He takes her seat next to me. “Where’s Cole?”
“Why the hell would I know?” I ask, wishing the weed would kick in. So I lean back against the wood, relaxing.
“Isn’t he your boyfriend?”
“No,” I say quickly.
“That’s not what it looked like.”
I let out a sigh. “Why does everyone care what we were doing minutes ago?”
“Because I thought you would want to start your year out right by being on the arm of the hottest guy in school.”
I refrain from rolling my eyes. Cole may be a dick, but he doesn’t say corny lines like that. No. He just tries to blackmail you for murder. “And who is that?” I indulge him.
“Me.” He grabs the Solo cup from my hand and takes a drink of the vodka. He goes to hand it back to me but drops it.
I stand quickly, gasping as the cold liquid spills all over my lap.
“I’m so sorry,” He jumps up. And then his hands are on me. I go to move backward, but my knees hit the bench.
“It’s okay,” I say, but he pushes into me, causing me to fall back down onto my ass. My head even with the zipper on his jeans.
He stands over me, and he leans in and sniffs my hair. “What the …?”
“Bryan!”
His voice interrupts what I was about to say.
Bryan sighs heavily and turns around to face Cole but blocks me so I can’t get up from the bench.
“Just what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Cole demands.
“What you didn’t have the balls to do earlier,” Bryan answers, crossing his arms over his chest.
Cole gives me a quick once-over before his narrowed eyes go back to Bryan as he storms across the backyard toward us.
I look away from him. I don’t need him to save me. I reach up and shove Bryan out of my way. When I stand, Bryan turns to face me. “Let’s go.” He grabs my arm.
“I’m not …”
“Let her go!” Cole growls at him and yanks him forward. Bryan pulls me in the process, and we all fall down the two stairs at the entrance to the gazebo.
I roll onto my back as I look up and see Cole punch Bryan in the face.
“Austin? Are you okay?” Becky asks as she runs over to me.
“Fine,” I snap, getting up. She reaches up to pull the grass out of my hair, but I shake her off as I turn to face the guys.
The backyard starts to fill with people. Deke and Shane run out the back door.
Cole is straddling Bryan, punching him in the face. Bryan manages to block it and then land a punch to Cole’s chin, knocking him off.
Bryan goes to hit him while he’s down, but Cole lifts his right leg, kicking him in the stomach. Bryan stumbles back, and Cole jumps up in time to hit him in the face. Blood runs from Bryan’s mouth, and then Cole hits him again. Bryan stumbles back. Before he can recover, Cole hits him again. When Bryan falls to the ground this time, he doesn’t get back up.
People gather around the backyard with their phones out, recording the fight. Deke and Shane both just stand there, looking at their friend but waiting for I don’t know what. They let him beat Jeff almost to death. Maybe they don’t get in his way until the job is almost done. I shake my head as I walk past them toward the house. It’s time for me to go.
I’ve already got my phone out of my pocket and ordering an Uber when Becky comes up beside me. “I’m going home,” I tell her. “Wanna share an Uber?” I know she is just as drunk as I am. And she smoked too.
“Absolutely,” she says.
I walk into the house just to be pulled back. I spin around to see who placed their hands on me and come face to face with Cole. His chest is heaving, and his forehead is covered in a thin layer of sweat. He has a cut on his upper lip.
“Where are you going?” he demands.
“Home.” I spin around, giving him my back, but he yanks me back again.
I turn around and shove him backward. He doesn’t budge. “Stop putting your hands on me, Cole,” I yell.
“Austin …”
“You had your chance. You passed.” I throw his same words back at him.
His jaw sharpens, but this time when I turn around, he doesn’t try to stop me.
CHAPTER TEN
COLE
I PULL UP to Bruce Lowes’s house in Austin’s car that she left at my father’s house last night.
Deke pulls up behind me in his Range Rover. “Dude, you know she’s still gonna be pissed at you, right?”
“Yep.”
He snorts. “What are you gonna do about it?”
“Nothing.”
He jogs to catch up to me as I climb their front steps. “Seriously? We need her.”
“She doesn’t have to be happy with me to do what I say. She’s hated me up until this point, and I’ve still managed to …”
“Blackmail her,” he finishes.
I don’t respond.
“Don’t you think it would be easier to have her compliant?” he asks, and I turn to face him as we stand at the front door. He runs his hand through his disheveled hair. His blue eyes bloodshot from all the drinks we had last night. After she left, he and I locked ourselves in the game room and drank until we woke up this morning with pounding headaches. “I mean, she’s already afraid of us. Especially me.” He gives me a cruel smile. “But last night, that was a different side of her. A side you can work with. Fear is a good motivator but so is seduction.” He shrugs. “And it’s not like it would be hard for you to fuck her. She’s hot.”
My jaw clenches, and I turn to face the door. This conversation is over. I knock on the door, and Celeste answers in a yellow sundress and a smile on her face. “Hey, boys. Please, come in.”
“Celeste.” Deke greets her.
“Where’s Lilly?” I ask, wanting to get the hell out of here.
She frowns. “She’s in the media room with Austin. They are watching Cinderella.”
My hands fist. I don’t like Lilly getting close to Austin. Because she isn’t going to be here long. “Austin’s car is in the driveway,” I say and then toss her the keys. I hear them hit the marble floor because Celeste was not quick enough to catch them as I walk off. And me too big of a dick just to hand them to her.
I walk up the stairs and pass Austin’s bedroom, continuing to the end of the hall, and open the door to the media room.
The only light comes from the big screen on the wall. I don’t see them, but I hear Lilly’s voice. “Do fairy tales exist?”
“Depends on what you consider a fairy tale,” Austin tells her.
“What do you mean?”
I walk around the circular couch and stand in the shadows as they lie on the fluffy cushions. A bowl of popcorn sits between Austin’s legs. Lilly’s head on Austin’s chest. They both look straight ahead at the big screen.
“Well, not all girls are princesses in need of a knight to save them,” Austin tells her. “Some save themselves.”
“Belle didn’t have a prince. She had a beast.”
Austin smiles. “She did.”
“But in the end, he turned back into a prince. I liked him better as the beast,” Lilly says.