His gaze drops to my drink, then rises slowly.
His mouth curls.“What is that?Cola?”
I don’t answer.
“Figures,” he says.“Too much of a good girl to taste anything real.”
Jace laughs behind him, already amused.
Reece’s eyes stay locked on mine.He wants a reaction.Wants to rattle me, throw me off enough that I fall right into any game he is engaged in.
I take a slow sip, and meet his gaze, steady.
“Why don’t you go use your little words on someone who’ll actually trip over them?”I say coolly.“Because here, they’re background noise to a life you’ll never get invited into.”
Reece’s smile sharpens, all swagger and sin.He steps in closer, gaze dropping to my mouth.
“Careful, Red.Keep looking at me like that and I’ll start thinking you want to be the reason my sheets are a mess.”
I don’t blink.“The only mess I’d ever make in your bed is lighting it on fire,” I say sweetly.“While you’re still in it.”
Jace chokes on his beer.Reece’s grin grows wider.
The sick bastard probably liked it.
The crowd keeps thickening, noise rising with it until the walls feel too tight and the air too hot.The music blares through cheap speakers.Someone starts chanting along with the chorus, off-key and too loud, dragging a few drunk voices with them until it turns into a sloppy anthem.
A couple grind against the wall near the staircase, mouths locked together, hands roaming like they forgot where they are.Someone tosses a pillow at them from across the room, but they barely flinch.
More bodies press in.Solo cups are being refilled.Laughter spikes in the hallway.A guy stumbles backward through the archway, catches himself on the doorframe, and throws his arms up like he scored a goal.
Reece and Jace left us a while ago, and I can finally breathe.The air feels lighter without their egos sucking up all the oxygen.
Aubrey checks her phone before looking up with a grin tugging at her mouth.“Hey.Noah and I are heading out to the lake.”
Lola looks at her.“Now?It’s dark outside.”
Aubrey shrugs.“Exactly.Best time of the night.No people, no noise, just stars and a boy who can’t keep his hands to himself.I’ll see you guys later.”And with that, she is gone.
“I think we should go too,” Liz says, her voice flat, eyes dull.She hasn’t enjoyed a single second of this night, and after the news she got earlier today, she never should’ve come.
“Yeah,” I nod, touching her arm gently.“I need to use the bathroom first.I’ll meet you and Lola in the car, okay?”
She nods once, already grabbing Lola by the arm and pulling her towards the door.
I turn and walk away, ducking past a group of guys doing shots, one of them yelling something unintelligible as lime juice drips down his wrist.
Two people are making out against the wall—his hands on her ass like he owns her.
A few feet later, I step over a guy passed out cold on the carpet, a half-empty solo cup still in his hand, his legs splayed like he didn’t quite make it to wherever he was going.
I keep moving.
Past the half-open door where two people are arguing in sharp whispers.
The further I go, the more the sound dims, music fading into a background thump, laughter bleeding into white noise.The air turns cooler, clearer, like the house itself is finally breathing again.
And then I hear it.
