Footsteps echo outside my door, and I holler out “Guys!” to whoever’s passing by, equally hoping to be heard and not.
“What the fuck happened?” Link’s voice pitches higher when he opens the door, staying frozen at the threshold.
“Summer fuckin’ Night happened.”
Count to zero, and Link erupts into a guffaw, bracing himself against the doorframe to keep from collapsing. Then count to five, and Dean shows up in my room, followed by Connor and Carter—all of them completely losing it. I should’ve choked myself to death. That would’ve been preferable.
“Are any of you assholes going to untie me?” I grumble, but no one pays me the slightest attention, too busy howling like a pack of hyenas.
“What’s this?” Carter asks through tears of laughter.
“Summer,” Link manages in his fit.
Dean is the first one to come to the rescue.
“How could you be so stupid as to let her tie you up?” he asks while he cuts the zip ties at my wrists and feet.
“I didn’tlether do shit. She tased me,” I admit, and that’s all it takes for Dean to start cracking up again.
I yank the belt off my neck, then pull up my boxers and jeans and head downstairs. Their laughter follows, but I still try, unsuccessfully, to ignore them. Ripping off the barely hanging T-shirt, I throw it into the kitchen trash and open the fridge, taking a beer and keeping the door open for longer than necessary as a barrier between me and the assholes who keep following me. My agitation is obvious from the way I slam the fridge shut.
Getting to the table with a drink in hand, everyone joins me, wearing inquisitive looks, waiting for me to spill the beans, which I won’t. Summer’s not a hookup, and I’m not telling them shit about our private stuff.
“So she tased you, tied you up, stripped you, and then?” Connor starts poking his nose where it doesn’t belong.
“And then, it’s none of your fuckin’ business,” I bark, but Connor grins.
“Did she choke you?” The fucker wiggles his brows. “Fuuck, she did!”
“You don’t know when to shut up, do you?” I roar at him.
“How the hell did she get in and out of your room without us noticing?” Carter asks.
“Through the window,” Dean answers.
“Did she suck you?” Connor grins like he’s the one who got a blowjob.
“Come on, guys! Leave him alone. He doesn’t wanna talk about it.” Link pulls up a chair, sitting next to me with his own beer in hand.
Setting my drink on the table, I stand and turn for the stairs. It’s the only way to end the interrogation.
“She’s not who she says she is.” Dean’s words chase after me, but I ignore him. “She wanted to get back at you for humiliating her.” My stride falters when he continues, “Leaving you like this for us served that purpose. But she also likes you, so she made things interesting for you. Your phone was on the nightstand, and it showed a notification from one particular app saying the device was no longer connected. She had a remote-controlled vibrator inside her while she sucked you off—”
“Enough!”
I stride toward Dean, ready to shut him up, but Link stands between us.
“I’m not saying all of this to piss you off, Ace. I’m doing it in case you’ve forgotten how my observation skills work. You don’t get the way she is by living a normal life, raised by an accountant and a nurse. Not unless both of them were serial killers by night.”
“Well, for the record, my adoptive father was an accountant,” Link counters.
“You know damn well what I mean. You were not under his care to become what you are,” Dean snaps at Link.
“I can dig deeper and find out,” Link offers.
“No! She’ll tell me everything herself.”
With those words, I turn for the staircase, heading straight for my room. Dean can be terrifying with everything he notices, and at this point, I can no longer deny he’s right. Summer’s not who she says she is, but a different name or backstory won’t change what she is, or everything I like about her.
