CHAPTER ONE
RIPLEY
I wasn’t sure why I let Athena talk me into this. I should have been at home studying. Instead, I was at a frat house with my roommate and a few of our friends. Athena was always up for a party. She could always be found anywhere there was a lot of men. Since I had tonight off work, she’d insisted that I come along.
I was always up for a good party. However, tonight was one of very few nights I had to myself. Drinking and partying with my friends wasn’t going to help me get ahead with my to do list.
“Finally, we get some quality girl time.” Athena shook her finger at Storm, Codie, and Luna. The five of us were seated on an L-shaped sectional couch in the large living room of the frat house. “When school is out we need to make this a priority. If we don’t commit to staying besties, we’ll never see each other again. You’ll all be playing house with your men.”
Athena wrinkled her nose, making Codie laugh. I had to agree. The quality girl time had really been reduced since Storm got married and Codie got engaged. Luna wasn’t far behind. I loved that my friends were happy, even if I worried about theirchoice of partner. It took a strong woman to love a Graveyard King.
The Kings were known for their black market activities. They lived a dangerous life. My friends had learned just how dangerous firsthand. But they were in love. Sometimes I worried about them, and sometimes I envied them.
“We can’t party with frat guys forever,” Luna said, twirling a finger in her pink and purple locks. “Graduation isn’t all that far away. Then we’ll be forced into the real world.”
Athena scoffed. “There are still hot guys and hook ups in the real world. I’m way too young to settle down and be all domestic and shit with some man. I can’t imagine fucking the same guy for the rest of my life.”
Luna rolled her eyes, taking a drink of her vodka and ginger ale. Storm and Codie exchanged a glance, smirking to themselves. No matter how happy they were, they would never convince Athena that life was for her. She bounced from guy to guy, taking what she wanted before tossing them aside. I respected that she knew exactly what she wanted out of life right now. I wished I could say the same.
“I swear you must’ve been a man in a previous life,” Storm laughed, giving Athena a playful shove. The two of them had been friends for a long time, even though Storm was relatively newer to our friend group. She’d transferred to our school last year.
Athena accepted her remark as if it were a compliment. “Nothing wrong with having a healthy sexual appetite and wanting to sample everything at the buffet.”
She made a show of perusing the guys around us as if choosing which one she would have that night. There was no judgment here. Even though I wasn’t quite the player Athena was, I enjoyed men as well. Unfortunately, that didn’t always work out in my favor.
“One day you’ll sample that one that you just can’t get enough of, and all others will pale in comparison,” Codie said, stirring her drink with her straw.
Athena pursed her lips, making a pfft sound. “Don’t bet on it.”
“What about you, Ripley?” Codie turned her attention to me. “Weren’t you seeing that guy from your psych class? You haven’t said much about that recently. What was his name again?”
My face scrunched up as I was unpleasantly reminded about that mistake. “Jamie Carson. Yeah, there’s a reason I haven’t said much about that. There isn’t much to say. We went out a few times, and he got weird. I’ve been trying to avoid him. Having a class with him doesn’t make that easy.”
Storm frowned, tucking a strand of dark red hair behind her ear. “Weird like how?”
I had the sudden urge to fiddle with my own hair. Since I’d clipped my shoulder length blonde layers up on top of my head, I had nothing within reach. The pill I had taken earlier today wasn’t doing it for me anymore. I took an extra-long pull on my straw, draining my Jack and Coke dry.
“He keeps trying to get me to go out with him again, even though I told him I thought we would be better as friends. He tries to sit next to me in class and run into me on campus. He just won’t accept my decision. It’s getting a little creepy.” That was putting it lightly. Jamie had also been texting me endlessly to the point that I had to block his number. Only then he started texting me from a whole new number.
At first, Jamie had seemed like a decent guy. He let me copy his notes one day when I missed class. Our first date had been typical. Dinner and a movie. By our third date he started talking as if we were seriously committed. Making plans for usto attend graduation together and randomly showing up at the restaurant where I worked.
When I asked him to back off a little, he didn’t take it well. His entire demeanor changed. Instead of being friendly and over-the-top polite, he became stiff and a little scary. I’d been doing my best to avoid him, even getting to class early enough to sit near some girls I’d become acquaintances with, hoping he wouldn’t get a seat next to me.
“Do you want us to get the Kings to chase him off?” Codie asked. “I’m sure they would be happy to talk to him.”
I waved a hand, quickly dismissing that idea. “I don’t think that will be necessary. I don’t want to involve them in this.”
A cheeky little grin slid across Athena’s face, lighting up her dark green eyes. “If you change your mind, I’m sure that Auryn would be more than happy to step in on your behalf. Every time he’s around he practically eye fucks you.”
“Oh my God, don’t talk like that.” My face flamed with heat. “He does not.”
“He absolutely does,” Codie jumped in with a vigorous nod. “Stray told me that he asked about you once. Since he’s kind of a manwhore, Stray told him to stay away from you.”
Auryn Brewer was one of the Graveyard Kings. I didn’t really know him. Since three of my friends were involved with the Kings, we had all hung out in a group setting several times, although he and I never really had any one-on-one interactions. I thought I’d noticed him checking me out but assumed that was just Auryn. He really did get around.
“He asked about me?” I sat up straighter in my seat. “Why?”
“Because he wants to nail you, dumbass.” Athena giggled, getting to her feet. “I’m going to peruse this buffet of men on my way to the kitchen for a refill. Wanna come, Rips?”
