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Laney is perfect.
And it’s been hard as hell growing up in her shadow. But all of that is about to change. I’m finally ready to start a brand-new life where I’m the only St. James around. There won’t be anyone to compare me to. I’ll be on my own for the first time in my life with nobody measuring me against my sparkling sister.
Laney is a year older than me, but even after she left for college, her reputation remained. Teachers loved her, students worshipped her. She was president of the student council, an honor student, and an all-star cheerleader. Needless to say, I’ve been pretty much invisible to everyone in her wake.
Except for that one night months ago when I thought things were about to change for me… where everything I’d been wishing for was on the brink of becoming my reality.
But just as quickly as the hope flared in my heart, it fizzled faster than an open can of soda.
My lips twist when the image of his sexy, cocky smirk flickers in front of my eyes.
The bastard completely fucked me. I’d been secretly in love with him for years, and he used it against me.
And Zak Malikov still has me on a leash, to this day, because I know all too well what he’ll do if I say a word about what happened.
He doesn’t know that I went to the hospital after he’d been taken off the football field during the homecoming game. He has no clue that I pretended to be one of his sisters just so I could get through the emergency room doors to see him.
Karma totally came back to bite him in the ass the next night, though.
My gut clenches. I’ll never forget the expression on his face when I peeked into his room. It was defeat—painful and agonizing defeat, something completely foreign to the most popular guy in the senior class.
And dammit, I hated myself for caring after what he did to me.
I grit my teeth. For years, he treated me like I was invisible, like he couldn’t even be bothered with acknowledging me. It made sense. I was nothing like the girls he usually dated. I was the quiet, studious, messy bun type who preferred to doThe New York Timescrossword puzzle and practice my suturing on grape skins than go to parties on Saturday nights. I always got a pity invite because of my twin brother, Kylian.
But I never fit and Zak knew it. He played on that knowledge to get what he wanted.
I’ve always been the square peg searching for the right hole. Here’s hoping I’ll find it in a few short weeks when I start school at Brown University.
I pull my eyes away from my dress, daring to scout the darkened bar as the memory of Zak Malikov snakes through my mind. I wrap my fingers tight around my shot glass, my pulse picking up speed in anticipation of what my gaze might find. Blood bubbles in my veins at the thought of seeing him and clawing his eyes out of his gorgeous skull.
“You looking for something, Sky?” Riley asks.
I snap my gaze back to the group. “No.” Definitely, most certainly, absolutelyno.
“Don’t be intimidated,” she continues in her bitchy tone. “I know you’re not used to being out in this kind of place.”
I narrow my eyes at her. Laney is laughing with one of the other girls we’re standing with so she doesn’t hear Riley goading me. Not that I need anyone jumping to my defense. I’m more than capable of handling myself. And even though I am a little intimidated, there’s no way I’d ever give Riley the satisfaction of knowing it.
“Do you see any guys you like? I mean, we’d never be scoping out the same type, of course, but I’m just curious to see who gets your panties in a twist.” She sidles closer and drops her voice. “I mean, you do like guys, right? I never could tell for sure. I’ve definitely never seen you with one.”
If I squeeze my glass any harder, it will shatter in my hand. I only wish it were Riley’s neck.
I cock my head to the side. “It’s funny you ask me that because I’ve always thought you look like the type who’d be right at home with her face buried between a girl’s legs.”
Riley’s eyes widen the slightest bit and her fake smile is back in force. “If they’re properly shaved, why not? I’m game. Although, I’m not really there for thenaturallook. That’s more your thing, isn’t it? No makeup, hair always up in a bun, grungy clothes. You probably don’t care too much about trivial things like waxing.”
I didn’t think I could hate this bitch any more than I did before we rolled in here tonight.
“Get your hands off me!”
I whirl around at the sound of Laney’s angry voice. It’s not one I hear often.
Tyson Van Dyne leers at her, his hazel eyes glassy. I want to smack that lecherous smirk right off his chiseled face. It’s not fair that such a pompous douchebag should be blessed with the looks of a Greek god.
“Screw off, Tyson,” I growl, giving him a shove backward. He moves his menacing gaze to me, his lips curling into a nasty smirk.
“This has nothing to do with you, Myla. This is about me and Laney.”
