I moved and sat on the other side of her. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, and asked, “But did we?”
She raised those green orbs of hers my way. “What do you mean?”
“I’m just saying, that…yeah, we still get to live our lives, though hardly unscathed,” I told her. “Guilt and remorse are tough companions, Grace. And while we’re all trying to be better people, that doesn’t mean all is forgiven, and we get to go about our merry lives. Every time we see someone being mistreated, we’re going to be reminded that we were those assholes once. Every time we think of Leah or her family, it’s going to be with heavy hearts and regret.” I squeezed her tight. “We might deserve worse for the awful people we used to be, but I wouldn’t say we’re walking away from all this unscathed.” Styx remained silent because he knew we’d been assholes, and he wasn’t about to blow smoke up our asses to make us feel better.
Grace gave me a tight smile. “I’m working on it,” she replied. “It…some days are harder than others.” Styx pulled her into his arms and that was my cue to bounce.
“Okay,” I said, shaking off the melancholy. “I’m off to get shitfaced and make bad decisions.” Grace laughed and Styx winced. I loved his hero complex.
“For the love of God, will you not tell me shit like that,” he grumbled.
I leaned down and smacked my lips down on Grace’s before doing the same to Styx. “Have fun, children.” I was heading for the door before either of them could reprimand me for the free kisses.
Waiting for another Uber, it was time to get this night started.
Chapter 6
Sterling~
It was almost 11 o’clock and Tucker’s party was looking like a free-for-all of every debaucherously sin that ever existed. Drugs were everywhere in plain view, and the people snorting that shit up were doing it in plain view also. There was enough alcohol to supply a goddamn bar for a year floating all over the place. And tits and ass were bare everywhere else. Guys were getting their dicks sucked by the pool and in almost every corner of the house. Girls were drunkenly running around with their tits out and advertising they skills and desires with no shame, whatsoever.
It was fucking insane.
And it wasn’t even midnight yet.
There was a group of us out in the back by the pool house, and it wasn’t a bad time. Other than Kathleen Myers rubbing her tits across my arm every time she laughed at something stupid, I was actually having a pretty good time. Our group consisted of me, Matt Carver, Anthony Rivera, Steven Highland, and Brock Sellars, all baseball players, and Kathleen, Vanessa Hope, Charity Prince, and Gwen Allen. So far, none of the guys have had their dicks out and none of the girls had their tits on display, but that shit could change at any given moment. Everyone was drinking their weight in alcohol or snorting up some powder or other
Me? I was playing with a very low buzz. I wasn’t stupid enough to get hammered at a party where it was possible for shit to get out of control. Like I’ve said before, I didn’t trust people, and any one of these fuckers could slip something in my drink or take advantage of my drunken state to bring me down. Hate and jealousy were real powerful emotions.
Luckily, for me, I was very aware of this.
Prepared to have a good time and not get into anything too heavy, that plan had come to a screeching halt the second I heard Brock say, “Damn, looks like Zach Wainwright is winning tonight.” The group turned towards where Brock was looking, and through the sliding glass doors that led into the backyard from the kitchen, you could see Zach with his arm around London fucking Addison, his hand resting on her hip. And while everyone was laughing and joking and cheering Zach on, the unpleasant feeling of jealousy began coursing through my veins.
“I don’t buy it,” Matt remarked. “Do you have any idea how many guys at BPA have tried getting into London Addison’s pants and have failed? Zach’s going to get as far as the guys before him, and that’s nowhere.”
“You’re such a guy, Matt,” Vanessa retorted. “Maybe London’s just waiting for the right guy, and it wasn’t you.”
Kathleen laughed, again, rubbing her tits on my arm. “Jealous much?” she teased him.
Matt laughed. “Not at all,” he replied. “London Addison might be the sexiest girl at Blackstone, but she doesn’t own the only pussy on the planet.”
Charity piped up, clearing offended. “The sexiest? Really?”
Anthony sided with Matt. “Next to Grace, she is.” Then he quickly looked over at me as I turned my head away from London and Zach at the mention of my sister. “No offense,” he quickly added.
I cocked my head and regarded him a bit before saying, “Watch what you say about my sister. No matter what you think of Styx Reinhart, he will and can kick your ass. And if he can’t, I know I can.” Anthony threw his hands up in surrender, and the group settled down.
However, I didn’t give a fuck.
My head turned back towards the house and that feeling of jealously erupted ten-fold when I saw London laugh up at Zach and place her hand on his chest.
What. In. The. Actual. Fuck?
I didn’t do jealous. I didn’t get attached like that. Hell, other than my dick twitching a few times at the memory of the way it felt buried inside London, I haven’t given her much thought. I hadn’t seen much of her since winter break had begun even if she was with Grace all the time. Our house was huge, and I’ve always done my own thing independent of Grace and her life.
But now, watching Zach Wainwright with his hands all over her, all I could think about was how he shouldn’t be having his hands all over what’s mine.
All I could think about was how I’d been her first. Especially, after how Matt mentioned how no other guy has managed to get anywhere with her.
All I could think about was how I didn’t like the idea of another guy knowing her the way I did.
All I could think about was how I was truly motherfucking jealous, and it was giving way to real anger creeping in.
I stared at London having a good time with another guy, and I knew I was fucked.
Royally.
For whatever reason, this moment, this party, this situation, this feeling had me seeing London in an entirely different light.
She was no longer Grace’s best friend.
She was no longer the girl I’ve known almost all my life.
She was no longer one of the many girls at BPA
She was no longer a girl I’ve slept with.
She was no longer just London Addison.
Jealousy was burning bright in my gut the more I watched the couple, and anger was rapidly coming alive right behind it. And neither was an emotion I had planned on dealing with tonight. I usually reserved my anger for the appropriate occasion, and I’ve never felt jealousy before.
This was all new to me.
And while this might all be new to me, I knew I wasn’t going to just sit back and do nothing about it. Like I said, I was a doer; I solved issues. I wasn’t one to give into my emotions and just sit by and wallow in them.
I was feeling anger at feeling jealous, and the only way to fix that was to no longer feel jealous. And the only way to no longer feel jealous was to take care of that bullshit that was going on in the kitchen between London and Zach.
I stood up and Brock asked, “Where you going?”
“Inside,” I replied.
“Oh,” Kathleen remarked. “What did you need? I can go with-”
I glanced over at her. “I need to talk with London,” I told her, and I knew that wouldn’t be a hint enough for her. No one would bat an eyelash at me and London talking because everyone knew she was Grace’s best friend. Me and London together wasn’t newsworthy.
“Oh,” she repeated. “Well-”
“Have fun, everyone,” I said before turning my back on the group and walking away from Kathleen and all her hope. It wasn’t that she wasn’t worth a roll in the hay, but Kathleen wanted more than a roll in the hay with me. She wanted to be my gi
rlfriend, and it was something she had mistakenly been very vocal about a couple of years back. It was the very reason I’ve never messed with her, no matter how pretty she was.
Besides, the angrier I got walking toward the house, the more it seemed as if I already had a girlfriend. Sure, London was probably not going to like it, but I didn’t give a damn. I was jealous for the first time in all my life, and I wasn’t going to act like it wasn’t a big deal. I wasn’t going to act like it didn’t mean something.
I slid the glass door open and weaved my way through the crowd, heading towards the couple. Once I was standing in front of them, I reached out and grabbed London by her arm and yanked her towards me.
“What the hell?”
“We need to talk,” I told her, completely ignoring Zach.
London shot those blue eyes my way, and I saw them widen a bit. “Is it Grace? Is she okay?” Before I could answer, she turned back to face Zach. “I’ll be right back,” she lied to him. Though, to be fair, she didn’t know she was lying. “He needs to talk to me about Grace.” The second Grace’s name came out of her mouth, Zach’s shoulders relaxed a bit, and I wanted to punch him in the face. He really thought London was his date tonight.
Little did he know.
I pulled London behind me as I mowed a path through the crowd until I found an empty space underneath the main staircase leading up from the foyer. We were still surrounded by the throng of people all around, but I didn’t care. I had London backed up against the wall, and as far as I was concerned, there was only me and her in this house.
“Zach Wainwright,” I bit out loud enough for her to hear me over the music and crowd noise. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Her bright blue eyes widened as she choked out, “What the hell?”
Chapter 7
London~
I stood there, staring up at Sterling Hale, not believing what I was hearing. He almost sounded like he was jealous, and that was just plain ridiculous. Sterling Hale didn’t get jealous over girls-hell, over anything. He was Sterling Hale, for Christ’s sake. He could have any girl he wanted. Hell, I was convinced the guy could have anything he wanted in the world. There’s no way he’d get jealous over some girl, even if that girl was me.
I’ve known this guy almost my entire life, and I have never seen or heard of him being interested in anyone. And Lord knows, over the years, girls have pulled out every trick in the book over, and over again, trying to land Sterling Hale.
The boy didn’t do attachments.
He didn’t do jealous.
And even if he did, I was the last girl he should ever get jealous over. What happened between us had been a drunken mistake. Sure, Sterling was hot as hell, with his black hair, emerald green eyes, chiseled face, hardened body, big dick, and the talent that went with it, but I’d be stupid to expect anything more than what he had given me that night. Had we not been drinking and horny, we would never had gotten together that night.
I still couldn’t say what it was that had made me cross that line with him that night, but I’d be lying if I said I regretted it. I could admit it was a mistake, and he was the last person I would have ever expected to end up in bed with. But there was no denying that Sterling had done a fantastic job of breaking me in. If he had been anyone else besides Sterling Hale, I might have been tempted to stay until the sun had come up. But knowing he wasn’t one to cuddle and get serious, I had bailed.
Only, he had cuddled.
But no matter. Whatever was going on right now felt dangerous, and I could admit I wasn’t exactly sure how to navigate an out-of-control Sterling Hale. And ignorant of the mindfuck he was giving me, he just kept on acting like a fool.
“What are you doing with Zach?” he asked, his voice rougher this time around.
I was completely taken aback, but the shock wasn’t enough to make me stupid. “None of your goddamn business, Sterling,” I fired back. “What the hell are you doing?” If I showed any signs of weakness, he was sure to attack.
But then, he continued to shock me as he said, “As of now, it is my business, London.”
Okay.
I couldn’t lie.
Seeing Sterling Hale all fired up was a huge turn on. He’s always been the sexiest thing on two legs at Blackstone, but now that I knew what he was capable of in bed, it was hard to keep those memories at bay when he was snarling down at me, all jealous sounding and possessive-like. My mind was confused with what all this was, but my body was completely onboard with this madness.
I blinked and shook my head.
I needed to get back on track here. “I don’t see how, Sterling,” I bit out. “You’re not my keeper.”
His jaw ticked, but he didn’t back down from this insanity. “I am now,” he announced like a certified lunatic.
I leaned forward, very aware that we were drawing a crowd of onlookers. “Are you drunk?” I asked because…what else could this be but drunken ramblings? “Did you smoke or snort a bad batch, or something?”
“I’m not drunk or high,” he snapped, not appreciating my very valid question.
“Then what the hell is your problem?” I whispered-yelled in his face.
Sterling crowded me until my back was flat against the wall and his palms were plastered against it on either side of my head, caging me in.
He looked lethal.
He looked feral and it was turning me on, much to my dismay. Even though Sterling and I have always gotten along, I’ve known him long enough to know that the boy didn’t leave witnesses behind. When he was on his way to obliterate something, nothing ever remained. That’s why everyone steered clear of him. That’s why everyone was still shell-shocked that Styx was alive and well after their fight. Of course, only Sterling, Styx, Grace, and I knew why Styx deserved Sterling’s mercy, but still.
Sterling Hale took no prisoners, and if I didn’t stand firm, I’d be his next victim.
“My problem is in how I was outside earlier, having a great time, but then, when I looked over towards the house, I see Zach fucking Wainwright with his hands all over you. My problem is in how that made me feel, London,” he confessed and completely flooring me in the process.
Holy Mary, Mother of God.
Sterling fucking Hale was jealous.
He didn’t let me comment as he continued, “Now, having never felt jealousy before, you can see why I didn’t care much for that particular emotion, right?” Again, he didn’t let me comment. “And because I’d rather not cater to that emotion and have to beat the fuck out of Wainwright, I’m doing something about it.”
“Sterling-”
“And make no mistake, London. If you go back over to him, I will beat the fuck out of him,” he said, and I believed him. It was common knowledge that Sterling Hale didn’t lie. He didn’t need to. He had the world at his fingertips, and he needed no one’s approval. It was why a lot of people thought he was a dick. He didn’t sugarcoat shit, and he didn’t water his views or opinions down to appease the delicate people around him.
Sterling said what he thought, answered questions truthfully, and just all around didn’t give a shit if it didn’t involve his sister.
It was also common knowledge that Sterling didn’t do girlfriends or public displays of affection, whatsoever. If he hooked up with a girl, no one knew about it unless she bragged about it the next day. He’s never been seen kissing or touching a girl in public. Even if he’d just been with her five minutes ago, you’d never be able to tell from looking at him.
Earlier, during our younger years, a few girls had tried to latch onto him after a night together, and he had embarrassed them so badly, girls had finally accepted the one-night stands for what they were. And that’s why we were drawing looks from every direction now.
People seeing me and Sterling talking was no big deal. I was his sister’s best friend, and we’d always been friendly. But you couldn’t mistake the angry vibes radiating off the guy right now. It was obvious to anyone who took the time
to pay attention that something was amiss.
Sterling Hale didn’t give girls the time of the day.
Sterling Hale didn’t give a shit about anyone other than his twin, Grace.
Ooohhhhh…this was bad.
It was bad because I was attracted to the jackass even if I didn’t think anything good would come of it. I was very attracted to the guy.
Then there was still the issue of telling Grace. It wasn’t that I thought she’d be against something between me and her brother, but I knew her feeling were going to be hurt that I hadn’t told her about that night we had together. As close as Grace and Sterling were, they didn’t live in each other’s pockets. She wasn’t overly concerned with his love life, and he didn’t big brother hers unless he had to. I could just see her feeling left out, and I didn’t want that for her. No matter what happened tonight, I knew I was going to have to come clean tomorrow.
“Sterling, do you hear yourself?” I asked. “Because you sound insane.”
He smirked, and it looked sexy on the jerk. “Do you want to see insane, London?”
NO.
No, I did not.
The buzz I had going on early had suddenly died a brutal death, and it looked as if I was going to see midnight stone-cold sober.
And it wasn’t like I was even going to sleep with Zach. Booze had been flowing and he was a good-looking guy. I had no problem hooking up with him but sleeping with him hadn’t been a foregone conclusion. It was well-known that I didn’t sleep around, and while some guys thought I might be a tease, none of them had actually come right out and have said that to my face.
I got back to the subject at hand. “You can’t just go around beating people up, Sterling.” His brow rose and I realized how stupid the words were. Of course, he could. He was Sterling fucking Hale. “You know what I mean.”
“Well, why don’t you test that theory and go back over to Wainwright, and see what happens, London,” he challenged, and it was almost like he wished I would.
The Blackstone Prep Academy Duet Page 14