Page 87 of There's No Us Without You
I grin up at him, taking in his blue eyes and that one dimple on his left cheek that when he smiles, gives me a glimpse of his beauty. He’s super good-looking, but there’s no electricity between us.
My insides don’t ignite the way they do when his brother looks at me. I’m not entirely sure why, either. Tyler is obviously the better choice out of the two, at least as far as personality goes.
We head to where a group of people are playing beer pong. Tyler introduces me to his friend Jayden who gives me a shy smile before throwing the next ping-pong ball across the table. It bounces once before launching into the air again, just missingthe red cup he was aiming for. The chanting starts up for him to scull his next drink.
Tyler slaps him on the back. “Drink up, kid.”
Jayden groans as he picks up a cup, then chugs what looks like beer, the frothy liquid spilling from his mouth and onto his white T-shirt. He swipes the beer from his chin, attempting the same with his shirt. It’s too late, though, the liquid has already soaked into the thin cotton, leaving a big brown wet patch on his chest.
He looks younger than the others, like he’s someone’s kid brother tagging along for the night. Or maybe it’s just that he has no facial hair, nor do I believe he can grow any, even if he wanted to.
“Better up your game, Jay.” Tyler punches him in the arm. “Brady is kicking your arse.”
“Eat shit, Ty. You’re messing me up.” Jayden swings his fist at Tyler, his knuckles missing the mark when he stumbles forward.
Tyler grabs him by the shoulders, steadying him before patting him on the back. “Go easy, bro.”
Jayden waves him off. “I’m fine. Stop being such a killjoy.”
“I can tell you sucked at sport,” Brady says to Jayden, a drunk smirk on his face. “I’d stick to playing with yourself.” He mimics the action of masturbating, sending Jayden’s face flaming.
“Fuck off, Brady, you dick.” Jayden throws a ping-pong ball at him before stalking off into the sea of smoke and bodies.
Brady throws his hands up. “What did I say?”
Tyler shrugs. “Stack ’em back up, arsehole. I’m a pro at this shit.” He moves to the end of the table where Jayden was and lines the cups into a triangle—four at the back, three, two, and one at the front. Then he snatches up whatever alcohol is lying around and fills each cup about halfway.
A menacing grin creeps onto his lips when Brady throws the first ball, narrowly missing the cup he was aiming for. Then it’s Tyler’s turn.
Minutes pass, gasps and whistles echoing around the room when each of the men takes their next throw. When Tyler said he was a pro, he wasn’t lying. Each of the last nine shots Tyler has thrown has landed exactly where he aimed it. And Brady is showing his sore-loser personality, which only makes Tyler taunt him more.
“Doesn’t feel nice, does it?” Tyler says as he throws his final ball, sending it straight into the middle of the last awaiting cup. A splash of liquid escapes over the lip and runs down the sides to form a puddle on the table.
“Fuck’s sake.” Brady snatches up the final cup and empties it before slamming it back onto the table and crushing it in his hand. Eyeing Tyler, he staggers a little, but regains his composure by pressing his palms into the table. “I hate this game anyway,” he says, then stumbles off and disappears into the crowd.
Tyler turns to me and snorts, sending me into a fit of laughter. I’m only on my second beer, but I’m loving the slight buzz running through my body.
Two more contestants step up to take Tyler and Brady’s places, so Tyler leads me to a quiet corner, and we take a seat on the worn green couch.
“So...” I say, picking at the top of my plastic cup, “what’s the go with you and Will?”
Tyler rubs the back of his neck, an uneasy smile on his face. “You noticed that did you?”
“Kind of hard not to.” I shrug and cross my legs to stop them bouncing.
I’m so far out of my element here.
While running a finger around the rim of his cup, Tyler sighs. “Let’s just say I haven’t been the best little brother. And that’s putting it mildly.”
“Can I ask what happened?” I search Tyler’s face for any sign he’s going to tell me to piss off, but he blows out a breath while nodding his head.
“I did something... pretty shitty, and after that, Will stopped speaking to me.” He rubs the back of a hand over his nose and sniffs. “I don’t blame him, though. He tried to help me, he really did, but I just got so caught up in the party scene. Before I knew it, I was too far gone. I got heavy into the drugs, and not just taking them but dealing them as well.”
Now I know why Will warned me off his brother—he’s worried about me.
“What sort of drugs? Like the bad kind?”
Tyler nudges my shoulder, chuckling. “They’re all bad if you misuse them, Edie girl. Even the prescription kind can cause a lot of damage.”
