Page 1 of Bought and Broken

Chapter One

Devon

Eighteen years old…

I slap Summer’s arm playfully.

“More!” I shout, though my voice hardly carries over the loud music and laughing people.

She grins and adds more tequila to my cup, then to hers.

Pretty sure if bartenders were caught making tequila sunrises this way, they’d be fired. Good thing we aren’t bartenders.

“Hey, does the amount of tequila to OJ and this red stuff make the drink, or is it just the ingredients?” Summer asks thoughtfully as she puts the cap on the bottle of Jose.

I shrug and take a sip. Don’t have a clue about mixing drinks officially.

The liquid burns going down. Yeah, that’s a lot of tequila.

“I don’t care what this is called, it’s wonderful,” I say with a smile and take a mouthful.

“Hey, isn’t that Tatum?” Summer says, leaning close to me. “I thought they weren’t coming tonight.”

I pause, looking at where my best friend is pointing across the room. The last person I want to see is Tatum—now, and for the rest of my life.

With the cup to my lips, I freeze when I see Tatum Winters—staring directly at me. Even through the hundreds of people crowding this house, he finds me. It’s funny; for someone who ignores me so well, he sure always knows what I’m up to.

“Damnit,” I mutter against my cup before grabbing Summer’s arm and pulling her in the opposite direction of him. We stop in the other room, which is even more packed than the kitchen was, as I try to decide where we can hide. “He didn’t see me, did he?”

I don’t know why I ask. Of course he saw me. We made eye contact! He isn’t blind. Those stupid chocolate eyes of his see everything. Especially when it has to do with me. Which makes no sense. He breaks up with me but won’t leave me the hell alone. Except, he won’t talk to me. Not unless he’s telling me what to do.

“He was staring right at you,” Summer says with a roll of her eyes.

“He can’t see me, Summer!” I complain, taking another sip. If he catches me with a drink in my hand, he’ll not only get pissed, he’ll take it. Meaning, I need to finish it quickly. “I’m not supposed to be here.”

“You should have done better digging before coming then, Dev,” she complains, dragging her coffin nails through her blond hair.

She scans the room, settling on something in the far back and her eyes widen, a grin forming on her lips. She grabs my arm and tugs me through the crowd. You’d think it would be easy to get lost in all the people that are here, but I swear Tatum would find me if I were a needle in a haystack. He has laser eyes just for me—he likes to make my life hell because he’s the devil.

Summer and I stop by a group of big guys. I recognize them from school. Though they all look a little blurry tonight, thanks to the tequila.

“Football players?” I say, nudging Summer with my elbow. She winks at me.

Summer and I have been best friends since the first day of high school. She moved to Michigan from California and hated the idea of it until I showed her it wasn’t too bad. California suits her better, but she’s happy here now. I’m not sure she’ll ever leave—unless she gets swooped away by Austin Butler, who is her ultimate crush.

It’ll never happen, but a girl can dream, can’t she?

I’m not much of an Austin fan myself, but at least she and I can agree that sports players are sexy. Especially the football players who are all big, muscled, and look like they’d tackle us into a good time. Oh, and don’t get me started on those rugby players and their juicy asses! I love a juicy ass.

“Hi, boys,” Summer says in her sweetest voice.

The five of them smile down at us. They don’t look like eighteen-year-olds who just graduated high school—they’re huge.

“We need a favor.” Summer bats her lashes at them, as if they wouldn’t grovel at her feet for just a smile. Summer is breathtakingly gorgeous. Men of all ages stop and stare, which is creepy considering she only turned eighteen a few months ago. Problem is, she doesn’t look it. She could easily pass for being in her early twenties, and guys don’t care to ask before they hit on her. Which is disgusting in itself.

“It’s going to cost you,” Thomas says with a smirk.

Summer grins. “Anything you want, Tommy.”

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