Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
When we were completely ready, we stood next to each other in the mirror and smiled. Somehow, she’d managed to do the same thing to her hair and was wearing jeans and a crop top that read “Kiss me (if you’re cute). It’s my Birthday”. She looked amazing. She always did, though. Marissa was beautiful, of course, but what made her beauty shine was the confidence which she carried herself with. I loved it. I once had it myself. While it still existed, it was buried underneath an air of superiority that I didn’t feel. It was the only defense mechanism I had to keep people from wanting to talk to me. I’d once been social, still a little dry and sarcastic, but I’d been well-loved by my peers. The ones who knew me from high school completely understood the 180 I’d made. The rest of them probably thought I was a huge bitch, which was fine by me.
CHAPTER 9
LYLA
My fingers tightened on Marissa’s as we walked into the party. We’d pre-gamed at the house and were very fashionably late, which meant everyone had already been here a while. As we got here, I’d ditched my oversized sweater and tried not to feel too uneasy about it. At least it was dark in the house. It wasn’t like I cared what this specific crowd thought or whether or not they saw me. I just felt weird about being this exposed after hiding for so long. The party was legit. They had a DJ set up with a whole light show going on. A couple of girls from Marissa’s sorority walked up to us immediately, enveloping us in welcoming hugs.
“Let’s get a drink.” Marissa started pulling me toward the living room.
I wasn’t even fully in the room when I caught sight of Lachlan. Every time I saw him, he took my breath away, and this time was no different. He was reclined on the couch, his long, muscular arms sprawled across the backrest. A beer bottle hung from one hand as he spoke to Drew, who was to his right. Mandy Roberts sat to his left, pressing her tits into his left arm. When that didn’t get his attention, she set her hand on his left thigh. I blinked twice to make sure I wasn’t seeing things, but little by little, her hand was moving north, and she was indeed about to actually feel him up. Jealousy charged me like a lightning bolt — unexpected, fast, and hot. I’d heard people talk about jealousy, but I’d never experienced it. It was as bad as they’d described it, or worse.
I’d dated Luke for nearly three years, and one night, while we were high, I’d suggested an open relationship. Not because I didn’t love him, but because I wasn’t in love with him. Our parents had been playing matchmakers since third grade, and they were the only reason we even gave the relationship a shot. Staying together ended up being more convenient than breaking up, and explaining it to them would have been a pain, especially since Luke was the only boy my parents approved of me dating, so we maintained an open relationship. The first time I saw him with another girl at a party, I was slightly surprised but not upset or jealous.
Watching Lachlan with another woman felt like a punch in the gut. My fingers squeezed tighter on Marissa. It was the only way I’d kept the nonchalant look on my face. It was the only way for me not to concentrate on my ears, which felt like they were burning — or my heart, which felt like it was breaking. It was annoying and frustrating beyond belief. We weren’t a thing. For God's sake, we hadn’t even kissed, but this felt worse than any breakup I’d ever experienced. It was madness. Marissa tugged me along, and I was grateful because I was so angry that I could barely think, let alone walk. I hated every single second of that feeling. He wasn’t even paying attention to her, but Mandy kept going, now running her hand up and down his thigh.
I tore my eyes from the scene, so I wouldn’t see whether or not she was going to touch his dick over his jeans and faced forward, focusing on breathing. The DJ had set up his equipment right in the middle of our trek, so Marissa had to divert and lead me toward the couch. Like a prized horse in a race, I set up blinders so I would no longer see them. Unfortunately, mental blinders were a one-way thing. It wasn’t like it gave me the power of invisibility. My heart pounded harder as I walked by. I was focused on the back of Marissa’s head when a hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. I knew it was him based on the electric wave that shot through me. I hated that reaction. I wished my body would get with the program and stop feeling things he didn’t deserve for me to feel. I stopped walking and hooked a finger through the loop of Marissa’s jeans to stop her. She did, looked back, assessed the situation, glared at Lachlan, and gave me a tiny nod. It all happened in a fraction of a second. I let go of the hook, and she started talking to Drew. I looked at Lachlan, who was still holding my wrist.