She has a playing card that she puts on her lips, holding it up with her breath.
We’re supposed to pass the card around the circle to the person closest to us without dropping it.
The only thing we can use to hold it up with is our breath.
If you drop it, you drink.
The first person with an empty cup loses and has to complete a dare.
I’m sitting between Margaux and another blonde cheerleader called Rachel.
Then there's Teague and Deanna, then Todd, Tripp and Macy and finally Landon, Aubrey and Knox to complete the circle.
Margaux begins passing the card onto me and I pass it to Rachel.
She passes it onto Teague and no one drops it until it gets to Landon.
Aubrey
WHEN HE LOOKS AT ME, it really pisses me off.
He's the one who chose to ignore me, so what's his fucking deal?
He has Margaux hanging from his arm, batting her eyelashes at him and flirting shamelessly and a bit sloppily.
But can I blame the cheerleader captain for trying to catch the attention of the hot new quarterback?
It isn't as if she knew that Devon and I were a thing once ...
And were we really a thing?
Obviously Devon doesn't think so and I really need to get better at pretending that he isn't even here, like he very successfully does with me.
We're playing ‘suck and blow’ and obviously Margaux is positioned next to him and even after she's passed the card, she keeps touching his forearm.
I know I should stop staring at them and I’m totally distracted when it's my turn to take the card from Landon.
I turn my head to face him and I don't even touch the card with my lips.
He drops it and his lips touch mine.
I’m frozen in disbelief, taking a second to realise what’s happening.
But when Landon doesn't move away applying more pressure on my lips and licking at the seam, I’m surprised by how good his kiss feels.
He tastes sweet, like fruit punch and I don't even think but allow him in and kiss him back.
His kiss is gentle and a little hesitant at first but when he realizes that I’m not rejecting him, he deepens it by tilting my head back.
This is when I remember where we’re at, because I hear a few of the other girls gasp in surprise.
I put a hand on Landon’s chest, pushing him away from me as gently as I can.
Landon’s looking at me, his blue eyes intense, his lips a little swollen from our kiss, and so inviting.
For a moment no one says anything but I can feel everyone’s eyes fixed on me and Landon.
Especially Knox’s, Teague’s, and Devon’s.
Knox is the first one to speak, and even if he keeps his facial expression calm, I don't miss the steely anger in his tone of voice.
“Dude! You totally did that on purpose!”
Landon doesn't look worried, he has a determined, almost stubborn look in his eyes.
“You fucking bet!”
“Well, I won't kick your ass this time, but that was fucked up! First of all, you should've fucking asked Aubrey before shoving your tongue down her throat. Second, she's here as my date, so have some fucking respect!”
Landon doesn't look concerned.
“She’s here as your date only because you were quicker than me to ask!”
Margaux intervenes and I can see the annoyance in her pale blue eyes.
“This is fucking lame! Whatever, Knox! You’ve known Aubrey for five minutes! And Landon, my brother’s right, what you did was fucking rude! I’m gonna go get some more drinks for everybody and maybe we could play spin the bottle in a bit. So you can all kiss whoever the fuck you want without fighting about it. I know I’ve got someone I wanna kiss ...”
She throws a flirty look in Devon’s direction and then struts away towards the house, swaying her hips seductively.
I hate that she likes Devon but it's not like she knows about my history with him, I keep repeating to myself.
I turn my attention back to Landon and Knox, who are still staring each other down with open hostility.
Teague gets involved trying to get Landon to apologise and their conflict soon turns into a heated discussion involving the whole football team, while the girls are all whispering and throwing me sideways glances.
I feel like I’ve ruined the party, I know I shouldn't have let Landon kiss me but in the heat of the moment, it felt good.
I can't stand to look at what I’ve caused, so I walk deeper into the garden and away from the raised voices.
I hope to have the chance to apologise to Knox later on.
It's not like we’re together or anything, but I can see how my behaviour might piss him off.
I stop at the edge of the property, by the fence that separates the garden from the neighbours’ and think that eventually I’ll have to walk back but right now I need a minute to collect my thoughts.
It seems that lately, whatever I do, I make a fucking mess of things.
From the fight with my parents, to Abi’s disapproval of my fling with Devon.
And talking about the devil, I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don't see him coming until he’s two feet away from me, his green eyes so intense and fixed onto mine, the same way that they were a few weeks ago on the beach.
“Aubrey, are you all right?”
I hate the way only the sound of his voice makes my heart rate speed up, how I feel butterflies in my stomach.
I should just turn away from him and ignore him, like he’s done with me ever since that last night together on the beach.
I’m having a moment of weakness and to be entirely truthful, I wanna know what's the deal with him.
But that doesn't mean that I have to make things easy for him.
“No, I’m not all right. But what's it to you? You’ve made it quite clear that I’m invisible at best. So don't fucking pretend like you care!”
He takes a step closer and takes one of my hands in his: as soon as his skin touches mine, I feel a jolt of warmth that spreads all over my traitorous body and settles in my throat, taking my breath away.
“Aubrey, it's complicated ...”
Fuck, no!
He doesn't get to tell me that.
“No, actually, it's not. It's quite easy. Either you do know me or you don't. Acknowledging that I exist doesn't mean resuming where we left off on that beach. If for you that was just a fling, I’m completely fine with it.”
That's a lie ... a huge lie.
Why does my conscience sound like my big sis?
Seriously, I wish I was able to at least lie to myself.
But this isn't the time to listen to the hard truths that my subconscious wants me to acknowledge, not when his eyes are digging deep and reaching places that I no longer want him to see.
Not after the way he’s been treating me lately.
“Aubrey, please let me try to explain. Baby—”
I take my hand out of his grasp, pulling hard and looking away from those probing, gorgeous green eyes.
“No! No, you don't get to call me baby. Not after you acted as if I were hairy chewing gum stuck on the bottom of your shoe. And you’ve laughed every time the assholes you play football with have been calling me ‘fuck me’. Not after you ghosted me even before you turned up at school.”
He sighs and nods.
“You're right. You're completely right. I behaved like the worst asshole in the world. The only thing that I can say in my defence is that the same morning you left Hilton Head, I got a phone call that changed a lot of things in my life. I didn't know that I’d move to Beverly Hills until last week. And I had to deal with a family crisis, that's why I didn't accept your friend requests ...”
Oh, the fucking things that the heart wants!
I wanna believe him, I wanna throw myself into his arms and inhale that clean scent of aftersun and ocean.
But I don't let myself have any of that s
tuff, because his reasons still don't make sense.
“Ok, even so, that wasn't enough of an excuse for how you’ve been acting at school.”
“I know. I’ll try to explain. Not right now, we need some time alone to talk. In the meantime, I need a favour.”
The fucking nerve on him!
But I really wanna know why he acted how he did, I tell myself that at least that will give me some closure.
However that doesn't mean that I’ll make it easy on him.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me! What would this ‘favour’ be?”
He doesn't look at me when he asks me not to tell anyone how we met.
My first instinct would be to tell him to fuck himself and tell the story of how we met just to spite him.
But on second thought, by not calling him out on his bullshit immediately, I corroborated his version of the truth where we're total strangers.
Telling the truth now, would only make me look like the real loser I am, hanging onto his every word, dying for a scrap of his attention.
“Ok.”
I whisper, not expecting that his next move is to wrap his arms around me and tilt his head towards mine.
Do I want to let him kiss me?
No.
Not until I know why he acted the way he did.
His behaviour hurt too much to allow him to pick up where we left off, if that's even what he wants and he isn't just trying to get laid again.
So I push him away, putting the palms of my hands on his chest and ignoring the way his warmth makes my skin tingle and how much I wanna feel his lips against mine again.
“No.”
I say softly and before he can react in any way to my rejection, Teague's voice reaches us from just a few feet away.
“Hey. Is everything ok, here?”
Devon instantly drops his arms and takes a step away from me, meeting Teague's blue eyes.
“Yeah. I was just checking on Aubrey.”
Teague doesn't seem satisfied with Devon's answer and he looks at me.
“Is that so?”
I nod.
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I shouldn't have walked away. I just—”
“Everything is fine, pretty girl. I’m sorry, I wasn't mad at you. The way Landon behaved was just disrespectful.”
Knox appears behind Teague and I’m relieved that he isn't mad, because despite what Landon and Teague said about him, I can't help but feel drawn to him.
He’s sexy and interesting and his honesty is refreshing: I prefer to get no promises but to be told where I stand and what I can expect from a relationship, rather than being lied to just to get in my pants.
I take the hand that Knox is offering and we walk back towards the party, followed by the other two guys.
4.
Team Roster
Knox
I’VE SEEN THE WAY LANDON and Teague have been following Aubrey everywhere.
I know they have their eyes on her but if they wanted her, they should've asked her out first.
Going after her when she's here as my date is fucking uncool.
I don't wanna fight with them but at the same time, I want to give them the message loud and clear: back the fuck off.
If you wanna date Aubrey, you need to ask her and it's up to her to decide who she wants.
And while I’m not surprised that Landon looks at her as if she were the only girl on the planet, I didn't think that Teague would go for someone like Aubrey.
Teague has that cool guy vibe and I’d see him better with someone like Margaux.
Someone into popularity and status.
I’ve been dating girls like my sister my entire school career and I think that's why I never found anyone that would hold my interest for longer than a week or two.
Girls at BHPA wanna be seen with the best prospect, the most popular, the richest boyfriend.
And while I might be all that on paper, I hate to be forced into a fucking stereotype and I don't give a damn about which designer bag is the ‘it’ item this season.
And certainly, I hate the way the girls backstab each other constantly.
Aubrey seems uninterested in all that shit, I see it in the openness of her smile and in the way she says what's on her mind.
Whether that's something kind without having an agenda or a heartfelt ‘fuck me’ at a hot guy.
And talking about that, I’ve seen the way my rival for the QB1 spot is looking at her.
Devon has been pretending not to even look at her but I’ve seen his gaze constantly on her, whenever Aubrey wasn't looking.
And the fact that he went to seek her out when she walked away from my heated discussion with Landon, only confirms my hunch.
That's annoying for more than one reason: first of all, I hate to have another rival for Aubrey's attention and secondly, I’ve seen the way my sister’s been looking at the new quarterback.
And Margaux doesn't take rejection graciously.
Actually Margaux simply doesn't take rejection: she’d make them both pay one way or the other.
Think about that Prom scene in ‘Carrie’, with the pig blood.
You got the idea.
When we get back to the pool area, people are playing spin the bottle and my sister is sitting between Rachel and Macy but I notice immediately that she isn't interested in the game.
Her eyes land on Devon with an intensity that doesn't bode well for our team’s new QB.
We don't see Landon and when I ask the spin the bottle group, they tell me that he's gone home.
“Aubrey, do you wanna play spin the bottle, or ...?”
She shakes her head.
“No, not really.”
Her gaze lands briefly on Teague and Devon as if she were considering changing her answer, and she wanted to play spin the bottle if they were in the game.
But then she asks me if I wouldn't mind taking her home.
I agree and think that it's the best option: I don't think I wanna watch her make out with any of my teammates if we play spin the bottle and I don't mind having more one on one time with her.
I help her back into my car and I drive off into the warm end of summer night.
We don't talk for a while: I’m thinking of a good way to ask her out again.
No parties this time though, I had way more fun when it was just me and her.
She's the first one to talk.
“Knox, I’m sorry about Landon. He kissed me but I didn't exactly push him away.”
“Do you like him?”
I ask without looking at her.
“I don't know him that well. I don't ‘not like him’, if that makes sense.”
“Do you like me?”
I guess it's good to rip this Band-Aid off straight away.
“I do.”
She says it quietly but I can't help a smile from forming on my lips when I hear exactly what I was hoping.
“Would you go out with me again?”
“I—”
“I’m just asking you to go out with me, Aubrey. Nothing more, nothing less. Do I want you to go out with Landon or Teague? Absolutely not, but as I was saying earlier, dating is about getting to know someone. So if you wanna get to know those two assholes, all I ask is that you do it in the open. You wouldn't be doing anything wrong. Not at this stage.”
She nods.
“I’d love to go out with you again, Knox. I’ve had fun tonight. And dinner was delicious.”
“So, Friday night there's the first game of the season. How about I call you after and we can do something Saturday or Sunday?”
She says yes and I can't fight the smile I feel forming on my face.
I don't think I’ve smiled this way in a long time.
I park in her driveway and rush out of the car to open the door for her and take her hand to walk her to her front door.
I don't let go of her hand until she's standing on the threshold of her front door.
She unlocks the door and then turns to fac
e me.
“Goodnight, Knox.”
The outdoor lights of her front porch make her dark brown hair look shiny and so silky that I can't resist touching one long strand and tucking it behind her ear.
She lifts her gaze to meet mine and her eyes are so blue that for a second I can't even remember what I was gonna do.
But then my eyes descend on her pink, full lips and I risk everything with a kiss that could be unwanted after the events of the party.
I brush my lips onto hers as softly as I can muster, giving her the chance to reject me if she doesn't want this.
I know she let Landon kiss her but I also know what people say about me at school, so I want her to feel free to stop me if she thinks that I’m only doing this because I’ve taken out every other pretty girl at BHPA.
But Aubrey doesn't move, so I dare more and press my lips harder on hers.
She tilts her head to the side, to offer me better access and this is when I tease her lips with my tongue, sure that she wants to kiss me too.
Her lips are the softest I’ve ever kissed and she tastes like a mint popsicle, fresh and sweet.
We kiss slowly and purposefully, tasting each other and exploring.
Our chests are touching and she's so soft against me that I cup her face with my hands, to make sure that I don't do anything stupid, that my hands don't start wandering where they might be unwelcome.
I can't read her completely: she's an amazing kisser but at the same time, I have the feeling that she isn't as experienced as most of the girls I’ve been hanging out with.
So I want her to know that she can set the pace we go at.
Our kiss has become deeper and I feel my body beginning to react to it, so I reluctantly try to move away and this is when she nips at my bottom lip with her teeth.
She does it softly and teasingly and it feels so good that my body lets me know that I want a lot more than this.
My hands leave her face to settle on her waist, touching her gently as if she could break if I weren't careful.
“Goodnight, Aubrey.”
She smiles.
“Goodnight.”
I don't walk back to my car until I see a light being switched on upstairs and I know that she's safe in her room.
Beverly Hills Prep Academy The Complete Boxset : A Light Bully Romance Page 67