Page 87 of The Star

I see Hayden coming down the stairs, a few girls trailing after him, and when he’s finally stepping into the living room, he crosses the space, slides between a few cheerleaders and steps into Cassidy’s face. “Get out, bitch.”

She laughs, but he doesn’t return her smile, just stares at her with his dark eyes. “Get out, or I’ll throw you out.”

“I fuckingdareyou, Hayden,” she spits. “Put your hands on me, and I’ll ruin you.”

He laughs humorlessly. “Do you think you scare me, cheerleader?” He bends, grabbing her by the waist and throwing her over his shoulder. She screams like she’s being attacked, but he carries her effortlessly to the front door and opens it. “Goodbye, Cassidy.”

He pulls her from his shoulder, dropping her onto her ass on the front porch, then walks back inside and slams the door shut. Rubbing his palms together, like he’s trying to get the invisible dirt off of them, he snaps his fingers. “If anyone else would like to join TeamBitch, please find the fucking door. Now, turn the music back on, daddy feels like dancing.”

forty

LOGAN

“Sooo…” Giuliana starts, making me chuckle. “You’re sleeping with Carson?”

Cassidy was a big bucket of cold water, rushing over my head and completely sobering me. The alcohol was definitely in the driver’s seat when I told her to go ahead and out us, but now I’m stone-cold sober, and it’s time to confront everything.

“Yes,” I answer, searching my best friend’s face for how she’s feeling, what she’s thinking.

“You didn’t tell me.” She narrows her eyes, but when Carson slides up behind me and throws his arm over my shoulder, her mouth spreads into a smile. “Go do damage control. We can talk later.”

Carson kisses my cheek, making my stomach flutter, but I step toward Giuliana. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

Spotting Austin coming up behind Giuliana, I suck down a breath and wait for the inevitable. “Lo.”

Carson’s hand reaches around my waist, pulling me back an inch like he’s showing his claim. My eyelids flutter as I try not to roll my eyes, and I can’t help the huff of laughter I let out as I realize Ilikethe feeling of him being possessive over me.

“That’s why you wouldn’t let me smash when you came to Franklin?” Austin questions, making Carson snap his head to look at me, his mouth turning up in a satisfied, triumphant grin.

“Shut up,” I mutter to Carson, even though he hasn’t said anything. I can feel his cocky, big dick energy radiating from his shit-eating grin, and I don’t want to hear whatever nonsense is going to slip from his mouth.

“Sorry, Austin. The days of you experiencing this First-Class Pussy are over.” I bat my eyelashes at Austin, and when he laughs, I do too. “Friends?”

Carson’s hand tightens on me as Austin holds a hand toward me, and I shake him off to dab Austin up. “Friends always, Lo.”

“Awwwww,” Giuliana croons, sliding a hand over Austin’s shoulder. “The gang’s back together again.”

The lights drop low, making the room fall to shadows right as the music changes to a song with heavy bass. Giuliana grins. “I love you, Lo. When you’re ready to talk about it, we’ll talk about it. For now, I’m going to drink and find some rich guy to make out with.”

She winks as she turns, heading through the living room to the makeshift dance floor everyone is pouring onto. Austin follows her, on the hunt for someone to keep him occupied for the rest of the night. Carson’s hands slide around my waist again, making me turn to face him. He smirks. “It’s out, and no one pulled out the pitchforks. I think we need to celebrate.”

His face presses into my neck, his mouth whispering across my skin as he finds my ear. “Dance with me, baby.”

My skin prickles with goosebumps as he breathes onto my flesh, making me step from foot to foot as my body fills with need. Need for him, for his hands on my body, and his mouth all over me. I nod into him, making him pull back and look at me with heated eyes. He slips his hand into mine, pulling me across the room behind him until we’re cloaked under shadows and hormones on the dance floor.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I step into his body just as his arms go around my hips. My lungs fill with air as I take a deep breath in, then I blow it out in relief at the fact we’re in front of everyone, together, enjoying each other the way we want to be.

His face falls to mine as we start to dance, our hips rubbing against each other on tempo with the music. Our lips connect, making me sigh into his mouth, which gives him the opportunity to slide his tongue against mine.

We kiss like everyone around us has disappeared, like nothing else in the world exists besides each other.

I pull back as the music starts to slow, looking into those crystal blue orbs of his. “What are we going to do when she tells our parents?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t know, and I don’t care. Not tonight.”

He pulls me by the waist, pressing my body flush against his as he grinds his hips against mine to the beat of the new song that’s playing. I feel his cock growing in his pants as his hands rub all over my hips and waist. I grind against him, rolling my hips as I dance and heat fills my body. Sweat licks at the back of my neck as we move, and when his face falls to my nape and his mouth suctions on my skin, I almost combust completely.

I grab the hair at the back of his head and pull his face to mine, pressing my lips to his so hard that my teeth shake. He groans into my mouth, licking at my tongue with his. My senses feel like they’re on high alert, like everywhere he touches me, I become even hotter than the moment before. He grinds with me as our mouths battle, showing each other that we’re both dominant and turned on.

---