I descend the remaining steps and crowd Thalia’s personal space, pulling her to my side caveman style. “I’m growing old here. Let’s play.”
Dean’s eyes zero in on my arm casually snaked around Thalia’s waist, his jaw working back and forth.
“I see,” he mutters, and then... he has the fucking audacity to kiss her cheek, marking his territory like I’m marking mine.
Thalia stills in my arms; the kiss not what she expected or wanted, I’m sure. Her lips are sealed as we watch Dean hop into his Porsche. The wheels spin fast when he performs an intentional burnout, sending the gravel flying around and bouncing off the Range Rover parked behind. He speeds down the long driveway, and tires squeal when the car springs onto the street, the rear end flying sideways before disappearing behind a bend.
I grab Thalia’s waist, pushing her against the side of my car. “I’ll break his hands if he ever touches you again.”
“Oh yeah?” She inches closer. A small smile curves her red lips. Lips that almost brush mine. “Bullshit. Are you this possessive over all your friends, or am I special somehow?”
I dig my fingers into her hips, my composure hanging by a thread, desire fizzing inside me, burning a hot hole in my stomach, hurling to the surface like bubbles in a champagne flute. “I’ve never had a friend who’s also a girl. You’re special in every way.”
“What an honor.” There’s an edge to her voice, a spiteful note accompanied by narrowed eyes.
I’m not ready to admit I know why she’s acting this way. “Come on, I need a drink.”
NINETEEN
Theo
PULSE THROBS IN MY EARS when a face I loathe more than anything in the world shows up at the party around ten in the evening. I knew he was in town. He comes back every summer to unwind in his beach house. And every summer, I get out of Newport Beach to avoid bumping into him.
This summer is different. I met Thalia, and the idea of leaving and heading for Nico’s apartment in LA slipped my mind.
Logan stands closest, so I grip his arm, pointing at Kai, who makes his way across the lawn that’s been turned into a makeshift dance floor for the party. He’s alone, his face hinting unease. “Get him out of here before I fucking kill him.”
It takes Logan three seconds to get a plan of action while I channel my resolve into keeping myself pinned to the spot.
Logan grabs Nico and taps on Shawn’s shoulder, his back straight, fists clenched tight. Seconds later, Jack joins them, a pack of wolves on the hunt.
Kai’s face may not be so pretty in a moment.
Thalia sits with Cass and MJ by the pool, a glass of caipirinhainher hand. I cross the garden, my feet moving of their own accord, away from the fury Kai incites and toward the sanity Thalia summons with a touch of her hand.
She looks up when I’m almost there, my body and mind lighter with every step. “What’s wrong?” She reads my mood perfectly, casting a sideways glance, checking our surroundings, then looks over my shoulder searching for what got me so pissed off.
Her eyes grow wider, and her lips part slightly. I do a one-eighty, walking away, the rage in my head no longer controllable when I see what she just saw. Logan’s nailing Kai in the middle of the garden, either oblivious to the crowd of bystanders or not giving a shit who’s watching.
Probably the latter. Logan’s wild once he loses his shit, snapping faster than the naked eye can see. He’s in his element, ramming his fists into Kai’s face as if the fucker is a boxing bag.
Knowing Thalia saw that, knowing it alarmed her, knowing the asshole showing up here caused the unease in her eyes, I’m itching to tear him apart.
Five fingers close around my forearm but don’t come near meeting. Thalia blocks my path, pressing herself to my chest, acting as a barricade. “Why aren’t people skinny dipping yet?”
“What?” I frown. God, she’s so bizarre sometimes, and I absolutely fucking love that about her.
“Isn’t it what usually happens at American parties when everyone gets tipsy?” she continues, moving her small hands to my sides, tapping a monotonous rhythm on my ribs with the tips of her fingers. The sensation it evokes is like a powerful sedative. All my muscles relax as fast as when I’m freefalling while skydiving.
“You want to go skinny dipping?”
She nods, the dark locks bouncing around her shoulders. “I hoped you’d join the fun.”
“So, you want to see me naked?”
“I’m pretty sure it’d be a sight to see, but I know better than to hope you’ll lead the way. I, on the other hand...” She steps back, hands plucking the hem of her dress.
As if on autopilot, I cuff her wrists and pin them to my chest, stopping her before she gives me a reason to annihilate two hundred people in attendance.