Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“I’m getting in. Come sit on the edge and put your feet in.” She walks over and sets her drink on the edge of the pool. I follow, the uneasiness I was feeling earlier subsiding some. I’m sure it’s the alcohol working its magic.
We both kick our shoes off. There are only a few people in the pool at the moment. I sit down next to her drink, putting my feet in. Emily piles her hair on top of her head with a hair tie before she slips into the pool.
Emily gets in and out of the pool a few times. The music starts to grow louder as the sun fully sets. I stay sitting by the pool.
“I’m gonna dance.” Emily motions over toward the DJ, where a small crowd of girls has formed that are dancing together. I finish off my drink.
“I need a bathroom,” I tell her as I stand to slip my shoes back on. The world tilts for a second, but I blink it away. How many of those things did I have? They tasted so good that they went down easily.
“Take the stairs that wrap around the side. They will take you to the inside hangout. There are bathrooms to the left.”
“Okay.” I make my way to the house. The party actually hasn’t been that terrible. A few of Emily’s friends from the cheer team joined us at the pool. They’d all been really nice. I’m starting to wonder if it’s me that puts up walls and makes myself believe I don’t fit. I’ve never given Emily’s friends a chance. I kept to myself. It felt pointless with only one year of high school left. I suppose it doesn’t matter at this point.
“Molly.” An arm wraps around my waist. “Damn, you’re all dolled up tonight.”
“West.” This is the first time I’ve seen him since we arrived.
“That’s me.”
“I need the bathroom,” I tell him.
“All right. I’ll show you where it is.” He leads me into the house and down a hallway. “Here.”
“Thanks.” I slip inside, locking the door quickly behind me. I pee and then wash my hands. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. The makeup around the corner of my eyes is a bit smudged, and my hair is tangled some from the wind. I do my best to straighten it out with my fingers.
When I open the door, West is leaning up against the opposite wall waiting for me. “You want a tour of the house?” he asks when I step out of the bathroom.
“I told Emily I’d be right back.”
“This way.” He puts his hand on my back. I start walking but stop when we get to the end of the hallway and there is a set of stairs that only go up.
“We went the wrong way.” I turn back around, bumping into West.
“Not the wrong way. I think this is the right way.” He steps into me. I retreat a step, my back hitting a wall.
“What are you doing?”
“Come on, Molly. You know what I’m doing. The innocent act is hot as fuck, but we’re done with the playing hard to get part.”
“Hard to get what?” My words don’t come out right. “I think I drank too much.” I try to move, but his arm comes out, blocking me from going anywhere.
“West? What are you doing?” My heart starts to race as I realize what is happening.
“There’s that innocent act again.” He smirks like we’re playing some game.
“Stop.” I put my hands on his chest and push as hard as I can. He doesn’t budge.
“One kiss, Molly. Then we’ll go from there.” He starts to lean down.
“No!” I hiss, giving another shove to his chest. This time he actually does move. His whole body flings out from in front of me, hitting the other wall so hard that the drywall cracks. West groans and slides down the wall before dropping to his knees.
“Asher?” I quickly put together that it was him that tossed West like a ragdoll. He doesn’t respond to me. He goes for West, gripping him around the throat and lifting him back up to stand. Actually, I wouldn’t really call it standing since West’s feet are dangling a foot off the ground.
“Stop.” West grabs at Asher’s arm.
“Doesn’t feel good, does it? To tell someone to stop and they don’t.” West’s face starts to change colors.
“Asher!” I put my hand on his back.
“Did he touch you?”
“No, not really.”
“Not really?” His hold tightens on West’s throat.
“What I meant by not really was he just barely put his hand on my back to show me to the bathroom and then what you saw,” I rush to say.
“Stay the fuck away from her,” he tells West before he releases his hold. I watch as West crumples to the ground, coughing. I stand there in shock. Asher turns around to face me. I drop my head back to look up at him.