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Something was different about the image than usual though.
A lot of the time, they seemed to function almost as a single entity, standing shoulder to shoulder like a wall of power. But right now, they looked distinctly separate. Each of them had a different expression on his face, although none of them looked happy. Mason was the closest, and I saw his hands curl into a fists by his sides.
Jesus. Could they not let me have a moment of peace? One second of fun?
Not wanting to risk some kind of fight when we’d only just gotten to the party, I pulled away from my dance partner after the song ended and made some excuse about needing another drink. I tracked the Princes out of the corner of my eye, but none of them followed me as I made my way across the lawn toward my friends.
Determined not to let them ruin my good time, I threw myself into drinking with the same single-minded focus I’d used to study for my exams.
I could be very good at so
mething when I set my mind to it.
“Talia! Slow down, girl.” Two hours later, Leah laughed as I polished off my fourth whiskey and Coke, which had been a lot heavier on the whiskey than the Coke. “How are you not shit-faced?”
I scoffed, pointing a slightly unsteady finger at her. “Joke’s on you. I am very shit-faced.” I giggled as I leaned my head on Dan’s shoulder.
He rolled his eyes at Maggie. “She needs to be cut off before she hurts herself—or someone else, for that matter. That last round of dancing was pretty wild.”
I waved a hand. “You guys wanted me to cut loose and have fun, right? I’m doing it. Leave me alone.”
Maggie sided with Dan, quirking an eyebrow at Leah. “See what you did to her? You made her wild.”
“I made her fun!” Leah crowed happily. Then she pointed across the yard. “Ooh, look! They’re getting in the pool. Fuck, I wanna. I don’t have a suit though.”
My gaze tracked to where her finger was pointing, and a grin slowly tilted my lips.
“Hey, you know the best way to make sure Adena doesn’t throw me in the pool like last time?” I asked, turning to Leah.
“No. How?”
“Beat her to it.”
With a wicked grin, I stood, quickly kicking off my heels before unbuttoning my pants and shoving them down my legs. Dan yelped and covered his eyes, which only made me laugh harder. It wasn’t all that scandalous. I’d even left my tank on over my pale cream bra and panty set. Most of the kids jumping in the pool weren’t wearing suits, and some of them were wearing a lot less than I was.
“Talia!” Leah gasped.
“Oh my God,” Dan mumbled.
Maggie stared, awestruck. But before any of them could say anything to stop me or make me think twice, I raced across the yard and jumped into the pool, plunging beneath the water. When I came up for air, I pushed my fingers through my hair and laughed.
The pool was warm, and the smell of chlorine drifted up from it, sinking into my skin and hair. I smoothed the long brown strands down and had just begun to swim for the edge of the pool when Mason jumped into the water in front of me.
I stopped, frowning.
Shit. I thought they left.
It was the only reason I’d gotten up and danced again.
Through the shifting, clear water, I could see that he’d stripped down to his black boxers-briefs like the rest of the swimmers, but he was the only one that looked both hot and intimidating at the same time. Kicking hard, I spun in the water and swam the other way.
Finn’s golden-blond hair filled my vision, and so did his massive chest. I quickly tried to swim in another direction and bumped into a broad, tattooed chest. Cole glared down at me with impassive eyes and grunted. I moved to break left, but Elijah’s body blocked me as well. My feet moved furiously, treading water as I glared at them.
“Jesus. What do you guys want?”
“That boy you were dancing with is from Hilton Prep,” Elijah said seriously. “That’s a rival school.”
Little droplets of water clung to the ends of his hair, the lights in the pool picking up the bronze highlights. I stared at him, my brows pulling together.
