by CJ Azevedo
“Oh, hell no. You are not standing out here all night. We are going straight to the core of this party, getting a drink, and dancing our asses off! I did not dress you to look like me just to act like you! Now c’mon!” Dahlia screeched as she grabbed her hand and began tugging her along.
Kerrie and Sam laughed at her antics, but did nothing to stop her and support Macie; they wanted the same thing—for Macie to lighten up a bit.
“How about you let me try.”
Macie’s eyes popped open wider than normal as the warm breath hit the back of her ear and the deep voice rumbled through her body. Dahlia stopped her persistent tugging instantly.
“Oh shit,” Sam and Kerrie said together, completely bemused grins on their faces.
The stranger’s right hand slid around Macie’s bare midriff and pulled her back into him while keeping his head down close to hers. “You can let go now. I’ve got her.”
“Don’t you dare!” Macie said threateningly as she glared at an awestruck Dahlia.
“Aw c’mon, babe, I won’t bite…unless—”
“No! I don’t want you to!” Macie exclaimed as she tried to escape his tight, warm grip on her while still clinging to Dahlia’s wrist.
He chuckled as he stood taller, pulling away from her a bit but not releasing her. He wasn’t finished with her yet. Instead, he slid his hand back around her waist and down her forearm to her free hand, interlocking their fingers.
Now that he was beside her, she looked over and was speechless. The guy was hot, like way way hot. He was blondish, a dark dirty blond, with a strong jaw, green eyes from what she could tell in the dark, and golden tan skin that fortunately for her wasn’t covered by a shirt. His board shorts hung off his hips and his abs are defined perfectly. When he laughed, she knew she just took way too long assessing him.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Do you have a boyfriend here tonight?”
She found it hilarious that he didn’t just ask if she had a boyfriend, but he needed to know if he was here. So what? If she had one but he wasn’t here, she was fair game? What the heck? College was definitely a different ball game. Oh, who was she kidding, she’s never been off the bench before.
Looking up at him, she shook her head no.
“Do you have a name?”
She scoffed at the question. Was he being ridiculous on purpose? “Of course. It’s Macie.”
Then he smiled, a beautiful smile with perfectly straight white teeth. “I like that. I’m Sean. Let’s go get you a drink. I’d give you mine, but you never take a drink from a stranger unless you see them pour it. Right?” he asked seriously, raising his eyebrows.
She knew the answer to that but found it endearing that he made it a point to point that out. “Right.”
“Are you girls meeting someone here?” Sean asked the other girls as he pulled Macie along with him by the hand.
“Just you, sexy,” Dahlia purred as she let her gaze peruse greedily down his body.
Macie always got irritated when she did things like that. It wasn’t like she came looking for a guy, but Dahlia’s the one that insisted she dress to try and get one and now that she has one, she’s going to flirt with him?
Dahlia has looked more mature than Macie since the day she turned thirteen. Now at sixteen, Macie still didn’t have half the curves that Dahlia sported and not even an iota of her sex appeal. Dahlia knew what she was doing in this game. Macie wasn’t even sure what game she was playing.
Sean laughed and pulled Macie closer to his side as they reached the truck where the bar was set up. “Well, this guy seems to be taken suddenly, but I have some friends here that I can introduce you to.”
Dahlia and Sam nodded their heads enthusiastically while Kerrie, in her typical laid back fashion, took everything in.
“Yes, do that,” Dahlia said, agreeing with this new notion.
“Do you drink beer, Macie?” Sean asked as he looked down into her eyes, still holding her against his bare torso.
Macie shook her head no again. She didn’t want him to find out that she didn’t drink any alcohol, but she had tasted beer before and knew how nasty it was.
“Sierra! Can you fix me a vodka and juice please?” he shouted up to some girl wearing a very tiny summer dress in the back of the truck surrounded by bottles of alcohol.
“You aren’t getting that little girl drunk, Sean,” Sierra replied in a nasty tone.
It rubbed Macie the wrong way, but what was she going to do? Fight her? Demand a drink? Deny her age? No. Instead, she placed a hand on Sean’s chest to get his attention. Before he responded to her touch, he argued with the tall redhead wearing next to nothing denying her a drink that she didn’t want in the first place. Macie was already exhausted and feeling buzzed from the night’s events even though nothing had really even happened yet. She looked around for her friends and found Dahlia and the other two girls just a few feet away, chatting animatedly with a group of guys.
“Here you go.” Sean handed her a cup filled with ice, juice, and alcohol. They walked to the font of the truck, where Sean leaned against the side and pulled her in between his legs. She tasted the drink. It was good, she could barely taste the alcohol in it.
“Did she put any alcohol in this?” Macie asked with raised eyebrows after she swallowed and could only taste the after taste of black cherry.
“Yeah, not very much, though.” Sean laughed. “How old are you, Macie?”
Before they left the house, they agreed that they were nineteen and they went to San Diego State. But Macie didn’t ever lie and she already told her parents they were going to the movies—she’d actually made her friends go to the movies that afternoon so she wasn’t lying and wouldn’t get caught up when her mom asked about the movie the next day.
Looking away from his pretty face, she took a drink.
“Aww, shit,” she heard him murmur.
“Don’t ask me that.” She swallowed her juice, now certain that girl didn’t put any alcohol in it.
“Are you at least eighteen?” Gripping her hips, he put some distance between them.
“You go to State?” she asked, deflecting his question.
“How old are you?” He laughed as he brought his face close to hers.
Macie smiled, liking this game but knowing it was about to end. He’d either tire of her avoiding his questions or she’ll cave. Either way he’s walking away any minute now.
“When do you graduate?” Sean laughed out loud, full-on body laugh, and she liked the way it sounded.
The girls came over in a rush, interrupting their uncomfortable conversation. Dahlia looked excited, with wild eyes and a cheesy smile. Samantha was a little freaked out and nervous while Kerrie looked worried.
“The boys are on their way over here. Like right now,” Dahlia explained quickly, looking over her shoulder.
“Boyfriend?” Sean asked, assuming she lied to him earlier and beginning to look really annoyed.
“Brothers,” she admitted, their jovial banter completely gone.
Sean blew out a forceful push of air, puffing out his cheeks. “How many?”
“Four. You better get your ass moving, lover boy,” Dahlia warned, stepping around to stand next to Macie. They knew what was coming, so they’d better surround her in support.
Sean stood to his full height, pressing into Macie’s back and leaning down so he could speak lowly. “Declan James is your brother?”
Macie nodded her head.
“Fuck.” One word, short and sweet, explained that he knew exactly what was coming.
Macie could only nod her head again. They were screwed.
Declan was on a mission and was flanked by Luca and Keegan. Greyden was with them, off to the side and not quite so pissed off looking, but she knew how much he hid. Declan walked right up to her but Dahlia stepped in front. Not to be deterred by her, he simply picked her up and set her aside, then took the cup out of Macie’s hand and poured it out on the ground, crushing
the cup and tossing it in the back of the truck. “Go get in my car.”
Her shoulders sagged in defeat before the fight even started. “Seriously, Dec?”
“Sean, get the fuck over here,” Keegan grated from a few feet away, anger brewing just below the surface.
“Where are your clothes at, Macie?” Luca asked in disbelief as he stood next to a raging Keegan, waiting on Sean.
Macie, ignoring Luca, turned around to see Sean clench his jaw and his breathing increase and then she noticed guys from the other side of the truck heading their way. This was just getting out of hand.
“Keegan, I swear if you touch him, I—” She what? She had no idea, but she felt terrible; she had to do something.
Sean gently squeezed her shoulder. “It’s okay, sweetheart, go get in your brother’s car, you don’t need to be out here.” And then he walked over to Luca, Keegan, and Greyden.
“Do you know how old she is, Sean?” Declan asked, barely containing his anger.
Sean stopped in his tracks and turned back to Declan. “Nope. I was just finding that out when you guys strolled up. But I’m guessing pretty young.”
“Oh my God!” Macie exploded. “Declan, shut up! You act like you never went to a party! The only difference is you didn’t have four watchdogs controlling your every move! Don’t touch him, he did nothing wrong, and I’m leaving anyway!” She started to walk away when two strong arms encircled her waist and a familiar, albeit distant, memory, scent, and warmth invaded her space.
“Sean’s cool, Dec, I’m sure he didn’t do anything. But Macie is off limits, bro, so just go party over there.” Greyden pointed to the other side of the truck and the girls just stared at the two of them, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.
“I don’t see any problem with letting her hang out for a while now that we know she’s here, right?” Greyden suggested to Declan, releasing Macie from his hold only to put one arm around her waist.
“Are you not looking at her, Grey?” Declan asked in a pissed of tone.
“She looks hot!” Dahlia exclaimed, her face scrunched up in annoyance, from her perching spot against the truck.
“She looks like you,” Declan spit back at her, but she wasn’t taking the bait.
Dahlia bounced of the truck and flung herself into Declan’s chest.
“You think I look hot?” she asked with pure happiness buzzing in her voice as she pressed herself against his body.
Everybody around them laughed except Declan. He’d been avoiding and ignoring her passes at him since she started flirting three years earlier and she’d only gotten bolder.
“I have a shirt in my bag out in your car, would that make you feel better?” Greyden asked Declan as Dec backed away from Dahlia. Dec only paused for a moment and Grey took that for a yes. He grabbed Macie by the hand, pulling her through the party and out to the car.
They walked in silence while Macie took in the glacial glares of the scantily clad college girls Grey went to school with. No doubt they were hoping to get with him tonight and she just dashed that hope by walking away from the party holding his hand. Next to Dec’s car was a truck she didn’t recognize and Grey let down the tailgate. He lifted her up and set her down against the cool metal before sitting next to her.
Leaning back on his hands and looking up at the darkened sky, Greyden seemed to be contemplating something. He was someone that had a good time with his friends, was always in on the conversations and jokes, and even started conversations with Macie when they were alone. He always made her feel comfortable. Even right then, when she could tell he had something on his mind, she didn’t exactly feel uncomfortable in his presence—a little anxious maybe, but never uncomfortable.
“You looked pretty damn cozy with Sean tonight,” he finally said.
Was she cozy? She wasn’t sure about that. She wasn’t freaking out like she did the only other time she had been that close to a guy that hadn’t been Grey, but she was also trying really hard to take that next step, to be mature and brave—to not be that “little girl” the redhead in the back of the truck labeled her.
Looking over at him, she was struck at how mind-blowingly beautiful he looked in the moonlight. It wasn’t often she got the chance to just look at him, to just appreciate how freakin’ hot he was. There was always someone around. But tonight, out in the deserted lot of cars with only the music faded in the background, along with a cacophony of voices, it was just the two of them and her ability to stare. “Did I?” She was curious, not knowing exactly where he was going with this. The guys and her friends and her parents always comment on how he’s the only one of her brother’s friends that isn’t over protective, but they don’t know about these little side conversations they have. They all see the Greyden that showed his face just moments ago, the one that seemed to have come to her rescue, but what about this one? What about the Greyden that wants to know about her “getting cozy”? Or what about the Greyden that could barely contain his anger when she tried to explain away her first date incident? She was the only one that had seen that side of Greyden.
Greyden rolled his head over to the side so he was looking at her instead of the stars and she suddenly felt nervous. “Macie.”
This time she couldn’t handle his stare, so she assumed his same position but preferred the stars to his gorgeous yet annoyed face. Instead of making any type of reply, she just let out a small sigh. She didn’t know what she was doing and for once in her life she actually wished she had Dahlia in her ear. The last time they spoke of “them” was almost a year ago, and yes, per that conversation she was supposed to go to him when she was ready to do anything that involved a guy. But that was a year ago, they hadn’t talked about it since, they were friends—sort of—and can you say awkward? What did he expect her to do? Go up to him and just say, “Oh hey, I think I’m ready to start discovering myself now…and you…or something like that.” No. No, no, no, no. That was never going to happen.
“Macie, I don’t know what the hell you are to me, honestly, I don’t. I think we’ve already established that I don’t see you as a little sister. Actually, what I see you as doesn’t even come close to that. Not even close.”
Macie’s heart rate increased, but she continued to focus on the bright star she’d located among the clusters in the sky even though she could feel his gaze burning the side of her face. This revelation actually coming out of his mouth made her heart start in a celebratory dance. Greyden Michaels didn’t see her as a little sister. He’d declared this once before but this time it took on a much different vibe. She tried to stabilize her breathing for fear that she might miss this pivotal point in her life due to hyperventilating.
That would be tragic.
Greyden slid his hand over behind them to rest his fingers on hers. The gentle connection caused a chaotic stirring of her insides. “I feel like I should probably tell you that you’re a beautiful girl and you’re special…or some shit like that.” He laughed and looks back up towards the sky.
Macie’s face, although concealed from his view, contorted to pure confusion. She hadn’t a clue as to why he was laughing. He just said the very words she’s longed to hear from him since their last kiss, and now her heart was torn. The left side hurt badly at the fact that he could joke about the words that meant so much to her. The right side, however, was melting happily because the words did, in fact, come out of his mouth and they were, if only for a second, directed towards her. This whole conversation, the whole environment, was giving off an entirely different vibe to Macie than their “date” did and she was completely befuddled as to how to handle that.
Grey looked back down at her and this time she met his gaze. Green to blue, clear and aware to confused and stormy. “But you and I both know that’s not my style. I seem to have this problem, though.” Sitting up further, he rested his elbows on his knees and looked out in front of them. “We agreed that you wouldn’t see other guys, Macie. That’s selfish of me, I know, but,” he blew out a forced b
reath of air, “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here. You’re hot as fuck and I want you, like seriously want you. I know I can’t have you.” He shook his head before taking of his hat and scrubbing his head with his hand and placing his hat on his bent knee. “I was pissed as hell at you when I saw you with Sean,” he admitted in a surprisingly meek fashion, keeping his head bowed down. “If you knew half the shit I did and then said I was pissed, you would probably kick my ass. That’s why this whole thing is just so screwed up.” He looked back over to her over his shoulder and saw her watching him shyly, in utter silence. “Macie, nothing is different from when I took you to see your butterflies except you keep getting hotter and my need for you keeps getting deeper. I watch you all the time, it’s like I’m just drawn to you now. And I really need to be careful of that because just the other day, Keegan caught me checking you out and tried to beat my ass.” This time a small laugh escaped Macie’s lips, causing Grey to smile at her as he slipped his hat back on. “I know Dec was cool with us dating if we wanted to back in the day, but I’m not so sure he’d be good with me wanting his little sister now. I keep waiting for him to notice and disown me, and that shit can’t happen.”
Macie hadn’t uttered a single word the entire time. Not…a…single…word.