The Enemy Series

by M. E. Clayton

  Winston threw up his hands in frustration. “So, then, we’ll fucking date,” he threw out.

  I shook my head. “I don’t want to date you, Winston,” I said. “I don’t feel for you other than a passing friendship, and I know you feel the same way about me. I know you do.”

  “But the plan-”

  “Our parents’ plan,” I emphasized. “Not ours. It was never ours.”

  He took a deep breath and said, “You’re drunk, Delaney. I think we need to table this conversation for another time.”

  He was probably right, but I knew I’d still feel the same way later. Alcohol wasn’t making me say all these things. Alcohol was just making me say it without consequence for what my words meant. And they meant a great deal of change and unpleasantness for our parents. My words were going to ruin their plans for a future dynasty between our two families. My words were changing the direction of so many lives, and alcohol was making me not give a shit.

  “Maybe you’re right,” I conceded. I patted him on his chest. “I’m off to go dance, drink, and forget that you and Deke Marlow exist.” It’d be easy to forget Winston existed, but I suspected forgetting Deke would take some more alcohol. Maybe a lobotomy even.

  “Delaney, let me take you home,” Winston replied. “You don’t belong here.”

  I knew I didn’t, but go big or go home, right?

  I needed to…not be shy, quiet, nerdy Delaney. It was the only way I was going to be brave enough to sleep with Deke. It was the only way I was going to be able to sleep with him without him crushing everything good in me. I had to prove I could party and be cool and popular. I had to prove I was just as strong as Ava, Emerson, and Roselyn.

  I couldn’t be meek Delaney Martin. Deke would crush me if I didn’t form a stronger backbone. He would run over me if I didn’t…

  Oh, who was I kidding? Deke Marlow was going to own and devastate me.

  Chapter 17

  Deke~

  I’m not sure how many traffic laws I broke getting to Trent’s house, but with every passing minute I could feel my mind splintering with all kinds of unpleasant possibilities as to why Delaney had gone to a party without Ava.

  And worse? What was she doing that Ava said she couldn’t get Delaney to listen to her?

  I knew Delaney was nervous about this weekend. I knew my words had put her on edge. When I realized she hadn’t shown up to school this morning, I hadn’t really been surprised. I also didn’t think any less of her. I knew I was…a lot. I knew I intimidated people, and I knew I Delaney’s personality was…not compatible with mine if you did the math, but I didn’t care.

  Delaney was mine.

  My car was barely in park before I was turning it off and out of the driver’s side door. Everyone else had followed in Ramsey’s Range Rover and I could hear the car doors opening and closing behind me. Whatever awaited me in that house, I knew it wouldn’t be anything that couldn’t be handled by the five of us, even if it meant bloody killing someone.

  As I stormed into the house, I turned my head back and told Linnie, “Call Ava and ask her where the fuck they are.”

  I turned back around and started scanning the foyer and passing through it to the living room. I kept scanning and scanning, but I didn’t see her. Finally, Roselyn piped up, “They’re in the backyard. They’re on the decking.”

  Without any ‘excuse me’s or ‘pardon me’s, we swept through the house towards the backyard. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but never in a million years would I have imagined the sight that greeted me when I cleared the back sliding glass door. Christina Aguilera was blaring through the surround sound speakers talking about wanting to be dirty and there was Delaney Martin dancing like she was auditioning for a goddamn music video.

  I heard a low whistle behind me. “Where in the hell did she even learn how to dance like that?” Liam exclaimed right before he let out a whoosh from Roselyn elbowing him no doubt.

  Delaney was dancing alone, but she was moving her body not like a goddamn virgin, that’s for sure. I stood stunned at the way she was moving, the bottle of liquor in her hand, the fucking outfit that was not covering shit, and how flushed her face was, but I had no idea if it was from the alcohol or the dancing.

  Her hair was down, flying all around her, and she was wearing a tight green tank top, a white loose skirt that stopped mid-thigh, and some white sandals, and none of it hid her assets.

  But what was killing me?

  The pink blush of color in her face was making the scar across her cheek whiter. It was making it stand out, and for whatever reason, that’s what was getting my dick hard. I thought it’d be my mark, but it wasn’t.

  That fucking scar.

  That fucking scar that proved there was more to Delaney Martin than the quiet library book nerd we all thought her to be all these years.

  Before I could go over and drag her away, Ava rushed up to us. “Oh, thank God!” she cried. I looked down at her and her face was full of worry and wariness. “She’s drunk, Deke. She’s drunk, and she had texted me and I didn’t get the text…” Ava shook her head. “Who cares? She’s drunk and you need to go get her. She won’t listen to me.”

  “What the fuck is she doing here?” Ramsey asked from behind me.

  Ava glanced over at him and her face blanched. I suppose the sight of all of us here to get Delaney was a bit overwhelming. “I…I don’t know,” she answered. “I told her I might be here, so…she might have meant to meet me here. I don’t know…”

  “What did she say when you saw her?” Roselyn asked.

  “She just keeps saying she’s here to party,” Ava rushed out, worried and…well, worried. “And I don’t know what the fuck that means. Delaney doesn’t party.”

  My eyes shot back to where Delaney was dancing and, suddenly, I knew what she was doing here. She was hiding from me. She was here because she didn’t think I’d ever think to look for her here. She was hiding from what was happening between us.

  Delaney was trying to make sense of the changes happening in her life and she was doing what all idiotic teenage kids do when they’re confused. She was drinking and dancing her problems away. Too bad I was her biggest problem and nothing she could do would push me away.

  I glanced back down at Ava. “She’s going to be pissed that you called me. You know that, right?”

  I realized there was more to Ava than I had ever given her credit for when she said, “I know she is.” She shook her head again. “I know Delaney’s going to feel betrayed and hurt that I…I didn’t pick her side this time. I know that, Deke, but…” I watched as Ava stood to her full height, and I realized she was struggling with upsetting the only real friend she’s ever had. “But her safety and…her reputation are more important than how much she might hate me for this. She can hate me for the rest of our lives, and I can live with that, if she’s safe and…no one talks about her like she’s…trash.”

  We all stood there and even with the party all around us, you could feel how much Ava loved Delaney. Whatever we ever suspected about their friendship, Ava’s declaration proved that I’d never have to worry about Delaney when she was with Ava. Ava would never let her reputation or wild ways taint Delaney in any way.

  “Deke, check it out,” Liam said.

  I looked over at Delaney and I saw some guy walking up to her to dance. And, while that had me already balling up my fists, that was nothing compared to seeing Winston come into view. He looked pissed, and he was walking towards Delaney to get her away from the guy wanting to dance with her.

  Oh, fuck no.

  Delaney was mine.

  She was mine, and I’d be goddamned if I’ll let another guy claim or defend her in front of me. Winston was striding up towards them like he had the right to pull her away from the guy, and he didn’t.

  I took off, and luckily for him, I beat him to it. But it had been close. We stood on either side of Delaney, staring each other down, the guy who was going to dance with her was long
gone.

  I snatched Delaney by her arm and yanked her towards me. “Can I help you, Reynolds?”

  The guy’s face was all busted up, and he knew he couldn’t beat me, but he didn’t back down and I grudgingly respected that. “I’m not going to fade into the background so that she can be with you if you’re not going to take care of her, Marlow,” he snapped. He threw his arm up, indicating the party. “Because this is not taking care of her. Delaney doesn’t belong here. If you were doing your job, she wouldn’t be here!”

  I wanted to kill him.

  I wanted to kill him, but he wasn’t wrong.

  “Oh, hey!” Delaney’s drunk ass piped up. “I am my own woman, damn it!” She tried to wrench her arm free of my grasp, but that wasn’t happening. “I don’t need a man, and I sure as hell don’t need either of you to be the man I need, if I needed one.”

  Christ, she was drunk.

  She whirled around towards Winston. “For years, you’ve known we were supposed to get married, and you spent all these years offering me passive acknowledgement, at best. We were friends when we were little, but as soon as you discovered teenage pussy, I wasn’t even that anymore. And now you want to give a shit? Fuck that, Winston.”

  I was next.

  Delaney whirled around towards me and let loose. “And you,” she scoffed. “For years you never even knew I existed. And if you did, you didn’t care one way or the other. Suddenly, I fascinate you, and because you’re bored with your endless buffet of pussy and ass, you want a challenge and have decided that I’m it.” She didn’t know how wrong she was. “I’m here because of you, Deke,” she punctuated. “I’m here to see what if feels like to be cool and popular. I’m here because the real me can’t possibly hold your interest for long, and for some fucked-up reason, I want that. I want you to want me, but I want you to want me for longer than it takes for you to win. I’m not the girl for you. I’m not even close to the kind of girl you’re used to.” Her hand scanned down her body like she was presenting herself. “This is the kind of girl you like, right? And this is the kind of girl who is brave enough to do…what you want her to do.”

  This conversation wasn’t for Winston’s ears. “Let’s go, Delaney,” I replied. “You’re drunk and don’t know what you’re saying.”

  She let out a bitter laugh. “I know exactly what I’m saying,” she argued. “I’m saying that you and Winston can go fuck yourselves.”

  “Delaney-”

  My eyes shot over towards Reynolds. “Don’t,” I snapped. “Do fucking not, Reynolds. This isn’t your business.”

  “It is if she doesn’t want to be with you either,” he snapped back.

  Like fucking hell she didn’t want to be with me.

  Chapter 18

  Delaney~

  All that booze, and for what?

  Standing in Deke’s house-sober as a goat-I was feeling miserable.

  After I had told both Deke and Winston to go fuck themselves, I had been feeling rather proud of myself, but that had faded quickly when Deke had let go of my arm and had reached for Winston. Suddenly, we had been surrounded by Liam, Ramsey, Emerson, Roselyn, and Ava, and the guys had restrained Deke, while the girls had surrounded me.

  I wasn’t sure why Winston kept antagonizing Deke, but I suspected it was to prove the point that he was still dedicated to our arrangement even after telling him I no longer cared to go through with it. But, whatever his reasons, I needed to cement my decision before Deke ended up killing Winston, and that meant telling our parents.

  After Liam and Ramsey separated Deke and Winston, Deke had grabbed me by my arm and drug me behind him through the house and to his car. He had tossed me into the passenger seat, buckled me in, and took off from Trent’s. Halfway down the road though, I had gotten sick and Deke had had to pull over so I could throw up the twenty gallons of vodka I had consumed.

  Okay, maybe it hadn’t been twenty gallons, but I didn’t drink. And because I didn’t drink, a half bottle of vodka was equivalent to twenty gallons in my mind.

  When I had fallen out of the car, I had ran behind a random tree that lined the sidewalk and, while I was heaving up my innards, Deke had come around, held my hair and rubbed my back all the while telling me what an idiot I was.

  Yep.

  No sweet, soothing words of love from Deke Marlow.

  Once my stomach was empty, and I was thoroughly embarrassed, he had put me back into the car and we drove the rest of the way to his house in silence. And, now, I was standing in his living room, sober, and I could feel a headache coming on the size of Texas.

  This was not what I had in mind when I had gone to Trent’s.

  Deke was shutting and locking the door behind us, and I was too miserable to even worry about being alone with him in his house. A girl who doesn’t drink should never pop her party cherry with a bottle of hard liquor. Suddenly, I wasn’t feeling as smart as my IQ and good grades indicated.

  “Come on,” Deke barked as he grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him.

  I followed because I seriously didn’t have the physical or mental strength to battle him. Why did people do this? I wasn’t even experiencing a next day hang over yet, and I didn’t want to.

  Once we walked up the stairs to his bedroom, he left me standing in the middle of the room as he pulled a shirt from his closet. “Deke-”

  “Don’t, Delaney,” he snapped. “I’m one irritated nerve away from laying you across my lap and spanking the shit out of you like an out-of-control child.” My lips curled in and I wisely kept my mouth shut. He thrust his shirt in my hands and pushed at me until we were both walking into his en suite bathroom.

  I looked around and the bathroom matched his bedroom with the dark black and grey tiles. His bedroom had light grey walls, a dark grey bed set, and black furniture. It all looked very sleek and expensive. His car was white, so I never expected his room to be decorated in dark colors. Uh, not that I had given his bedroom much thought, that is.

  I stayed silent as I watched Deke yank open a drawer and pull out a value pack of toothbrushes. He pulled one out and dumped it next to his in the toothbrush holder. “Take a shower, brush your teeth, and do whatever else it is you do to get ready for bed, and then come back into the bedroom,” he grumbled.

  “Deke-” I tried again.

  “Goddamn it, Delaney,” he barked. “Another word and I swear to God…”

  “Sorry,” I mumbled, properly chastised. I stayed where I was as Deke took two towels from a built-in cabinet next to the shower and placed them on the counter. The second he walked out of the room, I locked the door and started to take off the ridiculous clothes I had on. They weren’t even my real clothes. They were an old outfit that my mother had bought me one day while in Paris. She thought it was cute, but it had just been further proof that she didn’t know me at all.

  I undressed, turned on the shower and got in, letting the warm water sooth away all my bad decisions from tonight. It wasn’t until I reached for the shampoo that I realized I was going to smell like Deke, and that realization had my tummy feeling hollow.

  It felt hollow because I liked that idea.

  I showered and used Deke’s shampoo, conditioner, and body wash and I felt like such a girl afterwards. When I stepped out of the shower, dried off, and then put on his shirt, the feeling had intensified. Deke’s shirt fell all the way to my knees, and it felt like such a girlfriend thing to be wearing his clothes.

  I brushed the hell out of my teeth and tongue until I felt all my vodka regret scrubbed away. After that, I searched the drawers for something to brush my hair. I found a brush and took my time detangling my hair. After I was done, I looked into the mirror and gave myself the biggest pep talk in history.

  Finally, I unlocked the door and walked out to find Deke sitting on his bed, watching TV, in a pair of basketball shorts and nothing more.

  Sweet Christ.

  He stood up and I couldn’t help but notice he still looked pissed. I felt stup
id saying, “Uhm, I don’t have my purse with me or anything, so…uh, I don’t have a scrunchie for my hair…”

  Deke placed his hands on his hips, looked up towards the ceiling, and let out a breath so deep, I could hear it clear across the room. He didn’t say anything as he brought his head back down, gave me a quick look, and then walked out of the room.

  Well.

  I sat on his bed because I didn’t want to add to my nerd status by just standing around looking like a dweeb. I had no idea where he’d gone to, but if he was as pissed off as he claimed, it was quite possible he left me here to just go to sleep.

  A couple of minutes later, Deke returned with a scrunchie, and my heart dropped. This asshole was giving me a scrunchie that belonged to another girl. A scrunchie another girl left at his house. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the stress of this past week, maybe it was dealing with Winston, the overwhelming association with Deke’s friends…whatever it was, I could feel the tingle in my nose that suggested tears were about to make an appearance.

  Who does that?

  Who gives a girl another girl’s property? I mean, that takes insensitivity to an entirely different level.

  I stood up, and he reached out to hand me the scrunchie. “Uhm, no thank you,” I mumbled. I may feel…defeated whenever I was around Deke, but I wasn’t a complete weakling. And I would not be wearing anything one of his other conquests left behind.

  Deke smirked, and I wanted to do him violence. I’d never been particularly physical or violent before, but Deke brought out that side of me. He made my irritation levels skyrocket, and it’s like I wanted to take out every life frustration I’ve ever had out on him.

  “My hair can just-”

  “It’s Emerson’s or Roselyn’s,” he said. “There’s a shitload of them in the game room.”