by CJ Azevedo
“I don’t know what that is, but my name’s Lola.”
Greyden chuckled and downed the shot. Lola walked over and kissed him, the sweet taste of her glossy lips helping take away the bite of the alcohol. He looked up to find Keegan making out with the brunette. Lola leaned away and whistled loudly, using her two fingers against her shiny lips.
Keegan pulled back and looked at the girl for a few seconds before sighing and shaking his head in despair. “Ah, damn it. I need that best friend title,” he said to the girl in a painstakingly sad voice. Turning back to Grey, he announced, “To push me into the lead, I present to you another shot of whatever the hell that last one was—” he motioned for another girl to hand it to Greyden and she did, but Keegan hung onto her so she couldn’t go too far over to Grey and kissed her breathless one more time, “annnnd the lovely Kayla!” he declared, regrettably letting her go.
“My name’s Kylie,” the brunette explained indifferently as she laughed and moved away from the exasperated Keegan.
“And the lovely Kylie,” he corrected himself before heading over to the keg.
Luca laughed uninhibitedly before taking a big swallow of beer. “C’mere, Kylie, Grey doesn’t need the both of you. He wouldn’t know what to do with the both of you anyway!”
Greyden moved Lola out of his way and punched him in the arm.
“Ow, fucker, that hurt!” Luca rubbed his arm vigorously before pulling Kylie into his chest and hugging her tight to his body. “Why the hell is that damn title so important to him, anyway? I don’t get it,” he commented to Grey from around the side of Kylie’s head as she began to dance in his arms to the music playing out of someone’s truck.
Greyden laughed hard. “You’re drunk, Luca. Keeg’s drunk. You know he’s always being funny like that, you dumbass. Stop drinking, or maybe drink another one. I don’t like contemplative Luca, he’s too concerned for me.”
Lola moved in front of Greyden and started dancing against his body the way Kylie was doing with Luca. Greyden felt the alcohol coursing through his body. He hadn’t had nearly enough to be drunk, but those two shots were making their way through his system and he was feeling it. He watched the hot blonde make her way up and down his body, running her hands over his thighs and around to his ass. The girl could move.
Dec walked up, holding the hand of another girl Greyden had never seen, and handed him a red cup filled full to the top with frothy beer.
“Couldn’t pour it a little better than that, dickhead?” Grey mocked.
Declan chuckled and shook his head. “I didn’t pour it, I just delivered it.” His phone chimed with a message. Letting go of the girl, he pulled it out of his pocket and typed back a response before putting it back. He told the girl he needed to talk to Grey and he’d catch up with her later. She didn’t seem to care and bounced off towards the keg happily.
“What’s up, man?” Grey asked curiously.
“Nothing, why?” Declan responded with a confused expression.
Greyden laughed as he stopped Lola from dancing and wrapped an arm around her. “Because you just told that chick to bounce so you could talk to me.”
Declan’s features lightened up as realization hit him and he shook his head. “Oh! Nah, she’s just been acting like I’m her boyfriend all night. I used you as my pawn to get away from her.”
An angry gasp came from Lola. “Brittany’s my friend, you prick, you can’t do that to her!”
“I just did,” Declan explained, sounding as bored as possible.
“Greyden! Do something! He can’t be an asshole like that!” Lola whined loudly, looking up at Greyden like she expected him to take her side over his best friend’s. She had another thing coming.
“He pretty much is an asshole like that and I’m not doing anything about it.” He took a swig of his beer nonchalantly. “Not that I could, anyway.”
A hefty sigh came from Miss Lola one more time as she tore herself from Grey’s arms and stalked away with Kylie in tow, leaving Declan, Greyden, and Luca by themselves with amused smirks on their faces.
“Well, hell, looks like we need the Official Best Friend to come rescue our asses again,” Luca observed somberly. “Keegan!” he shouted way too loudly, causing the others to bust out laughing as he stumbled from the force of his own voice. “You’re needed, dude!”
Keegan didn’t come and they stood there bullshitting for a while. It was getting close to midnight when Grey happened to look up and see a girl walking towards him that he couldn’t take his eyes off of. She was hot, hotter than hot. She was wearing a short jean skirt with a tight, long sleeve Henley that had the top buttons undone, showing off just enough of her small cleavage. Her black hair was down and blowing across her face in the wind. She was with Macie’s friends, Kerrie and Samantha. Macie was in Ghana, West Africa. She’d been there all summer on a study abroad program and her project got extended so she stayed longer than she was supposed to. Greyden hated it. He missed her. Nothing of this girl reminded him of her except her hair and her friends. This girl was shapelier than Macie, her skin darker with a deep glow. Her friends reminded him that whoever the hell this girl was, she was off limits to him. She’s obviously a friend of Kerrie and Samantha, who are a no-go per his and Macie’s agreement, therefore the rules applied to this girl as well.
Two years ago, after their first date, they decided to be closer friends but acknowledged that she wasn’t ready to date him. Well, he decided that she wasn’t ready to date him and she reluctantly agreed. They set ground rules, though. He wasn’t allowed to date or touch her friends and she wasn’t allowed to touch or be touched by anyone until she was ready to date him. He tried to get her to agree to stay a virgin—completely, in every way—until she was eighteen. She wouldn’t promise that. But she did promise that she would come to him before she did anything. Those agreements got a little skewed over time, but they’d kept in constant contact since last summer. Per their last conversation, Macie would date guys her own age, though apparently she just didn’t find any of them worth her time. Greyden wasn’t about to argue with her about it, he just made sure to always be in her ear, be her best friend. The plan to keep her wanting him and no one else had its disadvantages, though, and it was starting to count not only in his favor but also against him.
Declan jumped up off the log he was sitting on, jarring Greyden’s cup of beer, spilling it on his jeans.
“Dammit, Dec,” Greyden griped but Declan was long gone, lifting that mystery girl in his arms and spinning her around in circles. She buried her face in his neck and held on tight. Greyden felt extreme jealousy, but he couldn’t identify why. He watched them cling to one another and noticed Kerrie and Samantha get dreamy looks on their faces. He had no idea what was happening to him or why he felt so confused about their affection, but he physically felt it in his chest and it made him to stare harder to make sense of it all.
Declan put her down and brushed the hair out of her face, a face that he had looked at time and time again. One he has recently been obsessing about, one that he had missed the hell out of.
Butterfly. It was her. She had changed so much in the four months she’d been gone that he didn’t even recognize her. She swiped tears from her face and Declan hugged her one more time before Keegan came bounding in from behind her and picked her up in a bear hug. Macie threw her head back onto his shoulder, laughing, and Greyden’s chest squeezed tight as he stood there, stock still, watching. Luca quickly managed his way over to her also, but Greyden just stood there and watched all of them. He was so far outside himself he couldn’t decide how to act or what to do. The insane unjustified jealousy he felt moments before was intensified times ten once he saw her face. Now he was supposed to be her platonic friend? He didn’t see that happening.
Macie didn’t know what to make of Greyden not coming over to say hello to her. She was confused and, if she were being completely honest, crushed. She whispered to Dec that she wanted to go see Grey alone, so could he
please keep her friends with him. He nodded his agreement before looking over his shoulder at Greyden, who still just stood there staring at all of them.
After her date with Greyden a few years ago, their first date redo, Dec asked if she liked Grey. She normally didn’t have a problem withholding the truth from her brother, but she didn’t want to lie to him about Grey, so she told him she did. He didn’t want her to get hurt and he didn’t think Grey was at a place where he should be dating her. So she filled him in (somewhat) on their decision about not dating each other right then and he was surprisingly okay with it. Apparently he even talked to Greyden and got the rest of the story and was on board for them dating when Macie was older. It meant a lot to her to have Declan’s blessing.
Macie stood in front of a silent and gorgeous Greyden. “Happy Birthday, Snookems,” she whispered softly.
Greyden leaned down slowly and possessed her mouth with his. There wasn’t going to be any waiting for privacy tonight. He needed to kiss her, needed to feel her, had to know with his hands that she was here with him. She reached up and held his face to hers, kissing him deeply, washing away all her fears from moments before.
“Damn, I missed you,” he said, smiling into her face. “And fuck no to the name. That’s got to be the worst one yet.” His words brushed against her mouth as he held her close, not removing his face from hers.
“Are you sure about that? You were dead set against Schmoopsie Poo.” Macie tried hard to keep a straight face and her voice low, keeping their conversation private. She missed him too, more than she was willing to admit.
Greyden drew back in laughter. He came back close to her face, nodding his head in agreement. “You’re right. That one’s still the worst. But you gotta keep tryin’, ‘cause I’m not down for Snookems either.”
“You kissed me,” Macie whispered shyly.
Greyden twisted his lips to the side before answering in a low tone. “I did.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Luca yelled from behind Macie, making her heart stop. They were kissing…in public…in front of the three guys who took their job of protecting her very seriously.
“Sorry,” Greyden said lowly as he furrowed his brows and looked down into her wide blue eyes before standing up straight and pulling Macie so she was standing behind him.
The fist flying at his face caught both of them by surprise and when it connected, it caused Macie to scream in dismay. Luca stood before them, breathing heavily and shaking out his fist, watching them with a murderous glare in his eyes. Greyden wanted nothing more than to go right back at Luca and beat the shit out of him as he felt the ache in his jaw begin to set in, but it just needed to end. He knew that Luca was not only drunk, but also completely shocked to see that he would even think of Macie in such a way.
Declan grabbed Luca, pulling him back and away from Grey. Keegan pushed Greyden, causing Macie to stumble a little. Not paying any more attention to the guys, Greyden whipped around and held on to Macie to make sure she didn’t fall. She grabbed onto his forearms for stability, smiling to reassure him that she was all right.
He could take his best friends wanting to fight him over this new revelation. He understood their anger and confusion. He’d fight for her, but he wouldn’t tolerate her getting caught in the middle and possibly getting hurt because their drunk asses were too obliterated to pay her any attention. She had been gone for too long and she was no longer the young girl that left. This was a much more mature looking Macie, one that he wanted—needed—to get to know again, and he wasn’t about to waste time fighting with his friends about it. Starting right then, she was his to take care of, not theirs.
Once Macie was sure on her feet, he grabbed her hand and stood next to her, no longer hiding her. “Fuck you, man! Luca, you get that shit for free, but the next one, I’ll beat your ass. Keegan, you do something like that again and it ends up hurting her, I will break your fuckin’ legs.” This time he looked at Declan, who looked like his only problem with anything was keeping a hold on Luca. Lowering his voice and relaxing his tense posture, he explained. “Dec, I’m sorry I kissed your sister in front of you. Thanks for the party, but I need to go learn about Ghana now.”
The partygoers around them started talking in earnest about what the hell just went down and what Ghana was. Macie laughed her pretty laugh before stepping up and hugging Luca. She whispered in his ear, but he didn’t respond, he just walked off in the opposite direction. Keegan begged her for her forgiveness and told her how happy he was that she was back, completely ignoring Greyden. Declan hugged his sister one more time, welcoming her home, then clapped Grey on the back, telling him happy birthday and that they were “all good.”
Samantha drove Greyden and Macie to Greyden’s house, which was in the subdivision right outside the gated community where Macie and Greyden’s parents’ both lived. Greyden, Declan, Luca and Keegan moving in together in the house their parents chose, was the only way the boys could get their parents to agree to them moving out last year and not into freshmen dorms when they were still so young.
“Soooo, how long have you two been…doing—whatever it is that you’re doing? Apparently my best friend doesn’t tell me everything like I thought she did,” Samantha accused as she drove away from the party.
Greyden sat up front and Macie in the back. He really wanted to sit in the back with her, but he felt bad making her friend feel like a chauffeur. “That was a bad judgment call on my end. We haven’t been ‘doing’ anything that she’s left you out of the loop about. We’re friends and I missed her. I’ve been drinking and I made a bad decision without thinking. That’s all that was.”
Macie’s heart was about to pound out of her chest. She knew they couldn’t date and even more, she knew he had to say all of that to pacify Sam, but it still hurt like the dickens to hear him basically say it didn’t mean anything.
It seemed to work. Samantha said okay and didn’t ask any more questions. Grey didn’t look at her once the whole way to his house and she was beginning to regret going. When she caught a whiff of his cologne that had stayed behind on her shirt, she was really regretting going to his house with him. They would be alone. In his house. Together. Alone. She might start hyperventilating.
Sam drove up the driveway and parked but didn’t make a move to get out. Greyden thanked her and got out, but Macie felt too stiff to move immediately. She was running through too many scenarios in her head. She had wanted to come home early to be here for his birthday—she planned this on purpose. She made plans with her friends there in Ghana, how she would confess to Grey that she was all Anna Scott and he was her Will Thacker and she was “Just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” Now that the moment was here, she was barraged with all the complicated scenarios that could take place. He could still think of her as too young for him, not see her as sexy enough, still insist on making her wait until she’s eighteen for her to lose that damn embarrassing V-card.
“Close the door, I need a minute with my girl!” Sam yelled as Greyden tried to reach in for her.
He swung his gaze over to her, scowling before looking back at Macie. Macie gave a little smile.
“Everything okay?” Greyden asked, sounding truly concerned.
“Yes. I’ll be in in just a minute,” she replied softly, forcing her nerves to go away. This was Greyden, for heaven’s sake, nothing to be freaking out over. He had become one of her closest friends, if not her best friend.
Once the door was shut and he was three steps away, Sam threw a rolled up gum wrapper at Macie’s face. “What the hell, you little slut! You’re screwing the one guy we’ve all been dreaming about—well, except for Dec, but he doesn’t count cause he’s your brother—and you don’t even tell us!?! And don’t even get me started on the fact that you never even told me you lost your virginity!” Sam screeched, shaking her head. Then she calmed down and cocked her head to the side, totally switching gears. “Seriously, my feelings are hurt. I might s
tart crying right now,” she huffed. Sam and her overdramatic sense of enthusiasm. “Okay, I’m not going to start crying, but seriously, when did that shit start happening? And I hate to be the bitch to ruin your welcome home party and the birthday celebration and all, but if you guys are dating, you need to know that he wasn’t faithful while you were being Mother Teresa. I’ve seen him at some parties.” Sam looked like she would rather be eating something truly nasty than telling Macie this, but she was loyal to a fault; that’s what Macie loved the most about her. Macie may not have felt like she could have gone to her when she started having any sort of relationship with Grey, but she never doubted that Sam had her back.
“Thanks, Sam, but it’s not like that. Grey’s not my boyfriend and I’m still very much a virgin. He’s insisting on keeping me like that until I’m eighteen.”
Sam’s eyes bugged out and she bit her lips to keep from smirking. “Does he have a say in that matter?” She leaned back as far as she could go to be sure she didn’t miss a thing.
“Well, I suppose he does if I want it to be him that I lose my virginity with. I can’t exactly force him to take it,” Macie drawled in a bored yet annoyed tone as she glared at the front door of the house that held the main source of all her discombobulated emotions.
“Oh shit, guess what!” Sam said excitedly, clearly changing the subject.
Macie looked back up at Sam, who was still turned around in the driver’s seat, straining to look back at Macie as best she could.
“Dahlia, the little hooker, slept with Keegan, or is sleeping with Keegan, I guess. Now don’t be pissed, because we didn’t know about you and Greyden, but I guess she tried to get with Greyden several times and he kept brushing her off or whatever and finally she got pissed as hell and thought she’d try to make him jealous, right?” Sam laughed and Macie flushed with jealousy and anger. “So then, the next weekend she started flirting with Keegan and Keegan—the dumbass—starting flirting right back, only Grey didn’t pay them any attention and pretty soon Dahlia was so caught up in all the attention she was getting from Keegan she totally forgot why she started flirting with him in the first place!”