“We all win some,” Julian says to Ryke, “and we all lose some. You’ll find another girl who’s a better fit for you. Though she won’t be as hot as Daisy, and there’s no way she’ll lick cock as well either.”
Lo’s jaw unhinges.
Ryke almost loses it. He shouts a string of curses at the top of his lungs. I catch motherfucker, cocksucker, and a new one—dickfucker. I would laugh, but I want to throw Julian off the porch just as badly—I just don’t express myself with such vehement aggression.
Veins pop in Ryke’s neck, his face reddening as he shouts and points at Julian, who starts to scream back.
“You don’t know shit about that girl!” Ryke yells.
“And you do, right?!”
“Fuck you!” is Ryke’s only response.
This has turned into a moron battle. Fists would be more appropriate right now. But the only thing keeping Ryke from laying into Julian is Loren who stands between them, a human barrier.
I don’t even try to calm him down. A deep part of me just wants Ryke to hit him.
“Sorry, man,” Julian taunts as their voices lower. “You should have started dating her a year ago when she was single. You can have her when I’m done.”
A foul taste rises in my mouth.
Lo glares at Julian like the world shifted without his consent. “What the fuck did you just say?”
Ryke wears pure darkness in his eyes, nothing else. His muscles flex the longer he has to withstand this guy.
“He can have her when I’m done,” Julian repeats. “I can give you the exact date. I’ll need about three hours on February 20th of next year. Then you can have her. Mark your calendar.”
February 20th. Her eighteenth birthday.
And right as Lo is about to move out of the way and unleash his pissed off brother, the backdoor opens. Lily steps outside, wearing Rose’s black fur coat that swallows her skinny frame. Everyone stays tense, but no one makes a move to hit Julian in front of her.
“Hey, guys.” She shuffles to our group as we go silent. She notices the strain between the guys, and she quickly slides in the middle of Lo and Julian to try to diminish the prospect of a fight.
The girls are clever.
“Rose and Daisy want to play a game.” She tucks her hair behind her ear. “A drinking game though.”
Ryke peels his gaze off Julian and stares down at her. “The three of us don’t fucking drink, so how does that work?” He gestures to Lily and Lo.
Lily shrugs. “I think we should participate somehow. It’ll be fun.”
I chime in, “You three can play the strip version.”
Lo lets out a short laugh. “Always trying to get me naked.”
My lips rise.
“Oh, and Rose wants to talk to you,” Lily nods to Julian.
“Great,” Julian says with added sarcasm. He even rolls his eyes, probably wishing he stayed home. He leaves our group and Ryke loses his chance to lay a fist into him.
Lo watches Julian disappear inside. “That was the first time I didn’t warn a guy to protect his balls before talking to Rose.”
“That’s because we all hope she crushes them,” Ryke says roughly.
I remember how delicately she held my cock for the first time, and I try my best to hide my smile into my next sip of wine.
I know her better than anyone.
[ 26 ]
ROSE CALLOWAY
We’ve switched games three times to help Lily, but she’s still losing. Luckily before we started she layered on clothes in her bedroom, waddling out like a little snowman. She even stuck my bobby pins in her hair and has been throwing them off as a “clothing” item.
She’s down to a sweater and pajama pants without any accessory to fling off, and Scott refuses to switch to another game this time.
I’m a little tipsy, but nothing like Daisy who stumbles around the kitchen trying to find a bag of marshmallows for the fireplace.
“She’s going to hurt herself,” I say, but when I stand to help, everything spins. Okay, I’ve definitely surpassed tipsy. I plop right back down on the couch and try to recover. Maybe no one noticed.
“You okay, Rose?” Loren asks with a knowing look.
Connor combs his fingers through my hair, which feels so damn good that I forget to snap back at Lily’s boyfriend.
“Hey, stay away from the fucking knives!” Ryke yells angrily as Daisy clatters around. He’s about to shoot up from the couch opposite of us, but Julian, her real boyfriend, beats him to it, sauntering into the kitchen.
After I lectured Julian about statutory rape and sodomy, he’s been pretty much exactly the same: dismissive and lackadaisical. It’s really fucking annoying. I tried to capitalize on cutting off his balls during our talk, and he just shrugged at me. I swear he was seconds from patting my head like I was a little girl.
Connor saved him from the wrath of my purse. I could have hit him over the head with it. But Connor drew me away and distracted me with a promise of something new tonight in bed. Although he never specified what new entailed. So I’m left to guess.
Connor’s hand falls to my neck, and he rubs the bareness of my skin with his finger and thumb. I lean into him, snubbing the couch cushion which was warm from my back. But he feels much better, my buzz tingling my body.
Scott refills everyone’s empty shots that line a log coffee table. A bear-fur rug covers the hardwood, and flannel blankets drape over the chilly brown leather furniture. Ryke keeps stoking the fire so no one grows cold. It’s nice. All of us here. Even Savannah and Ben have relaxed in the kitchen with drinks while Brett singlehandedly films our game.
I hiccup and touch my lips. I think the last game we played was designed to get us wasted. Only problem is that Daisy and I weigh less than the guys playing. Ergo, we are getting fucked up faster. The game we’ve chosen now, Never Have I Ever, targets the most experienced person in the room, which means Lily is at a serious disadvantage. I should be winning, but Lily and Loren use phrases like “Never have I ever made an A on a math test.”
I turn to my less-than-tipsy boyfriend. Despite how much wine he consumes, he never gets drunk. “How many shots have you taken?”
“Less than you.” Translation: He’s winning.
“Who’s next?” Scott asks. He’s been the game pusher all night. I think he has his eyes set on Lily, trying to get her naked or nearly naked in front of everyone. She sits on Loren’s lap, looking petrified to continue a game without another bobby pin to remove.
“I’m next,” Ryke says, watching with a hard gaze as Julian guides Daisy into the living room.
Julian has his hands on her hips, whispering in her ear and forcing her back towards his chest. Even drunk, she looks mildly uncomfortable to be in his arms while in our presence. And it shows as she squirms out of his hold. She smiles at him and places a chaste kiss on his cheek to make up for it.
He doesn’t let her off the hook. He literally grabs her face in two hands and plunges his tongue in her mouth.
“Hey, Julius, sit the fuck down,” Loren snaps. Thank you, Loren.
I don’t ask why Loren just mispronounced Julian’s name. Everyone knows Lo’s favorite comic book character is Julian Keller from X-Men, and Lo has declared (to the entire townhouse) that Daisy’s boyfriend doesn’t deserve to share the same name as him.
Daisy puts her hands on Julian’s chest and breaks apart from him. Then she settles in her seat beside Ryke, Julian slouching on the other side of her. She sits up on the edge of the cushion so he can’t wrap his arm around her shoulder.
Connor’s lips brush my ear. “She’s okay. Lo and Ryke have an eye on him.”
I nod, realizing that I can’t fixate on my little sister all night, even though I see how much she just wants to push Julian into the snow and leave him there. But she’s not rude enough to do that.
I most definitely would.
“Ryke,” Scott urges. “Go.”
Ryke scratches his jaw. “Never have I ev
er…faked an orgasm.”
“That’s just mean,” Daisy says, reaching for a full shot.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have done it then,” he retorts.
“And hurt the guy’s feelings?”
Scott motions from the shots to me and I shake my head. I’ve had no reason to fake an orgasm with Connor. And he’s the only guy I’ve ever been with.
Connor holds me closer, and he leans forward and grabs the shot. I glare at him as he brings it to his lips. “Not with you,” he tells me. I’m not even sure how a guy can fake an orgasm, but he’s creative enough that I wouldn’t doubt him doing it for personal gain.
“That’s what they all say,” Scott adds like a five-year-old.
Ugh. His interjection immediately makes me side with Connor, believing my boyfriend more.
“I hate this game,” Lily complains, the only other person who lost this round. She looks down at her available clothes to remove.
“Really?” Ryke says. “You’re a sex addict. I honestly didn’t think you’d need to fake an orgasm.” He must have been trying to help her out.
“Not all guys are created like Loren Hale.”
“Jealous,” Daisy says.
Julian’s lips part in disbelief as he watches her.
“What, I never faked with you,” she lies easily and pecks him lightly on the cheek. She whispers something in his ear that relaxes his shoulders. She’s good at pleasing “people,” so I’m not surprised that skill has translated over to pleasing “boyfriends.”
“Here,” Loren says, grabbing a plaid flannel blanket off the large recliner he shares with Lily. He wraps it around her shoulders and cloaks her body from view. “Take off your sweater.”
“That’s breaking the rules,” Scott informs him from a rocking chair nearest the coffee table.
Loren glares. “Yeah, and maybe I’d abide by them if there wasn’t a goddamn camera in our faces.” He doesn’t want the world to see Lily in her underwear. None of us really do. There’s already enough sick fan mail sent to the house. It’s easy to assume what men would do to a near-naked image of her.
Lily skillfully pulls the sweater off from underneath the blanket and tosses it to the floor. She looks more at ease.
“Rose, it’s your turn,” Scott says.
“Never have I ever…peed in a sink.” Easy.
All the guys take a shot, except Ryke and Lo who strip. Ryke removes his shirt, and Lo pulls off an arrowhead necklace.
And then Daisy reaches for another shot.
Both Ryke and Julian freeze and stare at her with raised brows while Connor and Lo try to contain their laughter. The booze is making my lips upturn more often than usual too.
“What?” She shrugs and throws the shot back, coughing a little as she sets the glass on the table.
“Explain,” Ryke says, handing her a shot of orange juice to chase the alcohol with.
She mouths, Thank you, before drinking that too. “I was at a party in New York,” she says, setting the glass down, “and I had to go badly but my friend was using the toilet. So I used the sink.” She touches her chest and hiccups. “I’m not weird.” She hiccups again. “You all did it.”
“We have dicks,” Ryke says bluntly.
“True.” She smiles.
I rest my head on Connor’s shoulder, the alcohol loosening my inhibitions that stay locked tight in front of others. He smells so good—his expensive cologne like citrus. “I love fruit,” I whisper to him. I imagine myself placing a kiss on his neck, but moving to do so sounds like so much work.
He stares at me with a growing smile. “I’ll keep that in mind, darling.”
“Never have I ever…been engaged,” Julian says, a cheap shot at Lily and Loren.
Lo glares at him while he pulls off his black long-sleeve shirt, and Lily wiggles off her pajama pants underneath the blanket.
Connor says, “Never have I ever…been cheated on.”
No one moves. And Scott blinks at Connor like he’s the devil incarnate, drama-blocking him.
My boyfriend just smiles. “Perfect.”
Scott prods Ben to say one from the kitchen. With a mouthful of chips, he says, “Never have I ever snorted coke.”
Lily sighs. “I hate this game.” Before she goes for her panties, she touches her hair and smiles, revealing a hidden bobby pin.
Lo strips down to his boxer-briefs, and Lily’s eyes gleam in excitement at seeing him almost naked. He shakes his head at her, but he can’t stop smiling.
In a wave, everyone takes shots. Scott, then Julian, then Daisy. And Ryke unclips his watch. Both Connor and I stay seated. I’m not surprised that almost everyone has experimented with drugs, but I’ve never had the urge to try out cocaine. And if someone peer pressured me, I’d say no, no. No. I really have no problem looking like the stuck-up prude in the room who refuses to blow a line with her friends. Hate me all you want. I’m not the one running around naked with dilated pupils.
Loren frowns at Connor. “You really haven’t snorted coke? Not even once?”
“I have a rule about drugs.”
“And what’s that?”
“Don’t do them.” He grins. “My body is a temple.”
“One that only Rose can enter,” Loren banters.
“I’ll let you in sometime, darling. Don’t worry.”
Loren laughs.
I roll my eyes, but I’m actually smiling at their “bromance” that has been heavily praised on blogs. People only like Connor when he’s with Loren. It’s weird. And I really don’t need another reason to be annoyed by Loren Hale, so I’ve let it go. Brushed it off the shoulder. Like dust.
Okay, I think I’m getting drunk.
Lo’s laugh fades quickly, and he stares off in thought. Since the screening party, he does this often. Just ending their quips with a silent, faraway gaze. As though remembering he’s supposed to be in a fight with Connor.
Ten minutes later, I have gained a serious buzz and we’ve reached Scott one last time. I verge on my limit, so I’m hoping he’s choosing a girl-friendly response. “Never have I ever…” His gaze pings from each of my sisters to me. “…swallowed a guy’s cum.”
“Fuck you,” Lo says, defending the three of us who Scott has been singling out the whole game.
Daisy’s eyelids droop a little as she reaches for her shot. She knocks over two more.
Ryke leans forward and cleans her mess. “You can skip this one, Dais.”
“She can handle it,” Julian says, grabbing a shot for her. “Here you go, baby.” He passes the glass to her. She downs it (messily) before Ryke can steal it from her hand.
Lily is now naked underneath the blanket, so the game is over.
And I quickly do a shot, the liquor sliding down my throat easily since I’m feeling good. But not bad yet. Anymore and it’d be a different story.
But Daisy has most definitely exceeded her limit. She’s gone, but as Connor and I watch her, she does something really interesting.
Right as Julian nears her a little, Daisy stands, teetering, and she sits on the other side of Ryke, away from her “boyfriend.” She whispers something to him that sounds like a slurred mess. But he nods like he understands.
And I realize, in this moment, how much she trusts Ryke to protect her—even from her own boyfriend.
Julian reddens in aggravation. But I have no verbal hostility in my throat to chastise him. Alcohol has softened me into a gooey state. I like it once in a while.
We try to ignore Julian’s silent rage, and a few minutes later, we’re on our electronic tablets, scrolling through gossip blogs for Princesses of Philly and trying to find the funniest comments.
Lily squirms on Loren’s lap, having trouble controlling her urges while she’s naked underneath the flannel. Loren tightens his arms around her waist and she stops moving.
Connor’s hand descends down my thigh of my long black cotton dress. The fabric is thin, and I can feel his fingers near a spot that truly begs for hi
m. My lips touch his shoulder, and my eyes flit up to meet his, full of intense desire.
His expression matches mine, and I feel the wetness soak my panties.
He says under his breath, “I’m going to fuck you hard, Rose.” He strokes my head and leans me to his chest. “So hard that you’re not going to be able to walk in the morning.” Why does that sound so good?
I touch his microphone battery pack for a second, realizing that the cameras caught that. But they probably won’t air it anyway. It’s too dirty for network television.
I glance back to the group and notice that Daisy has passed out, her head resting on Ryke’s lap. Julian watches her, but he makes no move to grab her from Ryke yet. I want her to stay with Lo’s brother. I trust Daisy’s judgment, even drunk, and she just chose him.
Connor flips open his tablet, and he scrolls through long lists. I read from his screen as he holds it up to us. The words keep blurring together the longer the alcohol sets in.
“Here’s one,” Loren says. “Ryke Meadows is the biggest jackass.”
“How is that funny?” Ryke asks with narrowed eyes.
“Oh, I thought we were just reading comments.” Loren grins while Ryke rolls his eyes.
“I’ve got one!” Lily clasps her hands together. “Connor is a prick, but I’d bone him.” Lily’s eyes widen at the camera. “Just so we’re clear, I was reading a comment!”
Connor smiles beside me. Whoever that girl is, she can’t have him. He’s all mine. Or maybe I’m his.
We own each other, I think.
I look down at Connor’s screen, and the words don’t make sense to me. That never happens. “What does this mean?” I ask Connor, almost rolling my eyes when I utter the phrase. I can already feel his ego inflate. “Lo and Lily are so my OTP forever.”
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