My eyes flash across to Milo who looks back at me with an amused smirk, knowing damn well what’s running through my mind right now. Cora looks to her brother. “Are you going to do something about this?” she demands.
Colton laughs and shakes his head. He rubs his hand over his face, masking the grin that cuts across his delicious lips. “Nah, I don’t think I will.”
“Colton,” Cora snaps in horror.
“What? She’s a grown-ass woman. If she wants to go whoring herself out, then let her be. She’s only tarnishing her own name and destroying her reputation. You’re more than welcome to step in though but I’d be careful which side you want to show your support for, especially in front of all these people. Once you show your hand in this world, it’s impossible to go back.”
With that, Cora rests back into her chair, leaving her mother to clean up her own damn mess. Every eye at the table watches as Laurelle shrieks at her ruined dress, some laughing, while others are equally as horrified.
Laurelle turns to face her son at the other end of the long table. “Remove her at once,” she yells, demanding his attention as the whole room falls to silence, waiting to see what will happen.
I bite down on my lip to stop from saying anything but turns out I don’t need to because Colton has it handled like a fucking pro. “Harrison,” he calls, gaining his trusted butler's attention. “Get Mrs. Rodgers a new glass of champagne. It seems hers has spilled.”
Harrison nods, trying his hardest to hide his smirk. “Right away, Mr. Carrington.”
He scurries off and Mrs. Rodgers gracefully sinks back into her seat with her husband by her side. She nods gratefully at Colton while Mr. Rodgers does the same, but judging from the harsh line set in his lips, he knows he’s going to get hell from his wife when they’re in the privacy of their own home.
Laurelle stares at her son in shock, though truth be told, I’m almost certain she’s faking it. She knew there was a good chance that he wouldn’t have her back so I don't know why she’s acting so surprised when he didn’t. “Excuse me?” she calls from the other end of the table, insisting to continue this ‘I’m your mother and you must respect me’ charade. “Did you not see what that woman did to me?”
“I did,” he says, grabbing his glass tumbler and taking a sip of his drink. “But I also saw you shamelessly trying to steal what was hers. Mrs. Rodgers had every right to put you in your place. Now,” he continues, gesturing around the table at his guests. “Unless any of the available men at this table are actually interested in allowing a gold-digger such as yourself into their wallets to take everything you can get your thieving hands on, I suggest you hurry off and clean yourself up. That champagne certainly looks as though it might stain.”
Laurelle’s eyes go wide as gasps are heard around the table. She silently scolds her son but the Laurelle show is over and she knows it. She starts storming toward the door when I clear my throat and steal her attention. “I’d recommend a warm hand wash on that dress. I can write out a step by step process to follow if you’d like.”
Her jaw clenches and if looks could kill, I'd be dead on the spot. She harrumphs and clenches her jaw before storming toward the door once again, only on her way out, she passes Harrison and flips his tray of champagne flutes, sending liquid gold all over the room.
The wait staff rushes in to clear the mess while Colton stands and faces his guests. “I apologize about that,” he says, taking charge like a fucking boss. “How about we open some of my father's vintage whiskey.”
The men in the room cheer as Colton glances to Harrison who nods and scurries off once again.
Colton settles back into his seat beside me and I look at him as though he's some kind of stranger. The way he takes charge like that is so damn impressive. I know working for his father’s business was never what he really wanted but there’s no denying that he’s the best this world will ever see.
“What?” he grins, knowing exactly what’s going through my mind.
I shake my head. “Nothing,” I whisper. “You’re just pretty freaking incredible.” He rolls his eyes and I lean into his side. “Are you okay? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman like that throw a tantrum.”
A loud booming laugh tears from deep within as Colton’s hand falls to my thigh under the table. He squeezes my leg and his eyes instantly sparkle with happiness. “Stick with me, Jade, and you’ll see this shit more than you could ever care for.”
“I don’t know about that,” I laugh. “I could watch your mother being drenched in champagne every day of the week and never get tired of it.”
Colton shakes his head, his eyes dancing around in amusement. The mess is quickly cleaned up and before we know it, the dinner plates are being taken away and the conversation begins to flow again.
Desert is brought out and I glance up, looking at Charlie. He’s slouched back in his chair and I’ve never seen someone look so miserable. Before I even know what I’m doing, I grab my uneaten dinner roll from the small fancy plate before me and launch the fucker across the table.
“Hey, Hot Sauce.”
The dinner roll lands right in Charlie’s lap and his head snaps up, along with it one hell of a nasty glare. The dinner roll is launched back at me with a speed I'm not ready for. I try to catch it and groan as it slams against my chest.
Charlie’s eyes bug out of his head as he sits up in horror. “Fuck, sorry,” he rushes out as I rub a hand over my chest and pull it away only to find a big red mark.
I burst out laughing and catch a few curious glances from the people around me as I look back at Charlie. “No, I’m sorry,” I tell him. “Please stop hating me. I can’t take your miserable pouting anymore.”
He scrunches up his face, probably hating that we're having this conversation with a hundred ears all listening in. “Fine,” he finally grumbles. “You’re forgiven, but keep something like that from me again …”
Charlie lets his response dangle in the air between us and I nod. “I know,” I tell him. “You’ll make me watch anime porn on repeat until my eyes bleed.”
“Damn straight,” he says, a small smile slowly beginning to spread across his boyishly handsome face. His mood instantly lightens and just like that, everything feels right in the world. Well, mostly. There's always some shit going on in Bellevue Springs, but right this very minute, everything feels just right.
Milo looks between me and Charlie and calls across the table. “What were you two fighting about anyway?”
Spencer laughs and catches Milo’s eyes. “Trust me, you’re better off not knowing.”
Milo laughs and I watch as he stares at Spencer. His cheeks flush and it’s almost as though he’s got a bit of a crush on the guy. I roll my eyes and am just about to file it away in the ‘things to tease Milo about later’ category when I glance back at Spencer to find that same longing.
What the actual fuck?
The two of them continue staring, locked in each other's gaze as though some kind of secret messages are passing between them. I recognize the look in Milo’s eyes. It’s as though he wants to see Spencer naked, but the look in Spencer’s eyes is the one I get from Colton, the one that says ‘I’ve already seen you naked and damn it, I want to see it again.’
No. This can’t be what I think it is. Milo spilled the tea and said he was screwing one of the guys at school who is deep in the closet while Colton said just last night that he thought Spencer was seeing someone.
I wonder if … yeah. It has to be.
I look between the two, feeling as though I'm bursting from the seams. My knees bounce and I bite my lip, desperate to talk about it but knowing damn well that right here and right now is certainly not the place, especially now that my bouncing knees have caught Colton’s attention.
I catch Milo's eyes and as he watches me, I flick my gaze between the new couple. His eyes go wide and within seconds, Spencer catches on to what the hell I’ve just worked out. His eyes go bigger than Milo’s and the horro
r is confirmation enough.
I fly to my feet, unable to control my excitement. “I freaking knew it.”
Without thinking, Spencer barrels out of his chair and scrambles across the table, sending cutlery and drinks flying in every possible direction. All eyes turn our way but before I can say another word, Spencer falls into me, slamming his hand over my mouth as we go tumbling to the ground.
His arm curls around the back of my head, protecting me as we go crashing to the ground. “What the fuck, Spence?” Colton roars staring down at us in shock.
Milo comes running around, grabbing my hand and hauling me up but before I can get properly to my feet, Spencer is there, grabbing me around the waist and throwing me over his shoulder. “Just need your girl for a few minutes,” he says as he starts heading for the door.
Spencer and Milo practically storm through the mansion until they step through to one of the many private rooms. I get put on my feet and I can hardly stand still as the door closes behind us.
They face me down with their secret sitting heavily between us and just as Spencer takes a breath, the door opens with Colton and Charlie forcing their way in.
“What the fuck was that?” Colton asks. “What’s going on and why the fuck did you just destroy my dinner table?”
“It’s nothing,” Spencer says, looking as though he’s about to be sick.
“Nothing?” Charlie scoffs. “I’m not about to let you fuckers keep me locked in the dark again. What the fuck is going on? Be fucking real with me for once.”
“FUCK,” Spencer roars, glancing at Milo as he begins pacing the small room. “I, um… fuck. I don’t know how to tell you guys this.” My legs start bouncing, desperately wishing he would hurry up and spit the words out so I can start celebrating with them. Spencer takes another slow breath and glances everywhere except for Charlie and Colton. “I, uhh … sorta started seeing someone.”
Colton harumphs with pride as he looks to me, bouncing his brows as though he’s a fucking genius for guessing it last night. “Told you.”
“Yeah, you did,” I grin, knowing there’s so much more to the story.
Colton focuses on Spencer, forcing him to look his way. “You made a scene at my business dinner because you’re seeing someone?”
“Well, that’s just the thing … it’s really not what you think.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, umm …” he stutters, looking back at Milo. “You know last week when we were chilling around the pool and Milo and Jess had that fight and he kinda came out of the closet?”
“No shit. You’re dating Jess?” Charlie beams, his brows shooting up in excitement. “We can all triple date. I’m kinda working on Drix.”
“I …” he shakes his head, his hands pumping nervously at his sides. “No, that’s not what I was going to say. I’m not dating Jess, I’m actually dating … Milo.”
The boys stop and stare in shock. “You’re … what?” Colton says, his mouth dropping in shock as Charlie just stares, still repeating Spencer’s last words over and over in his head, making sure he heard them correctly.
Milo steps into Spencer’s side for support but they don’t dare touch, not until they know the boys have fully wrapped their heads around it. “Umm… yeah,” Spencer says. “After Milo came out last week and seeing how open you guys were to it, it kinda gave me the courage to seek him out and you know, we got to talking and … he’s an alright guy.”
Milo scoffs. “I’m a little more than alright.”
Spencer smirks at his comment but keeps his eyes on his best friends. Charlie licks his lips that seem to have gone completely dry while his jaw was on the ground. “I mean, don’t get me wrong here. If you’re into dudes, then that’s cool, I’m just a little confused because I was certain that you were into chicks.”
Spencer shrugs his shoulder. “Eh,” he says. “They’re hot as fuck and all that, but I’m really not that interested.”
I raise a brow. “Is that why you so subtly suggested we skip the whole dating thing and get married on my first day at BSA?”
Spencer laughs to himself. “Yeah,” he says. “I wasn’t interested in fucking you, no offense. I thought you might have been Charles’ illegitimate kid at first and if I was right, you would have had some serious coin coming your way. Figured, I’d lock you down early.”
“The fuck?” Colton laughs.
“Hey,” Spencer argues. “If it was anyone but her, you would have tried the same thing.”
Colton shakes his head and comes to stand right by my side as if to claim me as his own, but in this room, it’s really not necessary. “So,” I say, looking up at Milo and Spencer. “You two are a thing now?”
They look at each other and Milo cringes. “I … I think so?”
Spencer shrugs his shoulders. “It’s still new,” he says, glancing back at us. “But if you don’t mind, I don’t want anyone to know. Not yet at least.”
I crash into them, throwing my arms around the two big idiots. “You know I love you guys, right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Spencer grumbles, desperately trying to peel me off him but in the blink of an eye, Colton and Charlie are there, pulling him back in and sandwiching me between the four guys.
“You’ve got my word, bro,” Colton says, holding his friend tight. “I’ve got your back.”
Chapter 26
I hitch up my sweatpants while trying to make my way around the living area, cleaning up after the boys as they sit around talking all sorts of shit. “Babe, come on,” Colton groans. “Just sit your sweet ass down and take a break.”
“I can’t,” I tell him, dodging away from him to avoid being caught in his clutches for the third time this morning. “If I get denied for a student loan or financial aid, then I need to be able to pay for college somehow.”
“Loan?” Charlie questions, sounding shocked by the word. “Shit, that’s a word we don’t hear much around here.”
“Forgive me, oh wealthy one, for my pockets are not lined with gold.”
Charlie cringes. “Sorry, Ocean. I didn’t mean that as a stab toward you. It just threw me a bit. I guess it just really points out the differences between your world and ours.”
“No shit,” I tell him, walking around to his side of the massive couch and scooping up his forgotten plate. “Though, I figured the fact that I have to pick up after you slobs was already proof enough of that.”
Charlie shrugs his shoulder. “I guess,” he says. “But I kinda forget about all of that. You’re just part of the furniture now. I see you as one of us. I forget that things aren’t so easy for you.”
“Trust me, I certainly haven’t.”
Spencer gets up and takes his own plate back to the kitchen to be washed and calls over his shoulder. “Why are you applying for loans anyway? You realize that you’re dating Colton Fucking Carrington right? He could blink toward the school and have your tuition paid. Why are you putting yourself through all of that?”
I groan and can’t help but notice the cocky smirk lifting on Colton's lips. “Did you really have to go there?”
Colton laughs, looking over at Spencer in the kitchen. “Say it a little louder for the people in the back,” he says, his eyes sparkling with attitude. “Better yet, just say it again for Ocean until she decides to stop being a stubborn princess and lets me take care of it.”
“We’ve talked about this,” I grumble, cutting past the back of the couch and gently knocking the back of his head with my elbow. “And the answer is still no.”
“Babe,” he groans, putting his hand to his head and falling back on the couch as though my rejection physically wounds him.
I hold back a laugh as I walk up into the kitchen and dump all their crap on the counter before turning on my heel and stalking right back. “I told you, I want my independence. It’s important to me that I earn everything that I have. I don't accept handouts, especially from my boyfriend. It’ll make me feel cheap.”
&
nbsp; I stride past Colton and his arms shoot out, locking around my waist before he pulls me down on the couch. “I’m not letting you go until you agree.”
I lean into him, hovering my lips just above his and teasing him with the promise of what they can do. I roll my tongue over my bottom lip and let out the softest groan, one that only he could hear. His eyes trail my tongue's movement, heating with an intense need. “Then I’m not sucking your cock until you agree.”
His lips pull into a wicked grin and the low groan that tears out of him is the most rewarding sound I’ll ever hear. “Baby, that one is going to hurt you just as much as it’ll hurt me.”
“You mean like how allowing you to pay for my schooling is going to hurt me just as much as my fist is going to hurt you.”
“Fuck, I love it when you speak like a lady.”
I pull back and look down into his eyes. “I mean it,” I tell him. “I want to pay for it myself, even if it takes me years.”
His fingers tighten on my waist, holding me to him. “Do you have any idea how hard that’s going to be for me to watch?”
I nod, knowing damn well but I also know that he’s more than strong enough to bear it. “You’ll be fine,” I whisper, dropping back down and pressing a soft kiss upon his warm lips. “I trust that you’ll respect what I want.”
He lets out a huff. “Fine, but just so you know, I’m probably going to bring this up about a million more times.”
“I know, you have some serious self-control issues to work on.”
He rolls his eyes before looking at me thoughtfully. “I mean, if you really want to pay for college, I’m sure I could come up with a few things to help you earn a few extra dollars.”
I groan and pull myself up off his wide chest. “I’m not your personal hooker, Carrington.”
“Who’s not a personal hooker?” Milo says, walking into the living area as I make myself comfortable beside Colton. Milo strides over to the couch and drops down beside Spencer then leans into him, and presses the smallest kiss to his lips, not ready to flaunt their new relationship.
Barbie B*tch: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rejects Paradise Book 3) Page 25