Page 64 of Play It Sinful

We continue our exploration of the party. In the living room, we bump into some members of my old squad. Annie Cox, the new head cheerleader, is the first to see us.

“Ash, you’re here!” She stumbles forward and gives me a sloppy embrace. Hell, she smells flammable.

“Hi Annie.”

Once she steps back, her gaze travels over my shoulder. “Holy hotness. Who’s the Greek god behind you?”

My stomach tightens. Fuck. Did Sean follow Kenzie and me? I turn and, sure as shit, there he is. I didn’t bank on the fact that he’d be the main attraction at a high school party. A mistake on my part, and now I can’t do anything besides smile tightly and pretend I’m unbothered that all the girls are ogling him.

“That’s my brother,” Kenzie replies when I don’t. “Sean, come here and meet Ash’s former squad members.”

He steps forward and waves at everyone. “Hello.”

Annie nudges me out of the way so she can invade Sean’s personal space. “Hello there. I’m Annie.”

“Uh, hi.”

I tense. I’m about to drag her away from him, but I stop at the last second. I can’t act like a jealous girlfriend.

“Don’t waste your time with this one,” I say. “He hates cheerleaders.”

Annie whips her face to me. “What? You’re joking. No one hates cheerleaders.”

“He does. Tell her, Sean. Am I lying?” I arch a brow.

“No. You aren’t lying.” He steps away from Annie. “I’m gonna get a drink.”

“You have a beer in your hand,” Kenzie points out.

He tosses his cup back and inhales the rest of his drink. Then, looking at me, he says, “Correction. I had a beer in my hand.”

I should feel smug that my lie worked, but I feel kind of down. Sean seems annoyed with me.

“Oh, now I see why you hate him so much,” Pippa Montana, a junior who’s the best flyer I’ve ever seen, pipes up.

“Sean isn’t so bad, guys,” Kenzie butts in.

Annie shrugs. “I’d still do him. Hate fucking is the best.”

I narrow my eyes. If she keeps talking like that, she’ll get hate fucked, but not in the way she’s hoping.I’ll fuck you up, bitch.

“Can we please stop talking about screwing that bonehead?” I say. “I wanna hear all about the squad.”

They all start talking over each other, but I’m barely paying attention. I keep glancing over my shoulder, searching for Sean.

CHAPTER 26

SEAN

Ithought I could be at a party with Ashley and act like she’s just my bratty stepsister. But it took only ten minutes of socializing for me to want to drink myself into oblivion. I’m not usually irresponsible like this. I drove, so I shouldn’t be drinking. But one beer turned into another, then came more Jell-O shots. It’s been over an hour, and I’m buzzed. I can barely feel my irritation anymore.

I’ve been avoiding Ashley and Kenzie the entire night and hanging out with some guys in the back. They play hockey, so I had something to talk about with them. But now everyone is going back into the house for Kenzie’s set.

Thanks to her many musical theater performances back in London, I’ve always known she could sing, but I had no idea she wanted to play in a band. Dad won’t be happy when he finds out. He doesn’t believe anyone can make money in an art-oriented field. He’s a self-made businessman, and he wants all of us to pick “solid” careers.

I love playing hockey, and he’s supportive of that, but I also know playing professionally isn’t a guarantee. I could not develop enough to play in the NHL, or I could get injured. Medschool is my plan B, but until I’m sure I can pull it off, I don’t want to tell him.

God, Sean. Why are you thinking about your old man at a party?

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