Kingston rolls his eyes. “Because this will be different.”
“How so?”
He holds up his index finger. “For one, you’ll be under our protection so no one will fuck with you.” He adds a second finger. “Two, it’s at Reed’s house, so we have complete control over the environment.” His ring finger joins in. “Three, it’d be a surefire way of getting back at Peyton and her groupies for bullying you.”
Kingston looks so smug, I want to smack him.
“For one, being under your supposed protection doesn’t stop you from screwing with me. I’m still convinced you had something to do with why I was so fucked up after only two drinks. Two, the location has zero influence over my decision because I don’t trust you. See reason number one. And three, you’ve bullied me, so wouldn’t refusing to go be getting back at you?” I tick off each reason mockingly.
A muscle jumps in Kingston’s jaw. “You done?”
“Are you?” I challenge.
“Not even close.” Kingston turns to Ainsley. “You’re going, right?”
“Yeah.” Ainsley looks at me. “You can ride with me if you want, Jazz. I swear I won’t take off like I did last time. And if you don’t want to drink, I won’t either.”
“Fine,” I agree.
Going to a party with Ainsley has to be better than sitting at Sperm Donor’s McMansion all night.
“Then it’s settled. You’ll ride with Ainsley and later in the evening, you’ll be riding me.” Bentley pulls me into his side.
I push him off. “You wish.”
He winks. “Ain’t denying that.”
I smile,
hating how much of a sucker I am for his charm. “Idiot.”
“Ah, but you want me anyway,” Bentley teases.
I smile wryly. “Nah. I’m not into bro dudes.”
Bentley gasps dramatically. “You take that back! I am not a bro dude!”
I shrug. “If the douchebag fits...”
Bentley picks me up right out of my chair, setting me on his lap. “Just for that, you can sit on my lap for the rest of lunch.”
“Put me down, you jerk!”
I release an embarrassing squeal when he squeezes my leg right above the knee. I’m horribly ticklish there which Bentley quickly figures out. I laugh and squirm until I feel how I’m affecting him. The large thing poking me in the ass causes me to still immediately.
Bentley lifts his hips, ever so slightly, pressing his erection into my butt even more. “Careful, Jazz,” he whispers into my ear. “Don’t start something you’re not willing to finish.”
I swiftly scurry to my seat when he releases me and make the mistake of letting my eyes roam the rest of the dining room. Bentley and I definitely made a giant spectacle of ourselves. Ainsley and Reed are eyeing me with amusement, probably because my entire face is flushed. Kingston, however, couldn’t possibly look more hostile. Nor could Peyton and her squad.
Great. Just great.
OKAY, ONE THING I WILL admit, rich kids know how to throw a party. Reed’s house is easily ten thousand square feet, but the bottom level is packed with bodies. So much for controlling the environment—this place is a damn fire hazard. It’s also a den of iniquity. There’s a professional DJ, a bar supplying alcohol when not a single person here is over twenty-one, and multiple seating areas where couples are engaging in various levels of foreplay or using drugs.
“This place is lit!” Ainsley shouts.
She drags me through the open space, pointing out different areas, clearly knowing where she’s going. Quite a few girls stop us along the way, offering superficial conversation punctuated by air kisses. Every single one of them eyes me curiously but doesn’t say a word to me. I can tell Ainsley hates this crap, but she remains poised as if she’s had a lot of practice doing it.
Finally, a genuine smile stretches across her face when she spots Reed sitting on a black leather couch in front of a huge TV, smoking a J. Bentley and Kingston are on gaming chairs next to the couch, their feet kicked up, playing Xbox.