“So, that’s how it is?” Troy pouted when I didn’t reply.
I acknowledged his catcall with another smile and nothing more. He immediately moved on to Mel and Grace, who ignored him altogether. Troy couldn’t be taken seriously. He was a cutie, having a strong resemblance to a younger David Beckham with a bit more muscle. That was precisely the problem. He used his looks for his benefit.
If you had a pretty face, you were on Sainte’s list of future conquests and an open target for his persistent charms.
I felt a different set of eyes watching us as we stepped inside and went our separate ways. I knew who I’d find if I turned my head, which is precisely why I didn’t. There was no point in continuing to entertain myself with his attention right now.
By the time I reached the bottom of the staircase, I was thinking I should have asked for twenty minutes instead of ten.
Getting through the mostly intoxicated crowd had been a task in itself. I jogged up the wideset wooden steps, darting around a couple making out near the top.
I envied them for their ability to do that so freely. Hookups were a foreign notion for me and anyone I dated had to be put through the metaphorical ringer. My parents were old-fashioned as hell.
They wanted all ‘unions’ to lead to marriage yet were hypocritical about the act itself. Getting into an Ivy League would be easier than putting a ring on my finger. The one and only boyfriend I had decided to dump me completely out of the blue a few months ago, pissing off my entire family.
They were more upset than I was. I knew Brian was never going to be my end game, but that did nothing for his fate. If he had a lick of common sense, he’d lay low for a good twelve months if he didn’t want the men in my family to annihilate him.
Thinking of my failed relationship reminded me of the reasons why they weren’t worth the effort, no matter who it was. I would never have the final say and I really didn’t want to go through the process of trial and error all over again. My sister’s situation was a great deterrent. Like her, I didn’t want my partner to be hand-picked by my parents.
I knew there was a certain way things were done, but I wanted no parts in that. Being single was definitely for the best. I could always try out some sordid one-night stands—live life on the edge.
Shaking off my momentary melancholy, I reached the second level of the house and paused. More than half of the doors were closed. How did I go about checking the rooms?
I knew for a fact that some of these had been open earlier.
I could listen outside each one for signs of fucking or conversation but with the music being so loud I’d have to press my ear to the wood like some kind of perverted creeper.
Deciding the best way to deal with this was to wing it, I headed down the hall. The first door I stopped in front of was utterly silent. I strained to hear any movement or sound. When nothing came from the other side, I kept going.
As I was passing by the entrance to the semi-enclosed balcony, the panoramic view had me pausing again. I’d seen this earlier and hadn’t stopped to look.
I couldn’t make myself pass it up a second time despite needing to find my sister as soon as humanly possible. The backyard oasis was surrounded by a sprawling lawn touched by autumn and tall trees, blanketed with a dark overhead sky full of stars.
Time seemed to slow as I got lost in the serenity of it. The party raging below became nothing but background noise. I’m not sure how long I stood there staring into the night, wasting precious seconds.
“I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
His husky voice nearly sent me jumping out of my skin. Quickly realizing who was right beside me, I turned so that we were facing one another.
“It would be strange if you were expecting anything from me at all,” I replied slowly. Why was he up here?
I took a leisurely scan of his body, noting as many details as possible. He was wearing all black, from his shirt to his boots. The color suited him well. His top was fitted to his body and left little to the imagination. The matching sweats should’ve been outlawed. The outline of his dick was impossible to miss. Have mercy, that was on soft?
Of all the rumors spread about him, his sexual trysts were extra hush-hush. Judging by the glimpse I just got, if he knew what he was doing then I imagined there was very little to complain about. I fought the temptation to take a better look and said the first thing that popped into my head, needing to get my mind out of the gutter.