Page 10 of Vile Boys

Me: Where are you?

It takes her a while to reply.

Kayla: Dance floor! Purple dress. Hard to miss.

Me: I’m wearing a pink dress. Wave if you see me.

My scarf slowly pulls off my shoulder, but I swiftly pull it back up so it stays put, and I walk toward the dance floor. The whole place teems with people, and the music booms through the speakers.

I look around to see if I can find Kayla, and when I see a raised hand waving at me, I grin and walk over.

“Crystal!” She hugs me. “I was already wondering where you were. I’m glad you came. It wouldn’t be a party without you.” She grabs my hand and pulls me back to the dance floor. “Now c’mon, let’s dance.”

Caleb

I siton a chair in the back of the dance floor next to a masked guy wearing a suit, but I know exactly who it is.

Nathan Reed, Phantom and definitely one of the organizers ofthis party.

He immediately sighs out loud. “What are you doing?”

Apparently, I’m easy to recognize too. “Sitting down next to you. Is that a problem?”

He throws me a glance. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“We’re not friends anymore.”

“But we were. We could be.”

“Not interested.”

“What do I have to do to make it up to you?”

“Ask Ares,” he growls, taking a sip of his drink.

I sigh out loud too and look around the room until I finally spot her dancing with a friend. A cheerful smile adorns her sharp face, blond hair sweeping back and forth across her shoulders, her thighs almost in perfect ratio to her ample breasts hiding in that pink dress of hers, and for a moment, I’m struck in awe at her beauty.

I totally understand why Ares wants to play with her.

“Are you staring?” Nathan mutters, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“No,” I retort.

“Yeah, you are.” He snorts.

“I was just wondering who she was. That’s all.”

“Crystal Murphy. She’s a friend.” He leans forward and glares at me, flashing a knife in his pocket. “Stay away from her.”

My eyes narrow at his warning, which I intend to fully ignore. “Do you think a knife is gonna make me listen?”

A smirk slowly spreads on his lips as he retracts his knife again and pulls his hand from his pocket. “You never fuckin’ listen.”

“Nope,” I retort, smiling right back at him. “But I’ll leave her alone.”

For now.