Page 57 of This Is War: All's Fair Duet
Laughter explodes into the room.
Some guy shouts, “I’d say you should have split up the girls from the guys, but I’m going to have such fucking good dreams tonight imagining whatever happened in their closet.” Another couple of people hoot with laughter. I don’t quite know what to think, but this is better than other alternatives, I suppose. Rya pulls a face at me, shrugging while Hazel does this funny little jog in front of her and holds her hands out.
“Come on, roomie! It’s closet time!” A very obviously drunk Hazel practically bounces over to Trip, Rya in tow. He hands her their envelope, and she quickly tears into it. A moment later, she snort-laughs, then shows Rya their Seven Minutes in Heaven challenge as she loudly boasts, “Can’t wait to kiss you with tongue in the closet!” Waving their instructions in the air, she laughs hysterically.
Rya squeezes her eyes shut, but at least she seems to be amused as Hazel tugs her into one of the closets. The other pair disappears through a second doorway, and it’s on. With seven minutes set on the timer on Trip’s phone, the doors are closed, and music blasts through the speakers. There’s nothing to do now but wait.
Most people are laughing and talking, speculation over what’s going on in the closets running rampant, but I’m actually more interested in what’s going on in Logan’s head across the room. My mind bends, and all at once, I physically feel him moving under me, his thighs caging my hips as I hold him down by the wrists. The rough way we’d attacked each other’s mouths. Our erections caught between us, and the resulting explosion. My ears buzz as I forcefully jerk myself from those thoughts. I run a hand over my jaw, unwilling to allow the voice in the back of my head to take over. This would be my opportunity to dig the knife deep and let him know what transpired between us was another bid on my part to fuck with him. Because that’s all it was.
Slowly, I make my way over, waiting until Levi spots someone he wants to talk to and leaves Logan’s side. I watch my stepbrother as he gets up and heads for a dark corner, then leans against the wall with his arms folded over his chest. He’s giving off leave-me-the-fuck-alone vibes, and most people who glance his direction quickly decide he’s in no mood to be interrupted. I’m not most people, though. And Logan doesn’t get a pass tonight. Irritation prickles through me at the set of his strong jaw, and my eyes follow the way the muscles twitch under his skin. Heat consumes me as memories of stubble scraping my neck send me spinning. The hard planes of his body hadbeen so different, but so fucking good, I’d come like a motherfucking geyser.
Fuck. Goddamn him.
My movements are stealthy, like a lion stalking its prey. That’s all Logan is to me. Something that needs to be hunted down and fucked up. I’ve got his girl. I’ve made him miserable. But it’s not enough. There’s this fire in my belly that won’t abate because he’s still in my space.
I get within six feet before he casts his gaze in my direction. He’s wary, readjusting how he’s holding up the wall, his chest puffing out with every exaggerated breath he takes. I slip past a couple of girls flailing their arms around as they dance and take up residence beside him, all while staring at the partygoers as the time on the Seven Minutes in Heaven clock ticks down.
“You know she’s fucking miserable, right?” I tuck my tongue into my cheek, peering at his profile from the corner of my eye. A flash of firm lips under mine pokes at the corner of my mind like a hot brand, and I grit my teeth against it, willing it to get the fuck out of my head.
His swift inhale is followed by silence, so I keep going. “You’re doing a shitty job of showing her she’s still your friend. I could tell her you’re no longer interested in filling that role in her life, if you want.” Making a clicking sound with my tongue, I let my gaze swing to his. “It’s a damnshame you’d let a little thing like her wanting to date another guy come between you.” Looking away, I scan the room, wondering how much more time I have to deliver a few more blows.
When Logan turns his head toward me, his eyes bore a hole in the side of my head until I relent, this time shifting to lean against my shoulder so I can fully meet his icy blue glare. We stare at each other for several hate-fueled seconds before he growls, “Jaxon?—”
Letting my maniacal laughter interrupt him, in a low voice, I grit out, “Don’t worry, bro. I’ll be there to pick up the pieces and put her back together once she’s forgotten about you.” I wink as he pierces me with hollow eyes. He doesn’t fucking fool me. The pain hidden within him gives me a sick pleasure.
He deserves to feel this way. He’s had everything. All the advantages. None of the worry. He’s never wanted for anything. Never struggled. And has been free to be who he fucking wants to be.
This is what I keep telling myself as I push off the wall and begin to back away. I can’t get him the fuck out of my head. I take one slow breath after another, hoping they calm me, but they don’t. The invading thoughts are putting my plan in serious jeopardy as the same questions circle my head over and over.
I wish I knew what Logan was thinking that night in the hotel. And where the fuck did he spend the rest of the night after he left?
32
JAXON
The alarm goesoff a minute later, jarring me from my thoughts. Away from the infuriating hold Logan has on me. Trip bangs on the door Rya and Hazel are behind, and another frat brother hammers on the other before both of them throw the doors wide open.
Rya and Hazel come out giggling. The other two must have had a much different experience, though, as Steven’s face is beet red, and the girl—Annabeth?—won’t meet anyone’s gaze. Trip takes one look at them, and barks out, “Well?”
The girl mumbles, “Shots, please.”
“What? But we—” Steven’s jaw snaps shut when his partner aims a withering look at him. He relents with a sigh. “Fine. Give us the shots if she doesn’t want to admit to what we did in there.”
Damn.
Hazel raises her brows and holds her hands out, palms up, getting Trip’s attention. “My roommate is a good kisser. Hand over my hundred bucks. Gimme!”
Fuck, I’d kiss just about anyone in the closet for a hundred bucks.It wouldn’t make more than a small dent in my mom’s medical bills, but at least it’d be something.
Trip’s gaze shifts to Rya, a hundred-dollar bill hanging from each hand. My jaw works to the side. I guess they’ve got money to throw the fuck around. He squints, eyeing her, looking for any sign she might be fibbing. “Did it actually happen?”
She bites her lip and nods, a faint blush staining her cheeks. I can read her facial expressions well enough by now to know she’s totally telling the truth, and the thought of her kissing Hazel has a jolt of excitement shooting through me, but also a jealous punch nailing me in the gut. At least I’m ninety-nine percent certain it’s all about beating Trip at his game for them.
A moment later, the wicked smirks on their faces as they snatch the cash out of his hand confirms that for me. “Yes. That was too easy,” Rya quips. “But thanks for the coffee money.”
Trip arches a brow, but then continues. “Okay, is everyone good?” At the collective nodding in the room, his minions begin to pass around more shots.
Rya finds me right where she left me, and her eyes meet mine, a funny, awkward smile playing at her lips. She puts her hands on my abs and leans in close. “That was… interesting.”
