“You brought them too?”
I felt my embarrassment slither through my stomach up to my cheeks when I saw James and Tiffany at the front door next to William. Will looked flawless, but those two looked like two models who had just walked off an underwear runway show.
I stuck out like a sore thumb in my tank top and pajama pants. It would’ve been fine up to this point if it wasn’t for the fact that the print was highlighter-yellow bananas on a shocking pink background.
“Wow, sexy,” quipped Tiffany, gazing at me with her catlike eyes.
That had to be a joke, but I couldn’t help but notice her suggestive stare.
James put the vape pen away and looked me up and down.
“I swear, we’re only staying for five minutes and then I’ll take them back,” whispered Will, before giving me a peck on the lips.
The hint of alcohol I smelled on his breath threw me off. He knew he shouldn’t be drinking on his medication, but maybe bad company was a stronger influence than common sense.
We sat on the couch, and I realized that I was more agitated than usual.
“Are you okay, June?”
“If my mom comes back she won’t be happy,” I murmured, trying to ignore Tiffany’s cackling.
William noticed my uneasiness and took my hand to reassure me.
“Don’t worry, Austin doesn’t know anything about you. I’m serious.”
My ears focused on hearing what William had to say, but my eyes darted to the kitchen, where James sat on the table with his legs dangling off it as Tiffany hovered around them. I watched them talk until she opened the pantry door. I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Sorry, Will. I’ll be right back.”
“We wanna break this open. Are you saying that it’ll taste gross?” exclaimed Tiffany, staring at me while holding a bottle of bubbly wine.
I’d never really gotten a good look at Tiffany because Taylor often stole her thunder, but now that I really looked at her, she had a really pretty face.
“Your mom’s got bad taste,” remarked James rudely, stretching his legs.
“Yeah, otherwise she wouldn’t be going out with your dad.”
His blue eyes, so dark that they looked like the night sky, stopped dead in mine. Tiffany put a hand on his hip, crinkling the fabric of his gray T-shirt under her black nails. They seemed intimate. Much more than they’d seemed from far away. She whispered something in his ear while looking at me. He curled his lip in a malicious sneer.
“Enough,” he groaned raspily.
“Can you not touch anything, please?”
Tiffany put the bottle on the table and got on her tiptoes to meet James’s face.
“Relax, June, we’re not doing anything.” She provoked me as she sucked on James’s lower lip, making him moan sensually.
“Listen, my mom will be here in a little while, and it’s best that you guys get out of here.” I was short of breath and my heart was palpitating. The scene was giving me a migraine.
James gazed even deeper into my eyes, then grabbed Tiffany’s hair and started making out with her.
Sure, Tiffany was beautiful, but he . . . my god.
No. It’s hate; I just hate him. There’s nothing titillating about all this. I gulped, ready to tell them to get out of my house, but my gaze fell under James’s magic spell again. I watched him slide his hands over and squeeze her thighs. I lost my patience.
“James.” I tried to call him as Tiffany showed no signs of pulling herself away from his mouth.
James’s intense, intoxicating scent was everywhere. I was afraid my mom would notice it once she got home.
