by Cassie James
“Well not a ménage à trois if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“Yeah, that’s the very last thing I’m suggesting.” Macie laughs as she snatches the cotton candy back from me. I huff with indignation that I don’t really feel, and I offer her a smile. “If you had to pick one of them, who would you pick? Ah! And why would you pick him?”
What is this, a dating show? Which Douchebag Is The One, now airing Saturday Night at 8 PM Pacific. I snort at the silly thought before forcing my attention back to Macie.
“Why should I have to pick either of them?”
“Okay, that’s fair I guess. Is there someone else that you have your eye on?”
I sigh and steeple my fingers under my chin as I turn calculating eyes on my best friend. How the hell am I going to get her to understand what I’m thinking without her thinking that I’m crazy? I toss the words around in my frantic brain for a second before finally settling on something vague.
“What if I get different things from the two of them?”
Her eyebrows furrow for the quickest of seconds before she offers a confused smile. “Yeah, it’s pretty obvious you had very different experiences with each of them. So maybe there’s someone out there that’s a happy medium, instead?”
I chew over that statement as Macie continues to ramble, “It’s stupid, but I really believe that every person has someone out there for them that will fit all of their needs perfectly. Maybe not soulmates because damn, that’s an overused trope, isn’t it? But we all deserve the right to be in a relationship with a person who complements us and gives us what we need. I think it’s inevitable that we spend our lives searching out that person.”
“Okay,” I start, straightening my posture and turning my entire body toward her on the bench. I only kind of understand what she’s saying. “But why does it have to just be one person?”
“I thought you weren’t interested in a ménage à trois?” Her French accent is devastating, and I can’t help but laugh at the way she wiggles her eyebrows.
“Forget about that for a minute, Mace,” I wave her off, and she nods solemnly. “I’m talking about the fundamental deficiencies of monogamy. People here are so obsessed with the idea of finding that one person, but what if the ultimate fulfillment comes from recognizing that one person isn’t enough?”
“That’s called casual sex.”
“No, I’m talking about actually dating different people. Having real relationships with them.”
“Like an open relationship?” she offers with a laugh.
I bite back a huff and fix her with a serious stare that makes her sober. “All I’m saying is that I had very unique experiences with both Brennan and Jude. I’m not saying that it would be with them, but I do think I’d be comfortable in a relationship with multiple people. I don’t want to settle for one mediocre, middle of the ground relationship. And I shouldn’t have to.”
“Okay,” she breathes out slowly. “So like… a cult of lovers?”
“You are fucking impossible.”
Macie laughs as she reaches out to shove my shoulder, a good-natured smile on her face. “No, I get it. I don’t think I’d ever want to have to keep up with multiple boyfriends myself, but it’s not my place to judge anyone else based on what they like, is it?”
I hum in the back of my throat and turn my attention toward the ocean sparkling in the distance. The sounds of the pier fill my ears, and I let the peace of the moment wash over me. It felt good to have a real conversation with Macie, one where I didn’t hide what I felt. She’s never, ever told me that my feelings weren’t valid, but it’s still nice to have that little added confirmation that she would support me no matter what.
“Now, what are we going to do with these Pricks?” she asks savagely after a few minutes, and I snort. Now isn’t that the question of the century?
19
Jude
I lean back, crossing my arms over my chest as another burst of laughter breaks the monotony of this damn class. My teeth are grinding together as I glance the direction the sound came from. 2.0 has her head thrown back, laughing at something Macie is saying. Dr. Charles shushes them with a glare, and 2.0 offers a half-assed apology through more giggles. I thought she couldn’t get any more annoying, but here she is proving me fucking wrong.
I drag my eyes away from her with a scowl, meeting Tori’s wide eyes for half a second before jerking them toward the front of the class. She digs her heel into my calf, and I turn to glare at her. I swear to god, I can’t get out of this place fucking fast enough. I am so through with Rosewood Academy and all of its meaningless bullshit.
Tori jerks her head in Brennan’s direction, and I glance over long enough to see him studiously ignoring whatever inane bullshit Chelsey’s trying to whisper to him. I shrug at Tori, and she rolls her eyes. How has she still not figured out that I’m done with her ass?
“Watch him for a few minutes, dipshit,” she hisses from the corner of the mouth, and my fist tightens around the pen in my hand.
I don’t bother responding to her, which I know is what she wants, but I do cast a look in Brennan’s direction. I catch him in the middle of telling Chelsey to shut the fuck up. I stifle a snicker, glad to see I’m not the only one tired of the girls’ bullshit. My chuckle dies in my throat, though, when Brennan turns his attention toward the other side of the room.
I don’t actually have to turn my head to know what he’s looking at, but I look for the confirmation anyway. 2.0 and Macie are leaning close together, whispering over the screen of one of their phones. I could interrupt and point out to Dr. Charles that they’re breaking his strict “No Phones” policy. Instead, I pull out my own phone and tap out a short message with a smirk.
Have something you want to share with the class?
I watch 2.0’s smile fall, and Macie turns to glare in my direction. I smirk back at them at the same time I catch Brennan shooting me a curious glance out of the corner of my eye. He looks back and forth for a minute until he must notice 2.0’s tight frown because his glance turns into a suspicious stare. I ignore him, focusing instead on the vibration of my phone as a response rolls in.
No thanks. You know what they say, loose lips sink ships.
My jaw clenches as I read the snarky response. The words are familiar, and I know why. It’s what Piper used to tell Tori and Chelsey when she wanted them to shut the fuck up. I look up just long enough to find 2.0 smirking at me from across the room. Who the fuck does she think she is? My lips curl into a snarl as I type out my response.
Yeah, and loose legs sink friendships.
I watch my message go through, Macie whispering furiously as 2.0’s eyes slowly raise to meet mine. I lean back with a satisfied smirk. Yeah, I know you slept with Brennan.
She looks devastated that I know, her whole body shuddering as she turns to hide her face from me. Good. She should have known better than to go behind my back and fuck one of my best friends. Not after I took her first. One Thorn should’ve been enough for any girl. 2.0 doesn’t get to be greedy.
Brennan sees it all. He tenses, seeing her react like that, but he has the good sense to focus his attention back on the front of the classroom instead of on me. He’s sure as hell remembering his place now. It’s the second best thing to come from this class today. And I don’t think I’m quite done with him yet. Brennan will still get his when the time’s right.
We’re all milling around the front of my car at the end of the day when I get my opening. “So,” I start, four pairs of eyes tuning in instantly. I smirk, casting a glance around the circle of our group—I’m not sure why Tori and Chelsey are fucking hanging around, but I let it slide because I want an audience for this. My eyes linger on Brennan before I continue. “You guys get the feeling Silicunt’s been avoiding us lately?”
It’s silent for a minute, but then Brennan just can’t help himself. “I thought we stopped calling her that.”
Heads swivel in Brennan’s direction, and it
’s the opening I’ve been waiting for now for days. I’m not stupid. I’ve got eyes. And access to the security system that shows when my access code for the front gate gets used at the Malibu house. I don’t usually pay the security alerts much mind, but it definitely raises eyebrows when I’m at an event with my parents and someone else is at the beach.
I would have been cool. All of us agreed a long ass time ago that the beach is the perfect place to take girls to hook-up. There’s been a pretty strict bro-code ever since that we’ll text each other if one of us has plans so no one stumbles on something they don’t want to see.
Tyler’s still too goddamn broken up about what happened with Piper to even consider taking a girl anywhere near the beach house. Which leaves one person. And there’s only one reason he wouldn’t text us to let us know he was going to Malibu.
Brennan’s been fucking 2.0.
“I’ll call that thing whatever the fuck I want,” I tell him. I can tell he’s about to shoot off at the mouth, but he falls silent when I straighten to my full height and stare him head-on with a dare to keep it up. There’s fire in his eyes, but Brennan’s too much of a pussy to step up and actually say something to me.
Tyler might give as good as he gets, but Brennan never will. His inclusion in our group is entirely contingent on me and Tyler. If we wanted him out, he’d be out and no one would ever fucking question it.
“Besides,” I start as I lean back against my car, elbows bracing me as I cross my ankles and spread my hands wide. I can see the muscles in his jaw working overtime as he tempers his breathing. “Why shouldn’t I be able to say what I want about her? I’m the one here that’s actually fucked that thing. Do you know what she has underneath that skirt, Brennan? A cunt. Made out of silicon and god knows what else.”
Tori barks out a loud laugh as Chelsey snorts along with her. Tyler rolls his eyes, but stays the hell out of it.
Brennan crosses his arms over his chest. I can tell a rebuttal is on the tip of his tongue, and the way his eyes flash angrily tells me he’d like nothing more than to pummel me. Too weak to step up, though.
“Oh my god, Jude. What was it really like having sex with that thing?” Tori asks, batting her eyelashes. I don’t give a damn about Tori, but this is exactly what I need to keep goading Brennan.
“It’s like I got to fuck the world’s most expensive fleshlight,” I respond breezily, laughing when an angry flush starts to creep up Brennan’s collar.
Tyler’s shoulders stiffen for a minute. I’m sure he hasn’t forgotten what it was like to fuck the real deal, and I can’t imagine he’s thrilled hearing me talk about fucking her replacement. But it’s not like he showed any interest in Silicunt himself. No harm, no foul, right?
“What do you think Brennan?” All eyes turn from me to him. “How did it feel when you fucked it?”
“Shut your fucking mouth.” There’s a dark warning in his tone that makes a flash of anger jolt through my body.
“What, did you get cozy with her after your MILF mommy made you tutor her? Couldn’t get enough of computers in class? Had to figure out what makes her tick? Thought maybe if you put your dick in her you might be able to figure it out?”
His lip curls further into a scowl with each question, and by the time I’m finished, I’m pretty sure he’s ready to square the fuck up. I push off the car as he takes an angry step forward. Tori and Chelsey shriek and crowd around Tyler, whose face is a mix of annoyance and disgust. That makes two of us, bro.
A trill of laughter from the direction of the main building is like a bucket of cold fucking water. My anger fizzles out, turning into something darker—something more malicious—as 2.0 and Macie Wharton walk across the parking lot. 2.0 needs to go, and now Brennan just gave me some fresh ammo.
I wait until they’re only a few feet away before I step in their direction. Macie wraps an arm around 2.0, like she’s ready to pull her out of the eye of the storm. She’s a fucking fool if she thinks I’m going to let that happen. 2.0 pulls out of Macie’s grasp as she takes several steps backward, trying to keep distance between us as I stalk towards her. It doesn’t do her any good. In a flash, we’re nose to nose as I curl a hand around the back of her neck possessively.
If she’s scared, it doesn’t show. Instead, she stares up at me defiantly as my chest heaves against hers. She places her hands on my chest, and her lips curl into a smile. I’m dumbfounded long enough by the fire in her eyes that the oomph she puts into her shove is enough to dislodge my hand and make me stumble back half a step.
“Keep your hands off of me.” The challenge is clear in her eyes, even more so in the way her shoulders stiffen. She pushes past me, and I jerk around in time to see her make brief eye contact with Brennan. My blood boils when he offers her an apologetic smile—as if I’m the enemy here and it’s the two of them against me.
“I’ll put my hands wherever I damn well please, Robocunt,” I call after her, watching as the words stop her in her tracks.
“Wow, I guess they really did try to program you with everything, huh? Piper was a slut, too. I guess once a slut, always a slut can transcend even death.” Tori spits the words out like she can’t stand to be left out of the conflict.
Chelsey laughs, egging Tori on, but it’s Tyler that I’m looking at. As much as I love seeing Silicunt taken down a notch, I don’t think Tori considered how those words would affect him before she threw them out so casually like that.
Tyler’s fists curl as he puts some distance between himself and the girls. If I had to guess, he’s trying pretty damn hard right now to remind himself that he can’t pummel a girl, even one as vapid and stupid as Tori Pruitt.
“You know,” Tori is still fucking going, “if you were really Piper, wouldn’t you have wanted to get back together with Tyler? Even Piper, the slut that she was, would have drawn the line at sleeping with her boyfriend’s best friends.”
2.0’s whole body seems to crumple as she takes in Tori’s words. They’re cutting, the kind of thing our Piper would have said to cut someone down—only with a hell of a lot more tact. Whatever fight 2.0 had left in her is extinguished, anguish crossing her face now instead. I take half a step forward, words on the tip of my tongue to put Tori back in her fucking place.
“Back the fuck off right now,” Tyler growls, beating me to it, and for the first time Tori seems to realize what she’s just done. Fucking hilarious.
Macie takes advantage of our attention shifting off of 2.0 for a second, wrapping an arm around her as she pulls her away to the black BMW parked several spots away. I’m still frozen in place, trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I almost just stepped in to defend 2.0, when the BMW screeches past us and zooms out of the parking lot.
Everything suddenly feels so fucked up. And not at all in the way I wanted.
20
Piper
An unexpected knock on my door pulls me out of the book I have my nose buried in. Ms. Diaz has taken to suggesting books to me that might help me better understand the human condition as she calls it, and it’s nice to know that she still supports me. I thought she might pull back a little when I kept refusing to come back to her house to study with Brennan.
“Come in,” I call out, and the next thing I know, Mom’s standing there with a garment bag in her hands, staring at me with a cocked eyebrow. I wrack my brain for a forgotten engagement, but I come up blank. I briefly consider just hacking Mom and Dad’s calendars but realize after a second that that would be a gross overstep of boundaries.
“Did we have something planned?” I ask as I dog ear my page and push myself into a sitting position.
Mom frowns at me and steps further into the room. I tilt my head and watch as she closes the door with her foot and approaches my closet. She hangs the garment bag on the hook just inside the door before her eyes sweep quickly around my tidy bedroom.
“I’m sorry if I forgot.” I offer as she continues her silent stroll through my room.
What the
fuck?
Mom sits on the tufted stool in front of my vanity and runs her fingers through her perfectly styled hair. She reaches up to wipe away a smudge of blush colored lipstick from the corner of her mouth before fixing her steely blue gaze on me through the mirror. Hesitantly, I scoot toward the edge of the bed, digging my toes into the plush carpet as I prepare to stand.
“Why haven’t you mentioned Jude’s Halloween party?”
Oh. My gut reaction is to tell her that I’d rather stay in and study rather than go to some stupid Halloween party. My next thought is to tell her that I didn’t actually get an invitation, although the text sitting in my phone that reads Show up if you dare is sort of an invitation. I almost settle for telling her that I’d simply forgotten. Something in the way her eyes narrow in the mirror tells me that she doesn’t want to hear that the very last thing I want to do with my Saturday night is go to a party hosted by Jude Fucking Alton.
I settle for a shrug, and she jerks around so quickly on the stool that I’m surprised she doesn’t give herself whiplash. “Piper, I don’t understand. Jude’s Halloween party is one of your favorite events of the year.”
No, it was one of Piper’s favorites, I think sullenly—but I don’t dare say that aloud. The last thing I want to do is disappoint Mom, not when she’s been trying so damn hard these past few months.
“When you didn’t go to the start of the year party, I brushed it off. Surely you were simply overwhelmed.”
Nope, definitely didn’t get an invitation to that one—threatening or not.
“But to not be excited about the Halloween party?” She tsks as I twist my hands in my lap. What can I say that won’t upset her? Deep down, I know there’s nothing I can say, so I stay silent. “What is going on with you, Piper?”
I glance up, and we lock eyes as the room falls into an uncomfortable silence. I can see the vein on the side of her neck throbbing with the effort of her silence, and I fidget where I’m sitting at the sight of her running her tongue along her teeth as if she’s preparing for the fight of a fucking lifetime.