by L A Cotton
I was expected to be grateful for being here, as if handing me Declan’s position was somehow a rare privilege I needed to treasure.
It was a fucking joke.
I wasn’t Declan. No matter how much I tried, I would never be him.
“Hey, guys.” Victoria joined us, flipping her long red hair over one shoulder. She looked like a nineteen-twenties pin up, her hair thick and curled and lips stark red. The black dress molded to her curves as if made to fit only her. “Are you all set?”
“Hell yeah,” Saul rubbed his hands together with the excitement of an eighth grader who had just discovered jerking off.
“What exactly are you up to?” I noticed the glitter of mischief in her eyes. Victoria was scheming, and in my limited experience that never ended well.
“You’ll see.” She winked. “Follow me.” Finger crooked, she sashayed away, leading us into the huge open living space. A few of the other guys were already lined up. Joel gave me a tight nod. I didn’t return it. I was still pissed about seeing him with Calli.
It wasn’t his fault, he didn’t know about her—about us—but my anger didn’t get that memo.
“Okay everyone...” Vic held court, ushering the room into silence. “As you know, it’s Chi Delta Kappa’s annual fall fundraiser, and this year, we thought we’d go old school with a... drum roll please.”
Everyone began clapping, the noise rising like a wave about to crash to shore. Vic lapped it up, laughing as anticipation crackled in the air. They lived for this shit. I on the other hand, could barely tolerate it.
“Kissing booth!”
“Hell yes.” Saul nudged me, wearing a shit-eating grin.
“No fucking way,” I grunted.
“Oh, yes,” Brad waggled his brows, “it’s the rules. Besides, Victoria will never let you duck out. You’re the new king on campus, Messiah. Girls will pay a pretty price to pucker up for you.” He started smacking his lips at me and I shoved him away.
“Asshole,” I mumbled.
“Now, now, ladies,” Saul stepped forward, running a hand over his hair. “There’s plenty of me to go around. And maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll get more than just a kiss.” He winked at a petite blonde who turned to her friends and giggled.
Jesus, the place was about to become a hunting ground. Girls loved this shit nearly as much as the guys.
“Okay, guys, if you’ll step forward please.” A couple of Vic’s friends appeared with a box. They began handing out black eye masks. I hung back, hoping to avoid being thrust into the line of fire. But, of course, Vic came over to personally make sure I was ready.
“A little heads up would have been nice,” I gritted out as I snatched the mask from her.
“If I’d have told you, would you have come?” Her brow lifted and I hated that she knew me so well.
“How long do you expect me to do this shit?”
“As long as people keep paying.”
“People? I’m not kissing any guys.”
“It’s for charity!”
“I’m serious, Vic. Don’t you dare—”
“Relax, it’ll be girls. Mostly.” She snickered before grabbing my arm and moving me into position.
“This is bullshit,” I complained.
“Way I see it,” Saul said, “It’s a good way to sift out the frogs.”
The guys all laughed but I was too pissed to join them.
“Who’d they get to come to these stupid things anyway?” I kept my voice low. Vic was busy explaining the rules to everyone.
No touching.
No peeking.
No seconds.
Tongue was optional.
Fuck that.
I didn’t intend on tonguing anyone.
“The sorority sisters, other girly societies. Anyone got any Chapstick?” Joel asked around a strained smile. I wasn’t the only one dreading the kissing booth. “We might need it.”
“Ugh, this is a fucking joke.”
“Nah, man, it’s school spirit. I heard they did this once way back before our time, and some of the guys ended up with enough numbers to fill his calendar for the year.”
“I’m not sure that’s the point, Saul.”
“If some chick wants to ram her tongue down my throat and give me her number all in the name of charity, I’m here for it.”
“Okay, ladies.” A low rumble of snickers and giggles filled the air. “Will the first four guys, Saul, Brad, Cooper, and Dev step forward.”
A sigh of relief slipped from my lips. At least, I didn’t have to go first.
“Masks on,” Vic ordered. “Now ladies, if you’ll please form an orderly line. Payment goes in Cadence’s bucket, collect your masks from Kira. And remember, in the spirit of the kissing booth, you shall not reveal your identity to one another until after I end the round. Happy kissing!”
“Come to daddy.” Saul smacked his lips together and a huddle of girls all shrieked with delight.
Jesus. I rolled my eyes.
Twenty minutes later, twenty-four girls were all thoroughly kissed, and Cadence’s bucket had at least two hundred bucks in it.
“What do we say to our first volunteers?” Vic said, and the room exploded with applause. “Give it up for Saul, Brad, Cooper, and Dev. Next up, we have Joel, Tyrese, Kaiden, and Andre.”
The guys moved forward and applied their masks.
“Girls. You know the drill by now. Get those dollars ready and join the line.”
I noticed some girls sneak back into the line and I smirked. Sure, it was for charity, but still.
A commotion beyond the room caught everyone’s attention and a new group of girls appeared. “We heard there was a kissing booth?”
“You heard right.” Victoria grinned. “We were just getting started on our second round.”
“Sign me up.” One of the girls said, licking her lips. It wasn’t until they moved deeper into the room that I spotted her.
Calli.
What the fuck was she doing here?
She caught my eye, but instead of cowering, she lifted her chin in defiance. Disbelief burned through me as I watched her and Josie join the line, laughing and giggling with the other girls.
Joel was up there.
Calli was going to pay money to kiss one of my teammates... and fucking Joel was up there.
White hot fury exploded in my veins as I watched Calli inch closer to the front of the line. She was up with Josie and two other girls. Masks in place, they let Vic and the other girls line them up in front of their guy. Obviously, Josie couldn’t go with Joel, so she got Andre. One of the other girls got Tyrese, leaving Joel and Kaiden, Calli and another girl.
Vic caught my eye and smiled. I didn’t think anything of it until she started to position Calli in front of Joel. But there was no way she could know.
No way she could possibly know that I wanted to storm over there and tear Calli away from him.
I was rooted to the spot, powerless to stop it as their hands reached out, touching and feeling. Calli’s mouth curved, her nervous laughter ringing in my ears. She was laughing. It was such a beautiful sound, soft and full of innocence. But no matter how sweet it was, it hit me like a poisoned arrow through my heart.
Here I was, drowning in anger and hatred, suffocating in bitterness... and she was laughing as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
It happened in slow motion. Joel’s hands cupped Calli’s face, brushing her cheek reassuringly as he leaned down, aligning their lips with perfect precision. Calli’s hands found his t-shirt, curling into the material to steady her as she went up on her tiptoes to meet him in the kiss.
My teeth ground together so hard I half-expected to crack enamel.
She was kissing him.
Sure it was awkward and clumsy, but it didn’t remain that way. Her lips were on that motherfucker’s. Joel deepened the kiss, parting her lips with his tongue... His. Fucking. Tongue. I wanted to yell out that it was no tongues allowed, but I’d watched half th
e guys slip their more-than-willing girls the tongue. Victoria had even said it was optional, so I couldn’t use that excuse.
The seconds ticked by. Maybe it was my mind playing tricks, but all the other rounds seemed to finish quicker.
I knew I wasn’t making it up when Brad nudged my ribs, “Holy shit, would you look at Joel macking on her.”
Look?
I couldn’t take my fucking eyes off them.
My fists clenched so tight, I knew if I looked down my knuckles would be white.
“Oh wow, is it getting hot in here, or am I just imagining things?” Victoria fanned herself and some of the girls chuckled.
Her words were enough to break whatever spell Joel and Calli were under though because I refused to believe it was anything more than his annoying habit of always giving one hundred and ten percent.
Calli slipped off her mask, her eyes wide and lips parted with surprise. Color exploded in her cheeks, running down her neck. I wanted to claw my own fucking eyes out at how hot and bothered she looked.
Hot and bothered because of Joel’s kiss.
He pulled off his own mask and everyone cheered and whooped. Someone even wolf whistled. Calli buried her face in her hands and Joel leaned in to whisper something to her.
“You okay, man?” Brad asked.
“Uh, what?” I blinked over at him.
“You look a little pale.”
“I really don’t want to go up there.” The lie rolled off my tongue.
“Not scared of a little lip on lip action, are you? Some of these girls are creaming their panties at the thought of getting a taste of you, Messiah.”
“Fuck off,” I grumbled.
When I looked back over to where Joel and Calli had been standing, they were gone. I found her huddled with Josie over by the wall. Joel was standing by Andre wearing a smile so wide it almost took over his face. Smug bastard.
“Okay, time to bring up the final four.” Vic winked at me. “Todd, Benji, Milo, and our star attraction, Zach Messiah.”
Brad and Saul, the fuckers, wolf whistled, sending the girls into some kind of mating frenzy. Irritation rippled up my spine.
“Masks please.”
I gripped the elastic so tight I was sure it would snap. My eyes drilled holes at Calli, willing her to look at me. Finally, she lifted her gaze. Fuck, she was beautiful. All heavy-lidded and flushed. But she was wearing his kiss.
Motherfucker.
An angry inferno licked my insides as I slid the mask into place. No matter how hard I tried to avoid her, the universe had a strange way of forcing us back together.
“Okay, ladies... get those dollar bills ready because this is the round you’ve all been waiting for.”
I focused on my breathing, letting the steady rhythm of my heartbeat drown out the laughter and chatter. Over the last couple of years, I’d gotten good at filtering out all the bullshit, the day to day background noise. When your life wasn’t your own, and you were expected to play a part, you need to build impenetrable walls. And I’d mastered it.
But being around Calli again was like being under siege.
Bottom line, she was under my skin, and I needed to do something, anything, to regain the upper hand.
“Hi,” a meek voice said, and I felt the air shift in front of me. “Go easy on me. I’ve never been kissed before.”
Fucking hell.
Tentative hands found my arm, tracing their way up my biceps. Her nervous energy was like an annoying hum in the air. I leaned down and found her face, kissing her hard and quick.
“Wow,” she breathed, lingering there. “Can we do it again?” she whispered, her voice full of awe.
“No,” I barked. “Next.”
“Play nice, Mr. Grumpy Pants,” Vic cackled, the noise grating on me. She was enjoying this far too much.
The next ten minutes dragged. Three more girls, three more quick kisses. I kept it lips closed and tongue free. But on the last round, something changed. I didn’t understand what was different at first. Then it hit me. The girl was wearing perfume. But not just any perfume... perfume I recognized.
Perfume my body recognized.
Fuck. She smelled like Calli. Or how Calli used to smell when we were just two kids finding our way around our growing bodies. It washed over me, transporting me to another time and place. I was so lost I didn’t realize the girl was sliding her lips against mine. I didn’t realize her hand had fisted my jersey, tugging me closer. I didn’t register curling my hand around the nape of her neck and plunging my tongue deep into her mouth.
I didn’t realize... because I thought she was Calli.
My sixteen-year-old brain was standing here, kissing his sweet pea.
I licked at her mouth, curling my tongue around hers and sucking. She tasted so fucking good, like mint and strawberries. My dick stirred to life and I slid a hand down to the small of her back fitting her body against mine. Her little needy whimpers spurred me on. I kissed her deeper... harder... Until someone coughed and I jerked away, reality crashing down around me.
Ripping off my mask, I inhaled a ragged breath, letting my eyes fall on the girl… the girl who wasn’t Calli.
She casually slipped her mask over her head and smirked at me. “Well worth the ten dollars.” She made a show of dabbing the corner of her mouth as her eyes ran down my body and back up.
“Uh, thanks,” I stuttered, hardly able to believe what had just happened.
But then I felt her.
Calli.
She was over by the door, gawking at me, as shocked by my behavior as I was.
I didn’t lose control.
Ever.
Yet, more than once now, she’d pushed me to breaking point.
All because you smelled her fucking perfume.
I internally groaned, melting back into my teammates as Vic and her girls rallied up the final total.
“Shit, Messiah, that was totally hot. I almost came in my pants like a twelve-year-old reading his old man’s titty mags.” I shot Saul a hard look, and he grinned. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, she was hot.”
Vic began the final announcements, but I tuned out, focused only on Calli. She was whispering something to Josie. They seemed to be arguing. Josie shook her head and Calli gave her a sad smile before hugging her and slipping out into the hall.
Shit, she was leaving.
Before I knew what I was doing, I pulled out my cell phone and cussed under my breath.
“Problem?” Brad asked, and I nodded.
“Family stuff. I gotta bail.”
“Yeah, man, of course. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks.” I ducked out of the other door and exited the house out the back. Calli would only be heading to one place.
And lucky for me, I knew exactly where she was staying.
Calli
I shouldn’t have let Josie talk me into going to the fundraiser at Chi Delta Kappa.
We’d gotten back from the bar and some girls from our dorm had invited us to tag along. I could tell she wanted to go. Josie craved acceptance; I saw it every time we saw a large group of girls around campus. The longing in her eyes. The sadness.
So in an effort to be a good friend, I agreed.
The second I laid eyes on Zach, I knew I’d made a huge mistake.
A kissing booth, for God’s sake. It was tacky and immature... and yet, part of me had been swept up in the excitement. And maybe a small part of me, the fourteen-year-old girl in love with the boy who saved her, secretly hoped I would be paired with Zach.
I’d known the second his lips touched mine, it wasn’t Zach though. Disappointment had snaked through me, burrowing into the deepest recesses of my heart. I’d wanted it to be him. My head knew it was a bad idea to want such things, but my heart, my broken, battered heart, didn’t care.
Then something unexpected happened. The guy kissed me. Really kissed me.
I was so stunned, all I could do was kiss him back. His lips we
re gentle and coaxing, eager but soft. It was the perfect first kiss. A first kiss I’d felt all the way down to the tips of my toes. But when I slid off my mask and saw Joel smiling back at me, I’d wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole.
Joel had kissed me... and I’d liked it.
And Zach had been there to witness the entire thing.
When I’d finally snapped out of my lusty haze, I’d fled the party. Josie wanted me to stay, to confess my identity to Joel and give things a chance... but I wasn’t ready.
So I’d done the only thing I knew how—I ran.
I only made it as far as the cluster of trees before Abrams when a hand shot out of the shadows, snagging me around the waist and pulling me into the darkness. “What the hell?” I shrieked, but the same hand covered my mouth, warm lips brushing my ear.
“Surprise, sweet pea.”
“Zach?”
Of course it was Zach.
Only he was crazy enough to lurk in the shadows, waiting for his moment to strike.
“Get off me.” I bucked against him, but he was too strong. He spun me around, pressing me against a tree. “You put on quite the show back there.”
“Zach, let me go,” I hissed. He’d lost it. Completely and utterly lost it.
“You just had to show up here, didn’t you, sweet pea? Everything was fine until you—”
Twisting my head, I sank my teeth into his arm. It was so unexpected, I froze, my mouth still braced against his skin.
“Did you just fucking bite me?” Zach’s voice was so cold, a shiver ran up my spine.
His momentary surprise gave me a chance to turn in his arms. It was a mistake though. Now I could see his eyes glittering in the dark, see his truths staring back at me.
Zach didn’t follow me out here because he wanted to taunt me about Joel.
He was jealous.
A thrill shot through me. Despite his unwillingness to fess up, Zachary Messiah, king of Steinbeck University according to his many—and there were a lot—adoring fans, still cared.
“Did you enjoy letting him tongue fuck you in front of all those people?” He sneered. “Did it get you wet?”
“It was very nice.” I smirked, feeling the need to fight back fill my veins.
I was done letting him pull my strings. He could push and push, pretending that we were nothing to one another.