I heard a crash and a scream, and I had a sudden bad feeling. Holding on tight to Mia, I made my way toward the kitchen. Bumping into the drinks table, I grabbed onto the edge and felt along the side, trying to remember the way.
Suddenly, the lights and music came back on, and I jumped at the brightness, blinking in surprise. Looking around, I saw a number of people entwined, a few people shoving each other, ready to throw down, and I saw the captain of the basketball team putting ice on his busted lip as people fussed around him.
Searching the crowd, I found him, right where he had been standing, Jett beside him, talking to him with his head turned away so no one could lip-read. I knew from the set of Jett’s shoulders that he was angry.
Gray wasn’t listening. He was staring at me as his good hand checked his strapped hand. I turned to look at Denzel and back to Gray, the question on my face clear.
His answer was a smirk as he watched me put it together.
Jealous possessive dickhead. I hoped he’d broken more of his bones. He deserved it.
“Why do they do this?” Mia asked me in bemusement as she watched the party get wilder as a result of Mayhem.
“Because they can.”
Chapter 17: Quinn
The room was stuffy, and I knew better than to leave. He would find me. He always found me, and tonight, well, tonight I wasn’t interested in his mood swings.Hewas the one who said he needed to stay away, and that’s what I intended to do. Mia had drifted off with Bea, Ava was completely wrapped up in Jett, and Ash was . . . I looked around the room. Okay, Ash was busy.
Fine.
Denzel was leaning against a wall, and I knew he kept looking over at me. Did he know it was Gray who hit him? Probably, Gray was hardly subtle.
“Hey, Quinn, how are you?” Jada asked me as she approached. She was dressed as a cheerleader, which I found amusing since she was the volleyball captain.
“Hey, decided to try life on the other side?” I asked with a grin at her costume.
“Yeah.” She looked down at the short skirt. “The cheerleaders are in our clothes, and we’re in theirs. At the time, I thought it was hilarious.” She looked at me with a sigh. “Now . . . I’m going to punch the next guy who pats my ass.”
“You think you’re getting hit on because you’re a cheerleader?”
“Why else?”
“’Cause you’re crazy hot. The outfit isn’t the reason.” I laughed at her expression.
“I’m telling you, Quinn, it’s the uniform. It makes guys complete jerks.” She shook her head. “They’ve all got these stupid fantasies.”
“Hmmm,” I pretended to think. “Maybe I picked the wrong choice.” I looked down at my jumpsuit. “It’s like a onesie though, I’m so comfy,” I confessed.
“It’s a great costume. You and the other two girls look badass. Melly keeps drooling over Mystique.”
We both looked in Mia’s direction, and I remembered she got stage fright, which was odd because she had no issue being the center of attention. Maybe she needed to go up on stage wearing blue body paint. “She looks good,” I said to Jada.
“Yeah, um, you know who else looks good tonight?”
It was the hesitation in her voice that caused my spine to stiffen. “Tell me,” I said, and I knew what she was going to say before the words left her mouth.
“A certain Cardinal Saint. Number twenty-two to be exact.”
“Gray,” I murmured as I wished I had a drink. “Thought you’d already been there?”
Jada flushed and shook her head, her ponytail swishing around her shoulders. “Um, no, that was Jett.”
“Oh.” I knew that, but still my inner bitch wanted to watch her squirm. “It’s hard to keep up sometimes.” I gave a light laugh, and she smiled. She either didn’t pick up on my falseness or didn’t care.
“Do you think you could see if he would be interested?”
No. “You’re nineteen?” I asked her with a cool look. “Can’t you find out yourself?”
