by L A Cotton
“I’m fine.”
She nodded, but I saw the suspicion in her doe eyes. “So Tuesdays, we usually all hang at Jay’s. His dad goes out of town until tomorrow.”
“Do you guys ever just stay home?” It was a joke, but from the way they all watched me, I figured it was lost on them.
Jay slung his arm over Lilly’s shoulder, and he grinned at me. “You’re coming, right? I’ve rigged up the garage into a bar.”
Lilly coughed. “Mancave.”
He tickled her waist, and she shrieked. “Okay, so bar is a stretch, but it’s pretty cool. I have a TV in there and a couple of old sofas. You should stop by.”
“Hmm, okay, I guess.”
“Awesome. Well, ladies, I have to get to government before Mr. Phelps decides to boot my ass from his class for good.” He planted a kiss on Lilly’s unsuspecting lips and saluted before disappearing down the hallway.
“I guess that means we’d better get to chem,” Lilly said to Malachi who nodded. He didn’t seem like a guy of many words.
“See you at lunch?”
“Sure.” They left, and I quickly made my way to my locker to grab a book I needed. When I opened the door, a folded note drifted to the floor. Hands shaking, I leaned down to pick it up, and my stomach knotted.
I balled up the note and stuffed it into my bag, retrieved the book I needed, and closed the door. Glancing around, my eyes searched for her, but there was no sign of Kendall. With a heavy sigh, I made my way to class.
“What is she wearing? It looks like a cat up and died on her.” Low snickers erupted behind me, but I kept my eyes in front. Ignoring them. Okay, trying to ignore them.
It wasn’t Kendall. I didn’t share this class with her. But a couple of her friends sat behind me and made their allegiance perfectly clear with their taunts and jibes. From my sweater to my hair, even my sneakers had featured in their little bitchfest. Which was ironic, really, since they looked just like the ones one of the girls was wearing.
I couldn’t win.
Try to fit in, and they hated me.
Try to be more like my old self … and they hated me.
So I did the best I could. Rolling back my shoulders, I sat a little straighter and concentrated on class. When it was finally time to leave, I stuffed my things into my bag and made my way to the door, but the girls caught up with me. One brushed past me as the other shoved me out of the way. I lost my footing and hit the edge of a desk, the corner butting against my hip. Pain ricocheted through my bone, and I stifled a yelp.
“Oops, my bad.” One of them offered a sickly-sweet smile, and I narrowed my eyes as I tried to swallow the pain. Sorry, my ass. “You really should watch where you’re going.” Her voice didn’t match her face.
They left the room, laughing while other kids rushed past me. No one bothered to stop and see if I was okay. Pressing a hand to the tender spot, I filed out, walking straight into Evan. “Seriously?” Murmuring to myself, I moved to go around him, but his heated gaze rooted me to the spot.
His eyes surveyed me, sweeping down to the hand clasped around my hip.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.” I shrugged as if I had no clue what he was talking about.
His fingers reached out, brushing mine away, and he squeezed.
“Oww.” It hurt but was lessened by the warmth I felt when his fingers grazed my skin.
“You lied.” His eyes met mine again, and I swallowed hard. Evan was like a silent storm that lurked in the distance, and you were never quite sure when it might strike next.
Batting his hand away, I hitched my bag up my shoulder and stepped around him. As I went, I said, “Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.”
I didn’t look back.
“What happened?” Evan leaned over his desk and whispered.
“I already told you; it was nothing,” I hissed, keeping my eyes ahead.
“It's not nothing.”
My head jerked around to his, and I let out an exasperated breath. “Why do you care?”
Irritation sparked in his eyes. “I don't.”
“So back off then.” I held his glare with my own. He was exhausting. Blowing hot and cold. Pulling the concerned older big brother crap whenever it suited him and then ignoring me the rest of the time.
“Right, class.” The teacher clapped his hands. “Something a little different today. Data collection.”
A couple of kids upfront groaned, and Mr. Phillips shot them a silencing look. “On the whiteboard, you'll find a list of questions I want you to ask the person sitting to your left. Record the answers, and then I have a series of tasks you need to complete using the data. Paper is due next week.”
Chairs scraped and shuffled, and I turned reluctantly to Evan who looked as happy as I felt with this arrangement.
“Okay,” I said, ignoring the storm raging in his eyes. “Should I go first?”
He nodded dragging a hand over his face. Yeah, he didn't want to do this either.
“Age?”
“Eighteen.”
I scribbled down the answer and read out the next question. “Birthday. Write down numerical form.”
“Twenty-second of August.”
“Number of siblings?”
“One.”
“Living grandparents?”
His eyebrow arched. “None.”
I continued asking the questions, and Evan answered, never missing a beat. Finally done, I placed down my pen and waited.
“Birthday?”
A smug grin tugged at my lips. “Twenty-first of August.”
He glanced up at me from his paper with amusement shining in his eyes. And then asked me each question in rapid succession. I followed them on the board, counting down to the final question. Except it never came.
“Were you at Rogues last night?”
My eyes widened. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Were. You. At. Rogues?”
“What are you, my dad?” I sounded like a petulant child, but who did he think he was? I was eighteen—technically older than he was—and he was treating me like a kid.
“Becca,” he growled, leaning in close. I pressed back against my chair, suddenly aware of how close he was. “Answer the question.”
“Why? You already know the answer!”
The bell rang, and people started moving around us, but we remained, eyes locked on the other. It was the strange push and pull again, sparking between us. When he realized I wasn't going to admit anything, he curled a fist and pressed it down on the desk.
“Stay away from Rogues.” He pushed out of his seat and stormed out of the room.
“I didn't see you in school today?” I asked Scarlett as she drove us to Jay's house.
“Had some stuff to take care of.”
“Oh.”
“You were with the guys at lunch?”
“Yeah, Lilly invited me.”
“Good, that's good.” She seemed preoccupied, keeping her eyes on the road and answering all of my questions with one or two word answers. “This is it.”
Scarlett climbed out and left me sitting there; my stomach was hollow, wondering what had changed since last night. She had seemed fine when she gave me a ride home.
A rap on the window startled me, catapulting my heart into my throat. “Coming?” Scarlett looked bored. It wasn't as if I had a choice since she was my ride home. I climbed out and followed her up to a dilapidated house. We cut across the overgrown lawn and went around the side to the garage. The door was half-up, laughter drifting out.
“Open up,” Scarlett said.
The door lifted farther, enough for us to slip underneath it. Jay swept his arm around the place. “Welcome to my place.” He flashed me a grin, and Lilly stifled a giggle from her seat on a threadbare couch.
“It's, hmm, nice,” I squeaked, and everyone burst into laughter. Even Scarlett smirked, easing some of the tension swirling inside me.
Slinging his arm over my shoulder, Jay
guided me to the couch. “Take a seat, get comfy, drinks shall be served.”
“Hey, is everything okay?” Lilly whispered, and I gave her a tight-lipped nod. “I'm glad you came.”
I liked Lilly a lot. She had a soft quality about her that drew you in and made you feel like old friends. And I really needed that right now. Especially since being caught between Evan and Kendall and now Scarlett's mood swings was like fighting against a riptide trying to drag you under.
Jay disappeared behind a counter that looked like it’d been ripped out of a kitchen and plonked in the corner of the garage.
“Is that a co—”
Lilly snickered. “Don’t ask. His dad remodeled the downstairs in their house, and Jay decided to put some of the old stuff to good use.”
“Damn right, I did.” He called from over his ‘bar.’ “Quit bitchin’ and start drinking.”
She threw her boyfriend a look that said ‘happy now’ as she sipped the cup in her hand.
“What is that?”
“I’m not sure I want to know.” She leaned close, talking in a hushed voice. “I just humor him.”
Jay came back around and handed me a cup. I eyed the contents suspiciously, and he laughed. “Don’t ask me what it’s called. I don’t give them names. Just drink up.”
I sniffed the fizzing liquid, catching a hint of lemon and something toxic. He watched me eagerly. They all were. I felt their eyes on me. Waiting.
“If you stare at it much longer, I’ll drink it,” Scarlett said flatly. What was with her tonight? “Jesus, give it here.”
My hand tightened around the cup. Did I want to do this? It wasn’t as if anyone was forcing me, but this was what they did. Got high. Drank alcohol on a school night.
Shaking my head clear of everything, I brought the drink to my lips and tipped it up. The fire burned down my throat, and my eyes watered, causing the guys to whoop. Lilly nudged me and said, “Geez, Becca, you didn’t need to drink it all in one gulp.”
My face flushed to match the heat in my stomach. “Water?” I croaked, and Jay went to the counter and got me a bottle of water.
“Here. Not a huge fan of vodka?”
Gulping down a mouthful of water, I shook my head.
“Get the girl a beer,” Vin said. I hadn’t noticed him before, but he was over by a door, which I figured joined the house.
“You want a beer, Becca?”
Did I?
“Sure,” I said. At least if I had a beer, they wouldn’t try to inflict any more of Jay’s special drinks on me.
“I’ll get it.” Lilly rose from her seat beside me and headed toward the counter. “I need a refill anyway, and I don’t trust Jay.”
“Ouch, babe. As if I’d try to get you drunk on a school night.”
She glanced over her shoulder and quirked her eyebrow. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Yeah, but that was different. We were high and horny, and well, I really, really wanted to take shots off your nake—”
“Seriously, Jay, don’t you have any shame?” Vin said through a deep rumble of laughter. His eyes landed on me, and something flashed in his eyes that felt a lot like lust. I ducked my head in an attempt to deflect him.
“How about we liven things up? Give Becca the chance to get to know us all a little better?” Jay suggested.
Nervous energy tingled through me. I didn’t like the sound of this, but Lilly shrieked in excitement and grabbed some extra cups. “You’re going down, baby.” She stuck her tongue at Jay and he rolled his eyes.
“Last time you said that I had to carry you home.”
“Payback is a bitch,” she shot back.
“Okay, okay, everyone in?” Scarlett stepped up to the circle we’d kind of formed; Lilly and me on one sofa, Jay and Vin opposite. She grabbed a beanbag and dropped it down between the two sofas. “Malachi, you joining us?”
He shrugged. I’d almost forgotten he was here because he was that quiet. “Yeah. I’ve got no secrets, so it’ll be fun watching you guys lose.”
Secrets?
Dread pooled in my stomach.
“You’ve played ‘never have I,’ right?” Lilly asked.
And the dread flooded into panic.
“Never have I been caught jerking off. Drink up, suckers.” Lilly blew a kiss to Jay as he growled, taking a long pull on his beer.
“Tell Becca who caught you, Jay.” Scarlett snorted, lifting a hand to hide her smirk.
“My gran, okay, and it was not pretty. She stood there for like two minutes watching before she announced her presence.”
Everyone exploded with laughter, and even I mustered a smile. We’d been playing ‘never have I’ for twenty minutes, and so far, the questions had been nothing I couldn’t handle. I paced my drinks. Never … never … have. Unless I absolutely didn’t want to admit to something and then I just watched everyone else drink. It seemed to be working. No one knew enough about me to accuse me of cheating.
“Okay, my turn, babe.” Jay enunciated the word babe, and Vin said, “Better get ready to drink, Lil.”
“Never have I gotten that wasted that I peed my—”
“You bastard,” Lilly shrieked as she drank the rest of her cup and threw it at Jay’s head. He ducked, falling back onto the couch in a fit of hysteria.
“You promised!”
“Babe, it’s the only ammunition I got.” Jay pouted and made sad eyes at Lilly, who rolled hers in return.
“If you two are done, I believe it's my turn.” Vin gripped his jaw and concentrated like it was the ACT and not a game of 'never have I.' When a satisfied grin passed over his face, his eyes locked on mine, and he said, “Never have I banged someone way out of my league.”
For some reason, his words made me uncomfortable, as if he was trying to tell me something. To my relief, Jay cackled, “Oh man, remember that girl, what was her name ... Sarah or was it Sierra. The chick staying with her dad last summer. Rolled into town in her new convertible like Cara Devilangel.”
“It’s Cara Delevingne.”
Jay shrugged. “Like it matters when you have that much cash and a tight little body—” He grunted in pain when Lilly elbowed him in the stomach. “Joke, babe, I’m joking. Dammit, what was her name?”
“Simone,” Malachi said quietly.
Jay snapped his fingers in rapid succession. “Yeah, Simone. Oh man, you so could have tapped that if you hadn't been too chicken shit.”
The guys launched into a dissection of Simone. How hot she'd been. How rich she was. How her stuck-up prissy attitude only made her hotter. I watched Malachi from under my lashes. Stoic and silent while his jaw clenched rhythmically, I got the impression that maybe more had happened between him and Simone than he let on to his friends. But he didn't drink, and it occurred to me that maybe I wasn't the only one in the room keeping secrets.
“Your turn, Becca.”
“Hmm, never have I ...” I hesitated, avoiding eye contact with the five expectant faces watching me. “Skinny dipped in a public place.”
I hadn't. But that was the whole point. I figured at least one person around the circle would have done it; probably Jay since he seemed to drink on most turns. And when all heads whipped around to him as he chugged his beer, I smiled to myself. Slamming down his bottle, he held up his hands and said, “What? I like to be free.”
“In the Gregory's cesspool with Miley?”
“You told me that wasn't true.” Lilly threw him a look that could kill.
“Vin drank too; I don't see you busting his balls.”
“I don't care about what Vin does, dickhead. And I can’t believe you swam in there. The water never gets cleaned.”
“Babe, it was last summer. We weren't even together then.”
Lilly huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I hate that bitch.”
I wanted to ask who Miley was, but Scarlett cleared her throat. “Prepare to drink, losers. Never have I wanted someone off-limits.” Her eyes collided with m
ine, and her eyebrow arched up. She'd hardly said two words to me since we arrived. It was weird, and it made me very uncomfortable.
“Lame,” Vin chimed.
“What are you?” she shot back. “The ‘never have I’ police?”
“Come on, Scarlett, be more specific. Are we talking teacher or best friend’s MILF?” Jay asked.
Scarlett just shrugged her shoulders and said, “Take it as you want it.”
Lilly huffed, picking up her drink. Malachi was next, to my surprise ... or not. I had my suspicions about him and the Simone girl. Jay and Vin grumbled something about her shit question choice, and Scarlett just watched me. Challenging me. Over what? Admitting I liked Evan? Why did it matter? It wasn't as if anything was ever going to happen between us.
“Becca?” she said.
My eyes bore into her, trying to figure out her game. Irritation built in me and, holding her stare, I lifted the cup and drank.
“Just so we’re clear”—Vin stared right at me—“for you, I am definitely within limits.” He winked.
Jay choked out a laugh and said, “I don't think she means you, dickwad.”
I blushed, dropping my eyes, and stared into my cup.
“Don't embarrass her, Jay,” Lilly scolded. “Ignore them, Becca. Vin wants anything in a skirt.” She nudged me, and I lifted my head, shooting her a weak smile.
“Right, fuckers, I'm out,” Scarlett stood, wiping her hands down her jeans. “Make sure Becca gets home okay, yeah?” she said to no one in particular.
“Of course.” Lilly slipped her arm through mine and squeezed gently. I appreciated the gesture, but it did little to ease the sinking feeling in my stomach.
“Catch you all tomorrow.” She ducked under the garage door and disappeared into the night.
“Did you have fun tonight?”
“Yeah.” Aside from the weirdness with Scarlett and Vin's attempt to flirt, I was fine.
Totally fine.
“Don't worry about Scarlett. She gets like that sometimes. She has a lot of shit going on at home.”