Page 31 of XO

“Fuck those two,” he says passionately before turning to his so-called friends. “Fuck you two. I’m asking her as my date, and besides, you two will probs be fucking the whole time, so what does it matter if Rosie’s with me?” He turns back before wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Ignore those dipshits. They’re just as cunty as each other.”

Jacob’s jaw twitches in annoyance, and I have a sudden urge to make him suffer. Kevin’s a good-looking boy with a sensitive side, and his interest in me seems genuine, so why should I miss out on a party just because asshole, Jacob, thinks I’m toooddfor his crowd of populars?

“You know what, I think I will come after all.”

Kevin’s face lights up and squeezes me tight against his chest. “That’s my girl,” he replies, and I strangely feel safe in his arms.

“I’m going home,” Nessie says, pulling me out of Kevin’s arms and into an uncharacteristic embrace. She puts her mouth close to my ear so only I can hear. “Don’t let him anywhere near your bits,” she whispers.

“Yes, ma’am. No one will be going anywhere near my vagina, I swear to Jesus.”

“Don’t put the words Jesus and vagina in the same sentence, sinner.”

I snort a laugh against her curly hair, and she giggles. She may be religious from a heavily strict family, but she has a wicked sense of humor about it all.

“Message me when you’re home safe,” she says with a final squeeze.

“I will.”

A car horn behind us signals Nessie’s dad has arrived, and with a smile, she runs over to greet him before they pull out of the parking lot leaving me in a foreign situation I should have known better than to get myself into. If I weren’t so competitive with Jacob Lynch, I would have probably flipped him the middle finger and walked away with my head held high. Now, I’m simply trying not to let my tail fall between my legs as I enter what could be, a lion’s den.

“Let’s do this,” Kevin hollers enthusiastically, awakening me from my thoughts.

Jacob walks hand in hand with Chelsea a few steps ahead of us, while Kevin drapes an arm over my shoulders, a wide grin telling me he’s excited to get the party started.

“Let the night of debauchery begin.”

8

THEN

Music filters through the otherwise quiet night air, a chilly breeze tingling our skin. The glow of a monstrous bonfire can be seen well before we drive through the gate of Andy Mahone’s property. Apparently, according to Kevin, Andy’s parents own huge amounts of land, and the half a mile drive from the front gate to the bonfire is nothing in the scheme of things. They’re also never home, happy to leave their only son alone while they travel extensively for work and leisure.

He isn’t technically alone, though. Again, according to Kevin, during the days the house is full of workers, cleaning staff, and maintenance. So, by day, Andy is a rule-abiding son in the face of those who are on his parents’ payroll, but come night when they all leave, the mice come out to play. As long as he disposes of all the evidence come morning, he can get away with whatever he wants. Including tonight, where it’s expected a hundred party revelers will be attending his after-party. And unlike during the week, Andy has a full weekend to get the house back in order before staff returns to work on Monday. Which means, it’s game on.

I pull my hand free from Kevin’s whose held mine since we pulled out of the parking lot back at the stadium. It was quite the drive out to Andy’s, staying behind Jacob’s car the whole time. While Kevin was simply trying to engage in conversation, I watched the tail lights ahead, completely transfixed and wondering how the friendship between Jacob and I had taken such an abrupt U-turn, especially after he’d been so nurturing toward me when I had almost a week off school. I’d witnessed a completely different side to him which was both charming and sweet, a side which allowed me to bury the hatchet on our rocky past, and see that beneath his desire to torture me, there lies a good soul. But that all blew up in smoke tonight.

We pull alongside each other on a patch of lawn designated as parking. With Jacob parked to the right, I sit directly opposite him. Although darkness surrounds us, the glow from the dash in both cars is enough to shine light on our faces. Jacob sits staring, eyes narrowed, jaw tense. Beside him, paying no attention, is Chelsea, who uses the visor mirror to re-apply her gloss.

I return his glare. If he’s pissed at me for intruding on his space, I’m pissed at him for thinking I’m not good enough to be around ‘his people.’

“Let’s go, babe,” Kevin interrupts my thoughts with a term of endearment I didn’t think our relationship had earned at this point in time. He leans across my lap and opens the door in what he probably interprets as a chivalrous gesture. Undoing my buckle, I slip out of his Jeep at the same time Jacob climbs out his 1969 Dodge Charger. He’ll never know, but there’s been plenty of times I’ve admired how he looks while sitting in that car just like every other girl who watches him pull into the school parking lot. And now here we are, face to face, a mere few feet apart, his annoyance is more than I can tolerate.

“Jerk,” I mutter.

“Gullible.” Jacob slams his door.

“Asshole.”

“I’m not going to name call you.”

I swivel on my heel, seeing anger. “Not going to name call me?” I laugh. “You already have multiple times tonight and in front of others, so don’t get on your damn high-horse now.”

“That’s because you—”

“Come on, Jacob,” Chelsea interrupts with that irritating nag I’ve come to associate with her voice. “Stop wasting your time onher. I can think of much more interesting things we could be doing.” She smiles like a porn star, and I roll my eyes.

“Jealous?” Jacob asks for only him and me to hear. It’s a tone laden with mockery and spite, but I refuse to take the bait and give my well wishes instead.

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