Page 98 of Surviving Lies

I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do with the information Ava gave me. Becca was a tricky one when it came to figuring out how to handle her. Sometimes when she acted like she wanted you to leave her alone, it really meant she wanted you to fawn all over her. I was going to have to watch from afar tonight and try to gauge where her mind was really at.

I had stolen peeks of her here and there, but she had done a stellar job of avoiding me thus far. Not even once had she looked at me. Lanie and Ava weren’t kidding; she was out for blood.

But I was ready for the challenge. And to pay my dues.

She looked amazing. Her pirate costume was seductive enough to make her look sexy as hell but not so much that I felt I was going to get into any fights tonight. She had one of those white tops that was off the shoulder with a wide, tight belt that cinched her waist. Her pants were tight, showing off her amazing ass, but she was covered all the way to her shins. She completed it with an eye patch, big black boots, tons of jewelry, a sword, and her long signature waves that hung down her back.

Amazing.

I was lucky enough to have borrowed my costume from my dad. It was quite authentic, with a long, sweeping, maroon velvet coat that had brasslike buttons on it. It came with a matching hat, and I paired it with tight jeans and black boots. I thought I looked pretty damn good.

But Becca wouldn’t know, since she hadn’t glanced my way once yet. I decided to see if any of the brothers needed help in order to keep myself busy. The room was hard to maneuver in because of the dark and the added smoke.

“Hey, Jake,” I said, finding him behind the makeshift bar.

“Hey, crazy here already, isn’t it?” he said as he worked the tap. “I saw Becca. You guys planning on entering the contest?”

That was my original plan, the whole point in dragging this costume all the way from home.

“Not looking like it. She hasn’t even looked my way yet tonight,” I told him. “I haven’t seen Kayla yet. Is she here?” I was curious to see them in action as a couple, wondering if she was going to settle down and stop being the flirt she was known to be. I didn’t want Jake getting fucked over by her.

“Not yet, but she should be here soon. Can’t wait to see her in tight leather pants,” he said with a shit-eating grin on his face as he wandered away from the table, but then he turned back around. “Oh, hey, by the way, I think Becca came to the party drunk already. I saw her hitting on Ben just before. Ben pushed her away, but she seems like she’s going to be in need of some assistance soon.”

Shit. Not what I needed for this night to go the way I’d wanted.

I felt the need to look around for her and make sure she was OK. As I was wading through the throngs of people, I realized the smoke was going to make this a more difficult job. Maybe if I found Ava and Macie, they could help me look for Becca as well.

So that was what I set out to do.

Instead, I ran into a body covered in black leather pants.

“Hi, Ty!” Kayla said enthusiastically. But for the first time, she wasn’t trying to flirt with me. It was refreshing.

“Hey, Kayla.” I had to lean in to talk to her due to the noise, and I found myself looking around, out of habit. “I hear you and Jake are giving it a go.”

She put a huge smile on her face. Her costume was good, with her already blonde hair teased up high on her head and bright red lipstick. Her tight, all-black clothes were spot on for the look.

“We are – I like him a lot,” she said with a smile, leaning into me as well when she spoke.

“I’m happy for the two of you.”

But then I saw Kayla’s eyes go wide as she looked over my shoulder. She shifted her eyes to mine, the uncertainty in them making me nervous.

I turned to see Becca’s sad, bloodshot eyes staring holes through my head.

“Is she who you’re with now, Ty? Have you moved on with Kayla? I always thought there might be something between the two of you, and I guess I was right.”

Her slurred words told me how drunk she was. Turning toward Kayla, I shrugged my shoulders as a form of apology, and she understood immediately. She moved on, I was sure to find Jake. I turned back toward Becca.

“Becca, I was looking for you. That’s all I was doing. I was trying to find your roommates to help me find you. Kayla was only saying hello.” I reached out to help her stop swaying, but she pushed my hand away.

“Why are you dressed like a pirate, Ty?” she asked, anger coming through in her words this time.

I didn’t think she was in the right state of mind for me to talk to her about that, so I avoided the topic. “Bec, why don’t we find Lanie? It’s getting late. She probably wants to get going soon, don’t ya think?” I reached for her arm, but she pulled herself out of my reach, stumbling back. I grabbed her, steadying her with both my hands, pulling her close. She looked up at me with dagger eyes.

“I’m over you, ya know,” she spat at me while I still held on to her. The redness of her eyes made the green seem more vibrant. We were close enough that she couldn’t hide the wetness that was starting to gather in those green eyes. “I’m completely over you. All guys, to be exact. I don’t want to be in any relationships. I just want casual sex, a new guy every week – literally just sex.”

Some doubt crossed my mind. Maybe she was telling the truth. Maybe she’d been hurt enough recently that she didn’t want to deal with relationships for quite a while.

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