Page 11 of Little Devil

My eyes cut to his and he winks at me, backing away to leave me here with my mouth hanging open for the fourth time in ten minutes.

“I dare you to speak your words, Jordyn James.”

Make that the fifth time.

h

My mom never called me back.

Never even sent me a text to let me know she was too busy to talk.

She forgot about me, just like she always does.

I sigh and lie back on the cushioned porch swing outside, enjoying the view of the ocean beneath the black sky in the distance. This little corner of the world is close enough to the city that you can grab whatever you need within an hour, but far enough away that you can actually see the stars in the sky.

It’s beautiful down there.

Picture worthy.

My phone buzzes in my hand and I immediately look down at it, rolling my eyes at myself when I realize it’s not my mother, just an Instagram notification. My feed is full of pictures and stories from the party tonight, a few of the people from school tagging me in their posts to wish me a happy birthday. I scroll through and stop when I get to the video Sienna tagged me in a little while ago. She’s posing in front of the camera with a pink shot glass in her hand and a few of the boys either side of her, but that’s not what I’m looking at. Noah’s standing in the corner behind them with his hands on Penelope’s hips, playfully shaking his head at whatever she’s saying to him. She runs her hands over his chest and he looks around to check no one’s looking, then he leans over her and teases her lips with his.

Jesus.

My eyes water and I look up at Penelope’s balcony, wincing at the sting when I catch them in her bedroom together. He’s got her pinned up against the glass with her legs wrapped around his waist and his mouth on her neck, squeezing her ass with one hand while he tears the dress from her body with the other.

So much for her being done for the night.

I swear to god they think I’m stupid, but then maybe I am stupid for ignoring my gut for so long.

You always knew, JJ.

Embarrassment courses through me and I swallow the lump in my throat, hesitating a second while I decide what to do. I don’t usually like confrontation – I’d rather dissolve conflict than be the one to create it – but something inside me has me feeling brave tonight.

I dare you to speak your words, Jordyn James.

I stand up before I can talk myself out of it and walk back inside the house, ignoring everyone and everything around me while I move through the crowd like a zombie on autopilot. I get up to the second floor and enter my bedroom, grabbing the spare key for Penelope’s room from my nightstand – the same room I gave her a couple years ago to ensure she always has a safe place to hook up whenever she needs it.

Fucking figures she’s using it to hook up with my boyfriend right under my nose, but there you have it.

I make my way to the end of the hall and stop just outside her bedroom door, taking a minute to get my nerves in check before I move to unlock it. I walk inside and Penelope squeals from her spot on the bed beneath Noah, quickly snatching a pillow from the headboard to cover her naked body. Noah jumps up to shove his cock back into his jeans and Penelope slaps a hand over her mouth, only just realizing it’s me, it seems.

“Oh, shit.”

Yeah. Shit.

She opens her mouth like she’s about to try and explain her way out of it but I shake my head to stop her, not even a little bit interested in whatever she has to say.

“Get out.”

“JJ, please, just let m–”

“I said get out,” I repeat, tilting my head at the door to dismiss her. “Now.”

She swallows and leans over to grab her dress from the floor, awkwardly throwing it on over her head before she moves to do as she’s told. She scurries off through the door and I look at Noah, laughing lightly when I catch the regret on his face, but I don’t find him funny.

“JJ, listen–”

“No, I won’t liste–”

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