didn’t run because of the kiss. No. I saw the wince and agony in his eyes when I snapped on him for it. He ran because I hurt his feelings. Thinking back, I can see how what I said to him might’ve been harsh and offensive.
I mean, I wasn’t grossed out by the kiss. It wasn’t repulsive to me, but why would it be? It was just a kiss—a shitty one at that. He slammed his face into mine, knocking my nose. No finesse.
Regardless, just because his lips touched mine, doesn’t mean I’m automatically gay. That’s not how it works; it isn’t a contagious disease. So, maybe, I shouldn’t have exploded on him like that.
Damon interrupts my thoughts from the driver’s seat of his car. “What’s going on in that fucked up head of yours?” he asks.
I briefly consider telling him about what happened, but I squash the idea quickly. Dame is cool, but he doesn’t need to know about this. I don’t need him giving Teddy shit for a drunken mistake.
“Same old, same old,” I respond.
He chuckles. “Either something’s stressing you out, or you’re planning someone’s death. I honestly can’t tell.”
That brings a smile to my lips. “Stressed, man. Was up way too late last night. Barely any sleep. Work was long today.”
He exhales a deep breath as we pull into my hotel’s parking lot. “Ain’t that the truth. Can’t wait to go home and make Ben give me a back massage,” he jokes.
“Yeah, I’m gonna need you to keep that to yourself. Thanks,” I grimace.
He comes to a stop, not even bothering to park. Probably really eager to get that massage. I shake my head and slap his hand, dapping him up, before stepping out of the car.
When I enter the room, I notice the shower’s running and Teddy’s voice drifting out of the cracked bathroom door. He’s singing his awful rendition of “Badfish” by Sublime with the music playing from his phone.
While unlacing my boots, I hear the shower turn off, and he’s still singing as he steps out with the towel around his waist. As soon as he notices me, he yells and drops his phone. “Fuck! I didn’t know you were here,” he pants, chest heaving with fear.
“I literally live here. Would a robber just sit on the couch and wait patiently for you to get done showering before stealing our shit?” I deadpan.
He snorts out a laugh. “No. I guess not.”
While heading to the bathroom, I strip off my dirty Luke’s Construction shirt and say, “By the way, if anyone ever tries anything when I’m not here, there’s a pistol in my nightstand.
I can hear him pause while rummaging through the wardrobe. “You know, I’m not even surprised.”
After ruminating on everything even more while showering, as soon as I open the door, I say, “We need to talk.”
I’m surprised to see him all dressed up though in cutoff jean shorts that reach just above his knees and a loose-fitting tank top that reads ‘gay as fuck’.
I lift an eyebrow at him. “Going somewhere?”
He looks up from the table where he’s rolling a joint. “Party at Danny’s, you know the drill.” I look at him expectantly. “I know you have work in the morning, so I didn’t think you’d want to come.”
“I’m coming,” I say with finality.
“You sure about that? Don’t you have to be up at like six in the morning? I can go by myself; I’m meeting someone there.”
“Ant?” I ask, walking to the wardrobe to pick out an outfit.
“No, not Ant. Although, he’ll probably be there too.”
“Then who?” I ask again, growing impatient.
He clears his throat, and I turn my head toward him. He looks nervous for some reason. He better not say fucking Asher.
“His name’s Travis, he went to school with us. Not sure if you remember him.”
“Travis who played basketball with Damon?”
His brows lift in surprise. “Yeah, that’s him.”
“Didn’t realize you were friends.”
“We weren’t, but now we are… kinda. He’s been going to Danny’s parties, and we chatted a couple times. He gave me his number last night.”
“So, you’re gonna hook-up?”
He coughs loudly. “What?” he squeaks, face beet red.
I roll my eyes. “You don’t have to be embarrassed, T. We’re grown up, you don’t have to be so shy about it.”
He gives me a weird look, one I can’t decipher, before practically running outside with the joint in his hand. I shake my head. He’s so fucking weird sometimes. Finally, all dressed in black jeans and a plain black t-shirt, I head out. “Let’s go,” I say and drop my board to the ground.
The party is raving by the time we get there.
Teddy and I head straight for the kitchen—which is trashed, as usual.
Red solo cups litter every surface, and the floor is covered in dirty shoe prints.
There’s a thick haze of smoke in the air and a shit ton of people crowded around the pool table.
I grab a bottle of cheap whiskey and pour a cup until its nearly full, while Teddy pulls a beer from the fridge.
We both take a swig and address the room.
“I’m trying to get fucked up tonight,” Teddy says with a sinister grin on his face. Great.
“Try not to do anything too stupid, alright?”
His smile only grows wider.
We’re in the living room shooting the shit with a couple guys and their girlfriends when Teddy checks his phone.
Then he turns around and walks out the front door.
I guess Travis is here. I tip my cup back and finish it off.
Fuck, he’s been out there for a while; I usually rely on him to make conversation at parties because I hate talking to people.
Even getting drunk doesn’t help me be more sociable.
I’m starting to get bored being here when the door opens again and Teddy walks in tucked under Travis’ arm.
I couldn’t remember him clearly, but now I definitely do. He’s huge, at least a head taller than Teddy and he has a chiseled face to match his arms. I guess I can see why T is into this guy. Total jock type.
I watch as Travis leads him to the kitchen so he can get a drink, with a big-ass smile pasted across his face. I’m guessing this guy will be a quick rebound.
A hard slap hits my back and I quickly avert my gaze from them, whipping my head back, my eyes landing on Ant.
“What’s up, dude?” He follows my line of sight. “Oh shit, is that Travis? I didn’t even know he swung that way.
“Me either,” I respond with a shrug.
“Huh. Well, good for him. Moved on from Asher quick.” He laughs. “Let’s head out back. I want to see who’s fighting tonight.”
He walks toward the sliding glass door. Recently, Danny started letting people fight in his backyard and they can place bets if they want to. It’s a chill ordeal, but I’ve seen some drunk assholes end up knocked out many times.
As soon as we step out, sweat clings to my skin from the thick humidity.
There’s an old fence surrounding the perimeter of his yard that’s been done in by hurricanes.
Overgrown weeds cover most of it. Way more people are crowded around, forming a large circle in the middle of the yard where the fights take place, but there’s also people leaned up against the house who don’t care about watching.
I look down just in time to avoid tripping over a chick splayed out on her back in the grass, her arms reaching toward the sky.
A cheesy-ass smile on her face. She’s obviously tripping on acid or something like that.
I sidestep around her as Ant works his way through the dense crowd of people. Danny himself is in the middle of the pit with a joint in one hand.
“Alright. Up next we have a newbie.” He gestures his hand behind him, and lo and fucking behold, it’s Jasper, Damon’s best friend. “Who wants to fight this dude? Look at that perfect face. Don’t you want to put your fist through it?”
I see a group of amped up dudes to my left shoving each other forward, daring each other to go for it.
“Hold up! I got this,” Ant yells beside me. I watch with confused amusement as he pushes himself to the pit. He walks right up to Jasper and takes his shirt off. “We’re friends, right? Nothing personal.” He gives Jasper’s shoulder a shove, and the crowd erupts into cheers.
Based off the grim look on Ant’s face, it seems incredibly personal. Interesting. I wonder what Jasper did to end up on his bad side.
Danny walks backward to stand with everyone, still puffing on his joint, as Jas steps forward and shoves Ant harder. “You got something to say?” he asks, brows furrowed in anger.
They’re both equal in size and probably strength too, although Ant’s made from tough stuff. He’s used to defending himself on these streets, and it’s to my understanding that Jasper lives a quaint little life in the suburbs. Who knows, though. Nothing surprises me anymore.
“I think you know what my fucking problem is,” Ant seethes, and honestly, I wish I knew what he was getting at.
He steps forward to get in Jasper’s face when, suddenly, Jasper’s fist rears back and cracks him straight in the jaw.
Ant stumbles back a few steps but rights himself.
The crowd is fucking hysterical now, shouting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
He spits out some blood and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, before charging forward and slamming his fist into Jasper’s face.
Jasper falls flat on his ass, and next thing I know, Ant’s on top of him.
He punches him a few more times before Jas manages to flip them over.
With his hands pinned above his head, Ant rears up and spits in his face.
“Piece of shit,” he seethes through gritted teeth.
Oh fuck.