Victoria walks in with an irritated look on her face and she stops short when she sees Wills standing behind me with his arms draped around my neck in a loose embrace. He leans down and kisses my cheek softly, and then says something to the guys he’s standing next to.
I’d like to say I’m surprised, but these three boys have stopped surprising me. There are no boundaries with them, and I’ve kind of learned that if I’m going to be around them, they’re not going to play by any rules that I know.
Victoria stops in front of me and gives me an icy look. “You’ve just got to have them all, don’t you?”
I blink in surprise. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, don’t give me that innocent act. I saw you kissing Blair in the other room, and I was standing right there with Astor when you came through the room and you two couldn’t keep your eyes off each other. Now here you are all wrapped up in Wills’ arms?”
She shakes her head and glowers.
“Hey, it’s my turn with her,” Wills announces over my shoulder to Victoria. “Back off.”
Victoria is taken aback slightly, and her attitude softens. She doesn’t stand up to the boys … but the boys have never defended me to her either. None of them have ever been protective of me before.
She just stands there awkwardly as Wills starts wrangling beers for us to start. I have to tap him several times on the shoulder before he stops and looks down at me, so I can tell him to just get me a water. I’ve played this game before. It’s not a good place to start if you’re trying to take it easy.
Wills has no problem with the suggestion, but Victoria is another matter.
She cocks and eyebrow at me. “So, you’re telling me you came all the way out here, and you aren’t even going to have a drink?”
I shake my head and Wills lets go of me to take his turn at the table. “Not tonight. I have a midterm I have to study for.”
“Ah well … that’s no fun,” she sticks her lower lip out in a pout. “But if you’re determined, I did make up some punch to keep everyone hydrated.” She leans in a little closer. “Between you and me, it’s loaded with CBD to take the edge off some of the stoners.”
Well that explains the smell coming from the back porch.
She walks over to the counter where a massive metal tub is filled with red liquid. She dips a plastic cup in it and brings it to me, careful not to spill it over the top.
“It would be a lot more fun if you were drinking, but to each her own I guess,” she says.
I try to thank her, but she’s already slipping away to look for a more interesting target—probably Astor, if history means anything.
I really expected her to put up more of a fight. Wills taps me on the shoulder and tells me the other team scored and I need to drink, so I do. I’ve had punch before, but never like this. She must have put a lot of CBD oil in it, because the aftertaste is much more bit
ter than I was expecting.
But I don’t have time to think about that. Wills is putting a ball in my hand. It’s my turn to throw, and from the way Wills is talking, it’s basically life and death. I throw. I miss. I drink.
Wills smiles down at me, and there’s nothing hiding there. For the first time, I’m really starting to think the worst is behind us.
Chapter 17
I’ve polished off the entire plastic cup of punch and someone has refilled it for me a second time when Astor finally comes walking in. His eyes are locked on me, and though he comes straight for me, he takes his time going about it so he doesn’t draw too much attention to himself.
“There you are. What have you been up to?” he asks in a quiet tone.
I smile and a giggle escapes me.
“I’m playing beer pong with Wills,” I tell him, and I turn my head and look over at my partner. I feel a little dizzy, but I’m sure it’s probably just the pills I took earlier. I never did remember to ask Blair what kind of effects they’d have on me.
“Beer pong.” Astor eyes his friend and then looks at me and shakes his head. “Come with me.”
Wills is engaged in winning the game. He wins all the sports games he plays, no matter if it’s football, soccer, wrestling, or beer pong. He’s busy tying one on and I realize that he probably won’t notice if I step away with Astor for a few minutes. I drain my cup of punch and hiccup. Astor looks at me and can’t suppress a small laugh.
“You’re drinking the punch huh?” He takes my hand and leads me away into a quieter room. “You wouldn’t catch me drinking that.” He gives the cup a distrustful look.
“It’s not too bad, actually.” I tell him, but he takes it from my hand and sets it on a nearby table.