Oddly, I felt nothing.
“It’s when you dress like this that I wonder why I ever let you go. Smokin’.”
Oh, yeah. Smokin’. If someone sprinkled him with ether and lit a match, maybe.
Wes set her back from him, then motioned toward me. “Laikyn’s here.”
Why did that sound like a warning more than an acknowledgment?
“Of course she is, silly. She’s your boo.”
Uh, no. No boo.
When Chastity met my eyes, I saw her smile falter but knew she had hidden it from Wes. That was what she did, but when I mentioned it to Wes, he shrugged it off. Said Chastity was one of those girls who got along much better with men than women. It was the reason they’d become such good friends after their break-up.
Or…Chastity didn’t want Wes, but she didn’t want anyone else to have him.
Yeah, that was the more likely explanation. However, since I didn’t care enough to look deeper, I simply rolled my eyes at Chastity and cast a sweet smile at Wes.
Chastity put her hand on his arm. “I hate to do this to you, Lauren—”
“Laikyn,” Wes corrected.
“Yes. Sorry.” She batted her tarantula eyelashes. “I need to drag your boyfriend away for a minute. There’s someone I want him to meet.”
My guess was that was code forI’m going to blow him in a dark corner and remind him where his loyalties lie.
“Chas, that’s not—”
“Hush it, Mr. Gonna-be-a-screenwriter-one-day. This is important. For your career.” Chastity batted her lashes my way. “You understand, don’t you?”
I considered causing a scene simply because it would liven up this party. Then I thought better of it because the last thing I wanted was for Wes to develop the same one-sided affection for me that he obviously had for Chastity. Unlike her, I had no desire to lead him on or let him believe this was anything more than a potential hookup somewhere along the way. If and when his virtue could ever step aside so he could have a little fun.
Unfortunately, I’d long ago lost my passion for causing a scene. I’d dealt with too many of my mother’s meltdowns to run headlong into another on purpose. Instead, I tended to stick to the fringes of the room, trying to disappear into the shadows.
“Go on,” I urged. “I’ve got to use the restroom anyway.”
It was a lie, of course. One of many I used to placate Wes because he was just so sweet. I hated to rock the boat with him, so I tended to hold my tongue when what I wanted to do was cut my losses and move on.
However, this was the version of me that was making an effort to fit in. The girl tailor-made for a guy like Wes. Accommodating and patient. Neither of which I had an ounce of on a good day.
“I’ll be back in a sec,” he said, smiling before Chastity dragged him off to make all his dreams come true.
If he were lucky, maybe hewouldget his dick sucked simply because she thought it would piss me off. At least one of us should be getting some satisfaction.
Did I mention I hated women like that?
While Chastity dragged him off, I took advantage of having free rein to look at what the party had to offer. It reminded me a lot of the time my friends and I had snuck into a strip club when we were sophomores in high school. Fake IDs proved invaluable when you lived in a town where kids were spoiled by parents who would rather be in the limelight than actually doing the job of instilling morals and urging their children to make good choices. Unlike that club, there were no naked men or women dancing on poles, nor was anyone throwing money at them, but based on the industrial music thumping through the space, it was only a matter of time.
Granted, every now and then, someone would drop trou, and someone else would end up on their knees. Guy, girl, genderfluid, it didn’t matter.
Or … as was the case over there, a happy mix.
“Laikyn? Laikyn Quinn? Is that you?”
Hearing my name, I turned to scan the faces, then did a one-eighty when a hand curled around my wrist.
“Oh, my God, girl! I can’t believe you’re here!”
