Stolen Wishes

by Lexi Ryan

“Good.” He sprinkles salt onto the spot he just wet with his tongue, then licks it off and brings his mouth to the tequila. Since I’m on the counter, he doesn’t have to lean down far, but he takes his time wrapping his lips around the glass. His face is practically buried in my cleavage, his breath hot against my breasts, and my cheeks burn with embarrassment and arousal.

  When he comes up with the shot and tosses it back, I offer my open palm to take the glass. His mouth closes around the lime, and he holds there for two heartbeats, his eyes closed.

  When he pulls away, he takes the lime out of his mouth and licks his lips. “Thanks for that.” He brushes my cheek with his thumb, eyes locked with mine.

  We hang there for a moment, not moving or breathing, time suspended as our eyes lock. It doesn’t matter that there are at least a dozen other people in the room. For that moment, with his gaze equal parts hot and tender, I don’t even care what they must think of me or what rumors might or might not be circulating when I return to school on Monday.

  “Shit!” someone says. “Did you hear that thunder? It’s going to rain!”

  “Bailey,” Max murmurs by Will’s side, “can we get a little help moving the couch back into the house before it’s destroyed?”

  “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.” He winks at me, then disappears out the back door.

  “Well, that was hot,” Lizzy says, offering her hand to help me off the counter.

  “So hot,” Hanna agrees as I hop down. “I’d be jealous if I weren’t so happy for you.”

  “Same here. Crap.” Lizzy winces. “I shouldn’t have broken the seal earlier. I need to pee again.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Hanna says before turning to me. “You okay?”

  “I think so.” I put my hands to my blazing cheeks. “I just need a cold drink.”

  Lizzy snorts. “I’ll bet you do. We’ll be right back.” Then the girls are gone.

  For the first time, I look around the kitchen and living room to survey the other party guests. Several of the guys rushed outside at the threat of rain, but the house is still pretty crowded, more so than when we arrived. There’s a couple not two feet to my left who may need protection if they dance any closer, and another in the corner practically dry humping.

  I look around the kitchen and find a cooler with bottles of water. I really just want to stick my face in the ice for about ten minutes, but this will have to do.

  “Look who decided to close her legs for a few minutes,” someone snipes as I come up with a bottle. It’s Kristen, and she’s scowling at me.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Listen. I know you’re just trying to climb on up the social ladder. Heck, if I were a social pariah, I’d do the same. I’m just gonna do you a favor and spell this out for you before you have to learn the hard way. William Bailey can have any girl he wants. Money, good looks, status, Will’s got it all. There’s only one reason he’d go out with a girl like you. And I’m pretty sure he just showed you what that was.”

  Anger surges inside me. “You don’t know anything.” When are Lizzy and Hanna going to be back from the bathroom? I could use some reinforcements about now.

  Kristen shrugs and pours herself a shot of tequila. “I’m not judging you for doing it. Hell, I’d fuck him until he couldn’t see straight if I had the chance. But I can work in his world, whereas you’ll just get hurt if you try. But maybe I’m giving too much credit to a girl who gives it up on the bleachers.”

  “Who told you that?”

  She smirks. “Will was bragging about it to his boys right before you got here.”

  Chapter Four

  William

  “So, Cally Fisher, huh?” Max says for my ears only as we push the couch back into position in the living room.

  I shrug. I like Cally. A lot. But I’m not about to say anything definite to Max until I know the feeling is mutual. It’s gotta be, though. The connection between us it too intense to be one-sided. Damn, my blood still runs hot in my veins when I think about the smell of her skin and the little shiver that ran through her when I pressed my tongue to her neck. I want to think she enjoyed that as much as I did. “I don’t know yet,” I say, scanning the crowd for her face.

  Meredith sidles up to me and rubs against me like a cat. “You can do better than her,” she purrs in my ear. “Come upstairs with me and Kristen and we’ll show you just how much better.”

  “Give it up, Mer,” I say, nudging her away. The last thing I need is for Cally to see one of these drunk girls throwing themselves at me like they give a shit. All they care about is what I can do for their reputation. Or worse, what my money can buy them. I’m so over that kind of girl.

  I go to the kitchen, but Cally isn’t waiting for me there. She’s not in the living room, and she’s not dancing.

  I glance down the hall and see a long line of girls waiting for their turn in the restroom. Maybe that’s where she went. I wonder if I can get her back upstairs. I want to talk to her without all these people watching us. I want to put my lips on her neck again without the excuse of alcohol.

  I hated leaving her, but Max’s parents would shit if they found out about this party, and how else would he explain a couch left out in the rain?

  The feel of a small, cold hand under my shirt has me spinning around. Cally.

  But it’s not her. It’s Kristen, and she’s grinning up at me like the cat that ate the canary. “Guess your little date couldn’t handle partying with the cool kids?”

  “What?” I push her hands out from under my shirt. “What are you talking about?”

  Kristen rolls her eyes. “Cally and her friends left while you were out back with the guys.”

  Left? Shit. “Where’d she go?”

  “Maybe her mom needed help jacking off a client.”

  “Grow up,” I growl. I rush out the front door and down the steps before Kristen has a chance to say more. Cally is walking down the sidewalk with the Thompson twins.

  For a split second, I’m torn between following and letting her go. If she doesn’t want to be here, I’m not going to make her. But the look in her eyes after I licked her neck has me jogging down the steps after them.

  “What’s going on?” I ask when I reach them.

  The twins exchange a look, then turn to Cally. “Do you want to talk to him?”

  She bristles, but nods slowly. “I’ll catch up.”

  The girls nod and cross to the other side of the street, tossing worried glances over their shoulders as they walk away.

  What the hell did I miss?

  ***

  Cally

  “Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye?” William tucks his hands in his pockets, and there’s something more reserved about his body language. As he’s the one who’s been hurt here.

  I thought William was better, different than other guys. But what do I know? Just because I’m attracted to him and he has a sexy smile doesn’t mean I should assume he’s better than the average horn dog. Heck, maybe that’s why he isn’t worried about the rumor. How do I know he didn’t start it?

  Even as I think the question, I know the answer. I know he didn’t start the rumor because there’s a goodness in his eyes that can’t be faked. But is that enough of a reason to trust him?

  I want to erase the last twenty minutes, to go back to the dance floor when I believed he might actually want me for me. But I’m not that stupid, and I can’t let myself be.

  Suddenly, in the war between my body and brain, my brain wins. And my brain is furious.

  “I’m not a slut.” The words drop like mini-grenades from my lips, detonating the minute they register with him and obliterating that invisible pull between us.

  “Excuse me?”

  I shrug. “I’m not stupid. I know there’s only one reason a guy like you wants to spend time with a girl like me, but you have the wrong idea. I’m not like that.”

  “A guy…” He draws in a long breath, his jaw ticking. “A gu
y like me?”

  “Money, good looks, status?” I say, using Kristen’s words. “But I’m not going to be your easy lay. If that’s what you’re after, you should go talk to the girls inside. I’m sure you’ll find some takers.”

  He steps back, pain flashing in his eyes. “I would think that someone who struggles with people’s assumptions about her would be more careful about making them about others.”

  “What am I supposed to think?”

  He looks up at the dark sky and laughs, a hollow, disappointed sound. The clouds obscure the moonlight and only the distant streetlight reveals his face.

  I feel the icy rain hit my cheeks before I see it. Then it’s coming down faster, stinging my face as we stare at each other.

  His jaw is hard and he shrugs. “Forget it.”

  My stomach tightens in disappointment. What did I expect him to do?

  “Catch up with your friends before they get too far,” he mutters. “I don’t like you walking alone in the dark.” Then he turns and jogs back to the house, and I’m left feeling like a world-class bitch.

  ***

  William

  “You ready to talk about it yet?” Max asks me as we head to the cafeteria for lunch on Monday.

  “Talk about what?” I’ve been in a shit mood since Saturday night, so I can probably guess.

  “Who pissed you off, for starters? Or maybe why you skipped out on my party so early?”

  I feel my jaw go hard at the mention of the party.

  “Ah, so it is girl trouble,” he says.

  “You’re worse than a woman. Mind your own business.”

  “Didn’t work out with Cally?”

  I scan the notifications on my phone, buying time while I think of how to reply, how much to share. Cally and I are from different worlds. There’s a division between the Haves and Have Nots. Even in a place as small as New Hope—especially in a place as small as New Hope. And especially in this school. But maybe that’s part of the appeal. Maybe I like Cally so much because she’s outside my typical circle.

  “It wasn’t because of what Kristen said to her, was it?” Max asks. We stop at his locker, and he turns the dial and yanks it open before shoving some books inside.

  I scan the lunchtime crowd gathering in the space between the cafeteria and the glass enclosure around the pool. Cally has the same lunch period as me, but she doesn’t always come down. “What did Kristen say?”

  Max shrugs. “You should probably ask Cally. I wasn’t there so I didn’t hear it, but Ally said Kristen was feeding Cally shit about you only wanting her for one thing.”

  I wince. “And she didn’t say anything?”

  He shifted uncomfortably. “She didn’t know what was up with you and the Fisher girl, so what could she have said?”

  “Nothing is up with her. We’re friends.”

  Max grunted. “You looked like a lot more than friends when your face was buried in her tits.”

  “Fuck off.” The suggestion doesn’t carry much weight when my heart isn’t in it.

  “So, you didn’t leave with Cally, I’m gathering?” He slams his locker shut and we start toward the cafeteria again.

  I sigh. “She took off. Told me there was only one reason a guy like me would be interested in a girl like her.” The words have an entirely different meaning now that I know Kristen was talking shit.

  “And you let her go?”

  I take a deep breath and stop, leaning against the wall. I’m not up to eating today, though my football coach would be on my ass if he knew I was skipping meals. “It was a bitchy thing to say.”

  Max nods. “Can’t argue with you there. But given her mom’s reputation and what Kristen said to her, you can’t blame her for being cautious.”

  “I guess.”

  “Goddamn Kristen,” I grumble, my eyes still scanning the crowd for Cally. “What was she thinking?”

  “Probably that if you were going to be using someone for sex, she wanted it to be her.”

  “Well, she’s already given me that opportunity. I passed.”

  Max shoves his sleeves up his arms. “Damn. Must be tough to be you.”

  I shrug, not about to explain the truth—that I don’t want to be the guy girls like Kristen pursue so viciously.

  “There are rumors,” Max says, averting his eyes. “I don’t know if you’ve heard them. Rumors that you paid Cally to have sex with you.”

  I drag my hand over my face. “Yeah. I know.”

  “And if she’s not even talking to you anymore, it’s only going to fuel the gossip.”

  “Do I look like I care about rumors?”

  “That’s why you’re better than the rest of us.” He slaps me on the back and pauses a beat. “You’re not going to tell me if they’re true, are you?”

  My head snaps up. “Cally is not a fucking prostitute. Jesus.”

  “Easy, killer!” He holds up both hands and shakes his head. “I know you didn’t pay her. I’m just wondering about the other part. But you’re too classy to tell me. Never mind.”

  “We didn’t have sex. She’s not like that.” I spot that long, dark hair at the entrance to the auditorium. And Kenny. “Damn it.”

  “Good luck with the girl,” Max calls as I rush away.

  “He’s done with you,” Kenny’s saying when I get close. “I’m just waiting my turn.”

  Cally’s arms are wrapped around her middle and her face has gone pale. “I don’t have sex for money.”

  “So you’re trying to say there’s something between you and the rich boy? Because it’s pretty clear to the rest of us what you are to him. And when he—”

  Kenny doesn’t get to finish, because I’m spinning him around and slamming him against the wall, my forearm pressed into his neck. “What’s that you’re saying, Riles?”

  Kenny scowls at me. “Thought you were done with her, man.”

  Fuck. No wonder Cally thinks the worst of me. That’s what everyone is telling her to think.

  “You’re lucky I don’t beat the shit out of you,” I say in his ear.

  “Bailey!” I hear the teacher’s voice and back off Kenny, dropping my arm and releasing him. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing.” I force a smile. “Just having a little chat.”

  “Let’s keep it that way,” she says, but she walks away, too sure of my reputation to stop her patrol.

  Kenny shakes his head. “She’s not worth it.” Then he walks away.

  When I turn back to Cally, she’s staring at me. “Thank you,” she whispers. “I guess you’re kind of my knight in shining armor lately.”

  I nod. “No problem.” I start to walk away.

  “William.”

  The sound of my name off her lips stops me in my tracks, and I turn back.

  “I’m sorry,” she says softly. “I should never have believed what that girl told me. You’re a nice guy, and it didn’t add up. I should’ve known better than to think the worst.”

  She looks so sweet standing there, guilt all over her features, and my heart is still slamming in my chest from seeing Kenny bearing down on her like that.

  “Let’s put a stop to these rumors,” I say without thinking. “Go on a date with me this weekend. I won’t let everyone think I just used you for sex.” Or worse, paid her for it.

  “Oh. Um…” She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip, then nods as her cheeks flame red. “Right. Sure.”

  “I’ll pick you up on Friday at six.”

  ***

  Cally

  I don’t feel sorry for myself very often. Maybe I should. My family doesn’t have money, and I’ve never been able to dress like the kids at school. When I was ten, I had to quit dance lessons because we couldn’t afford them anymore. I loved dance more than anything, but I understood quitting was a necessity so I never cried about it. Never complained.

  My dad taught me to be grateful for the things we do have. A roof over our heads—better than some can say—a family to come home t
o, and the free will to dream up and go after whatever life we want.

  But tonight, I’m thinking of William Bailey and having quite the pity party. I’m thinking about Kenny and his snickering friends and wondering if a pity date with William is really going to solve anything. But mostly, I’m just wishing my mom were different.

  She’s at the computer when I head out into the living room to confront her. Dad bought a bunch of used components at a sale at the college and pieced together a computer that’s supposed to be for my school papers, but Mom uses it more than I do. I don’t know what she does on there. I once told myself it was work for her business, but I don’t believe that anymore.

  “What are you doing?” I step up behind her. She’s got some sort of realty site pulled up and is looking at pictures of houses.

  “Ever wonder what it would be like to start over?” Her voice is slurred and I spot the glass next to her. Looks like orange juice, but Mom doesn’t do OJ without vodka. And she’s probably taken her pills since she got home. In other words, it’s four p.m.

  “Not really,” I lie. Because I have thought of it. How could I not? But I don’t want to have some fanciful conversation with her while she’s like this. I frown at the photos on the screen. She must be drunk. We could never afford a place like that.

  “I’m going to make it happen,” she says, as if reading my thoughts. “I’m going to find a way for us to start over. To live large for once.” She takes in a deep breath, a woozy smile half curling her lips as she lifts her glass for a drink.

  I don’t normally feel sorry for myself and I don’t normally hate my mother, but right now I’m disgusted with her. Just say it. “Did you give Kenny Riles a hand job?”

  Her glass clatters down on the old desk, and she spins to look at me, blinking. “Who’s Kenny?”

  I wither right there. Like a flower shoved into a dehydrator. Like a star blotted out by the clouds. Not “What are you talking about?” but “Who?”

  “I go to school with Kenny. He said he paid you twenty bucks for a hand job.”