Junk

by Komal Kant

  “True.” Biting on my lip, I turned back to the front again, but Michelle and Ray seemed to be done and were being applauded as they walked off stage.

  The space in front of the stage cleared and a slow song I didn’t recognize came on. Couples began to pair up and head towards the dancefloor.

  I cast Wade a hopeful glance, but he had his arms crossed over his chest as though he’d rather drink acid than dance with me. Slumping against the pillar, I was reminded of a teenager at a high school prom whose date was awkward and unsocial.

  That’s when I noticed Cole standing with a group of guys, roaring with laughter about something as they drank beers. He was dressed in a blue suit that matched his eyes perfectly, his blond hair was gelled back to show off his masculine jawline.

  Cole locked eyes with me at almost the exact same time and a mischievous smile crept onto his face as he looked me up and down. He said something to his friends and strode over to me with an air of confidence mixed with arrogance.

  On the way, he swiped a champagne glass from the tray of a passing waiter and held it out to me as he approached.

  “For you, Blair,” he said, giving me a goofy bow.

  Stifling a laugh, I reached for the glass. Well, tried to, anyway.

  Wade stepped in front of me, blocking Cole entirely from my view with his broad shoulders and back. “Actually, Blair and I are gonna go dance.” He patted Cole on the shoulder. “Since she’s here as my date. Sorry, little brother.”

  Annoyance was emanating off him. I ducked my head around his frame to find rage pulsating across Cole’s face.

  To be honest, I was just as irritated as they were. If Cole wanted to dance with me because Wade wasn’t, there shouldn’t be a problem with that. Cole and I were friends—friends could dance.

  “Wait a second,” I started to say, but Wade had already grabbed me around the waist and was steering me towards the dancefloor.

  “Hey!” I snapped, pulling myself free from him and drawing the attention of the people closest to us. “You can’t just drag me around like some toy!”

  It was the first time I’d ever seen Wade turn red. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

  “Well?” I asked in a huffy tone. “Are you going to say anything, or should I just walk away now?”

  “Blair.” His voice was low, his gaze like fire, causing my legs to quiver. “I shouldn’t have reacted like that.” His forehead was creased with deep lines as he mussed up his perfectly styled hair like he didn’t give a damn what his appearance was like. “I haven’t felt so mad, so jealous, in years. Fuck. I’m sorry. Cole has every right to talk to you. I wasn’t trying to ruin your night.” His voice broke a little and he started to turn away.

  The irritation snarling in my chest dissipated at his admission.

  “Wade.” I wrapped my arms around his body, pulling him towards me again. His eyes registered surprise, but he didn’t push me away. “It’s okay.”

  Wade’s face relaxed and he reached out to hold me. He dipped his head until our foreheads were touching, until his face was the only face I could see. His grip tightened around my waist and I felt him grow hard against me.

  Lost in the intensity of his blue gaze, I almost forgot where we were.

  Almost.

  It was a svelte figure standing a few feet away that snapped me back to reality.

  Delilah.

  A frown colored her expression as a red-faced Drew chattered on, oblivious that his date’s attention was directed towards Wade and me.

  That was it. I’d had enough of Delilah’s subtle disapproval. From her actions at the bar the other night, I’d been sure she was on Team Blair and Wade, but now I didn’t know what was going through her head. It was time to handle this.

  “I’ll be right back,” I told Wade, pulling away from him.

  Confusion clouded his handsome face. “Where are you going?”

  “I need to ask your sister something,” I told him with a tight smile. “I won’t be long.”

  Wade grasped my shoulders, holding me in place. “Is everything okay, Blair?”

  “Yes, everything is fine,” I lied.

  “Okay.” I could tell he didn’t believe me. “I’ll be right here.”

  Giving him another tight smile, I advanced towards Delilah and my brother. She watched my approach, configuring her features to greet me with a smile. But I wasn’t falling for that. I couldn’t do any of this fake crap anymore. This wasn’t high school. We were grown women, capable of talking things through.

  “Hey, Drew,” I said, placing a hand on my brother’s shoulder.

  He turned around in surprise, finally seeing me. “Oh, hey, what’s up?”

  “I need to talk to Delilah alone for a second.”

  A line appeared on Drew’s forehead. He could tell something was bothering me. “Okay, I’ll be with Mom.” He flashed Delilah what he probably thought was a flirty smile, but instead it just came across goofy.

  As Drew walked off, Delilah turned to me, blue eyes wide with question. “What’s up, Blair?” There was that same bluntness I had come to expect, her face a blank mask that could rival Wade any day. She wasn’t unfriendly; just wanted to get to the point.

  I hesitated, running several scenarios through my head.

  It had never occurred to me that Delilah might not like me. We had gotten long right away. Maybe that city snobbery Wade always accused me of had made her averse to me. Maybe she didn’t think I was good enough for her brother.

  I had to know the truth.

  “Do you not like me talking to your brother?” I blurted out, taking the blunt approach I knew she would appreciate.

  Delilah’s mask fell away. From the way her eyes grew, I could tell my question had stunned her. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you pulled Cole away from me that night at the bar and said it was because you didn’t want anything to come between Wade and me, but now it seems like you don’t approve of Wade asking me to this charity gala, which is fine. I get it, you don’t have to like me, but I like you for Drew. I think you’re great.”

  Ugh, too many words. Edit yourself, girl.

  “Blair, I think you’re great, too.” She sighed, her features dropping, making her appear much older than she was. “I can tell Wade likes you and there’s nothing that makes me happier than to see him happy. He’s made some mistakes in the past, but he’s grown so much since then.”

  My heart soared. The confirmation that Wade liked me meant more to me than I thought it would. Obviously, I knew he did, but hearing his sister say it made me giddy. Now I really felt like a teenager at prom.

  “But,” Delilah continued, shortening my relief, “like I said, there’s a more to my brother than meets the eye. He has a lot to tell you before he takes this any further.”

  “Let me guess,” I pressed, already knowing the answer. “You can’t be the one to tell me?”

  Delilah nodded, confirming my worst suspicions, that there was more to Wade than I could even begin to understand.

  I was giving my feelings and thoughts to a man I didn’t even know. Everything I had assumed about him on the first day we’d run into each other was wrong. The more he opened up, the more I was drawn to him.

  We both had our personal demons; we both knew there was nothing long-term about what was escalating between us, but neither of seemed to care. There was nothing about this situation that would end well.

  As all this sank in, I gave Delilah a tight smile. “Thanks for the talk.”

  “Any time.” She smiled in return, concern etched deep in her eyes.

  Collecting my racing thoughts, I let my feet carry me back to where I’d left Wade. On the way, I passed Drew and my mom, who shot me a look of concern.

  Before I could reassure her with a smile, a nod, anything, my eyes landed on Wade.

  Tall, broad-shouldered, cutting a sexy figure in his dark blue Armani shirt, both polished and rugged at the same time. He was the perf
ect image. Or he would’ve been if it wasn’t for the petite figure draped in a tiny, green dress, digging her matching talons into his arm.

  My blood pressure was through the damn roof.

  My palms were starting to sweat.

  Every second was agony.

  My eyes swept the room, locking onto a waiter carrying a silver tray of champagne flutes, each filled with bubbling, gold liquid.

  That thirst burned inside of me.

  It was a need I fought every day, but some days were harder than others. This had quickly turned into one of those days.

  Who the fuck knew what Blair was talking to Delilah about? I had no clue how Delilah would respond either. She was loyal to me, but she also had her strong reservations about me not being upfront with Blair.

  Delilah didn’t understand. No one did. If I told Delilah the truth about Blair—the truth that even Blair didn’t know—Delilah would fly into an uncontrollable rage and, shit, who knew what she’d do to Blair.

  Clenching my fists, I turned sharply away from them, only to slam straight into a pair of boobs.

  “Oh! Wade!” It was the last person I wanted to see—Krystle Banks, all tight, little, green dress and big waves of hair. She grabbed my arm to steady herself. “I didn’t see you there!” Her voice was breathy and giggly as she fluttered thick, fake lashes at me.

  I didn’t believe her for a second. She damn well knew I’d been standing here and had probably walked into me on purpose. She’d been playing the same game for years and it never worked on me.

  “Okay, sure,” I grumbled, trying to walk around her.

  She blocked me, which was an incredible feat considering she was half my width and nearly half my height, too.

  “So, you’re here with her.” It was more of a statement than a question, so I didn’t bother responding. This didn’t dissuade her in any way. In fact, I think it kicked her into a higher drive. Great. “You know, I could be more for you?” She grabbed my hand and placed it on her chest, pressing it down on her boob. “Do more for you. More than she ever could.”

  I couldn’t believe the nerve of this woman. She was hitting on me in a room full of people. With my friends and family in it. With Blair in it.

  “I really don’t want to touch you,” I told her in a calm voice, clenching down on my annoyance as I removed my hand from her boob.

  “You know she’ll be gone soon, right?” Krystle said, a darker edge to her flirty tone. “Does she even know the truth about you?”

  My jaw clenched at her question.

  Krystle peered up at me, a cruel curve to her lips. “Ha! You haven’t even told her, have you?" This seemed to improve her mood and she hooked her nails onto my arm again. “Don’t worry, I’ll still be here when that bitch is gone.” She winked at me and turned to leave.

  Anger roiled through me. What the fuck had she just called Blair?

  It was stupid, it was reckless, but I couldn’t stop myself.

  Reaching out, I grabbed Krystle’s arm, stopping her in her tracks.

  She turned back in surprise, but then quickly adjusted her features to coy. “Can’t stay away, can you?”

  There it was. That rage surging through me, taking a hold of my logic and reason. There was the old me, rearing his ugly head.

  “Nothing about you turns me on.” I looked her up and down, knowing there was a lazy smirk on my face. Knowing my eyes were full of disregard. I’d played this character before, many times. “I’ve never been so unattracted to someone before.” Krystle looked like she’d been slapped across the face. “You can wait all you want, but no part of me would be desperate enough to sleep with you.”

  An affronted cry escaped her mouth. She wrenched her arm free of my hand and shot me a look of disgust. “You fuck off, Wade Welsecky.”

  I laughed in her face. “You don’t want your momma hearing that dirty talk, do you?”

  Helen Banks was a very conservative woman who quoted bible verses effortlessly. It was my final dig at her.

  It looked like Krystle wanted to say more—a lot more—but she bit her tongue instead. With a final look of contempt, she slinked off to lick her wounds. Or most likely to make use of the free bar.

  Now that I was finally free of Krystle, my inner rage mellowing, I turned my attention back to Blair and my sister. But they weren’t together anymore. Instead, Blair was standing a few feet away from me, a strange look on her face.

  “How was your talk?” I asked, trying to shake off my bad mood as I walked over to her.

  “Fine,” she returned, her expression dark. “How was Krystle’s boob?”

  It was like she’d thrown ice cold water on me. “She came onto me.”

  “Is that why you grabbed her arm and looked at her like you wanted to eat her up?” With that, Blair spun on her feet and stormed off.

  Fuck. I knew it hadn’t looked good for me, but I needed her to understand that there was nothing with Krystle. Nothing.

  Panic twisted my chest as I hurried after Blair, pushing through the crowds of people, their faces a blur to me.

  Blair was already hurrying through the large doors that led out into the corridor.

  Damn, that woman could move in heels.

  I swerved around some familiar faces, not wanting to slow down. There were a few stragglers out in the hallway, a few teens who looked like they were sneaking sips of vodka out of a guy’s jacket pocket.

  “Blair!” I called out, drawing the attention of the loitering teens.

  Obviously, she didn’t stop, which wasn’t a surprise to me. That woman was stubborn as hell.

  Fuck it. I didn’t care that I was inside, I tore down the hallway like my life depended on it, passing some of the staff my parents had hired. They all stared at me like I was crazy, probably fueling the stories they’d heard about the weird, reclusive Welsecky son.

  Blair was already down the front steps when I caught up to her. One of the valets ran over to assist her, but she waved him off so ferociously that he almost tripped over in fear.

  “Shit!” she swore, as I stopped beside her.

  “Did you realize that the person you’re trying to get away from is your ride,” I asked in a light tone, unable to help myself.

  Bair swung around to face me, her perfectly styled hair looking a little ruffled now. “Let me guess. There are no Ubers in this place?”

  Sighing, I walked over to the valet who’d greeted me. They seemed hesitant to approach us after Blair’s outburst. “Could I get my keys?”

  He seemed flustered by my question. “You mean your truck?”

  “No, my damn keys. This is my parents’ house. I know where you parked it.” We’d had enough events in the past that even my beat-up truck had a designated spot around the side of the house.

  “O-of course, Mr. Wade Sir!” he stammered and turned around to his station to rummage around for my keys. When he handed them to me, I felt bad about snapping at him and slipped him two fifty-dollar bills that made his eyes grow even wider. “Thank you, Sir!”

  Nodding at him, I threw Blair a glance, but luckily, she was too busy being mad at me to notice. “Let me take you home.”

  Blair crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t need you to take me home. I can ask my mom.”

  “And ruin her night?” I shot at her, turning in the direction of my truck and storming towards it. “Are you that damn selfish that you can’t even let her enjoy her night after everything she’s been through?”

  “That’s not what I was trying to do.” The obstinance faded from Blair’s voice and shame replaced it. Her footsteps followed me as I rounded the side of the mansion and saw my truck parked exactly where it was supposed to be. “I’m just not here for this player bullshit, Wade, I’m really not.”

  Player.

  I hadn’t been called that in years. Back then, I’d basked in the title, but now it sounded cheap and trashy coming from Blair’s mouth.

  I spun on her. “I’m not a player. There is not
hing with Krystle and me. Nothing.” I leaned down so close I could feel her breath on my lips. “Not the way there is with you.”

  Blair’s eyes widened as they swept my face. She would find no lines of bullshit on it. No mark of deception. “I know what I saw,” she finally said, sounding defeated.

  “You saw me warning her away,” I insisted, blowing out a breath when disbelief touched her face. “It’s the truth, Blair. Do you know how hard I have to try to keep my hands off you?”

  Blair’s jaw clenched. “Stop it, seriously. I don’t want to hear-”

  Without really thinking about what I was doing, I pulled her to me. “Do you think I don’t notice how you glowed in that room? You in this dress.” I ran a hand down her back so that rested just above the curve of her ass.

  Confusion clouded Blair’s face, and she bit down on her bottom lip as she studied me with a look in her eyes that I recognized. She wanted me just as much as I wanted her.

  A ripple of lust tore through my body.

  It was in the gaze that lingered too long. The look that pierced too strong. Those soft lips were so close to mine that it would only take a split second to have them on me.

  “Is this real?” she breathed, burying her head into my chest, exhausted with the fight. “Everything about this feels right, Wade, except a part of me is telling me that something is wrong.” She lifted her head, her eyes burning into me, chin still on my chest. “You keep telling me that you try to fight your feelings for me. Why?”

  The truth. She needed to know.

  “Because I know this can’t happen.” My hands shook as I spoke. “I’m so mad that I think about a future with you. You could up and leave, ruin my life, and I would still want you, Blair.”

  You already have, echoed in my mind.

  The words slipped my mouth. Shit.

  “Why do you want me so much?” she implored, a shadow of doubt across her face, like she doubted her power over me.

  I had to laugh at that. I had to laugh at the fact that once again, I had missed my chance to tell her what she really needed to know. “I think you underestimate how I feel about you,” was all I managed to say,