Page 15 of Diem

“Yes, I’m tired of hiding. I’ve got five months before I blow this shithole. Besides, nothing I’ve done has stopped the comparisons to my brother. I might as well embrace it.”

Slowly she nods a spark of sympathy lighting her eyes. “Okay then, let’s go. I can’t wait to see your face when every guy there hits on you.”

Snorting, I follow her out to her car.

∞∞∞

Bone greets us at the door before making his rounds. The party is packed.

I will say I am shocked when I get bombarded. I guess hiding behind my facade for so long trained me to assume I wasn’t up to par. But the swarm of guys looking for honey has dissuaded me of that notion.

They offer me drinks, ask me to dance, and surround me in a suffocating circle.

I’m completely out of my element but after two drinks, the awkward feeling suffusing my bones has faded.

With a silly smile, I glance up at a particularly brutal looking guy with pretty blue eyes who pushes through the crowd and stops beside me.

“Hello, gorgeous,” he says and my smile falters.

Although he’s said nothing untoward, something cold rolls off him in waves. It’s similar to the take-no-shit façade Diem shows the world except this version makes my skin itchy.

Unfortunately, after a few drinks, my threshold for normal conversations is nonexistent. Not to mention, I’m not used to getting hit on which is why I pull up a shy smile.

“Hello,” I say, hoping he’ll lose interest and move on.

I much prefer the bumbling guys who even as we speak back away warily.

He glances to his left before turning back to me with a sly smile, and I brace myself for impact, keenly aware of my surroundings. Nothing good ever comes from a slick smile, I should know, I fell for it once and paid the price.

“What’s your name?” he asks, and I lick my lips before whispering, “Maeve.”

“Hm,” he says huskily, fingering my hair. “Maeve. That’s a pretty name. You go to Park High? I haven’t seen you around.”

“Um, no. Sterling.”

My skin crawls at his brief caress and I stare dumbly at the skull tattoo on his hand. I’m backed into a corner, literally and I sense he’s not the type to respond well to the word ‘no’.

“Sterling.” His smile widens and he leans into me, nuzzling my ear. “Let’s go upstairs. I wanna show you something.”

With my heart hammering in my throat, I press my palms against his chest, but he doesn’t budge. For my efforts he pushes me further into the wall and I whimper when he rubs his erection against my stomach.

“Oh, pretty girl, I’m not asking,” he croons.

The words tumble from my lips of their own volition but I’m desperate enough to use him if it means getting out of this unscathed. “My boyfriend is around here somewhere. Diem. You know him?”

When he stiffens and rears back, I sidle away. I don’t get far though when he slams his hand against the wall and eyes me with a flinty expression.

Diem and the boys are known far and wide. This may not be considered their territory but if this guy is smart, he’ll heed the warning.

“McCafferty?” he says with a weird inflection, and I nod, moving to duck under his arm.

Of course, he grabs my wrist and I pause as he says, “You’re his girl?”

“Yes,” I rasp through the lump in my throat. He doesn’t seem particularly cowed, but I hope it’s enough to get him to back off.

His eyes drop to my boobs before his slick smile turns positively menacing and he says, “Good. That fucker has something I want. Give him a little message for me, will you?”

I’m supposed to be having fun and forgetting. This is not going the way I had hoped, and now I feel caught between this dude with his malintent and the guy who broke my heart.

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