“We’re even,” she answered, putting her arm around me, only to pull it back almost instantly. “I gotta go now.”
“What? Where? You’re leaving me with these animals?” I whined anxiously.
“Um.” Amelia massaged her chin with her index finger.
She was a really good liar, but right now she wasn’t in control of all her faculties, which was why I was more worried than usual.
“If it has to do with a guy, I don’t wanna know. Does Brian at least know where you’re going?”
She wasn’t sober. I just wanted to make sure she didn’t get into trouble.
“Uh, yeah, yeah.”
She held back for as long as she could before she burst out laughing.
“Amelia?”
I saw her get up, grab her leather jacket, and disappear into the crowd without saying anything else.
“Blaze!” Marvin’s amused voice called me. “Want a hit?” He offered me the joint, which I refused. It was time to go home.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jackson lift his muscular bicep, and I instinctively hid. He pretended to hand me the vodka-filled water bottle, then burst out laughing.
“You’re such a fucking wimp,” he teased.
Jackson put up an aggressive and impertinent front, but the combination of taking hits and drinking vodka seemed to make him particularly interested in me. When Marvin got distracted talking to Becky, he motioned for me to go upstairs with him.
I tensed. I should say no.
I shook my head as he looked at me with his eyebrows raised. He put his lips around the top of the bottle and then took another sip without taking his gaze off me. Suddenly, I had impure thoughts. Terribly impure thoughts. The situation only got worse when Hunter joined us. He was shirtless as usual, and wore only the pants from his tracksuit. His lips were red and his hair was tousled.
“Where were you?” Jackson asked.
“Taking care of something.”
James patted Jackson’s jaw affectionately, getting so close to his lips that my brain started doing somersaults.
Jackson’s cheeks, which were already flushed from alcohol, got even redder when James whispered something mischievous in his ear.
I couldn’t stand seeing them so close together. Jackson only had eyes for James when he was around. And when he drank more than usual, he wasn’t as discreet about his leering.
How could I blame him? That asshole oozed testosterone from miles away. Except that it was impossible to harbor any good will toward him. He caught me staring at him intently.
“Blaze, Blaze . . .”
I tried ignoring him, but after a few seconds I glanced in their direction.
James continued to whisper, and Jackson threw his head back, biting his lip like he’d just been seized by a jolt of pleasure.
James was morally bankrupt. He didn’t give a damn if his best friend was in love with him. He enjoyed the attention. I often wondered if he knew Jackson carried a torch for him, or if Jax knew how to hide it so that James wouldn’t notice. My thoughts came to a halt when James straightened up.
“Where are you going?” Jackson asked.
“To bang Poppy. I’ll be back in ten minutes,” chortled James.
“Ten minutes? So there’s not long,” Jackson teased, as he continued to graze his lip piercing with his tongue.
“What are you talking about? I’m gonna bang Poppy in the car.” I ignored the crass exchange.
