Jett smirked as he leaned forward, and this time, I didn’t move away from him. “Who said it was a threat?” With a low chuckle he went into the room, closing the door firmly behind him.
I hurried down the stairs, not at all surprised to see Gray standing at the foot of the stairs, blocking anyone from going up.His eyes met mine, and I looked away as he stepped aside, and I rushed back to the main room.
They said there was safety in numbers? Well, I needed numbers because I did not feel safe. Quinn had unsettled me with her little speech earlier, Gray looked menacing, and Jett . . . well, he confused me. Because while he completely intimidated me, he also made my pulse throb in anticipation any time I was near him. Our hook-up in his bathroom still made no sense to me. I mean, we went from freezing to hot to cold again within the space of twenty-four hours. Twenty-four hours? Twenty-four seconds felt more like it.
“Did you see who’s here?” Mia asked me quietly as she handed me a beer.
“Hard to miss,” I replied as I purposefully turned my back on the Devils whom I could see.
“We can go, we don’t need to stay,” she assured me with a quick smile. I looked at Alex, who had been talking to someone else. With a fist bump to the guy, he turned back to Mia, his arm slipping around her waist. I said nothing, but I noted Mia wasn’t stepping out of his touch.
“I’m not running from him.”
“Who’s him?” Alex had heard my comment as the music dipped into the next song. “Did you ditch Shane?” he asked me curiously as he looked around the room.
“No, I was in the bathroom, and he said he’d meet me down here.” Over a week of knowing Jett Santo, and I’d become a habitual liar.
“There he is,” Mia said as she pointed over to Shane, who was talking to Wade and Bea. Finally, the numbers I needed to stay away from shithead and crew.
“My girl!” Wade greeted me with a hug, which I returned before hugging Bea. “This place is packed, music’s shit though. I’ll be back. Why don’t you all head outside, get us some air.”With a kiss to Bea’s cheek, he went off in search of whoever was in charge of music.
“How are you, Ava?” Bea asked me with a smile as she watched Wade make his way through the crowd before we moved our little group outside, and Wade was right; it was better, not as noisy but still crowded.
“Good thanks.” Another lie. “How are you? I love your outfit.” Bea had on a tight black pencil skirt, a butterfly clasp elastic belt, and a red and white gingham short-sleeved top with a sweetheart neckline and tiny red heart buttons. It was perfectly retro and fit her slender figure like a glove.
“I made this top in class, and I’m telling you, Ava, I thought I’d given myself at least a half inch more room than I have. These girls are ready to greet the world if I’m not careful!”
With a glance down at the cleavage on display, I laughed. “No dancing for you,” I agreed with a wink.
As Bea told me what else she had been making, I could feel him behind me. Self-consciously, I looked over my shoulder quickly, and there he was. Leaning against a low wall in the yard, a bottle of beer in his hand, listening to Quinn, who was standing close to him but not touching. Were they together? Because if I’d hooked up with her boyfriend, well, I kind of understood her dislike of me.
Jett’s eyes flicked my way and held. Jesus. He was intense.
“Ava!”
The loud shout in my ear made me jump. “What?” I turned back to look at Mia, who was shaking my arm.
“Ava, look!”
Turning my head in the direction of her stare, my jaw dropped open. Dante Spence had just come into the yard through a side gate.
“Oh fuck,” I gasped. He looked as flawless as always with thick light blond hair that was in a low fade, square jaw, andperfect white smile. He was slightly smaller in height than Jett, but his six-one frame was nothing to complain about. His shoulders weren’t as broad, and he was a slimmer frame. Jett had more bulk, which was surprising for his QB status, especially as he used his feet as much as his arm. Dante stayed within the safety of the pocket more, but as a result, he had a slightly better throwing arm.
“You need to talk to him this time,” Mia urged me. “Not about football, but about girl things.”
“Periods?” I blurted, and Bea burst out laughing.
“No, you lunatic,” Mia scolded me. She quickly checked for Shane, who had migrated to a group where Wade had stopped to talk on his way to join us, with Alex following. “We’ll distract Shane. This could be your chance, Ava,” she added excitedly.
Bea glanced at Shane and then me. “You collecting a harem, Ava?” she teased.
“Yeah, that’s me, the collector.” I noted that Dante was with his friend, Dustin Slater, and I saw Dustin see Mia at the same time as I saw Dustin. “Eh, Mee,youmay need the distraction,” I warned her.
Dustin was the wide receiver for the Lions, and with agile footwork, he was weaving through the crowd to Mia like he ran his routes to the end zone, with speed and precision.
“Red, I was hoping to see you,” he greeted, and Mia’s smile could have lit the backyard. Dante was three steps behind Dustin, and I saw him recognize me at the same time as I saw the Devils move into my line of sight, and the only word to describethemwas murderous.
“Hey,” Dante said as he reached forward and gave me an awkward hug.
