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Her friend Mila and some girls they knew had turned up. Right around the time I slipped into the background, watching the party go on around me.
“You’re sure? You should come. It’ll be fun.”
“I’m like Bambi on ice.” Strained laughter bubbled up inside me. “But go, have fun.”
She gave a little shrug and joined Dayna and her friends.
I decided to sit down on the couch tucked away in the corner of the room. Really, I wanted nothing more than to go back to the house, change into my pajamas, and get into bed with a good book. But they hadn’t announced the winners of the costume contest yet, and Connor really wanted to win that stupid cup.
He joined the girls on the dancefloor, wrapping his arms around Ella and kissing her deeply. The two of them melted into each other, oblivious to everyone else around them. Aiden made a beeline for Dayna, and a couple of the other guys each grabbed a girl and then started dancing and laughing.
There was no sign of Noah.
He’d pretty much disappeared the second after we all had a drink together. I tried not to think about where he was—who he was with. It was a party full of beautiful girls; I knew the answer to that question.
Jealousy slithered around inside me. Earlier, in my room, there had been another moment. His eyes had lingered a little too long. Darkened with desire.
Oh, who was I kidding? Of course, his eyes had lingered. The costume was practically porn-show obscene.
The couch dipped as a guy I didn’t recognize, thanks to his very authentic pirate costume, sat beside me. I looked up at him, and he flashed me a goofy smile.
“Hey, I’m Leon, but you can call me Captain Blackbeard. Let me guess, you must be a Disney princess. Cinderella?”
“Goldilocks.”
“Close.” He shrugged, taking a long pull on his beer. “Not enjoying the party.”
“I’m here under duress.” His eyes narrowed, and I chuckled. “I live with Austin, Connor, and Noah. It’s a temporary thing, but they talked me into this.” I swept a hand down my body, immediately regretting it because his gaze followed, lingering on my boobs.
“Ah you’re the sister. Aurora, right?” I nodded and he added, “Nice, I should probably go thank them.”
“Wow, that’s… kind of gross.” Shuffling away from him, I put some space between us.
“Shit, I didn’t mean… that sounded all wrong. I just meant you look great.”
“I look like I’m the star in some bad fairytale porno.” My eyes rolled.
“Would that be such a bad thing?”
“I…” The words caught in my throat because, surely, he wasn’t serious.
“Banks take a hike. Aurora isn’t interested.” Noah loomed over us, glaring at his teammate with enough ice to freeze the couch.
“I was just—”
“Leaving.” He stepped aside, making room for Leon to get up.
“Guess I’ll see you around, Goldy.” He had the audacity to wink, but I was too busy watching Noah out of the corner of my eye to react.
“Well, that was rude.” My brow quirked up.
“Just protecting your honor, shortcake.” Noah dropped down beside me, and his knee brushed mine, sending a streak of heat through me. “I’m fucking sweating in this thing.”
I glanced away from him, smothering a chuckle.
“Are you… laughing at me, shortcake? I’m offended.”
Our eyes met again, and my heart fluttered. “You do look a bit silly.”
