“Jen’s here.” He nods to the refreshment table as if explaining his presence.
“I saw her at Briggs for the first time a couple of days ago.” She and Knox are the same age, but since he and Trixy were held back a year he has one more semester before he catches up with her at WB.
“Yup. Dating a college girl.” He gives an easy wink, and we laugh it off. “Where’s your girlfriend?” He nods before taking a sip of whatever is lurking inside that red Solo of his.
“Are you talking about the psycho from the gym?” My arms fold tight across my chest. I can tell he’s getting his kicks busting my balls. “I told you we’re not together.”
“Psycho, huh? Is that your little pet name?” He pumps a dry smile and looks eerily like his brother.
“Nope, that would be princess.” I frown as I spot the heir to the throne walking through the door as if on cue. Lucky Madden has every big and little head at attention with that short white sweater she’s trying to pull off as a dress. Her dark hair falls in waves, and those eyes the color of a starless night deaden once they set their sights on me. Lucky stomps over like I stole her lunch money and she’s ready for retribution.
“I’ll take this as my cue to leave.” Knox takes a step away, and I pull him back.
“I wouldn’t want you to miss the show.”
“How’s the safety pin?” She glances to my crotch before scoping out the room.
Knox shoots me a look that begs me to explain her ridiculous comment, and I offer up a slight shake of the head. Both my dick and I know what she meant.
“Just why is it that you’re perseverating on my safety pin?” Had I known the conversation would take a pinprick turn, I wouldn’t have invited my stepbrother to bear witness. On second thought, when have Lucky and I had any other conversation?
A tiny little blonde wiggles over and bites her lip as she looks my way.
“There she is.” Knox wraps his arms around his girlfriend, but for some reason, I don’t have it in me to make eye contact with the girl. If I didn’t know better, I’d think Janelle was making one suggestive implication after another on our way to the bar the other night. At one point she asked if I could take her for a tour of the frat house and asked if she could see my bedroom. If it were any other girl, I would swear that she was coming on to me. She was probably just being nice. Knox and Janelle seem pretty solid. There’s just something about that ultra high-pitched voice, the way she wagged her tits in front of me as if offering up an appetizer, that didn’t sit well with me.
“Oh, it’s you again,” she says to Lucky, and I’m sort of fearing for Janelle’s life at this point.
“I have a name.” Lucky’s brows rise. Her voice is calm in that scary way that only an elite group of terrifying women seems to pull off. Lucky can pull off terrifying every day of the week. If I were Janelle, I’d clip clop right on out of here if she plans on keeping her limbs intact.
“And what would that be?” Janelle looks genuinely puzzled. “Oh, wait. I think I remember!” She holds up a finger, and I cringe. “You’re Lawson’s favorite ex-girlfriend!Frigid—senior year, bloodbath.” She giggles through each word before turning to me. “I may have told Knoxy about the turtle.”
Knox winces. “Sorry, bro.” He mock socks me. “But they can be fun when they’re brutal.”
Janelle waves to someone deep in the crowd before pulling my stepbrother away with her.
“I’m brutal.” Lucky doesn’t let a moment drift by without looking up at me. “And believe you me, I’m a barrel of fun.”
Rush dives in behind Lucky, wraps his arms around her, and starts mock ravaging her neck. “Let’s make this dude so jealous, he can’t see straight.”
“I can see straight.” I look past his childish antics and scope out the room for a girl, any other girl to catch my eye. I’m going through a dry season, and both my mattress and I are begging for a little wetness.
“You can stop syphoning the blood from my body.” Lucky tries to push him away. “Lawson is the last person I care to make jealous or anything else.”
“You sure?” He trails a line of kisses up her neck, and she giggles up a storm. Something about the way she laughs when he does it sets my blood pumping like lava. But Rush doesn’t break his hold on her. His mouth is still very much glued to her silky soft skin. The day I ran my hand down her thigh comes back to me, and I groan a little.
“She said let go, dude.” I try to pluck him off, but he’s grafted his lips to her flesh. “Get the hell away.” I wrap him in a chokehold and land him to the wall.
A pair of strong arms plucks me off of him, and I turn to find Grant, startled and angry right along with me.
“What the hell’s gotten into you two?”
I glance over and spot Ava and Lucky migrating away from us.
“Nothing.” I shake myself free.
“Peace offering.” Rush hands me his beer. “You’ll thank me later.” He takes off into a thicket of girls all wearing matching ponytails and begins to turn on the charm.
“So, what are you going to thank him for?” Grant yanks my collar straight.
