Page 56 of Careless

Breaking up the pity party, Christian asks, “How about that dance?” He presses with an eagerness in his eyes that’s infectious.

“Hold on, cowboy,” Tiernan starts. “Give us a minute, would ya?” He places his hand on my shoulder and gives me a gentle tug toward him.

“No problem.” Christian shrugs and grabs his own beer before walking away, sending me a smile over his shoulder.

“Sis, do you have the slightest comprehension of what you’re doing?” he asks, concern coloring his face.

“What do you mean?” I blanche, dumbfounded.

“Christian and Rian is what I mean.”

“There’s nothing between me and Rian. I don’t know where you got that—”

“Sorcha.” He gives me aget reallook. “I know way more than you think. You’re playing with fire.” His eyes jump across the room, where Rian is leaning against the wall, jaw set and arms crossed, seeming more like a bodyguard than an actual attendee. “Finn may be clueless, but I’m not. You might not feel the same way he does, but that doesn’t change that you’re going to get Christian killed.”

Get Christian killed?That’s insane. Rian wouldn’t kill Christian over me, would he?

“You think I don’t like Rian?” I ask, feeling foolish. Why does it matter? He hurt me beyond compare and things are done between us.

“If you do, why are you leading Christian on?” He arches a brow in challenge and I groan.

“I’m not leading Christian on. I’m trying tomoveon because Rian is a lying, sleazy fuckboy and that’s never going to change. He doesn’t care about me. He just wants in my pants and doesn't want anyone else to be there.” I frown as the darkness seeps into my soul, changing my whole entire mood.

“Is this about the Sophia thing?” he presses more firmly.

I raise an eyebrow and take a sip of my beer, “You know what happened?”

“Yeah. He sent a text to Sophia that was meant for you. She took it as an invitation to get naked in his bed while he was in the shower. You walked in right after she got there.”

A text that was meant for me? I never received a text from him.

Looking him dead in the eyes I ask, “Did he tell you that?” I cross my arms defiantly.

Rian was probably lying. It sounds too stupid to be real.

“He told me she showed up while he was showering and Sophia ran you off. I thought it sounded weird, so I asked her. I didn’t want to kick his ass without all the facts. She admitted that she thought he texted her for a hook up, which shows how stupid she is. He doesn’t do callbacks for hookups. It's one and done when it comes to his hook ups. That’s her fuck up. She should have known better. She admitted that Rian told her the text was meant for you and he kicked her out when he saw it was her and not you. If you want to ask her, I think she’s upstairs.”

I mull over this new tidbit of information. I believe it coming from Tiernan. He has no reason to lie. We’re closer than the others. Maybe it's because we relate to each other on an intellectual level, but Tiernan has always stood up for me, even when I’m against Rian and Finn. I believe he would kick Rian’s ass if he hurt me.

I consider going to talk to Sophia, but I realize I don’t need to. “No, that’s okay.” The crowd parts as the cheerleaders bring in bottles of liquor and my anxiety peaks. I squeeze Tiernan’s hand. “Get a real drink with me. I need some liquid courage.”

No need to say more. He knows exactly what I require the courage for.

“Yes. We’ll have a toast to mending your… situationship? Is that the right thing to call it?” He tries to hide his sly grin, but I catch it.

“Don’t read into it, McGowen.”

Tiernan grabs two empty red solo cups straight from the package and pours drinks, rum for me and whiskey for him.

One shot turns into two and before I know it, I have no clue how many drinks we downed, but I feel as light as a feather. It isn’t long before I feel the shadow Rian casts over me, intensifying until I’m bathing in his scent and electrified by his energy.

“Don’t get her drunk, dumbass.” His voice is tense. It’s the first thing I’ve heard him say since our fight today at school, and it's not as angry as those words were.

“Hey! I feel more comfortable with getting her drunk thanyougetting her drunk. You’d probably take advantage of her,” Tiernan jokes with a big, toothy smile across his face.

I scoff. “I’m not drunk. Just alittletipsy.”

“Youaredrunk,” Rian insists instead of acknowledging Tiernan’s claim. I meet his gaze and feel almost naked under his observant watch.

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