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The next day, it was over. The only trace of our night together was the raw skin on the inside of my thighs from where his five o’clock shadow had rubbed as he teased me with his tongue for hours.
So, yeah, avoiding this party, any party my brother throws, is at the top of my list. Because there is no doubt in my mind Finn will be here. And I’ve managed to do just that for the last nine months. Until two hours ago. Three shots of tequila and I was letting Kendall dress me up like a Barbie doll. Tight leather pants, a red halter top, and smokey eyes that make my blues pop. My hair is in long, loose waves, cascading down the middle of my back. If I’m being honest, it felt good to have someone make me up after spending the week studying my ass off, wearing nothing but yoga pants, a messy bun, and oversized sweatshirts. By the time my buzz was wearing off, we were already in the Uber and on our way.
“I need another drink,” I mumble to myself when Kendall bumps me with her hip.
She has no idea what she’s done. Tonight is going to end one of two ways.
1. I’m going to get really drunk, make an ass out of myself while flirting with everyone who isn’t Finn, and pass out on the bathroom floor.
2. I’m going to get really drunk, do something stupid like demand answers from Finn, and my brother is going to flip his shit.
No, he doesn’t know what happened. No one does. I haven’t told a soul, not even Kendall, my best friend and roommate.
Why?
I’m not ashamed of that night. Hell, I’d love nothing more than to scream what happened in the middle of campus for all to hear. To claim Finn so girls would stop draping themselves all over him.
I can’t, though. Max would kill him, then me.
Max made all his friends promise not to touch me a long time ago. When we were all younger, hitting puberty. The summer my boobs finally came in. I remember the afternoon like it was yesterday. Max, Finn, and Brady were all swimming in our pool. Being only sixteen months younger than Max had its advantages. I liked his friends; they didn’t mind if I hung out with them occasionally. It was the beginning of summer vacation and my bestie at the time, Lucy, was on vacation with her family.
Instead of sulking inside or reading a book from my summer reading list, I decided to jump in the pool with the guys. My mom and I had just gone shopping for a new bathing suit. I’d chosen a cute, red two-piece with tiny white polka dots on it. I turned fourteen and my body had finally started to fill out. Instead of being a stick-thin, little girl, I was starting to get curves.
Needless to say, the moment I stepped into the backyard and called out to the guys, jaws dropped. I laughed at their reaction because it was Max’s friends. Who cared, right?
Wrong.
Max cared. He freaked out, wrapped me up in a towel, and escorted me back inside. He was muttering to himself the entire time about his friends not touching me. That I need to cover my body.
Overprotective Max.
I barely realized what was happening because my eyes were locked with Finn’s, and it was clear he liked what he saw. I noticed the changes in his body as well. He had put on some muscle, his shoulders seemed broader, and his jaw more defined.
“Aren’t you proud of your brother?” Kendall asks, pulling me back to the present. I need to focus anyway.
Stay sharp.
Keep my head on a swivel to avoid being caught off guard. To evade Finn and his smoldering gaze.
“Your brother is going to be a kick-ass president. I’m so excited for him.”
For as much as Kendall and Max don’t get along, she respects his position with his fraternity. And she’s right. He is going to be a great leader for those guys. That’s why they elected him.
“Yeah, proud. I don’t think becoming fraternity president warrants a rager though,” I reply, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Of course it does. It’s a huge honor.”
I honestly don’t get the full impact of it, but I also don’t want to fight with Kendall. She’s a legacy, having joined the same sorority as her mother and grandmother. That means something to her. Max is a legacy as well, having joined the same fraternity as our father.
Me?
I’m anti-Greek. Not that I think there’s anything wrong with joining, it’s just not for me. I like to keep my circle small, and I get along better with guys than I do girls. I can count on one hand how many girlfriends I have, including my little sister.
Am I happy Max was voted as their next president? Hell, yes. He’s been talking about how much he wanted this for the past year. He has ideas on how to make the fraternity better, more philanthropic. To eliminate some of the harsher hazing he’s seen over the years.
So, I’m here to celebrate with him. But that doesn’t mean I want to be here. Because being here means seeing Finn, and as much as I also want that, I know it’s going to hurt the moment I lay eyes on him. My heart is going to be ripped out of my chest the same way it was the morning I woke up and he was gone.
It still doesn’t make sense to me. He wanted it as much as I did. I may have been tipsy, but I know what I saw in his eyes when he pulled me away from the party. I felt the heat in his stare as he locked his bedroom door. And when he touched me, I felt something else. Something more—
