Someone’s footsteps click down the hallway, growing louder. They seem to stop in front of my door. I take a swig of the whiskey and a stream of fire coats the back of my throat. My mind races. Was it Jonathan? Marissa? I sit up quickly. Could it be Hayes? My blood thumps thickly in my ears, my pulse thudding loud against my temples. There’s a soft clicking noise—the doorknob turning back and forth, someone trying to get in.
I slip out of the bed and pad silently across the carpet toward the door, listening intently. The footsteps stomp away quickly, as if running, getting lower and lower until I can no longer hear them. A clock somewhere in the room ticks, ticks, ticks in the heavy silence. Then, without warning, a loud pounding rattles the door. I gasp, my heart leaping into my throat.
Assholes!I grab the doorknob and yank the door open wide, ready to scream at them.
But the hallway is empty.
I peek my head out and look both ways. Nothing. No one. Down at the end of the hallway there looks to be a darker shadow standing off to the side, but it’s hard to tell if it’s real or my mind playing tricks on me.
Before I can second-guess myself, I find myself standing in front of Hayes’s door, my fist pounding against the wood in a frantic rhythm. The door swings open, and Hayes stands there, his face full of concern and confusion.
“Did you hear that knocking? Was that you?” I ask, my voice shaking.
Hayes ushers me in, closing the door behind him. “What are you talking about? What’s wrong. You’re pale.”
“I don’t want to be alone tonight,” I blurt out, the words tumbling from my lips before I can stop them.
His eyes travel over me, lingering on my bare arms and legs. I’m acutely aware of how little I’m wearing, my skin tingling under his gaze. “Jesus, Jonathan is an idiot,” he mutters. “Okay, no worries,” he says softly, his hand resting warmly on the small of my back as he guides me toward the bed. “You can stay here with me tonight.”
Chapter
Five
“Why did you say Jonathan’s an idiot?” I ask, dropping onto the edge of Hayes's bed. It’s late, but I don’t care. I need to keep talking, to make sense of this tangled knot of emotions twisting inside me. Someone here—probably Jonathan—is playing games, trying to mess with my head. Maybe he thinks he can scare me into leaving.
Hayes sits down next to me, his hand still resting on the small of my back. His touch sends a rush of warmth through me, igniting a spark that lingers just beneath my skin. “You know why he’s an idiot, Tori.”
My heart flutters at his words, a tiny thrill coursing through me. I want to hear him say it. “I know why I think he’s an idiot. But I want to hear why you think he’s one.”
He chuckles softly, shaking his head. “You’re gorgeous. Smart. Funny. Pretty fucking perfect, if you ask me.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, so perfect he put a ring on Marissa’s finger and now he’s trying to scare me out of this place with his little midnight knock-knock games.”
Hayes leans in closer, his face inches from mine. His gaze is so intense, it makes my knees weak. “Are you really scared?”
I shake my head and look away, unable to meet his eyes. He gently tilts my chin back toward him with his fingers, his touch soft but insistent. Being this close to him, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to kiss him, to taste him, to feel the heat of his body pressed against mine. I’ve never been close enough to any of his many girlfriends to ask, but I want to know. What kind of lover is he? What kind of sounds does he make when he loses control? What does his cum taste like.
“Jonathan was a jealous asshole who couldn’t deal with being with someone way out of his league,” Hayes says, his voice low and rough.
My pulse quickens, a frantic beat drumming wildly against my ribs.
“If you were mine,” he murmurs, his voice dropping to a husky whisper, “I’d worship the fucking ground you walk on.”
Suddenly, heavy footsteps clamor outside his bedroom door, thundering down the hallway. Someone’s running, pounding on each door as they pass. Hayes’s eyes dart to the door, a grin spreading across his face. “Same shit we used to do in college,” he says with a chuckle.
He’s right, it is.
October was always the month of pranks and jump scares between us.
Why am I being so jumpy then?
“I still hate you all for the clown thing,” I say, pushing myself up from the bed, needing to put some distance between us. The air between us is charged, too thick with unspoken words and lingering touches. How disastrous would it be if I ruined another friendship with sex?
“That was all Griffin’s idea.” He laughs, leaning back on his elbows. The memory of all of them dressed as clowns, waking usup in the middle of the night, fades as my gaze drifts to Hayes stretched out on the bed. He’s shirtless, his skin smooth and tanned, muscles rippling as he moves. He’s only wearing a baggy pair of light gray shorts, tented in the middle. A wicked thought flashes through my mind—what would he do if I climbed on top of him right now?
Hayes groans, breaking my thoughts. “You’re killing me with that look, Tori.”
“What look?” I say, behind fiery cheeks.
