Page 97 of When Wrecked Meets Ruined
CHAPTERTHIRTY-SIX
Ridge
Walker livedin an old farmhouse on a few acres with his mom and two younger sisters. His family spent most weekends on the road, traveling to rodeos where his sisters competed in barrel racing.
Whenever they were gone, Walker threw a party.
Now the party was in full swing. Which meant that we were standing around in a field getting drunk and talking shit.
I had a drink in one hand and my arm around Evie, my hand splayed across her stomach, her back leaning against my chest. I swept her hair away and kissed the side of her neck.
“You two are turning into that sickening couple,” Walker said, shaking his head.
Evie and I simultaneously flipped him the bird. We laughed and I tapped my Solo cup against hers. “Here’s to us.”
“Long live the outsiders.”
We drained our cups and walked to the keg next to the porch for a refill. After I handed Evie a beer, I turned back to the keg to fill my own.
“Oops.”
I turned just as Ainsley dumped a beer down the front of Evie’s shirt.
“Real mature, Ainsley,” Evie said, sopping up the beer with the hem of her flannel.
Ainsley flipped her hair over her shoulder and shrugged. “I tripped.”
I slung my arm around Evie’s shoulder and pulled her close to my side, smirking at the expression on Ainsley’s face. My move had the intended effect.
Ainsley’s eyes widened, unable to hide her reaction. “Wait. You two are together?”
“Yep.” I smirked as her jaw dropped. “Never been happier.”
Ainsley recovered and turned on her fake smile. “I guess it makes sense you’d go for the skank that Chad Miller fucked to win a bet.” I bristled at her words. Ainsley aimed her smile at Evie. “He said you weren’t even a virgin. Not that it surprised anyone.”
Evie laughed. “Oh well. At least I got my cut of the money. You did know we were in on it together, didn’t you?”
She was lying, obviously, trying to save face. I pulled her closer, prepared to fight for her. Now that we had an audience, we might as well take advantage.
“Why don’t we tell everyone what you did, Ainsley?” I looked around at the crowd to ensure everyone was paying attention. “Who wants to hear about the time Ainsley stole money from her own mother and pinned the blame on Evie?”
“Ridge. Stop,” Evie said under her breath.
“Oh please,” Ainsley said with a laugh and an eye roll. “Like I’d actually do that.”
“You’re so jealous of Evie that you couldn’t help yourself. You wanted to take away everything she had, didn’t you, Ainsley?”
“Why do you think I was with you? You don’t actually think I wanted you, did you?” She laughed like that was ridiculous and swung her gaze to Evie. “Do you think I didn’t notice how you looked at him, Evie?”
Evie looked Ainsley up and down. “Top tip, Ainsley. When you give a guy a blow job in the weight room, you should probably check to make sure no one is watching. But hey, you put on a hell of a show. Guess you didn’t notice that he was looking at me, mouthingmy name, not yours.” Evie gave her a big smile.
Holy shit.
Ainsley’s jaw dropped, and Evie let out a short laugh. “Yeah. That was a fun day.”
Might as well finish what we started. “I don’t even know what the fuck you’re doing here,” I told Ainsley. “Read the room. Nobody wants you here. And as for your so-called friends, where are they now?” I looked around. Nobody stepped forward to defend their queen bee. “High school’s over, princess. You have no power. So why don’t you get the hell out of here?”
“What are you going to do?” Ainsley said. “Kick me out of another party? It’s sweet the way you protect her, but trust me, she’s not worth it. Come to think of it, neither are you. You’re both white trash losers. And you know what true power is? It’s information.” She gave me a cunning smile. “Luckily, I’ve got plenty on you. I mean, how low can you go? Getting the coach’s daughter drunk at your party and fucking her? Wow. That’s pretty bad, even for you. What is she, like fifteen?”
