“And you’re going to let him?”
She shrugs halfheartedly. “It seems kind of pathetic, being eighteen and never having been kissed. He said he’d teach me how.”
Her words hit me like a goddamn freight train. The idea of Carter getting one of her firsts is enough to make me throw caution to the wind. Shouts of “Happy Birthday!” echo from downstairs, and I glare as I walk toward her.
“He’s too fucking late.”
My hand wraps around the back of her neck, and I pull her into me, covering her mouth with my own. She gasps at the sudden movement but I don’t miss a beat, using the opportunity to slip my tongue into her mouth and tangle it with hers. As her fingers lace into my hair and the taste of her floods my senses, I know I’m so fucking screwed. This girl is going to be the death of me.
10
DELANEY
I stand alone in my room, giving myself a minute to catch my breath before I go back downstairs. Did that really just happen? The tingling sensation on my lips tells me that it did, and I don’t think there could have been a better way to ring in my birthday. His mouth on mine was better than anything I’ve dreamed in the past few weeks. He was tender and careful, while still taking everything he wanted from me. It was incredible.
When I feel like I find my footing, I make my way downstairs in a blissful haze. Savannah sees me first and throws her hands in the air.
“There you are! Happy Birthday!”
Everyone else starts shouting the same sentiment. I smile shyly, but it only grows when I spot Knox in the crowd. He tips his beer at me and winks, making the butterflies in my stomach multiply. Tessa looks between the two of us. I can tell the minute she puts the pieces together because her jaw drops. She pushes her way through the crowd and meets me on the staircase.
“What happened?”
I know the entire party’s eyes are on us, so I need to be careful with what I say. “I’ll tell you later.”
“You better.” She throws her arm around me and holds up the bottle of champagne in her other hand. “We’re finally legal, bitches!”
A chuckle bubbles out of me while the house erupts in cheers. I may have no idea what’s going on between Knox and me, but I like where it’s heading.
AS TWO O’CLOCK ROLLS around, the party starts to wind down, but the people who matter stick around. I dance to the music with Savannah, ignoring the feeling of not one pair of eyes but two burning into me. Compared to Sav, being as she’s a professional dancer and all, I probably look like I don’t have an ounce of rhythm in my body, but it’s my birthday and I don’t care.
“Laney!” Tessa shouts from across the room. “We’re going to play a game. Come on.”
A game? What are we, twelve? Savannah and I share a confused look before going into the den. People are starting to gather around, sitting in a circle. There’s probably only about fifteen or so of us left, but of course both Carter and Knox are among them. The second I notice the bottle in the middle, my eyes widen.
“Relax, Lane. It’s truth or dare,” Tessa whispers, noticing my alarm.
She takes a seat next to Easton and I follow Savannah over to Grayson. Of course, Carter ends up sitting beside me. I don’t miss the way it causes Knox’s scowl to deepen.
“All right,” Tess starts. “Rules are simple. You spin the bottle and ask truth or dare to whoever it lands on. I’ll go first.” She spins the empty champagne bottle, landing on Paige. “Truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
My sister grins. “Is it true you and Jace have been hooking up on the down-low?”
A bark of laughter comes from Jace as Paige’s cheeks turn a deep red. Carter nudges his best friend, and Grayson is the first one to speak, his eyes on Jace.
“Oh, so your own secrets are sacred, but mine you spill to the damn world?”
He chuckles. “Hayworth, I don’t know what world you live in, but shit with you and Savannah was never a secret.” Then, he turns to Paige. “It’s fine. Answer the question.”
She smiles at him dreamily before looking back at her lap. “Yes.”
A few more rounds go by. Paige dares Gage to shotgun a beer in under ten seconds. Gage gets Savannah to admit she and Brady Laurence were never actually dating. Savannah dares Knox to twerk—a rather entertaining ten seconds of my life.
As Knox spins the bottle, I mentally beg for it to land on anyone other than me, but luck doesn’t seem to me on my side. He smirks as the tip of the bottle stops, pointing so directly at me that I can’t even try to argue a re-spin. Fuck.
“Truth or Dare, Bambi?”
“Bambi?” Savannah murmurs under her breath, looking at Grayson who mirrors her confused expression, but my eyes stay on Knox.
“Truth.”
He bites his lip. “Out of every guy here, which one would you most like to hook up with?”
As soon as the question leaves his mouth, I know exactly what he’s trying to do. The answer isn’t something he doesn’t already know. Given what happened in my bedroom, that much is obvious. No, he’s trying to hurt Carter and get me to admit it’s him in front of everyone.
“Dare.”
Leaning back against the couch, he puts his hands behind his head. “Kiss Savannah for five seconds, and none of that peck shit. An actual kiss. You know how.”
“You’re such a pig,” Savannah chastises him.
Jace’s face lights up. “You know, Vaughn, somehow I hate you just a little bit less right now.”
Kissing my best friend definitely wasn’t on my agenda for the night, but it’s a hell of a lot better than the alternative. Hurting Carter is not something I want to do, and answering that truth would be exactly that. Knox isn’t getting to gloat tonight if I have any say in the matter.
“Come here, Sav.”
She turns to face me and rolls her eyes, moving her hair out of the way. The two of us move in at the same time and our lips touch. They’re smooth, softer than Knox’s, but fire is nowhere to be found. Our mouths move against each other as Tessa counts to five, and when we pull away, we both break into hysterics. Knox, on the other hand, is looking at me with pupils the size of planets. I give him my sweetest screw you smile and go to spin the bottle.
Karma must be on my side after having to go from kissing no one to two people in one night, because the bottle lands right back on Knox. I giggle at the subtle “fuck” he murmurs under his breath.
“Revenge is the sweetest thing,” I tell him. “Truth or dare.”
“Dare.”
“I dare you to kiss Carter.”
Carter’s jaw drops and he throws his hands in the air. “The fuck did I do to you?”
Tess and Savannah are laughing so hard they can barely breathe, but I keep my attention focused on Knox. I can see his confidence starting to waiver as he stares me down.
“I could just kiss you instead.”
I hum. “That hardly seems like payback.”
“So much more fun though.”
It’s tempting, really. I’ve wanted nothing but his lips back on mine since the moment he walked out of my room earlier. However, letting him kiss me right now would have the same outcome as answering that truth.
“Maybe for you.” I shake my head, but can’t keep the smile off my face. “Fine, I dare you to sit on Stone’s lap for the next ten minutes.”
He grins brightly and throws himself onto Stone, not caring if he hurts him in the process. “Hey, buddy.”
Stone narrows his eyes at me. “Thanks for this, Delaney.”
“You’re so welcome.”
THE BIGGEST DOWNSIDE TO throwing a massive party is having to clean it up the next day. Tessa suggested having the maids come in for the day and do it for us, but then there would be a huge possibility our parents would find out—and that’s not a risk I’m willing to take.
“Seriously, there should be something illegal about cleaning with a hangover this bad,” Tess complains.
I laugh, tossing more of the empty cup
s into the garbage bag. “I wouldn’t know anything about that. One of the benefits to not drinking is no killer headache in the morning.”
“Yuck. That’s such a buzz kill.” She picks up her phone and brings it to her ear.
“Who are you calling?”
“Easton. If I have to clean this shit on my birthday, he’s going to come help me.”
A half hour later, not only do we have Easton helping, but he brought along Zayn, Stone, and Gage. I managed to get Savannah over as well, but she’s not very useful. Even the guys start doing more harm than good when they start using the garbage can for basketball tricks instead of cleaning.
“Seriously? You can’t shoot for shit,” Tessa ridicules. “The only one of you who can throw a ball is Knox.”
I try not to let my disappointment at him not being here show. “Speaking of, where is he anyway?”
“He had a thing,” Zayn answers.
“A thing?”
He nods. “None of us know what it is. He didn’t say, but he left my house before eight this morning.”
Strange. Being as they didn’t even leave here until after three in the morning, it must have been important for him to wake up that early for it. I take out my phone and send him a quick text.
Delaney: Zayn said you had a thing, and that’s why you’re not here helping us clean. I think you’re just good at making excuses.
The Saint: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Haven Grace Prep Book 2) Page 8
