2
Kleo
“Kleo, Kleo, Kleo!” I down yet another shot of tequila in an attempt to beat back the remnants of my nightmare, but as usual, there’s not enough alcohol in the world to help me sleep tonight.
“Woohoo! Kleo, Kleo, Kleo!” How many is that now? I honestly have no damn clue. I’m pretty sure I lost count after eight. Or was it ten? Andrea stands beside me, her fists up in the air as she bounces on her tiptoes. We’ve been standing up here on this table for at least an hour. Long enough that the tequila no longer burns anymore, my throat now completely numb from however many shots I’ve done since getting here two hours ago.
Truthfully, I’m pretty freaking surprised I’m even still standing. However many it’s been though, one thing is certain: I still need more. If I’m still standing, it’s not enough.
“Woohoo!” They yell again, and I grin, the room tilting to the side as I stare out at my peers. They look up at me with lopsided smiles, and I feel like I’m on top of the world even as I know I’m completely alone. It doesn’t matter that I don’t know any of their names though—what matters is that I’m here, getting hammered, and forgetting all of my problems.
“Another!” someone calls, and my grin widens.
“Are you trying to get me drunk?” I slur, putting both hands on my jean-clad hips. My bare stomach is sticky from the belly shots right when I arrived, my crop top more than likely ruined with spilled trashcan punch. As I stand up here on my pedestal, looking down at the partiers, I feel powerful when, for so long, I’ve felt powerless. Here in Tallahassee, I can be whoever I want, whatever I want. No more pitied looks from the family and friends who were there the night my world was stained. Nope, here, Kleo Turner is fun with a capital F.
“Kleo! Andrea!” I look over to the side and spot Jace and his buddies waving at us from the corner. It’s not the trust fund douchebag who catches my eye though, but rather the taller man standing right behind him.
“Hey!” Andrea squeals and jumps down, two guys catching her. They turn expectantly to me, but I shake my head. I watched the ass grab, and I’m not drunk enough for all that. Plopping down on the edge of the table, I push off and sway, steadying my hand on the sticky table I’d been standing on moments before.
Jace and his trio of friends push through the crowd toward us. “Hey there, gorgeous,” he greets, and I force a smile in return.
“Hey yourself,” I reply, looking directly at his friend. I can’t stand Jace. He and my ex-roommate Macey had a brief fling, and he ended up being a total and complete asshat to her when she decided she wasn’t returning to Florida State. Admittedly, it stung me that she bailed but mainly because I had to go to my parents for help with the rent after insisting they let me choose where I wanted to live and promising I could pay for it myself.
But she’s happy and living it up with some hottie in small-town Montana. “What’s up?” I let my gaze travel over his group to the real reason I’m excited. Andrew Nolan, tall, broody, and sexy as hell, stares down at me from his spot at the back of Jace’s band of troublemakers. I’ve been trying to get this guy to look twice at me since last April. He and Andrea are twins, and it’s one of the reasons I still hang out with her despite the fact that she’s a class-A bitch.
“We’re going to go get into some trouble, you up for it?” Andrew asks.
Andrea grins. “Yes! Right, Kleo?”
She hip bumps me and I smile. “Sure.”
Andrew beams down at me, his perfectly straight teeth on full display. “That’s awesome, Jace was just telling me how much fun you are.”
“I was.”
“I’m glad he wasn’t exaggerating.”
“Oh, she is fun,” Andrea says. “Isn’t that right?”
“That’s me,” I confirm. “Fun, fun, fun.”
“Then let’s get this party on the road.” Jace puts his hand on my lower back, the pressure just enough to get me moving toward the door. As I pass by Andrew, his hand reaches out and grips mine, large fingers threading through my much smaller ones, and suddenly the buzz in my blood has little to do with the tequila.
He smiles down at me, dark brown eyes hooded beneath the flashing lights of the disco ball hanging from the ceiling in the living room.
I let him pull me through the crowd until we step out into the muggy Florida air.
“So, where’re we going?” Andrea asks as Andrew steps around me and opens the door to Jace’s black Jaguar. As I’m sliding in, the scents of leather and spice fill my lungs, and my head swims. Probably shouldn’t have had those last few shots. Andrea slides in on the other side, sticking me in between her and her brother.
Jace slips behind the wheel and turns to grin at me. “The dean’s place.”
I blanch, feeling myself go pale. Dean Michael Phillips is a play-by-the-rules-or-get-your-ass-kicked-to-the-curb type. “And why are we going there?” I ask.
“Relax,” Grey, Jace’s other friend, a guy who’s been trying to get me in bed for months, looks back at me from the passenger seat. “He’s not home.”
I’m torn. On one hand, I really want these guys to like me. Mainly, I want Andrew to like me. But on the other hand, screwing with the dean of Florida State just sounds like a terrible idea. It doesn’t matter that I’m done here. He and my father are close friends.
Andrew leans around me to look at his sister. “I thought you said she was fun?”
I reach up and finger the strands of my long hair. “Of course I’m fun. Let’s do this.”
Andrea laughs, and Andrew leans back in his seat as Grey shouts, “Onward!”
Jace peels away from the curb, tires screeching as he leans forward and cranks up the stereo. Pitbull fills the interior of his car, and I swallow hard, trying to not showcase how nervous I actually am.
What’s the worst-case scenario? Mr. Phillips and his wife could cut ties with my family, who could deem me the black sheep, and I could get tossed out onto my ass. Best case? He’s not home, and we partake in some harmless fun.
Andrew’s grip tightens on my hand, and I look up at him. He’s staring down at me, lust darkening his gaze, and it pushes the rest of my discomfort away. Definitely worth it.
The drive isn’t long, and a few minutes later, we’re pulling up outside a massive two-story. Andrew gets out, and I slide off the leather to stand beside him, gaping at the house before me. Sprawling green lawns make up the largest front yard I’ve ever seen while green bushes flank both sides of a wrap-around porch.
“This place is huge!”
Jace nods. “My dad brought me here for a private luncheon before I got started. It’s fucking ridic inside too. Come on, we’re going around back.”
He steps onto the perfectly manicured lawn, and for a moment, I honestly wonder if alarms won’t start going off. I mean, this place looks like the perfect location for hidden sensor alarms.
Grey follows him, and Andrew pulls me after them. I’m terrified of what they have planned, but I don’t say anything. Because who wants to be a buzzkill? I’ve known these guys for years. The most they do is get drunk and throw fruit off the roof.