by Cassie James
“Hamilton! Quit making out with your girl and get your ass over here!” I hear his coach all but scream, and I have to shoo him away with a laugh when he tries to lean in to kiss me again. I cross my arms over my chest as I watch him jog toward Coach Santos, appreciating the view the entire way.
I’m still standing there when the whispers start. “I thought she was with Jude Alton.”
Someone else says, “Uh, I saw her with Brennan at Jude’s New Year’s party. They were way too cozy to just be friends.”
“Do you think Jude knows she’s cheating on him?” That particular comment is made with a hell of a lot of snark.
A new voice chimes in. “She’s not dating any of them, you jealous bitches. The guys have been telling us that for weeks. But even if she was, you’d have to respect the hell out of any girl who could manage to have all three of The Thorns wrapped around her finger.”
I try to discreetly look back to see who came to my defense like that, but I can’t tell without turning all the way around, and I’d really rather not reveal myself like that. Instead, as I head for Tyler’s car to wait for him, I focus on reminding myself that not everyone needs to like me or even understand me, and that I should just appreciate that there are some people that do.
I lose track of time until Tyler calls my name from across the parking lot. My head jerks up, and I smile at the sight of him jogging toward me. It takes him no time at all to close the distance. He drops his soccer bag and wraps me up in his arms, squeezing me tight before he starts kissing me—picking up right where we left off.
I wriggle my arms between us and lay my hands flat on his chest, reveling in the feel of his lips crashing over mine. And I let myself have this pleasure for a little longer than I should before I push at his chest gently. He drops his hold on my body and steps away. I miss his touch the second it’s gone. He nods to the car, and I nod in answer, both of us just nodding as we can’t find the words to say to each other.
We drive several minutes in silence before Tyler speaks. “I went to Jude’s the other day after I dropped you off.”
I sit up straighter in my seat, dread rushing through me as I check him for any lingering signs of bruising. I didn’t remember seeing anything before, but I had been working pretty hard to try to avoid them most of the week. When I meet his eyes, there’s a half-smile on his face. He knows exactly what I assumed
“We didn’t fight, but we did talk about you.”
“You did?” My voice is tight because I can’t even begin to imagine how that went. Jude’s not known for being particularly level-headed, and I’ve seen the side of Tyler that isn’t, either.
He scrunches his face but then shoots a sheepish smile in my direction. “Jude had his shit together more than me, for once. He… definitely called me out.” He takes a deep breath and stares at the road. “I don’t know if it’s exactly what you want, Pipe, but we talked and well, it seems like maybe we could just sort of stay out of each other’s way.”
My heart leaps into my throat. It’s a compromise. Not a fully open, shared relationship—but something a hell of a lot closer than asking me to choose. It seems almost too good to be true.
“What about Brennan?” I have to ask. This isn’t just about Tyler or Jude, it’s about Brennan, too.
“He agreed, too, Pipe. We all did.”
“So, what is that exactly? We’re all having casual sex without anyone getting their feelings hurt or…” I trail off, wanting Tyler to fill the blank in for himself.
He shakes his head as he stops the car so he can look fully at me. “Fuck, no. There’s nothing casual about what we have, and it sure as hell isn’t just sex. You’ll have to figure things out with the other guys on your own, but for us, I want us to be together. I want you to be my girlfriend.”
“Even though you might not be the only one? What if I end up with two more boyfriends?” Not that it’s necessarily what Brennan or Jude will want. Though, damn, do I hope so.
“Even then,” he echoes.
I unbuckle my seatbelt so I can climb half over the center console to kiss him the right way. “Thank you,” I whisper between kisses, and he hums against my lips.
It’s not quite a perfect arrangement, but maybe I can have my cake and eat it, too.
25
Piper
“So you’ve actually managed it.”
Without answering, I turn to leave the bathroom, but Tori steps into my path. She’s standing between me and the exit, her hands on her hips with fury in her eyes. I haven’t spared Tori more than a wayward thought the past several weeks, so I wasn’t expecting a confrontation. That was a mistake on my part. I assumed that Tori Pruitt had actually experienced some growth, had learned an important lesson about showing her ass and treating people like shit. As she stares me down over the length of the bathroom, I realize how wrong I was.
There’s a part of me that’s always known she wouldn’t stay down forever, not after Jude put her on blast for the whole school to see, but it’s been weeks. I don’t have time for whatever this is, though, so I sigh as I turn back to the mirror and swipe at the smudge of lip-gloss at the corner of my lips. Maybe if I pretend she’s not there, she’ll realize I don’t really give a shit about whatever she’s trying to do, give up, and leave.
I’m not that lucky. “Don’t ignore me!” she snaps, and I close my eyes and sigh, counting from one to ten in my head as I focus on slowing my heartbeat and breathing deeply. If I keep my cool, maybe I can shut this down in a few minutes and still make it to class on time.
“What do you want, Tori?” I ask as I turn away from the mirror to face her. I hike my bag a little higher on my shoulder as I cross my arms over my chest. I groan when she doesn’t immediately respond. “Seriously, I don’t have time for this. Spit it out or get out of my way.”
Her nostrils flare as she sucks in a deep breath, and when her mouth falls open, I’m half-afraid that she’s going to start screaming. “I just want you to tell me one thing.”
“Sure.” Get it over with, then.
“Does your Mom know what a whore you are?”
I roll my eyes with an easy laugh. “Fuck off, Tori.” When is she going to learn that she can’t spew bullshit that hurts my feelings anymore? There’s no way in hell she can actually goad me into a serious response right now.
“You’re sleeping with all three of The Thorns.”
“Says who?” My tone’s indifferent even if my stomach jumps a little at the accusation. But then I remind myself that the log Brennan emailed had evidence of me sleeping with two of them, and I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to assume that I’d been sleeping with him before then, too. She doesn’t necessarily know anything new.
“I’m not fucking blind, Piper.” She scoffs. “It’s pretty obvious if all you do is look. I can’t believe you managed to convince them that it’s not disgusting that they’re passing you around like some cheap silicone doll. Is being a slut programmed into your processor or something? Because what other explanation is there for the fact that you managed it a second time even after your Mom had you wiped?”
“Tori.” Her name is a warning on my lips. How the fuck does she know about my reset? I’ve kept that impossibly close to my chest, refusing to let the knowledge leak beyond me, The Thorns, and Macie. For a terrible moment, I’m afraid my best friend actually said something to her shitty step-sister, and I’m gutted.
“You know that our parents talk, right? Jackie let it slip that she’d had to have you reprogrammed.” My face falls, the feeling of betrayal growing in my core, making me sick as it wraps around every part of me. It hurts more knowing that Mom’s the culprit, and Tori throws her head back and laughs at whatever emotions are playing over my face in this moment. “I’m sure she didn’t mean to actually tell my mom, not when she wants the world to think you’re her perfect daughter all over again. So do you think she’ll reset you again when she finds out you’re whoring yourself out to The Thorns? I mean, it
’s not like she meant to pay all that money for a teenage sex toy.”
“You have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.” I think I might vomit. Because even though I’m trying to calm myself down and return the mask of indifference to my face, Tori’s taunts are cutting me to the core. I’ve worked tirelessly to ensure Mom doesn’t have a reason to want to reset me, and here Tori is, threatening to give her all the ammunition she needs to pull the trigger again.
“Personally, I’m not sure whether it’d be worth it trying to sow those seeds of doubt. Because you’ve managed it twice, what’s to say you won’t keep figuring out how to fuck them all every time you’re reset?” She steeples her fingers under her chin, narrowing her eyes to slits as an ugly grin spreads over her lips. My heart’s fucking pounding against my ribcage. “Hmm, but maybe if I can force the reset over and over again, she’ll eventually give up on you. What do you think, Piper? Do you think Mommy cares enough about you to keep you if you keep getting it all wrong?”
I need to redirect her. “Do you ever wonder why they keep coming back to me?” I ask. The one thing I have to hold over her is the one thing she desperately wants—the favor of The Thorns. “It’s not because all they want is sex. It’s because they love me, Tori. That’s something you’re never going to get from them, and that burns you up, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, please,” she scoffs, but I see the crack in her carefully constructed veneer. Not being at the top of the social ladder over the past couple of months has driven her fucking crazy. All she ever wanted was to be good enough, to rule with Jude by her side, and I’ve stolen that from her time and again.
“It was The Thorns that helped me get back to who I am after Mom reset me, but you wouldn’t know that, would you? Because you went and got yourself sheared. Was it worth it? Trying to shove yourself between me and the guys and failing so fucking spectacularly? You can do whatever you want, Tori, but they’re always going to fight to get me back. They didn’t care about you before, and they’re not going to care about you after.”
They’re brazen words, but I mean every single one of them. Tori Pruitt is never going to sink her claws into one of my guys. And yeah, maybe she does have some leverage over me, but in my heart I know my guys are never going to give up on me. Mom could reset me another hundred times, and they’d still come back to me. Because that’s what you do when you love someone.
Tori snorts. “And what? You guys live happily fucking ever after? What happens when they all leave for college, Piper? Who protects you then?”
My retort dies on my lips. Not because what she’s said is shocking or incendiary but because she’s reminded me of something else entirely. I catch sight of my growing smirk in the mirror, and it’s absolutely fucking savage. I take a few steps forward of my own, leaning in as I lower my voice to a dangerous whisper. “Tori, if you breathe a fucking word of any of this to anyone, I will ruin you.”
“What more could you do?” She sneers. “You’ve stolen my friends, and you’ve stolen my rightful place with The Thorns. School’s almost over, Piper, and none of this is going to matter after. Please, ruin me, because this misery is over in a few short months, and I’m moving on with my life.”
“You don’t get it, Tori. I’m not talking about Rosewood. You want to talk about ruining my life? I fucking dare you to try because I won’t hesitate to tell the entire world about your faked SAT scores. What happens to you when you can’t even get into community college?”
“You wouldn’t dare!” But I see it in her eyes, the fact that she knows I absolutely would dare. “Piper.”
It’s the fastest fucking turnaround I’ve ever seen, and all I do is laugh as I push past her. I pause in the doorway long enough to glance at her over my shoulder. I can’t muster a single iota of pity for her as she slumps against the nearest sink, her mask crumpling as she shatters behind me.
“Are we good?” I ask, and her slow, miserable nod is all I need. I stride from the bathroom with my head high again. Maybe I should feel bad for threatening her future, but I just can’t seem to make myself care. Not when she’d threatened my future, too. Plus, I have a feeling I’ve handled the Tori issue for the final time, and I couldn’t be any fucking happier.
26
Piper
Over the next few weeks, I fall into a pattern of spreading my time equally between The Thorns. I’m happy at least, to not have to choose between them, even if I do feel like there’s something missing. What that something is doesn’t click into place for me, though, until the Saturday we’re all spread out over the seats in the Altons’ theater arguing about what to watch
My back’s pressed against the arm of the recliner I’m sitting in, partially to focus my attention on the biggest pain in the ass in the room and to keep myself from being distracted by the spot where I’d first slept with him. I practically begged for us to watch movies at anyone else’s house, not loving the idea of being cooped up in a room with all of them when the reminder of the first time I slept with Jude would be hanging over my head.
It was Brennan that shot the idea down. “You really want anybody’s parents hovering? Let’s just go to Jude’s.”
But my eyes zeroed in on the spot Jude fucked me the second we stepped into the theater. My cheeks burning when he sent a knowing smirk in my direction. And now, here we are, bickering over something stupid.
“I’m sorry, Jude, all I’m saying is that I just don’t want to watch one of your dad’s shoot-‘em-up action movies right now.” He quirks a challenging eyebrow at my statement, and I shrug in return. There’s no real bite to my words, and I can tell he knows that, but he’s smiling at me in that I’m Jude Alton, and I always get what I want kind of way, and I can already tell I’m in for a hell of an argument. I don’t really care, but I’m not interested in letting him immediately get his way just because he can. It’s the principle of the thing, honestly.
“And all I’m saying is that I don’t want to waste my Saturday night watching girly shit.” He says it flippantly, and I would reach over the arm of my chair and shake him if I thought it might actually help. He’s such a self-assured ass sometimes. Admittedly, it’s part of his charm, and normally I like it about him, but fuck if it isn’t driving me freaking crazy right now.
“It’s not like I’m asking you to watch 10 Things I Hate About You or something, Jude! Just something with less explosions and more storyline,” I snap as low laughter trills from behind me. I twist my head over my shoulder as Jude huffs, just to see Brennan shaking his head and laughing from the seat next to mine. “Do you want to help me out here?” I ask, but he’s shaking his head no as he continues laughing, and I huff at him, too.
I jerk back around to face Jude, just to meet Tyler’s amused eyes over his shoulder. I quirk an eyebrow, issuing the same challenge I issued to Brennan seconds before, but he’s quick to shake his head no as well. Assholes, the whole lot of them.
“They’re not going to be on your side on this one, sugar.” The nickname falls from his lips easily, and I roll my eyes. It’s been weeks, and I can’t convince him to stop calling me that horrid name. The more I resist, the more he uses it. I’m loathe to admit that it stokes something inside of me anytime he groans the word when we’re making out, but I think he has a pulse on that as well, knowing that it turns me on as much as it annoys me.
My lip juts out as I cross my arms, and I’m giving him the biggest puppy eyes I can manage. Jude snorts at me and reaches to snag my bottom lip, but I slap his hand away and turn to face the massive screen that’s been glowing blankly in front of us for the past half hour. “Are we not going to acknowledge the fact that this three-against-one thing is totally unfair?”
“We’re not three-against-one yet, Piper,” Jude starts, and I can feel the blush creeping up my neck before he even finishes. “But if you ask me nicely enough, I might be able to work something out with the guys for you.”
“You’re a pervert.” I’m not sure how I say it with
a straight face and a stable voice, but I definitely deserve an Oscar for my Grade-A performance. Jude may have meant it as a joke, but it’s so close to what I actually want from them that I can’t help the way my lips purse.
“Hey,” Brennan cuts in, pulling my attention away from the absolute filth parading through my mind. “You’re the one who asked for the three-on-one in the first place. In for a penny, in for a pound, Pi.”
“I think you got that saying wrong,” Tyler interjects. I turn to face him, to confirm for him that it is the right saying, but his smirk stops me short. “I’m pretty sure it’s in for a penny, in for a pounding.”
I shake my head as I push myself up from the chair, remembering my long-forgotten phone in my bag by the door. “You all are way too much,” I mutter as I stretch my arms above my head, pulling my tingling muscles tight. I groan as I drop my arms and begin shuffling past Jude and Tyler, who both stilled as they watched me stretch.
Jude catches my wrist as I pass, pulling me to an abrupt stop. I try to shake his grip, but he yanks me back hard enough to make me tumble backwards and into his lap with a yelp. “Where are you going, sugar? Is it getting too hot for you in here? I never took you for the sort of girl that can’t handle a little bit of heat.” He’s not exactly whispering, but the way he leans close to my face and lowers his voice lets me know that his words are for my ears alone. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it? Don’t go getting cold feet now.”
“I’m not,” I protest loudly, not bothering to mask my words the way he is his. From the corner of my eye, I notice Tyler’s sharp glance, but then Jude’s smiling at me in a downright panty-dropping kind of way, and I don’t have time to even consider protesting before he closes the distance between us and captures my lips in a toe-curling kiss.
Jude pulls away first, leaving me panting as he smirks. He drags his finger along my bottom lip before unceremoniously swinging my legs around and pushing me to my feet. His hands linger over my ass a little too long, so I slap them away as my face flushes before scurrying past him. Tyler catches my eye, and even though I expect him to look angry, he doesn’t. He’s studying me, like he’s trying to figure something out, though I don’t know what it is.