My long blonde hair frames my oval face, showcasing my full lips and button nose while shining a stark contrast on my blue eyes. But older boys aren’t my thing, they’re Carmen’s.
As I cross my arms, her eyes find mine. “What’s the matter, babe? Need a smoke break?”
She nods with a fake smirk, then stands. “Please.”
Her long tan legs wobble the slightest bit, but she corrects herself before anyone else can notice. “You stay, boy.” She says, patting the guy’s head as she stands over him.
I do my best to hide the laugh forming in my throat as I hook my arm with hers and lead her past the crowd of other people, the spiral staircase, and to the front door. I pull it open and step out with her still tucked into my side. “Over there, Carmen,” I say pointing to the lush bushes lining the front of the mini mansion we’re partying at.
Instead of a thank you, she nods vigorously before stomping down the front steps with her hand over her mouth. I shake my head with a small laugh before she disappears around the corner to blow chunks in private.
Carmen and I have been friends since preschool, so this is nothing new to me. I only come to these parties to make sure no one fucks with her. Since she’s so beautiful—with her supermodel legs, long, perfectly straight, dark hair, and symmetrical face—she’s the envy of most girls, and the perfect wet dream come to life for even more boys.
Not only that, but her father owns one of the biggest hotel chains on the west coast. Most people hate her for all she is or all she has, but she couldn’t care less.
I plop down on the steps and pull my pack of cigarettes from the side of my bra. I pluck one from the box and spark it up, taking in a long drag, then blow it out into the dark night.
“Still babysitting Carmen, I see.” A deep voice says from the other side of the porch.
I don’t need to turn to see who it belongs to because I already know.
Carter McLane.
I wouldn’t say Carter and I are friends because we aren’t, but his dad, Malcolm, is my father’s business partner and partial owner to Walton McLane Country Club. He and I have grown up together too in a sense. We were playing on the floor during business meetings while in diapers. And as we got older, we would run around the fountain at the club, chasing butterflies, when the smoke from the cigars at parties got too much.
I guess when puberty hit us both is when we lost what little bond we had, but it doesn’t bother me. Now he’s nothing more than a carbon copy of his dad. Perverted. Self-absorbed. Arrogant. And a total asshole.
I take another puff from my cigarette. “Like it’s any of your business,” I snap back.
“Damn, Bunny. Why so hostile? I thought we were friends.” I can hear the smile in his voice.
I cringe at the nickname he gave me when we were younger.
Bunny.
It sounds cute, but really it was an insult. A way to make fun of the way I ran away from him.
“Not hostile, Carter, just real,” I shrug.
As I take another drag from my cigarette, I can feel him move behind me. His knees crack as he squats down, but I still don’t turn around. “Or maybe,” his hot breath hits my ear, “you just haven’t been fucked good in a while. That’s why you’re so snappy.”
I let out a chuckle, then flick my cigarette onto the freshly cut grass. As I stand, I feel his body lightly brush my back, but when I turn around, he’s still crouched down. “Carter, you’re not getting into my pants.” It’s a statement I made before and I’ll probably make again.
Carter is a whore. He sleeps with anything with legs and leaves them high and dry the next morning, and that’s not something I want to be a part of. Maybe at one point in time, I did. I liked him because he was sweet—he was my friend. But that shifted drastically one day and hasn’t been the same sense.
As the last word leaves my mouth, he stands to his full six-foot height and towers over me. His sandy brown hair spills over his forehead as his chiseled jaw tics, and his amber eyes bore into me. “Come on, Lydia. It could be fun.” He smiles showing me every last one of his pearly white teeth.
I huff, “You see, Carter,” I run my finger down the buttons on his shirt, stopping just above his belt buckle. “You and I would never work together. You couldn’t handle me.”
He lowers his head, so his lips are hovering above mine. He’s so close I can smell the alcohol on his breath. “Let me be the judge of that.”
I skim my lips over his lightly. “I haven’t forgotten how you said all I would ever be good for is a fuck, so no thank you.” I lay my hands flat on his chest and push him away hard.
As he steadies himself, he lets out a dark laugh. “It was a compliment, for fucks sake.”
I narrow my eyes and cross my arms over my chest. “Yeah, okay.”
“Well, that was hot.” I turn and see Carmen making her way back to the porch as she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. “You two really should just fuck already.”
Carter rolls his eyes at me then glances at her. “How about you and I fuck, Carmen?”
As she starts up the steps, her face scrunches up. “Ew.,” she replies with a shiver.
“Ah, I forgot you like old dick that can only stay up with the help of pills.” He spits back, but Carmen doesn’t deny it. She’s always had a thing for boys older than her.
The door behind us opens and a small brunette steps out, killing the conversation. She shimmies by Carter, making sure her hips graze across his front.
“Fuck off, Carter,” Carmen finally remarks, waving her hand around.
His eyes stay glued onto the girl who passes me and Carmen and is starting down the brick walkway. “Don’t mind if I do.” He hurries down the steps and sprints to catch up with the girl.
Once he’s beside her, he throws his arm over her shoulder then turns and sends a wink in my direction before they disappear.
“I was serious, you know?” Carmen says, breaking my stare from where Carter and the girl disappeared.
I snap my eyes to hers. “What?”
“You and Carter. You guys need to fuck—squash all of that built-up tension. I bet it would be hot.” She plops onto the steps and leans her head onto the banister. “Hot and dirty…” she trails off.
“You’re clearly drunk and delusional,” I laugh. “I’ll get us an Uber.”
“Maybe I am, but it’ll happen. And when it does, I want every detail. Carter is hot as fuck and I bet his dick is huge.”
As I finish putting her address into the app, I laugh. “He’s also an asshole, but why don’t you sleep with him?”
She squints her eyes at me with a knowing look. “Maybe he’s an asshole for a good reason,” She shrugs, ignoring my question.
I shake my head and sit down beside her, not pressing it further. “I don’t think so. I’ve never done anything to him, yet he’s nothing but mean to me and treats me like a piece of ass.”
Now she laughs. “Name one person in this fucked up town that doesn’t treat you like a piece of ass.” When I stay silent, she laughs again. “Exactly.”