Outside? Away from random camera flashes? “Absolutely.”
Hayes led the way and we grabbed a few more bottles of beer on our way out. It was somehow cooler outside with the breeze and I relaxed instantly. We settled around a patio table with some of their friends, with me in Hayes’ lap. Everyone was nice and it was easy to forget that it was all fake. It felt so natural to sit there with Hayes’ arms around me, his hand stroking my hip. The looks that passed between us felt genuine. I just drank a little more each time that thought started to terrify me.
I lost track of time and switched to Cash’s lap at some point. He was handsier than Hayes. I felt like I was overheating sitting in his lap with him touching me all over. My body hadn’t gotten the memo that we were acting. I was soaking wet and every brush of my jean shorts made me bite my lip.
To distract myself I stared at the pool and wondered why no one was swimming. I mistakenly asked that question out loud and Cash suddenly stood up, shifting me around so I was wrapped around him. The first step he took towards the pool made me freeze. “Cash! No. Don’t do it. Don’t you dare!”
He gripped my ass and his eyes flashed as he watched me. “Afraid of a little water, Cassidy?”
Hayes laughed from the table. “Come on, Cash.”
“Oh, sorry.” Cash smirked. “I guess you don’t want to mess up your hair, princess.”
I heard the challenge in his voice and growled. “Fine. Do it. If anyone is worried about their hair here, it’s you, pretty boy.”
He took a running start and let out a war cry as he jumped in. The water was cold as it rushed around us but Cash didn’t letme go as we went under. We sank in the deep end and I blinked my eyes open just like I had as a kid. Back then it was the light dancing across the bottom of the pool that I needed to see. That night it was Cash. He was looking back at me, his face tinted blue under the water.
My chest grew tight from needing to breathe but Cash dragged one of his hands up my back and into my hair. He pulled my face closer to his but waited a beat to see if I’d pull away. I leaned in instead. It was a rushed kiss as we floated higher but it felt special and secret. We’d both separated by the time our heads popped out of the water.
Several other people had jumped in and the once tranquil pool had exploded with activity. Cash easily hauled himself out of the pool and reached down to pull me out. His eyes went straight down to my chest and I looked down to see that my tank top was pointless when wet. I crossed my arms and slapped a hand to my face.
“That’s embarrassing.”
He grunted. “Disagree.”
Hayes appeared next to us, his own shirt already stripped and in his hand for me. “Someone just told me that Weston is wasted. We should grab him and go before he does anything stupid.”
I tried not to but it was impossible not to check out Hayes’ tan muscles as I yanked his shirt over my head. He gripped my hand and pulled me after him. Cash was at my back, hand never far from my waist. I didn’t understand their haste to get to Weston until I saw him.
I felt both Hayes and Cash tense and I got it. Weston was a massive guy. Too massive to be as wasted as he was. He was swaying on his feet, arguing with some other drunk guy about what probably amounted to nothing. His energy was scary as heraised his voice. I wanted to shrink back and let the guys handle him but then the other drunk asshole brought me into it.
“There’s the slut now. Go back to USC, whore.” He slurred his words while jabbing a finger in my direction and I would’ve ignored him if I thought everyone else would. To avoid Hayes or Cash feeling that they had to stand up for me, I decided to stand up for myself.
I stepped forward to tell him off just as Weston jerked his arm back to throw a punch. The force of his elbow striking me in the face was shocking and caused me to fall backwards. I went down silently, accustomed to dealing with sports injuries in public where I didn’t want to make a scene. It wasn’t easy, though. By the time I hit the ground my nose was bleeding all over Hayes’ borrowed shirt and I was seeing stars.
I sucked in a breath of air and choked as blood also drained down the back of my throat. Staring up at the ceiling, I wondered if I’d escaped a decade of competitive cheer and a lifetime of playing football and other rough sports without breaking my nose just to have it broken by Weston.
21
***Cass***
Iwoke up the next morning with two black eyes and a throbbing headache. After storming out of the party the night before, and far away from the Ford brothers, I’d gone to an all-night clinic and gotten checked out. It miraculously wasn’t broken but the nurse who’d checked me out said I was going to hurt for a week or two. Even my teeth hurt from the hit.
Looking at myself in the mirror just made the fury boiling up inside me boil over. I’d been too focused on just getting away from the men who were ruining my life that I hadn’t said or done anything about the state of my face. Too bad for them, too bad for Weston, that I was done with that part of my rage. I wanted to confront them. I wanted to force them to look at my face while I told them that I never fucking wanted to see them again.
Aunt Jolene gasped and slid off the end of that high heel chaise. She was screaming by the time she got back to her feet. “Who did that? Who the hell put their hands on my baby?! I’ll string ‘em up and gut ‘em!”
I clutched my head and winced as my head pulsed angrily. “No, Aunt Jolene. It was an accident.”
“Fine. You don’t want the blood and guts way? We can kill them without getting messy. I know a guy. He impersonates George W. Bush on the weekends but he’d clear up his schedule for me. I let him touch my tits back in the day when not a lot of people liked his whole thing.”
“I’m serious. It was an accident. Weston elbowed me while trying to punch someone else. That doesn’t mean I’m not going over there right now to tell them all where to shove their bullshit. Don’t slow me down. I want to get there while I’m still worked up.” I hurried past her and grabbed my keys. “Please don’t hire a hitman who looks like George W. Bush while I’m gone.”
I listened to heavy metal on the way over to their house, screaming random sounds along with the artists because I knew none of the words. I might’ve scared an old lady at a red light but I didn’t care. That much. I just wanted to get to them and scream at them instead of the radio.
It was still early when I pulled in behind Weston’s truck and turned my car off. Had he driven himself home? The idea that he’d gotten behind the wheel the night before made me even angrier. By the time I was at their door, banging on it, I was seething.
Hayes opened the door and immediately started to swear. “Look at your fucking face—”
