Page 96 of A Hurt So Good

“And this isn’t going to be weird?”

“Has it been weird yet?”

“Well, no. I’m just making sure,” I say. His hand grips my ass, and I nearly moan from the contact.

“I’m sure. We’re all good.”

“Do you have any more information?”

“I do, but we wanted to wait until later to tell you about it. We want you to have tonight first.”

“So it must be bad,” I sigh.

“It’s … not great, and you’re not going to like it,” he tells me. Shit. I don’t like the sound of this. I don’t know what they are going totell me, but I can tell I’m already going to hate it. “You’re getting tense,” he adds.

“I don’t like surprises, Denz.”

“I know, and this isn’t a surprise. It’s just a delay in information.”

“Fine. If you say so, do I need to change for this party?” I ask.

“I’d prefer you to be naked, but what you’re wearing is fine too.” I nod my head and keep sitting in his arms for a long time. Sasha goes in as the sun starts to go down. That’s when the others come out.

“You two plan on going with us?” Har asks. I climb out of Denz’s lap and nod my head.

“I’m ready. Are we walking?”

“Yeah. It’s a nice night,” Harlon says. I agree. It is a nice night tonight, even though there’s been so much on my mind to enjoy it. Maybe tonight is just what I need. Maybe a night away from the house will make me feel better.

I take off running around the pool and out onto the sand. The guys are right behind me, War grabbing me in his arms and lifting me over his shoulder. I laugh when he smacks my ass roughly, causing me to laugh harder. That’s not something I’ve done in a while, and honestly, it feels good.

“Why didn’t you bring Sasha?” I ask as I dangle over War’s shoulder.

“She’s not old enough to drink.”

“Me either,” I remind them.

“Doesn’t matter. We got you. Sasha is too young,” Denz says. I nod my head as War carries me all the way to the pier. Only when we get there does he set me on my feet. I glance around and see Cale and his friends, as well as Tracy. Cale doesn’t even look at me anymore, thanks to the guys scaring him off, but when Tracy sees me, she comes rushing over and pulls me into a hug I wasn’t ready for.

“I’ve missed you. I’m glad to see you out,” she says. She knows what happened. Everyone does, and I’m still not sure how they all found out. Hell, even my mom called to see if I was okay, but that was the extent of our conversation.

“Missed you too. Are we drinking?” I ask her. She nods her head and takes my hand, dragging me along with her. Just like the guys said, they don’t question me about my age and just hand me whatever drinks I want.

I head out into the middle of the pier with my drink in hand, dancing with Tracy. The mood feels like it lightens after I get a few drinks in me.

Tracy and I keep dancing, but I can feel the guy’s eyes on me. They never let me out of their sight. A shiver runs down my spine, and I know that one of them is coming closer. As soon as hands land on my hips and slip around my front, I know it’s War.

“You don’t like to dance,” I tell him over my shoulder.

“Only with you, little bird.”

“So I’m the lucky one?”

“Don’t you feel lucky?” he asks me. Tracy spins around and moves away from us, and War leans down, pressing his lips to my neck.

“I do feel lucky with the three of you.”

“We need to talk,” he says, and judging by his tone, I can tell it’s serious.

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