AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The crowd around us seemed to take a collective breath. I could have sworn some of the girl spectators moved closer, their heart eyes apparent even in the dim party lighting. Even as the sexual energy of his statement pulsed through my body, settling between my legs, I didn’t cede any ground to him. “Oh, fuck off.”
He looked like he wanted to grin, but I snapped, “Never have I ever masturbated to the thought of one of my friend’s girlfriends.”
Xander’s dry laugh felt like a slap. He gestured with his cup, indicating he wouldn’t be drinking from it. Damn it. I was struggling to land perfect blows, to uncover the secrets I hoped to find. I was scrambling to think of what my next statement could be when he said, “One thing you should know about me, Jade, is that Ialwaysget what I want. I’ve never had to pine for something out of reach.”
I swallowed hard and waited for his next move in our game, but then Bryce stepped up beside his friend, clapping him on the back in a bro-ish sign of camaraderie. “What’s going on here, Xan? Playing with the new toy?”
The only thing that could really break the sexual tension between Xander and me, it seemed, was a third party gettinginvolved. I glared at Bryce, whose easy grin pissed me off. I was no one’s toy—not since I’d stopped being Owen’s.
“The new girl challenged me to a drink-off,” Xander told Bryce without looking away from me. His eyes slid down to my chest, lingered. “Speaking of, it’s my turn, isn’t it? So…” He looked at me with dark intentions. “Ah, I’ve got it. Never have I ever choked on some mediocre dick.”
Bryce choked on his own drink as he watched me not move toward mine. I gave Xander a sweet smile and a shrug, playing innocent.
“Funny thing,Xan.I don’t really have a gag reflex.”
I could practically hear Xander’s teeth grinding from the way he tensed his annoyingly perfect, Greek-statue jaw. Bryce’s laughter, an uproarious, gleeful thing, soared over the scandalized chatter from the peanut gallery. He meandered across the room, coming from Xander’s side to mine in long, lazy steps. God, he was enormous when he stood next to me, easily six-foot-four and built like a stupidly-attractive mountain. He surprised me by smiling and going to clap a friendly hand on my back the way he’d done with Xander, his warm palm meeting the bare skin above my dress.
“Okay, new girl,” Bryce said with genuine admiration. “It’s kinda hot to see you’ve got fire in you. I’m on your team.”
It was a twisted sort of world I was living in where Bryce Fisher came off as pleasant and fun. A little crass, sure, but this was the first time I’d perceived him as joking and friendly rather than an intentional bully.
“Traitor,” Xander bit out, and as Bryce and I laughed together like allies, if not friends, the game went on. Just feeling the quiet anger coming off Xander in waves from across the way, I sort of felt like I’d already won.
5
BRYCE
Watching Jade destroy Xander during Never Have I Ever was my new favorite activity. Fun was probably my biggest motivator at all times, especially at Xander’s parties, and goddamn, this girl was proving to be more fun than I expected. Tonight, it was my mission to get my two best friends to have fun for once, too—and Jade Wells was succeeding more than I was. How thoughtful of her to help me out without my having to ask.
“Never have I ever finished in two minutes or less,” Jade sneered, and the cackle I let out while Xander begrudgingly drank was one of pure joy. Maybe this new girl with all of her spice was exactly what the doctor ordered.
It was hard being the life of the party with two killjoy best friends. Dane and Xander had been dragging their mopey asses around for too long. While I danced and flirted and actually had a good time, Dane liked to lurk in dark corners and people-watch, wearing an expression that said he was only here because he’d been forced to be. Xander was always going on about how bored he was, sticking his nose in the air like he was above it all. But my mom taught me if you were bored, you were boring—which was why I always tried to be anything but. Xan didn’t like hearing that, though. He could be sensitive like a little girl sometimes. He’d never have survived growing up with my ruthless older brothers.
People thoughtIwas a bully, but they hadn’t grown up with Devin and Mitch. Sure, maybe sometimes I took jokes too far, but my real friends knew that I wasn’treallya bully. Even if they didn’t know how my older brothers had taunted me into an emotional corner for all my life, how I’d vowed to never be the victim again.
I checked back into the game, shaking that off like a wet dog.Life of the party, Bryce.
“Damn, Xan,” I said, ignoring how Xander’s eyes narrowed like he wanted to kill me. “The new girl is ruining your perfect reputation and she’s only been here a week. Impressive.”
Jade grinned smugly, even high-fiving me. It was so interesting how she could easily flip from spicy to sweet—and how badly I wanted a taste.
I’d been looking for Dane when I stumbled upon Xander and Jade locked in battle, and the scene I found was too entertaining to leave behind. Jade’s red hair was wild, full and styled curly to go with her sexy, form-fitting party dress. The energy coming off her in waves was pure power, and for a minute, I wanted to know how she’d unleash that power in bed. And actually, I wouldn't even brush that thought off so easily. I’d never been turned down before, so maybe Jade would let me show her a good time soon. No harm in having a little fun.
Suddenly, though, I saw Jade stiffen beside me. Xander was mid-statement for Never Have I Ever, but she didn’t seem to hear what he said, staring into the middle distance with her wide, acid green eyes. Before I could even form a decent teasing joke, she was gone in a puff of smoke, cutting through the crowds with adrenaline-laced speed.
“What the hell?” Xander exclaimed, spinning around to watch her as she ducked out of the room, heading toward the back door. He had his pissed-off, somebody-didn’t-do-what-I-want face on, which made his lips press into a thin line. I wasn’t thrilled about my new favorite plaything running off, either, but I moved to Xander’s side as the other spectators dispersed.
“Looks like she saw a ghost,” I mused aloud, and I was surprised by the level of worry I could hear in my own voice. Why should I worry about some girl I didn’t know for shit? And worse, why did that worry make some sort of protective feeling rise up in my chest, like I wanted to punch whatever had scared her off?
“Typical,” Xander scoffed. He concealed his own reaction to Jade Wells under the haughtiness he wore like armor. “Probably knew she was in over her head with me.”
“Not everything’s about you, dude,” I told him without thinking. Xander’s cutting look was usually reserved for people below our link on the social food chain, and it made me squirm a little to be faced with it. But I’d stared down linebackers twice my size on the football field, so I didn’t let it really spook me. Xander was my friend. I’d known him since he was a kid with rainbow bands in his braces because he couldn’t choose just one favorite color.
He sighed. “No, but it seems like everything sort ofisabout Jade these days. I don’t like it.”
“I don’t know, I think it’s kinda fun. She’s… feisty.”
“In need of some discipline, maybe,” Xander mused, and I was struck with an image of Jade on her knees in supplication. My cock stirred, but I willed it to calm down.
