“Bry?” Brooke questions, bringing her hand up to wipe the tears from her confused face as Tora clutches the frypan a little tighter. Courtney pushes her hoodie back and makes sure they see her too, though she wears an equally as guilty expression on her face.
Tora is the first to snap into action and lowers the pan before helping Brooke to do the same with the knife. "What the hell was that?" she demands, throwing the frypan in the sink as Puck waltzes through the door, extremely proud of himself.
"Cutting the power was a good touch, huh?" Puck laughs, walking deeper into the house.
"Fucking stupid, is what it is," Tora growls, pretty fucking unimpressed with us. "I was about ready to beat the shit out of you guys with a frypan. Brooke has a fucking knife in her hands. Are you morons?"
That would be a yes.
"Shit, Tora," Courtney says with a cringe, trying to defuse the situation. "It's a joke. Calm down."
"Yeah, funny joke," Brooke scoffs, tossing the knife into the sink and walking out of the kitchen. "I nearly wet my fucking pants."
"Sorry," I grumble, hating that I’ve scared them this much. It was supposed to be a little innocent fun. "It originally wasn't our intention to scare you but when Puck suggested it, well...we couldn't resist."
Tora narrows her eyes and shoots a nasty glare at Puck. "Nate is going to pulverize you for this."
His eyes widen in horror, clearly not having thought that part through. "Fuck. I didn't even think about that," he says. "Shit, I'll make it up to you. Don't tell him. My face is too pretty to be broken into a hundred pieces."
Tora shrugs, teasing him. “Good luck with that.”
“Shiiiit,” he groans before turning to Courtney. “I told you, I wanted to stay home and fuck all day, but nooooo, we just had to leave the house. Are you happy now? I’m going to look like a fucking gorilla.” With that, he turns and stalks out the door as Courtney chuckles at his back.
Tora looks across at me. “I’d really like to say it’s great to see you, but I’m not feeling it just yet. Give me a few minutes and I’m sure I’ll be ecstatic.”
“Understandable,” I laugh, having enough of holding back and crashing into my friend’s arms, giving her a tight squeeze. “How are you?”
“Exhausted,” she says with a sigh as Brooke comes to join us. “What are you doing here? Did Yale kick you out already?”
I roll my eyes. “No. I happen to be killing it. I’m at the top of most of my classes. It’s just this damn Suzie McFuckface who keeps besting me.”
“You’re such a nerd,” Brooke says, barging Tora out of the way and wrapping me in a big bear hug. “But seriously, what are you doing here?”
“It’s my aunt’s wedding on Sunday, so I thought I’d come down and see you all first.”
“Well then,” Brooke smiles, looking across at Tora with a knowing grin. “I guess we better call Elle.”
A grin rips across my face. Calling Elle could only mean that we’ll be partying the night away. Though a party would also mean that Tyson Wilder is bound to come storming back into my life and I’m going to have to do everything in my power to keep him away.
I’m fucked.
Chapter 4
Tyson
“Yo, fucker,” Jesse says through the phone. “Huge fucking party at Tora’s place. Brylee is back for the weekend and we’re celebrating.”
The fuck? I didn’t know she was coming back.
A grin spreads wide over my face as I sit up straight on my couch. “I’ll be there in ten.”
I practically race out the fucking door with a grin the size of Texas settling over my face. My girl is back. It’s been a long as fuck few months and I finally get another shot. I’ve been waiting for this since summer break, but the question is, why is she back? Is she here for me? No. Of course not.
Don’t be such an egotistical ass, Tyson.
If she was here for me, she would have come to me. Instead, she’s gone out of her way to make sure I don’t know that she’s here. How long has she been here anyway? I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s been here all fucking day with her girls. Hell, if she’s been with Courtney, then I can guarantee that Puck knows she’s here and if that’s the case, then that fucker can get screwed. What ever happened to guy code?
Am I shooting myself in the foot coming to this party? It’s not like I wasn’t invited, though I can guarantee that the majority of the people who show up tonight won’t have been invited. Am I making matters worse by showing up and demanding her presence? Maybe I’ll just hang low and keep an eye on her.
Shit. I sound like a fucking stalker. Am I that hung up on this girl? What a stupid thing to say. I know damn well that I’m hung up on her. I have been for well over a year now.
Why can’t I move on from her? Brylee has this insane ability to draw me in even when I don’t want her to. Take now for instance. I hear that she’s home and within seconds, I’m out the fucking door. What the hell is wrong with me? She’s just some random chick.
No. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Brylee is no random chick. She’s the fucking shining star of Broken Hill. She’s the one we’ll all be seeing on the next ‘youngest self-made billionaires’ list. She’s the one who is going to shine the brightest, make it the furthest, and have it all. No wonder she’s not interested in getting with me. I’m a dumbass high school kid who's more interested in fucking around at wild parties.
If only I was born a year earlier and could show her that I’m going places. Maybe then I’ll be in with a shot.
Did I mention how fucking beautiful she is? She’s my golden girl. Long blonde hair that usually gets thrown up into a bun and deep blue eyes that are generally framed by librarian glasses, making her look the perfect mix of nerd sexy. Not to mention, the light array of freckles that are sprinkled over her nose, a symbol of her love for the sun. She doesn’t wear makeup and she doesn’t give a shit how she dresses, but when she goes out to party and wants to put a little effort in…fuck. She’s radiant, just like I know she’ll be tonight.
If only I could kiss her one more time. Maybe she’ll finally feel that connection and realize that she should be with me. Don’t get me wrong, the wild, spontaneous sex over the past year has been incredible, but I crave so much more with her. I want to be her man, and I want her to be proud to call me that.
Fuck, I’d give anything to have that. This bullshit has been torturing me for too long and I’m sick of diving into random pussy just to dull the ache. Surely, she must feel something for me, otherwise, she wouldn’t keep coming back the way she does.
Maybe I love her. I don’t fucking know, but what I do know is that she’s in my head and it doesn’t look like she’s leaving any time soon.
I pull up at the party and drive right up over the grass, parking next to Jesse’s Range Rover. There are people everywhere. It looks like the whole fucking college has turned up for this party.
As I get out of my car, I find Jesse and Kaylah making their way inside and I hurry to catch up with them. “What’s going on?” I say, throwing my arm over Kaylah’s shoulder as she allows Jesse to drag her through the door.