Charade

              Princess walks away and I forget about her. The bottle is in my hand, but I haven’t taken one drink. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me, but I’m just not feeling it.

              It isn’t long before Adrian’s off with some chick. I’m wondering if I should do the same thing just to get my mind off stuff, every time someone comes up to me, I keep shooting them down.

              I wander the place for an hour talking to people before I’m sick of the whole thing. I head outside when I see Princess without her two friends, but with the asshole Greg. My hands squeeze into a fist. Jesus, it would feel good to hit him. Hit something, anything, to see if it took any of the pain away. Instead I duck around the corner and wonder what the hell has gotten into me.

              “Come on, babe. You know I love you. I was just screwing around with Maxine. You’re the one I want.”

              “Then you shouldn’t have screwed around. You messed up, Gregory and I moved on.”

              Ah, so she must have found her fake boyfriend. Or she has a real one. I can’t believe she wants to make this prick jealous so bad that she’d go there.

              “I’m sorry. Damn you look sexy tonight.”

              Again my hands fist. Even if I didn’t hate the guy, he’d deserve the shit knocked out of him right now.

              “Too bad for you. You can look, but you can’t touch anymore.”

              I’m surprised the princess has it in her. Most girls would fall down to whatever he says, but she’s standing her own.

              “Cheye

              “I—” she starts, but then she’s cut off and there’s a muffled sound.

              I look around the corner again and he’s kissing her. Looks like she didn’t hold her ground for long. I’m about to walk away, when I see she’s trying to push him off her. Fucking prick. It’s going to feel good to hit this guy.

              I head for them. I don’t get very far before she’s ripping herself away from him and a group of people walk around the corner closest to them.

              “Gregory, what are you doing?” Some red-headed chick says. She’s surrounded by more of the frat guys.

              “Just having a talk with Cheye

              The red head smiles. “I see you left your girlfriends behind. Is that who you were talking about? Playing for the other team now?”

              Rolling your eyes is such a bullshit thing to do, but I do it anyway. Is that the best she can come up with?

              “No, actually, I was trying to keep your boyfriend from kissing me.”

              I can’t help it. I laugh. Princess has balls.

              “What the fuck, Cheye

              “You know that’s not how it happened,” Greg adds. “Maxine, I didn’t try to kiss her, it was the other way around. I called her on the fake boyfriend and she kissed me.”

              Then, I’m walking forward. I don’t know what in the fuck I’m doing, but I can’t stop myself. This guy is a prick. I need the money and I’d like nothing more than to kill two birds with one stone by scoring some cash and sticking it to him.

              “Hey, you. There you are.” I step up beside Princess and wrap my arm around her waist. She tenses more, before looking over at me. There’s fire in her dark brown eyes, but she manages a smile.

              “I was looking for you…”

              Shit. She forgot my name. Leaning forward, I kiss the side of her mouth before she can reply. “You found me. Or I found you. Whatever it is, I’m here. Are these pricks bothering you?” I pull her to me and now the fire is directed at me. She’s pissed, but if I’m going there, I’m making this shit look real.

              “Him? You’re dating this guy? He’s a loser, Chey.”

              With that I step away from the princess and head straight for Greg. “You don’t want to piss me off tonight—actually. You do. I’m begging you to fucking piss me off, man. Give me an excuse to kick your ass again.”

              The look on his face makes this whole charade worth it.

~CHAPTER SEVEN~

Cheye

              Kick his ass again? Okay, so obviously Colt and Gregory have gotten into it, which as the ex-girlfriend of two years, I should probably know. He never even told me he’d gotten into a fight. Though I guess in the grand scheme of things that went on behind my back, this one is minor compared to the other.

              Still… I hate fighting. Hate it, so I step between them, willing my anxiety to stay locked away. I stumble a little, the alcohol starting to affect me. “Okay, that’s enough of the testosterone fest, boys.” I look at Gregory. “Yes, I’m with him, though I’m not sure that’s your business.” For added effect I grab onto Colt’s arm. Or maybe it’s because I’m suddenly feeling a little woozy.

              And, damn, are his arms firm. Does this boy live in a gym or something?

              “G—honey, maybe we should go.” Red has her cocky smile. The one that says she thinks I’m out here pining for her boyfriend. That he’s being a gentleman by worrying about his poor, little ex-girlfriend.

Gregory’s face is pale. Jaw stiff. He definitely doesn’t like the idea of me being with Colt.

              Colt doesn’t touch me back. It feels as though someone injected cement into him as tense as he is. The only thing moving is his chest, up and down from heavy breathing. Wow. He’s taking this much more seriously than I thought he would. Or he hates Gregory more than I thought he did.

              “Gregory…let’s go. They’re not worth it.” Red pulls him back as Colt steps forward.

              “Are we not worth it or are you too scared?”

              Gregory gives his cocky grin and I start to feel a little nervous. Gregory has a friend with him and Colt doesn’t. I have no doubt who would win one on one, but the odds aren’t in Colt’s favor.

              “What do we have here? Why didn’t you tell me we moved the party outside, Colt?” A guy steps up beside us. He’s got nearly as many tattoos as Colt does, but he has dark hair. Short and spikey, and he’s tall. Taller than Colt or Gregory.

              “Party hasn’t started yet,” Colt replies simply.

              I’m willing to admit this might be getting out of hand. Starting a brawl is not something I’m into. All I want to do is show Gregory I don’t need him. That I’m better off without him.

              “Gregory… take me home. I can think of something much better we can do,” Red says. Yep, I’m going to puke. Definitely going to vomit.

              Gregory eyes Colt and then his friend before shaking his head. “You can have her. She’s not worth all the trouble. I’m not the first one to think so either.” He backs up before looping his arm through Red’s. He used to do that with me. Dizziness hits me again, but I try to fight it down. I’m not the first one to think so either…

              He might not have known everything about me, but he knew Mom left me. He was supposed to be safe, but he’s throwing that back at me.

Relax, relax, relax.

              When Gregory, Red and his friend walk around the corner, Colt jerks away from me, almost making me lose my balance. Somehow I keep the panic at bay, but he’s obviously not doing as well.

              “Fuck!” Colt yells. His face is red and I’m pretty sure he might explode at any second.

              “Simmer down,” I tell him though I feel like doing the same thing. At least I don’t show it like he does.

              “Hey, baby. I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Adrian,” his friend steps up to me.