Yeah, right.
“Rumors have been circulating like wildfire this week,” Ashley remarked. It was so casual, and yet I’d tensed at the thought of someone knowing about Dane and me.
“What rumors?” Asked Jade. She’d stopped eating, but unlike me it probably had less to do with a lack of appetite and more to do with her need to be up-to-date on campus gossip.
“I heard he’s been seeing that Amy girl from the school dance team, as in dating her.”
I kept my face neutral, but inside I felt a little humiliated. How could I have been so stupid and still so willing when I predicted that this was bound to happen?
Silly Kennedy.
“Dane never dates,” Jade argued. “And we’ve known him a lot longer than that slut has.”
Ashley shrugged. “Apparently he’s been at her sorority house all week. She’s been telling everyone that the sex is - ”
I stood up abruptly, knocking my chair over. “Shit,” I muttered, picking it up. “I forgot. I have a class in fifteen minutes, and I’m going to be late. I’ll see you later, okay?”
I avoided Jade’s worried eyes, as well as the stares of my peers, and left the cafeteria before I could hear anything else about Dane and his supposed girlfriend. I knew it was probably bullshit, just another lie churned by the Brighton rumor mill, but it wasn’t the girlfriend part that bothered me so much. It was the part that it could have quite possibly been true, thanks to Dane’s stellar reputation as a man whore that niggled at me. The thought of him having sex with someone else shouldn’t have even fazed me, and as much as I tried like hell to deny it, it got to me.
Having Dane make me feel so small reminded me of when I was twelve - the first time I thought I’d had my heart broken. I’d asked Kyle Mathers to the school dance, and when he turned me down in front of everyone they laughed. I couldn’t understand his rejection, when days before that I’d heard he was going to ask me first.
Then I found out why.
Dane had told Kyle and every other boy in our grade that I had a problem with body odor, and to a thirteen-year-old boy that was a pretty big deal, but to a twelve-year-old girl it was one of the most humiliating things ever. Charlie had found me crying in the middle of my bed, and tried his hardest to comfort me. His efforts weren’t completely in vain but Dane had still managed to make me feel small, and insignificant. Though his pranks had gotten worse over the years, I made a promise to myself that he would never make me feel so worthless again, and for the most part I succeeded.
Until today.
Hearing what Ashley had said made me feel like that twelve-year-old girl again. And the absolute worst part? I couldn’t even be angry with Dane when I was to blame. He’d made me no promises, yet I was dumb enough to go against my better judgment and sleep with him anyway.
No, this wasn’t his fault.
It was all on me.
As I walked around campus aimlessly, mulling it over in my head, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out, and checked to see that I’d received a text message from Jade.
We’re hitting Kolony tonight with Ash and Grady for the Pimps & Ho’s party. Tell me you’re in?
It was a Friday night, and Kolony was bound to be insane. An idea popped into my head, and the need to let go of everything ‘Dane’ related, roared to life inside me. I typed out a response, smiling.
First round is on me ;)
I had a plan, and if I was lucky, it would make me forget about Dane long enough to rid myself of any shame or lingering humiliation. He might have seen me as nothing more than a one night stand, but I was determined to see him as nothing more than a speed bump on the long, windy road that was my life.
GRADY WALKED INTO my bedroom and let out a low whistle. “Good God, honey bee, you’re going to give the guys at Kolony an aneurism dressed like that.”
I smiled, and applied the rest of my mascara before turning to face him. “Isn’t that the whole point of the ‘Pimps & Hoes’ theme?”
His brows shot up, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “This,” he waved his hand in my direction, “my little tootsie roll, is more like high end escort instead of street corner hooker. Those boys are going to be falling over their tongues when they see you.”
My eyes rolled. “Please, the girls will take one look at you, and wish you played for our team. That suit is very Christian Grey.”
I straightened and twisted around facing my floor length mirror. I had to admit that my little black dress was kind of short, but it still covered the important bits, and also made me feel sexy. The smooth black material hugged my body, ending mid-thigh with a low back, and a flattering sweetheart neckline that worked well with my new push up bra. I curled my hair, and allowed it to hang over my shoulders to show off my exposed back.
“Looking at you right now, I wished I batted for your team. I wasn’t kidding when I said tongues are going to wag,” replied Grady.
I laughed, and applied some red lipstick as the finishing touch. “I just want to have fun,” I said. “You’re the only guy I plan on going home with anyway.” I winked and he simply shook it off with a chuckle.
“Okay, deuces, let’s get this party on the road!” Jade shouted from the kitchen. Despite my earlier mood, I was excited to have a night out with my friends.
“Where’s Ashley?” I asked as soon as we were in the kitchen.
“She bailed last minute. Something to do with a biochemistry assignment gone wrong,” replied Jade.
“That’s too bad,” said Grady, waving his hand in dismissal. “We’ll send her pictures from the club. Now let’s get the hell out of here so I can go find me a Pimp.”
BY THE TIME we arrived at the club, it was already well on its way to being filled to the brim. People queued outside, and from the looks of it the line ran all the way around the corner. It wasn’t unusual for a Friday night, but the ‘Pimps & Hoes’ theme was so popular that many people drove an hour from Brighton just to attend.
I slipped my hand into the crook of Grady’s arm, and we followed Jade to the door where the bouncer, Bobby, let us in. They’d definitely gone all out with the décor, and had even gone so far as to have stripper poles situated throughout the large space.
There was very little room to move around, but after a few shoves, and some elbows to the ribs, we made it to the bar. Jade ordered us some tequila shots to get the night going, and included a few bottles of water to help us pace ourselves.
“We drink to those who love us, we drink to those who don’t. We drink to those who fuck us, and fuck those who don’t!” Shouted Jade.
Grady replied, “Amen to that!” And we clinked our shot glasses, and swallowed back the vile clear liquid. I coughed, and blinked back the way my eyes immediately teared up.
“You okay, honey bee?” Grady rubbed my back, and I nodded.
He surveyed the crowd, and when his eyes stopped on someone in the middle of the dance floor, he kissed each of us on the cheek, and made his way out into the crowd. He looked good in a light grey tailored Armani suit, black button up shirt, and just to stand out, a red silk tie. His hair was perfectly coifed, as it always was, and tonight he had a glint in his eye that I’d never noticed before.
Jade came up to my side, and I noticed that she too was scanning the crowd. When she came up empty, she turned to face me. “I need to ask you something, but I don’t want you to be angry with me.”
I looked at her, and saw genuine apprehension on her face. She nibbled at her lip, and the nervousness radiating from her was unusual. She was always so confident, and never hesitated to tell me, or anyone for that matter, what was on her mind.
“You can ask me anything,” I replied honestly.
“Well,” she hesitated, looking around the room before turning back to me. “Did something happen between you and Dane the other night? At the Halloween party?”
I schooled my expression as well as I could. Jade would know if I was lying. “What makes you say that?”
“You’ve been acting really weird since then, and according to Reid, Dane has been too.”
“Yeah, sure.” I rolled my eyes. “Having a new ‘chew toy’ is hardly weird behavior for him.”
Jade’s eyes remained fixed on my face, but they were searching. “You know, for what it’s worth, I don’t believe a word Ash said.”
Lifting a shoulder in a shrug, I replied, “Doesn’t matter to me.”
“That’s just it, Kennedy. I think it does. I saw the way you reacted at lunch.”
This conversation was messing with my plan, and I needed to divert. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind, and tonight is about letting our hair down. Can we forget about him and everything Ash said, please?”
Jade remained quiet for a moment, and for a second I thought she’d seen through my bullshit. She always had an uncanny ability to read me, and I hoped that she’d drop it, even if it were just for tonight.
“On one condition,” she finally said.
“And that would be?”
“You tell me if anything happens. I don’t want you to think you can’t come to me just because I’m friends with Reid.”
“Of course I’d tell you,” I lied. “Not that anything will happen.”
I hated lying to her, but I was afraid that she just wouldn’t understand. Hell, I didn’t even understand how I’d gotten myself into this situation, and to explain it would only make me feel worse. Jade would blame Dane when in reality it wasn’t his fault.
“If you say so.”
She wasn’t satisfied, but she had to accept it. I wasn’t willing to get into it with her, especially when all I wanted to do was erase it from my mind completely.
Beyonce’s ‘Baby Boy’ boomed through the speakers, and I had the urge to start dancing. Jade had the same idea, and after another tequila shot, she grabbed my hand and I followed her to the dance floor. We started moving to the beat, grinding our bodies in unison. The music filled my ears, my lungs, my limbs, and soon the rest of the world faded away. The song changed, and Kings Of Leon’s ‘Sex on Fire’ bled through the crowd. I was high on the energy pulsating around me, and focused on feeling the lyrics, how they made my pulse race, and my skin dampen with a light sheen of sweat. I wasn’t drunk, not even close, but anyone watching me could’ve made that assumption.
I spotted the giant speaker next to the DJ booth, and before Jade could talk me out of it, I hoisted myself up. I slipped my shoes off, dropping them to the floor, and reveled in the way the sounds of the music vibrated beneath my feet. I bent my legs and dropped down, swaying my hips while pulling my fingers through my hair. On the way up, I trailed my hands up my sides, and moved my head from side-to-side in a slow, seductive motion.
I startled when a pair of hands grabbed my hips, and jerked me from the speaker. I opened my eyes, and found a furious-looking Dane glaring at me. I opened my mouth to speak, but one moment I was standing, and the next I was in the air being flung over Dane’s shoulder.
“Dane!” I squealed, trying to pull my dress down at the back before the people got to see my butt cheeks. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
He either didn’t hear me, or he was purposefully ignoring me. My bet was on the latter.
His steps were determined, and he shouldered his way through the crowd while carrying my weight like it was nothing. The people we passed gave us strange looks, but no one bothered to help. Apparently, being hauled out of a club on the shoulders of a guy was the norm, and no one seemed to think that anything sinister was going on.
I squirmed in his hold, looking around frantically to see if I could spot Jade. I found her in a corner, close to the bar, but she was preoccupied with…wait, was she making out with Reid? I was being jostled around so much it was hard to tell.
“Dane,” I hit his back with my fists. “Put me down! Now.”
Rather than respond with words like a normal human being, he embraced his inner caveman and slapped my butt.
The sting traveled over my skin, and I jerked in surprise. That was actually kind of…hot?
Oh my God. You are hopeless, Kennedy.
The door opened, and I saw Bobby smirking as Dane stormed past.
“Thanks for the help,” I yelled.
He snickered, and replied with, “Doesn’t look like you need it.”
Seriously? I was being dragged out of the club on Dane’s shoulders, kicking, and hitting him, and no one thought I might’ve needed help? Idiots.
“Where are you taking me?” I hissed, turning my head to try and look at Dane. From his profile I could tell his jaw was tense, and his brows were furrowed. Still, he ignored me, and once he’d marched across the parking lot to his car, he finally let me drop to my feet. His arm was tight around me as I slid down the front of his body, but I didn’t have a chance to notice how my body reacted. The door behind me swung open, and Dane lifted me by my waist to deposit me in the front passenger seat. I scowled when he shut the door, and rounded the hood.
He climbed in, and turned the ignition.
I folded my arms across my chest with a huff. “What the hell is your fucking problem?”
He finally cut his eyes in my direction, and what I saw not only terrified me but excited me too.
“You, Kennedy,” he replied harshly. “You’re my fucking problem.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Dane
THIS WOMAN WAS on the verge of making me question my sanity. After a week of staying away from her, you’d think the aftermath of my night with her would disappear, but I was deluded if I thought that was going to happen.
I had to laugh at myself though. I’d become what my sister would have called a cliché – I used to catch her reading romance novels all the time. I’d tease her by telling her not to believe in those kinds of stories and that the heroes on those books weren’t real.
“They’re real,” she’d say. “As soon as they meet the one girl who drives them crazy, they’ll get a taste and think once will be enough. Then they’ll realize that it isn’t, and end up falling hopelessly in love.” A wistful sigh would follow, and then she’d add, “It’s very clichéd, but the best romance stories always are, and I look forward to the day you, my darling brother, become the cliché.”
Naturally I’d brushed it off and laughed at the idiocy of her idea. Turns out, she was half right because I’d had Kennedy once, and it wasn’t enough. Except this wasn’t a book, and we weren’t a pair of fictional characters trying to find our way to one another. We were a mismatched set of complications, and craptastic pasts, and everything else that made us a colossal disaster in the making. Stupidly, it didn’t change how badly I wanted to push her away and pull her closer at the same time.
I’d barely put my car into ‘park’ when Kennedy flung the door open, and jumped out.
“You are unbelievable!” She shouted, raising her arms in the air. “Why did you do that?”
I shut my door, and tried to get a handle on the hurricane of feelings spinning uncontrollably inside me. I wanted to reply, but I was afraid of what would come out of my mouth so I remained silent. Kennedy looked like the spitfire I knew was buried beneath all her hang-ups, and I couldn’t deny how alluring it made her. I hadn’t been able to keep my eyes off of her the minute I saw her walk into the club looking like every guy’s wet dream. Her dress was short, and tight, and without showing too much skin, still accentuated her curvaceous silhouette.
“Hello? Earth to Dane? Are you going to answer me or just stand there and stare at me?”
Man, she was so damn tempting when she was pissed at me. I wanted to lift her onto the hood of my car, and do all kinds of dirty things to that body.
“I saved you the trouble of humiliating yourself,” I replied, my voice thick with exasperation. “You wanted my attention, now you have it.”
Kennedy’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. “How was I humiliating myself? I was dancing on a damn speaker!”
“Exactly.”
“And you think I was doing it to get your attention?”
“I assumed so, yes. Was I wrong?”
Kennedy’s laugh was filled with disbelief and incredulity. “Wow, Dane. Just wow.” She took a few steps closer to me, until the sweet scent of her perfume aroused my senses. Irate green eyes looked up at me, challenging me.
“Newsflash asshole, I didn’t even know you were there, and the fact that you think I’d do anything for your attention is completely laughable. I’m not one of your fuck buddies waiting in line to get any scraps you’re willing to give.”
I leaned in, and tucked an errand piece of hair behind her ear. “You’re definitely not a fuck buddy.”
“No,” she snapped, slapping my hand away. “Because I was only good enough for one fuck right?” Her chest moved up and down as her breathing accelerated. “Well congratulations, Dane. You did it. You got the girl, whose life you made miserable, into bed. That’s what you wanted wasn’t it? To prove that not even I would be able to resist? Your friends must be so fucking proud, because once again, I’m the idiot they’re laughing at.”
“That’s what you think?” My stomach hollowed out as I realized it was my fault she thought of herself as nothing more than some conquest to me.
“It’s what I know.”
She turned around and the sight of her walking away from me made me snap. I should’ve let her walk away. It was the best option for both of us. But I no longer cared about that.
I grabbed her elbow, and spun her around. “You’re wrong, Kennedy. You don’t know anything.”
“Then why else would you spend the night with me, and then treat me like I don’t exist afterwards? I know you probably regret it, but that’s no reason to make me feel like shit.” She yanked her arm, but I held on tighter. “Now, let me go. I’m done with this conversation, and I’m done with you!”
My mind tripped over the word ‘regret’. She was right, but not for the reasons she thought. I wasn’t a mind reader, but I’d been with enough girls to recognize that Kennedy probably felt like I’d used her. Maybe I had, but the only reason I regretted being with her is because I knew when it was over that I’d want more.
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