"Hey," I say. "Come on, let's go. Don't talk to him."
"Aw, Jesus Christ. Who let you in here?" Elias bemoans. "I'm going to have a talk with Jordan. We likeslutsat these parties, not dirty, infected gutter whores."
"Please, Kira…" I say, my eyes surely conveying the desperation Ifeel.
Kira looks between the two of us for a second before saying, "Yeah, and you know what? Fuck you, dude."
I'm so relieved when she hands me my beer and takes my hand, losing him in the sea of our sweaty peers, that I could fucking cry. I know I said he couldn't hurt me anymore, but that doesn't mean I want him to take my first friend away from me just hours after I get to campus.
"Who was that, anyway?" she asks. "An ex?"
I shake my head. "God, no. Elias is not my ex. He's my brother…unfortunately."
Her eyes go wide. "Yourbrothertalks to you like that?"
"Elias Thorpeis your brother?" another man asks.
"He's my stepbrother," I tell them both. "And he's a fucking nightmare, okay? Stay away from him and his creepy ass friend who wears long sleeves and pants all summer, and if you met a guy with tattoos, dark curly hair, and his shirt off like a douchebag, stay away from him, too."
Kira frowns. "Oh…I did meet that guy. He was pretty. He asked me to write my phone number on his pecs. Too bad—he seemed fun."
Of course he did.I roll my eyes. Dax isn't fun. He's a spoiled rich kid whose family practically owns Aurora Cove, and for that, everyone falls at his feet the same way they do with Elias. He's got this massive social media presence, too, and all of these ridiculous branding deals, which, from what I've overheard, his parents don't really appreciate.
Paid collabs for shotgunning beer doesn't really fit the Hawthorne brand.
But unlike Elias and Nolan, he can be charming, and he uses it to get whatever he wants. I've witnessed it, though I've never been on the receiving end of anything but his cruelty.
"Yeah, he's not fun. And if he calls you, don't answer it. They're all fucking deranged."
She purses her lips. "That could be fun."
"I don't mean it in a fun way—I mean it in alifeway. They're mad because they peaked in high school, and so they want to make everyone else's lives just as terrible."
"Relax," she says, placing her hands on my shoulders. "I'm just kidding. There are like…twenty thousand other guys on this campus, and we're practically best friends now. Of course, I'll stay away from those three."
"I fucking hate that guy," the man beside me says. I hadn't paid attention to him when he spoke up before, but I do now. I follow his eyes to where Elias stands and can see he's seething. "One of these fucking days…"
He doesn't finish the sentence, but I can imagine. I'd love to haveone of these dayswith Elias, too.
And he's tall with dark hair and pretty eyes—older than me, for sure, but not too old.
Like I said, I'm a horny drunk.
"I understand the sentiment," I say. "I'm Saige. It's my first year. I like your beard, and I hate my brother."
"I'm Miles," he says. "I like my beard and hate your brother, too."
"We have so much in common!" I shout over the music.
Fortunately, I don't see Elias or his friends again, though I can't stop looking for them. I can't shake the feeling that I gotoff too easy earlier, and that he's planning something else. He's never just let me walk away before. But maybe he's different here. Maybe he has a whole ass life here, and torturing me falls much lower on his list of priorities than it has in the past.
Maybe he's even worried the people here wouldn't let him get away with it. This isn't his small pond.
We dance for a while longer, and Miles and I talk a little more. He's got that dark sense of humor I like, and since I feel like an entire tragedy on the best day, it sucks me right in. It isn't long before dancing turns into kissing, and that kissing turns into the kind of touching that wouldn't be okay if there were just a little more light in the space.
He tells me he's a grad student, and that his place is just off campus, but it isn't far, if I want to come back with him.
So, when it's clear that Kira is too drunk, and it's time to take her home, Miles walks with us, waiting for me outside while I get her safely back to her room.
