MJ spots us at the door and jogs over. “Hey!” She passes me a flask. I take it and look from her to Colt. Our instructor. I assume since he’s here and no one seems concerned, I shouldn’t be either, but this is beyond strange. I make a move to pass the flask back to her, but Colt’s sly smile makes me want to show him I’m not a stuck up stiff. I don’t know why his mere presence infuriates me, but I suddenly want to be more reckless. I tip back the flask, taking a long swig, then break into a coughing fit. “What is that?”
“Tequila.”
“Tastes like gasoline.” I take another quick sip which goes down a little easier than the first, and pass it back to her. Colt’s smile has faded. I can’t read him.
Colt tips his head, motioning to the wall as a tug of a smile pulls on his mouth. “Nicely done.”
I turn to see a big poster on the wall displays the results of this week’s geek tests, and I’m surprised to find my name listed second from the top, only behind a guy named Pete who is galloping around the room in a cape.
Strange. I shake the feeling of panic away. I have nothing to be ashamed of.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get back to the dorm safe and sound,” he says, his voice dropping an octave lower so only I can hear him.
“So are you chaperoning this shin dig?” I whisper back.
He chuckles under his breath. “Um, no.”
I watch him scan the room and when his eyes stop on Bria, I weave around him. I head to the far end of the room where I spot Logan sitting against the wall.
I slide down and collapse onto the floor next to him. He glances over once before pulling a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his black hoodie. He shakes one out and lights it, then offers me the pack.
“No thanks.”
Logan and I play tic tac toe with chalk on the floor, the most innocent of pastimes by far compared to what’s going on around us. Couples have paired off and found not-so-private corners of the room to make out in, others are getting sloppy drunk, including Bria’s friend who’s still in the poker game. Though she tries to cover herself, I swear I just caught a glimpse of a nipple.
I shudder and roll my eyes. I thought this was supposed to be a geek party. I hadn’t been expecting…this. But I guess this was bound to happen with teenage hormones running free and unchecked.
Colt surprises me by ignoring Bria, though once she spotted him, she gave up her spot at the card table and pressed her perky boobs up against his chest. I suppressed a smile when he retrieved her shirt for her.
She pouted, but she put it back on.
“Your turn.” Logan says, bringing my attention back to our game. I draw an X through the square, blocking him from winning.
He rolls the chalk between his fingers. “Colt keeps looking at you.”
I glance up and see that he’s right. Colt’s dark eyes are locked on me from across the room. Yep, he’s definitely gorgeous. His eyes, which at first glance were brown, are actually hazel with flecks of deep green. And he has dark, thick eyelashes that I would gladly murder someone for.
I do my best to ignore him for the next hour, but the feeling that someone is watching me is unmistakable. I have no idea why he’d be looking at me, with a room full of girls and one who’s practically throwing herself at him. But I do my best to ignore him.
A few more sips from MJ’s flask provide me with the courage to steal a glance toward Colt. He’s sitting alone across the room in a bean bag chair, head tipped back against the wall, eyes closed. For some strange reason I think of Wes and my chest gets tight.
MJ purses her lips and directs a glare at Colt. “The jackass needs to keep his eyes to himself,” she complains.
I can see him looking our way. He chuckles at MJ’s obvious death glare. “So other than the obvious, what’s with your hatred for Colt?” I look at her. “You and he never…”
“God, no.”
“Do you just despise him on principle then?”
She bites into her bottom lip, hesitating, as if deciding how much to tell me. Her eyes blaze, resolute. “He slept with my friend, Jewel. She only lasted here four months. When he broke her heart, she purposely failed out and got sent home so she didn’t have to see him.”
I grimace. “That’s awful. Was she a first year?”
She shakes her head. “Second year, but she and I started here around the same time. She was hilarious, smart, spoke six languages. It was such a waste – her going back to rot away in public school just to escape him.”
I nod. That is sort of horrible, but strangely, it’s something I can relate to. I can see how Colt’s attention could easily turn weaker girls into his playthings, to use once and then discard. And how it would feel after. I knew firsthand how bad it stung when a boy you gave your heart to moved on. I’d been inexperienced in love, well what I thought was love with Wes.
Wes was practically a high school celebrity at the local skate park. Flocks of girls sat on the curb watching him for hours. I’d been stupid enough to think he was mine when we started dating. I’d been on that ride before, and had no plans to get back in line.
MJ cuts into my private thoughts, continuing on. “Colt’s philosophy was if Jewel wasn’t strong enough to withstand that, she wasn’t cut out for this anyway. He didn’t even feel bad. I question if he has human emotions at all.”
I do my best to see only his bad qualities, which is difficult, since none of them are physical.
“Logan, pass me that flask.”
He gives me a strange look, but hands it over. I take a long swig, swallowing down the gasoline flavored tequila, but it does little to quench the uneasiness inside me.
Chapter 10
I stretch out in bed and try to shake the image of Taylor from my mind. She’s off limits, which makes keeping my thoughts clean right now even more difficult. I replay the way she drank from that flask. Determination burned in her eyes, as she licked the amber-colored liquor from her very kissable lips. That image is seared into my brain whether I like it or not.
But a girl like Taylor would never be happy with a once-and-done type of a guy. Which I remind myself doesn’t matter. I enjoy my lifestyle and I’m not looking to change that, no matter how bad I’d like her in my bed. I had it made – a different girl every weekend, more money than I knew what to do with and adrenaline pumping assignments. I wasn’t about to throw that away for a girl who would want commitment and romance. No thanks. That shit never works in the end anyways.
I’m not looking for a relationship, but figure there’s nothing wrong with a little flirting, especially when it seemed to have such a profound effect on her. Showing her the slightest attention left her flustered and pink-cheeked. And call me masochistic, but I liked provoking that response in her.
If I was smart, I’d ignore Taylor. Which shouldn’t be difficult, given there are several other girls I can and will entertain myself with. Then no one would get hurt, especially me. But somehow thoughts of her creep in before I can block them out.
I absently twirl the leather strings on my right wrist, which I caught myself doing whenever I felt anxious, which for some reason this girl makes me. She keeps me on edge.
I pick up my phone, scanning through my contacts, trying to put faces to the names of girls I’d bothered to enter. I scroll through and pick one at random, and wait while it rings.
“Hey. It’s Colt. Come over and keep me company?”
When I hang up the phone, a pang of regret claws inside me. I shake the feeling away. This is the only way, even if I am starting to have mixed feelings about it. I lay back against my pillow, knowing I have time to wait before she gets here. I close my eyes and try to relax. I hate how on edge I’ve been since Taylor arrived here. I haven’t felt this off in a long time. I run my hands over my face, remembering back to a time I don’t often think about.