“Word to the wise,” I say, squaring up to her as I shove her hands off Saint. “The last bitch that tried that shit with my man didn’t fare so well.” I tilt my head to the side. “But be my guest. Let’s see how stupid you really are.”
“Harlow!” She gasps, holding a hand to her chest. “There’s no need to be rude.”
“There’s every need to be rude,” Saint replies, sliding his arm around my waist and pulling me in close. “Don’t touch what doesn’t belong to you.” He fixes her with one of his legendary sneers, and she physically cowers. “Now, if you’ll excuse us,Julia. Some of us have shit to do.”
“Great catching up,” I drawl, shoving her aside and pushing past her.
She stomps her foot, folds her arms across her inflated chest, and screams, “Jason!” at the top of her voice. “Where the fuck are you, Jase?”
Caz covers his ears, Galen rolls his eyes, and Theo smiles as he steps forward, taking my hand and leading me into the kitchen.
“This way,” I say, spotting Ashley in the corner, talking to some guy I don’t know. I march toward her. “Cool party. Thanks for the invite.”
“You’re welcome.” Her eyes pop wide when they land on my guys. Her gaze homes in on where my fingers are linked with Theo’s and where Saint’s hand is resting on my hip. “I’m glad you could come,” she adds, smiling at the guys.
“We haven’t yet,” Caz quips, grinning at me.
“You know I’ll always take care of you,” I reply, blowing him a kiss.
“We’ll grab some beers,” Galen says, grabbing Caz, and they head outside to the bar.
“So, it’s true,” Ashley says, dismissing the guy she was talking to with a less-than-gentle push. “You’re fucking all of them.”
I shrug. “Pretty much.”
“Lucky bitch.”
“I am, aren’t I?” I can’t keep the smug smile off my face. “You still dating Chad and fucking Jase on the side?”
She grabs onto my elbow, eyes darting around the room. “How the hell do you know that?”
“Most everyone knows,” I admit, accepting a cold beer from Galen. I take a sip. “Except Julia. I’m curious. How the hell are you two best friends?”
She casts another glance around. “I can’t stand her, but our parents are best friends, and I got lumped with her as a freshman. I know what everyone thinks at the academy, but I barely hang out with her unless I have to.”
Saint rubs a hand along my stomach, and I know it’s a signal to move this along.
“Speaking of Chad and Jase, are they here, and can you take us to them?”
She stares into my face. “Figured that’s why you wanted an invite. They’re expecting you.” She jerks her head outside. “They’re in the pool house.”
We make our way outside with Saint’s arm wrapped around me. Ashley walks on my other side while Caz, Galen, and Theo keep step behind us. Several heads turn in our direction, but this time, they’re all male, and the attention is firmly fixed on me. Predictably, Saint snarls at a few of them and Caz throws a couple punches.
Ashley leans into me, grinning. “Like I said, lucky bitch.”
I’m wondering why we were never friends.
“It seems like you’ve got your own good thing going,” I murmur.
“I do,” she agrees, winking conspiratorially at me. “We’re the type of girls that need multiple men.”
“Amen, sister.” I clink my beer bottle against hers.
Ashley enters the pool house, and the sound of loud conversation from the next room pricks my ears. She holds the door open while we all step inside, locking it behind us. At the sound of the door locking, the voices quiet and the TV mutes.
Ashley guides us into the large living room where Chad, Jase, and a bunch of their football buddies are sprawled across two large leather couches, game controllers in hand.
All eyes are on us, and tension bleeds into the air.
