Reese

 

“Ugh,” Gemma whined from the back seat. “Remind me why we let grandma drive? At this rate, we might get to the party sometime tomorrow afternoon.”

Syd slowly and carefully came to stop at a red light. “This is the thanks I get for selflessly being your designated driver?”

Gemma scoffed. “Please. We all know you wouldn’t get drunk even if you weren’t driving.”

Personally, I thought Syd could drive however slowly she wanted to. Because at some point while I was getting ready, a swarm of butterflies had invaded my belly and I was now queasy with nerves. Maybe that was because I had spent most of my time in front of the mirror wondering if Cam would like what he saw. Like I’d been dressing for him. And that wasn’t a good sign.

“Hey,” Syd protested. “Wine can get you drunk faster than beer can.”

“Oh my God, if you brought your own wine glass with you again I swear I’m going to hurl it out the window,” Gemma deadpanned.

Syd groaned. “That was one time! And it was because I knew your hemp sandal-weaving friends wouldn’t have any wine glasses. Or any clean glasses, for that matter.”

Gemma let out a heavy breath. “No woman on this earth needs a bong rip more than you, Syd.”

I couldn’t contain my laughter from the front seat. I tugged the hem of my skater dress down a bit, worried it was going to be too short no matter what I did. I’d bought it on sale months ago and hadn’t had an excuse to wear it until tonight. It was black faux leather all around, with triangle waist cut-outs on the sides. I wore a pair of Gemma’s red suede strappy heels and bold red lipstick to match because I was feeling sassy. Or at least, I had been earlier. And even though my chestnut locks fell down my back in perfect waves and my smoky-eyed makeup was on point, I was still having to coax my confidence to the surface. Not something I usually struggled with.

Damn Cam.

“So…” Gemma said, leaning forward and sticking her head between our seats. “Have you had any more make-out sessions with Hottie McTottie that we should know about?”

“Nope. And I don’t plan on having any more, either.”

I failed to mention the fact that Cam now had my number, which admittedly, could become a whole other issue.

She fell back in her seat like a pouting child. “What about the rest of the guys? How are we looking in that department?”

I craned my neck to stare at her. “Have you never watched any of the games?”

She shrugged. “When have you ever known me to so much as talk about sports, let alone watch them?”

Good point. I turned back around. “Most of them are pretty cute, I guess. The Lancaster brothers always get a lot of attention from girls. And Boyd has that whole good ‘ol boy, southern gentleman thing about him. But if you ask me to play matchmaker for you all night, we’ll pull over and drop you off right now.”

Syd acted like she was going to stop at the curb. “Is here good?”

We shared a smile, but she kept driving. And yes, driving at her annoyingly slow pace. But I’d take slow and steady over crazy and dangerous. Which was Gemma. Yet another reason she wasn’t driving.

“I need new roommates,” I heard Gemma mutter under her breath.

Ten minutes later, we pulled up in front of the house and parked next to dozens of other vehicles spread out across the yard. The house was a two-level contemporary design but was clearly showing its age with its cracked wooden porch steps and chipped paint. It was a good thing they didn’t have any close neighbors, too, because the bass of the music could be heard two blocks from here. I could see why this was the party house.

“Okay, check your wristlets,” Gemma commanded. “Everyone have their phones?”

“Check.”

“Compact and lipstick?”

“Check.”

“Pepper spray?” Christmas gifts from Syd last year.

“Check.”

“Condoms?”

Syd and I both slowly turned our heads to find her mischievous expression grinning back at us. “What?” she said. “You never know when an opportunity will arise.”

Syd pretended to gag. “Do whatever you’re going to do, I just don’t want to hear about it. But the only way you’re leaving this party is in this car with us. Just so you know.” Ever the mother hen.

“Ah, shucks, Mom.”

All three of us got out of the car and meandered up the walkway to the front door, which was left wide open. Thankfully, it was one of those weird winter nights that was way too warm for this time of year, so none of us really needed jackets. The living room to our right had apparently been converted to a makeshift dance floor, a giant stereo system blasting the latest rap song from the far back corner. Drunken co-eds were writhing wildly all over the place, drinks thrown up in the air as more and more couples got dangerously close to making babies in public. To our left was the dining area that expanded out into the kitchen. A fierce beer pong game was going on as people gathered around the players, shouting nonsensical gibberish. At least that’s what it sounded like over the music.

Vaughn was so full of shit. This was definitely not just sports teams.

Not going to get crazy, my ass.

“I already feel too old for this,” Syd said.

“Honey, you can’t feel too old for it when you never even enjoyed it when you had the chance to,” Gemma replied. She gave Syd a loud slap on the ass and headed for the living room, winking over her shoulder at us and yelling, “I’m going to go find me an opportunity!”

“And I’m going to go find me a drink,” I said on a sigh.

“I’ll join you for just one,” Syd said, wrinkling her nose as her eyes flew over the party. “I have a feeling I’m going to need something to make me forget about how much bacteria is covering every inch of this place.”

I mimicked Gemma and gave her another hearty smack on the ass. “That’s the spirit.”

We carefully made our way into the kitchen, snaking past couples who were making out, and dodging sloshing red Solo cups of the beer pong spectators. I politely smiled at the appreciative glances thrown our way and outright ignored the obnoxious come-ons. I poured myself a glass of beer from the keg and was shocked out of my black lace panties when Syd immediately snatched it out of my hands.

My eyes were wide as I watched her take three big gulps of it. “Wow. You must be really disgusted if you’re drinking beer.”

She stared down in horror at the multitude of spills and messes all over the kitchen counter. “I think I’m starting to break out in hives.”

Despite Gemma’s and my insistence that Syd wear a little sexy something tonight, our friend had still stayed mostly in her comfort zone. Her hair was pulled back into her usual tight ponytail—at least it wasn’t a damn French twist. Her makeup was light and natural, which always worked for her. She wore very little jewelry, and she’d opted for cute ankle boots instead of heels. The one concession she’d been willing to make was her dress. Rather than wear this boring-ass virginal white frock that fell past her knees, we’d managed to get her into a navy blue shift dress that—hold on to your knickers!—fell a couple of inches above her knees.

Syd really was a very pretty woman. She just tended to dress how her mother liked to dress her. In other words, she dressed like her mother. Gemma had made the mistake of telling her that one time. It had resulted in an all-out Cheater’s Treats doughnut war.

A neatly combed head of sandy blond hair came out of nowhere and bent over Syd’s hand. The guy in question lifted her hand to his mouth, laying a gentle kiss on it. Before he even raised his head, I knew who that head belonged to. Vaughn.

He flashed his signature boyish grin. “Your eyes are blue like the ocean. And baby, I’m lost at sea.”

When he didn’t break his expression, Syd’s head swung around to me. “Is he for real?”

I smiled and affectionately ruffled his hair. “Eh, he’s harmless. His kind is usually released back into the wild once it’s discovered they’re untamable.”

Vaughn clutched his chest. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Reese.”

I waved my hand at my friend. “Vaughn, this is my roommate, Sydney. Sydney, this is Vaughn Rafferty. Sixth man for the NCU Thunder.”

“Best sixth man in the country, babe.” He stepped closer to her, laying the schmooze on thick. “You want to take a spin on the dance floor with me?”

She threw a hand up. “Thanks, but no. I have a boyfriend.”

Oh, yeah. I sometimes forgot about Caleb the Cryer, since he never made an effort to hang out with any of Syd’s friends. Not that I was complaining. He would be a total buzz kill if he were here tonight.

As always, Vaughn wasn’t affected by the rejection. I was beginning to think this guy had a constitution of steel and about a three second rebound rate.

“Well, in that case, Boyd and I are up next on the beer pong table and we don’t have any opponents yet.” His eyes flitted back and forth between us. “You ladies up for it?”

I looked at Syd, our eyes assessing each other. After a few seconds, we both shrugged and looked back at him. “Sure, why not.”

His smile was like a Cheshire cat’s. “That’s what I like to hear.”

As we stood in the kitchen, waiting for the current game to finish, it hadn’t escaped my attention that I had yet to see Cam. Most of the guys from the team were here, but he was nowhere in sight. Maybe he hadn’t come? And there was no way I was going to ask anyone about him.

Just then, a clearing formed in the crowded hallway, providing me a view of another room with a couple of couches and armchairs. People were sprawled out on the furniture, passing a bong around, while others stood around talking in groups. A flash of dark blond hair caught my attention, but I had to wait for someone to move before I could see the face.

And…there he was.

Cam sat on one of the couches next to Jesse, laughing at something he said. I recognized some of the other guys around them as members of the football team. But what really grabbed my attention was the girl with long black hair sitting next to Cam. Far too close to him, in my opinion. She was exactly what I expected his type to be: long legs, tanned skin, painted-on makeup, and boobs that were either a gift from God or her plastic surgeon.

Cam wasn’t really showing her much attention, keeping his head turned toward Jesse and away from her. But I couldn’t help the crushing feeling of disappointment as I noticed how close their bodies were. There was obviously some sort of familiarity there. Even though I knew it would be a bad idea to get involved with him, that didn’t mean I could so easily turn off my attraction toward him. And the moments we’d shared together over the last month, especially that kiss, I couldn’t evict them from my mind. As much as I didn’t want them to mean anything to me, they sort of did.

And as much as I’d tried to fight it, certain feelings had wriggled their way into my heart. No, not heart. That sounded dangerous. My subconscious. Yes, I subconsciously had certain feelings that I couldn’t ignore.

Now I was just pissed off.

I was mad that he’d made me feel this way. That I’d somehow let him have this kind of power over me. The guy who makes out with me in a stairwell and then lets a random girl at a party practically climb him like a tree.

That was enough for me.

I was going to prove to myself—and maybe to him, too—that I could do whatever the hell I wanted and not give a shit about what he was doing and still have a damn good time.

“We’re up, ladies!” Vaughn announced, leading us over to the table.

Perfect. Let’s get some alcohol in this system.

“Just so you know,” Syd leaned over to say in my ear, “I’m playing to win here.”

“Yeah, well, I’m playing to drink.” I saluted her with my Solo cup. “Looks like we’ll be a good team.”

 

***

It turned out that I was the one more focused on winning, and Syd was more focused on drinking. She’d eagerly chugged down more of our beers than I had, which was weirding me out a little bit. I watched her in astonishment as she downed yet another half-filled cup of Bud Light.

“You do know that you can just refill your own cup and drink out of that, right?” I asked. “Especially since these dirty balls have been swimming in the beer you’re currently drinking.”

She crunched up the cup in her hand and threw it on the floor. “Maybe I like my balls dirty.”

Allll right. Looked like I’d be driving us home tonight. No more beer for this girl.

“Is tea time about over there, ladies?” Boyd yelled, smirking his adorable smirk. “Or do you need another team meeting?” He looked down at our remaining cups. “Although, I don’t think it’ll be much help.”

They had two cups left and we had four. We weren’t doing that bad. The problem was, I wasn’t sure how many cups Syd was actually seeing out of those invisible beer goggles she was sporting.

She tossed Boyd a disarmingly sweet smile that made him blink a few times, as if in a trance. “Get ready for a comeback, cowboy. The likes of which you’ve never seen.”

His eyes darkened in a way I’d never seen from him. He was always so laidback and chill, acting as if nothing irked him. If I wasn’t mistaken, there was some definite interest behind those dilated pupils.

“Let’s see what you got, princess.”

Syd raised her arm, steadied herself, and tossed the white ball straight into one of our four cups. We both screamed and high-fived because we were cool like that.

“It’s Britney, bitch!” she shouted.

Boyd was leaned over the table, his palms flat on the surface, his gaze never having left Syd. “Not bad.”

Oh, yeah. There was something there. I’d noticed it from the second we started playing and the sparks of chemistry started flying between these two seemingly polar opposites. Which was evidenced by the nicknames they’d already given each other.

I made my shot, causing the crowd around us to break out into loud cheers, especially all the females in the room. We got another turn, but we both ended up missing our shots. When it was the guys’ turn only Boyd made his, knocking them down to the last cup. His scorching gaze once again landed on my roommate.

“Don’t act like you’re not impressed, princess.”

“Don’t act like you haven’t been staring at my boobs all game.”

My head whipped around to her in utter disbelief. Syd did not talk that way in public. Hell, she hardly said anything even remotely risqué around anyone but Gemma and I. Was this just the alcohol talking? Or was this somehow influenced by Boyd? Because she certainly didn’t act this way around Caleb. Like she actually had some fire in her.

Boyd’s eyes lowered to her chest before landing once again on her face. “Oh, I won’t.”

When Syd made her next shot and I missed mine, I swear it felt like she and Boyd were just playing against each other. Both teams were down to their last cup, and the first person to make it in would win. Luckily, both guys missed their next shots.

“Okay,” Boyd said. “How’s about if we win, y’all have to have the next dance with us?”

Syd stood with a hand on her hip, throwing him much more sass than I thought she was capable of. “And if we win?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Your choice, princess.”

“You two have to dance with each other,” I said, pointing at them.

Boyd and Vaughn slowly glanced at each other, trepidation written all over their faces. It was so comical it took everything in me not to burst out in laughter.

Boyd sighed. “Deal.” I’m pretty sure I also heard him quietly say to Vaughn, “We better fucking win this.”

Our turn. I clutched both white balls in my hands, rubbing and blowing on them for good luck.

“We’re not playing craps here, Reese,” Syd said, holding her hand out.

I looked her dead in the eyes and gently placed the ball in her outstretched hand. “This is for women everywhere,” I told her, feeling the alcohol swirling around in my head. “Those two thought they were going to have an easy win over two girls. Show them that we’ve got balls just as big as theirs.”

She nodded. “Big balls. Right.”

All eyes in the room were on her as the ball left her fingertips and sailed through the air, seeming to move in slow motion until…

It bounced off the rim of the cup and fell straight down with a resounding plop.

The whole room erupted in cheers, girls and guys alike. Everyone loves an underdog, I guess. Syd and I were jumping around shouting and laughing like adolescent girls at a Justin Bieber concert. I swear I could hear “We Are the Champions” playing somewhere in the background. In my euphoria I happened to glance over to the next room and my eyes clashed with some bright blue ones.

Cam’s.

He was looking right at me, intensity dominating his features. His nostrils flared as he sat forward in his position on the couch, elbows on his knees, beer bottle held loosely in one hand. He wasn’t paying anyone around him any attention, including the black-haired beauty who still sat flush against him. It was the first time we’d acknowledged each other all night and man, did I feel that burning gaze of his sear right through me. His heated perusal was just as potent from across the room as it was when he stood right next to me. When those baby blues traveled down my body, I could feel them caressing every inch of me. It made me squirm in place as my belly clenched, warmth spreading throughout my limbs.

Boyd walked around the table toward Syd, his forlorn expression disappearing as soon as they made eye contact. “Now, I know I made a deal and everything,” he said. “But do you think I could get one dance out of you before I humiliate myself and have to spend the rest of the night in hiding?”

Syd giggled, her eyes sparkling with pleasure. It was actually pretty adorable. She was genuinely enchanted by our Boyd. “You’re in luck, cowboy. I just happen to be in a dancing mood.”

When she took his hand, the guy’s face lit up like the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

I happily watched them make their way to the dance floor, which was why I didn’t notice when Vaughn snuck up behind me. “How about it, Reese? Think you could spare one dance for your good ‘ol pal Vaughn?”

At that moment, I happened to peer over my shoulder and noticed that Cam was back to talking to his group of friends, his attention no longer on me. And he still hadn’t gotten rid of the black-haired girl. Frustration flooded my veins once again, and I needed another distraction immediately. Before I did something stupid like go confront him about his unpredictable behavior.

I spun around. “It’s your lucky day, Rafferty.”

I led him into the dance room and heard him cheekily shout from behind me, “How lucky are we talking?”

I responded to his wolfish grin with a simple look. “I wouldn’t be going out to buy lottery tickets later. That clear enough?”

He sighed. “Unfortunately, yes. One of these days, though, Reese.”

I laughed and stepped closer, starting to dance. “Never going to happen, Vaughn.”

I wasn’t really surprised that I had a great time dancing with him. He could tell I didn’t want to get too close or too intimate, so he was content with being his usual goofball self and making me laugh. He was just a fun person to be around who never took life too seriously. I needed more people like that in my universe.

What did unnerve me the whole time we were dancing, though, was the constant feeling of being watched. With the way the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and the way my pulse pounded—which was not due to the thumping music—I knew Cam had been watching Vaughn and I the entire time.

I started to get a bad feeling.

Something told me I was about to regret drinking all those beers.