by L A Cotton
“Go? Go where?”
“To fuck in my Jeep, where do you think?”
“Oh my god,” she breathed out, and I thought for a second she might faint.
“Dance floor, Felicity.” Asher flicked his head to the crowd of kids dancing. “Let’s dance.”
“D- dance?” She mouthed at me and I gave her wide eyes.
“Go, it’s what you wanted right? To dance and have fun.” And I had no immediate plans to make a fool of myself in front of our entire class.
Cheeks a deep shade of red, Flick let Asher pull her up and they walked hand-in-hand to the dance floor. Last year, she wouldn’t have looked twice at him or Cameron or my step-brother. But this year, she was different.
Maybe we both were.
I watched on as Asher danced circles—literal circles—around her, but she was laughing, her eyes sparkling with happiness. It didn’t take long before he had the entire dance floor eating out of the palm of his hand and right at the heart of their attention was my best friend, in her crowning moment.
My gaze wandered over to where I’d seen Cameron before. He was alone now, watching Asher and Flick, a strange expression on his face. Feeling brave, I got up and made my way over to him but as I almost reached him, a girl tackle hugged him and he held her affectionately, smiling down at her. The same smile he’d given me more than once. My stomach sank as I ducked into the shadows by the wall, pressing myself flat until the darkness swallowed me whole. What did I think? That I’d come here tonight, and Cameron would actually want to dance with me? To spend time with me? Stupid, stupid girl.
Swallowing my pride, I marched back to my table only to realize Flick was no longer dancing with Asher. I scanned the room when my purse vibrated.
* * *
Toby: what’s up?
* * *
Me: At Homecoming and it kind of sucks
* * *
Toby: You should come party with us... it’s not a football thing, I promise
* * *
Another party with Toby? Did I really want that? My fingers hovered over the reply button and then I was typing.
* * *
Me: Okay
* * *
I hit send before I could chicken out. I didn’t really want to go, but the last thing I wanted to do was stay here and watch Cameron and some girl dance and make out.
Just then, I caught a glimpse of Flick. I rushed over to her, narrowing my gaze when I saw her grim expression. “What happened?” I asked.
“N- Nothing.” She swiped at her makeup, smudging the streaks of mascara across her face.
“Flick, I know you’ve been crying.”
“Not here, okay?” She said, her eyes darting around me as if she was looking for something. Or someone. “Can we just go?”
“Toby texted me, inviting us to a part—”
“That sounds perfect.” She grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the door.
“Good,” I chuckled. “Because I kind of already said yes.”
I had another message off Toby saying he was in our neighborhood and would be about ten minutes.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked Flick again as she wrapped her arms around herself, refusing to meet my eyes. “Did Asher do something—”
“I’m fine, Hails. I promise.”
“I swear to God, if he hurt you, I’ll kill him.” His interest in my best friend was growing. The only problem was, I couldn’t figure out if it was all a big joke or if he actually liked her. Either way, Asher Bennet would eat her alive, something I had no intention of ever letting happen.
“It’s not Asher.”
“It’s not?”
“No.”
“But it is a guy?” Because my gut told me it was a guy. Something was going on with my best friend, I just didn’t know what.
Her eyes slowly slid to mine, and she pressed her lips together giving a little nod. “But I don’t want to talk about it.”
The fact she didn’t feel like she could talk to me stung. But I hadn’t exactly been upfront about Cameron either. So I offered her a warm smile, and said, “Okay, but when you’re ready, I’ll be here.”
“Thank you.” Flick sniffled. “Ugh, Homecoming sucks.”
“I could have told you that.”
“I just thought...” A heavy sigh escaped her lips. “I don’t know, maybe this whole list is stupid.”
Moving closer to her, I squeezed her hand. “It isn’t stupid. It’s brave. And I’m proud of you, Felicity Giles.”
“Yeah?” Her eyes lit up.
“Yeah. You could have stood by and let me trample all over your senior year and you didn’t.” The glare of headlights blinded us both and I threw up my arm to get a better look at the approaching car.
“It’s Toby, come on.” Flick grabbed my hand and tugged me toward it.
“Eager much?” I murmured and she threw me a scathing look over her shoulder.
“Homecoming might have sucked, but the night is still young, and I don’t plan on letting this dress go to waste.”
“You do look pretty hot,” I agreed.
“Damn right I do. Jude isn’t going to know what hit him.” Gone was the sad girl I’d found minutes earlier.
“Flick,” I said. “You don’t have to—”
“No, not listening. I need this, Hails.” I wasn’t exactly sure what she was referring to but the glint in her eye told me not to argue.
Toby rolled his window down, his gaze sweeping down my body, eyes darkening with lust. “Hey.” He gave me a lazy smile.
“Hi.”
“Hey, Toby.” Flick’s eyes looked past him into the car.
“Looking good, Felicity,” Jude’s voice drifted over to us and a wide smile stretched over her face.
“Ready to go?” Toby asked and she nodded eagerly, climbing into the back. I hesitated, my eyes glancing over to the gym.
“Hailee?”
“Yeah. I’m coming.” I ducked inside and pushed all thoughts of Homecoming and Cameron Chase out of my head.
“Why so glum, Sista?" Flick sipped her drink, swaying her body to the sultry beat. We’d been underdressed at the last party Toby brought us to, but tonight we stood out for different reasons.
So much for escaping.
“I’m just not feeling it,” I said, scanning the room. Kids were crammed into every inch of the house. It was nowhere near as big as Lewis Thatcher’s house, but I also hadn’t spotted any East football players, so it had that going for it.
“Toby seems keen.” Flick motioned over to the guys as they got us all another round of drinks.
“I guess.”
My best friend’s eyes narrowed and she grabbed my arm pulling me into her. “You’re moping.”
“I am not. I’m just...” Totally not thinking about how good Cameron looked.
“You should’ve just gone and talked to him.” Flick let out an exasperated breath but I didn’t reply. “Fine. Be a spoilsport. But please don’t ruin my fun. I need this, Hails. In fact,” she said conspiratorially. “I’m thinking I might do it.”
“Do it?” I stared at her blankly.
“Sex, Hails. I might have sex.”
My hand shot out, smothering her mouth. “Jesus, Flick, keep your voice down.”
“What?” She grinned. “It’s okay to say the words.”
“Are you drunk?” We’d only had two drinks.
“No, I’m not drunk. I’m merely embracing this opportunity. Jude is hot and he’s sending me all the right signals.”
“So this doesn’t have anything to do with whatever happened earlier?” My brow rose.
“It was nothing.”
Oh, it was something all right, she just didn’t want to admit whatever it was.
My eyes found Jude and Toby over her shoulder. They were heading back to us. “Just don’t make any rash decisions. Jude seems like a nice guy, but your first time should be with someone you like… really like.”
“Lik
e you—”
“Is one of those for me?” I said, alerting Flick to the fact the guys were back. She shot me an appreciative smile, before turning to Jude and taking her new drink from him. “Want to dance?” she asked.
He shrugged but Flick wasn’t deterred. Grabbing his hand, she led them into the next room where the dancing was.
“I like her,” Toby said. “She’s got real... character.”
“Is that your polite way of saying she’s pushy?” I laughed and he smiled.
“She goes after what she wants, nothing wrong with that.” His eyes grew hooded as they lingered on me, and I lowered my gaze, needing to break the connection.
Toby was nice. A good guy. He was constantly checking if I was okay, getting me drinks, and making me laugh. And he didn’t seem as put off that my step-brother was Jason Ford as I’d first thought. But despite everything he had going for him, Toby didn’t set my world on fire.
He didn’t make my heart beat wildly in my chest or stir desire in my belly.
He was sweet. Kind and attentive. He was everything I wanted to like.
Everything I should have liked.
There was just one small problem.
He wasn’t Cameron Chase.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Cameron
“Are you going to wear that thing all night?” I asked Jase, eyeing the cheap plastic crown on his head with amusement.
“I’ve already had three offers to suck my dick and Lisa Tenby let me finger fuck her in the girls bathroom so yeah, I’m wearing it all night. What’s up your ass anyway?”
“Nothing, I’m fine.” My eyes searched the sea of bodies, hoping to catch a glimpse of Hailee. But I couldn’t see her.
I hadn’t seen her for hours since I saw her and Flick arrive.
Jase glared at me, his hard gaze burning into my face as he sipped his drink. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, looking out over the crowd again. I didn’t like school dances, never had, but when you were a Raider and played for Coach Hasson, they weren’t optional. We were expected to show up, smile, and give the people what they wanted. Most of the guys lapped it up—the chance to be kings for the night. But not me.
“Miley’s looking hot,” Jase said and my eyes slid to his. “What’s going on there?”
“It’s just casual.” I lifted my shoulders in a slight shrug.
“No shit. But come on, man, do you like her? I’ve seen the way she looks at you.”
“We’re just friends, Jase.” Nothing more. Nothing less. But he didn’t look convinced.
“Yeah, well, keep it that way. The last thing we need is any distractions. And she has trouble written all over her. I’m going to take a leak.” He made his way across the room, parting the sea of bodies like he was the prodigal son.
And maybe he was.
For a town like Rixon, Jason was a ticket to having their name splashed in the national papers. People couldn’t wait for the day, five years from now, when they could say they knew the new star of the NFL.
I spotted Asher over by the doors on his cell phone. Worry lines were etched into his face, and I straightened, my spine tingling. But before I could go over there and find out if he was okay, his eyes found me across the room and he grimaced.
We met halfway, just as he was ending the call. “Everything okay?” I asked him as he stood staring down at his cell phone.
“I, hmm, that was Fee.”
“Fee? As in Felicity?”
“Y- yeah.” He swallowed, running a hand through his hair. “She, uh, she asked me to get you to call her immediately.”
“Me, but why would she want—Hailee.” The air whooshed from my lungs. “You have her number?”
Of course he did, they had just been on the cell phone. But everything was a little hazy, my heart thundering in my chest.
“I put my number in her phone the time she cooked breakfast. You’d better call her, she sounded panicked. When I asked what was wrong she said there wasn’t time to explain…” he added and my eyes locked on his.
“Text me her number and tell Jase I had to leave.”
“Shit,” he breathed. “What should I—”
“Tell him it’s my mom or something.” It didn’t matter. I just needed to get to Hailee. If Felicity had called Asher....
“Cam?” Asher’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.
“Yeah?”
“I said, are you sure you know what you’re doing? Maybe this isn’t a good idea—”
“Just text me her number.”
“Shit, yeah. Okay.” He started messing with his cell phone and I waited for the incoming message, and then I got the hell out of there.
Once I was clear of the dance, I pulled out my cell phone and called Felicity.
“Cameron?” she rushed out. “Is that you?”
“What happened?”
“I... she... crap, this is bad, Cameron. I don’t know what to—”
“Slow down. Where are you?” I was almost at my truck.
“At a party, across the river.”
Fuck.
“Okay.” I schooled my anger. “Can you text me the address? It’ll take me about fifteen minutes.” If I broke the speed limit.
“Y- yeah. And thank you. I didn’t know who else to call.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” I said before hanging up. Reaching my truck, I almost yanked the door off its hinges.
An East party.
They’d left Homecoming and gone to an East party. Asher was right; I had no fucking idea what I was doing. Because it was the last place I should go. Especially without back up. But Hailee was there, and from the despair in Felicity’s voice, whatever had gone down wasn’t good.
Dammit.
As I reversed out of the parking bay and stepped on the gas, restless energy zipped through me. Hailee needed me. Okay, so the reality was Felicity needed me, but I wasn’t about to split hairs over the fact she’d called me to help.
I couldn’t deny a small part of me was pissed though. I’d spent most the night searching for Hailee, hoping to catch another glimpse of her, and all along she had been at an East party with that douche Toby no doubt. My hands tightened around the wheel. I’d always known Hailee was trouble. But if Jason found out about this, shit would hit the fan. I couldn’t leave her there, though, I wouldn’t. Because Hailee Raine was under my skin.
And even worse, I liked her being there.
“What the fuck happened?” I was out of my truck and on Felicity in a second, pulling Hailee’s limp body out of her friend’s arms and into my own.
“I... she... I don’t know. God.” Her voice quivered. “This is such a mess.” Felicity wept as I slid my hands under Hailee’s thighs and scooped her up, cradling her against me. She moaned, her head rolling to the side.
“F- Flick?” It was a garbled murmur.
“Ssh, I got you,” I said, my voice thick. Glancing over at the house, it was obvious the party was still raging on inside.
“Cameron, we need to go. She needs—”
“Yeah.” My eyes snapped back to Felicity. “Okay.”
Coming around to open the back door of my truck, Felicity helped me get Hailee inside, and we laid her out across the seats. I went around the driver’s side and climbed in, my hands gripping the steering wheel as I watched her through the rear-view mirror. She looked like a rag doll, her hair hanging loose around her face, makeup smeared around her eyes. The rise and fall of her chest labored.
Felicity slid in next to me and let out a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t know who else to call.”
“Tell me what happened.” I still hadn’t turned the key in the ignition, restless energy coursing through my veins.
“Drive, and I’ll tell you.” Felicity levelled me with a look that told me she knew exactly what I was thinking. “Cameron...” she added after a beat. “We need to go before someone sees you here.”
“Fine,” I grou
nd out. “Fine.”
Gunning the engine, I backed out of the driveway and pulled onto the street. “Okay, talk,” I said as the house shrunk in the rear-view mirror.
“Toby texted her when we were at Homecoming, inviting us to another party. I got the impression Hailee was pissed at you, so we left.”
Pissed… at me?
It wasn’t a first, but I hadn’t even spoken to her at Homecoming.
“Did he...?” The words lodged in my throat, anger rising in my chest.
“What? God, no. Toby is a good guy, Cameron. I swear. But something did happen. We were drinking the same thing and I was fine, but Hailee started acting really strange. I wanted us to come home, but she said she wanted to stay and have fun. Next thing I know, she disappears. We looked everywhere for her.”
“We?”
“Yeah me, Jude, and Toby.”
Toby.
I was already sick of hearing that fucker’s name.
“What happened?”
“We couldn’t find her anywhere but then someone said they’d seen her go into the pool house, the pool house everyone said was off-limits....” her voice trailed off.
“And...”
“And we found her like this, almost passed out on the couch. She was completely out of it. Toby and Jude went to get her some water and to find out what happened, so I called you and managed to drag her out of there.”
“Why didn’t you just wait for them to come back?”
“I guess I panicked. I mean, look at her. That isn’t Hails, she doesn’t get trashed like that. What if someone...?”
I glanced over at Felicity and her gaze darted away. “What if someone what, Felicity?” It came out raw.
She inhaled a harsh breath. “What if someone gave her something?”
My eyes went back to the rear-view mirror. She was right, Hailee wasn’t drunk, she was completely wasted. “You think she was roofied?”
“Or something, yeah.”
“Fuck.” My back straightened, anger rippling up my spine. I wanted to turn the truck around, go back to the party, and beat the shit out of someone until I found out exactly what happened tonight. But I knew that wouldn’t help the situation. And right now, it wouldn’t help Hailee.