Page 5 of A Summer Thing

Chapter Three

Declan

As it turns out, Addy is seeing Mr. Burly and Rugged from the kitchen this morning.

I learned that small bit of information as soon as we left the house today, and I heard all about it through shopping, lunch, and manicures.

I expected as much from the way they were looking at each other, but I was still surprised when she told me.

Especially because she said they’ve been dating for a few weeks now.

She’d failed to mention it my first night here—or mention who she was seeing, to be more accurate.

I knew there was a somebody, just not one of Cal’s college somebodies.

He would seriously flip if he found out.

But then again, Addy’s eighteen, so maybe he won’t totally murder the big guy if he does find out.

Maybe.

Unbuckling and twisting to face me from the driver’s seat of her car, Addy pulls a small flask from her leather jacket and hands it over to me. Her hand hovers in the air as I eye the smooth silver between her fingers.

“For you,” she says. “So you can walk in there feeling comfortable and ready to have fun.”

If the words didn’t sound so terrible being said out loud, I’d climb over the center console and hug the shit out of her for being so thoughtful.

I wrap my fingers around the flask instead, plucking it out of her grasp and twisting it open as she tucks a curly lock behind her ear with a smile.

Her lips curve higher as I swallow down not one, not two, but at least three shots worth of whiskey, already feeling the warmth of alcohol flower in my chest and weed through my veins.

Handing it back over to her, she chugs the rest down like a champ, putting back even more than I did.

And I guess we probably should’ve taken an Uber here because now we’re going to have to take one home and then figure out how to get her car back in the morning, all without Stacy and Cal figuring it out.

Addy claps her hands together and bounces in her seat, her head full of curls bouncing right along with her. “You ready?”

I look up at the brick-and-mortar building.

Music pulsates from it, leeching into the car with a muted echo.

A friend of a friend of a friend, or something along those lines, owns the building and lives in an apartment that takes up the entire upper floor, Addy says, throwing parties when all the shops have closed up for the night.

I lift my shoulders and let them fall back down with my exhale. It does seem pretty fun. Especially with Addy giggling in the seat next to me, waggling her eyebrows like a total goofball.

My goofball.

“Come on, girl.” I open my door, and music spills into the car, dancing with the warmth in my chest. Her excited squeal gives the pounding bass and rising chatter a run for its money, and my head falls back in laughter as I push my door closed.

I throw my arms into the air in an attempt to match her level of excitement.

“Let’s do this!” I shout up at the sky, much to Addy’s amusement.

And three shots of whiskey in, I guess I’m not feeling so bad myself.

______

If I thought the music was loud downstairs, it’s ear-piercing up here. In that beautiful way that occupies all space in your mind, leaving next to zero room for thought—or deep thought, anyway.

I take in the massive number of bodies filling the large space. Dancing, drinking, holding shouting-level conversations with each other to be heard over the music.

Also, whoever lives here has to be rich as hell.

I wouldn’t have guessed from the outside of the building, but it’s thoroughly decked out inside.

Gargantuan white cloud couch, floor-to-ceiling windows opening up to a huge balcony and the main street and parking lot below, what must be—with a slight exaggeration on my part—a thousand-inch flatscreen TV hanging on the far wall, and one of the fanciest, most fascinating kitchens I’ve ever seen taking up residence in nearly half the open-concept floorplan.

The dark green cabinets, brass hardware, black and white backsplash, and island big enough to sit an entire football team isn’t something I would’ve thought to put together myself, but… I like it.

Addy’s fingers slip through mine, and she tilts her head toward the other side of the apartment, letting me know with her nod that it’s where we’re headed. She drags me through the sea of bodies, slipping and swerving between them like a pro. Like she does this every other night.

As soon as we make our way across the party, it’s apparent she does do this every other night.

Boss, Addy’s guy, is sprawled out on the sofa, a game controller in his hands.

My interest is immediately piqued. I look up at the huge screen and recognize the Bloodborne graphics instantly.

As soon as Boss sees Addy, though, the controller is tossed into his friend’s lap, along with his headphones.

He stands up and lifts her into his arms, planting one hell of a kiss on her mouth.

I slip my hands into my back pockets, glancing down at my feet with nothing better to do as they maul each other like no one’s watching.

Like there aren’t a hundred other people in this room playing spectator, too.

I don’t know much about Boss, but I can gather that he must be kind of a big deal with all the daggers being thrown at my best friend’s back right now.

There are at least a dozen girls at this party wishing they were her, but I can spot a handful of guys wishing they were him, too.

But they continue kissing, oblivious to the envy surrounding them.

If the music weren’t so loud, I’m sure we’d all be able to hear the wet smacking of their mouths and really get a good show. Thank goodness for that. I smirk and pull my gaze from the floor yet again, but it immediately crashes into a sea of gray.

My first thought is that three shots are not enough to feel comfortable standing in this room right now.

Not with that hard and pensive stare rooting me down.

And my second, is the wonder in how my organs have managed to rearrange themselves and find a new home inside my body, because my heart is in my throat and my stomach is at my feet.

I feel… I can’t even describe how I feel. Like I’m relieved to see him, to know he actually exists, but I also want to sink to the floor and crawl inside a box so he can’t look at me anymore.

It isn’t fair for someone you don’t know to be able to penetrate all the layers of your skin with one look alone.

I force my gaze away, just in time for Addy to slide back down her boyfriend’s body to introduce us.

“Declan, this is Boss. Boss, meet my best-fucking-friend in the entire universe, Declan.”

The freckles on his pale cheeks meet his eyes as he smiles and offers me an outstretched hand. “Good to meet you. I feel like I already know you with how much Addy gushes about you, but I look forward to actually getting to know you.” His charming southern accent is thick and strong.

Warmth blooms across my cheeks. He seems… nice. Genuinely nice. And though I can’t bring myself to trust someone all that easily, it still makes me happy for her. I slide my hand into his. “Declan. Can’t wait to get to know you, too, big guy.”

He chuckles, and maybe it’s the low thrum of the music or maybe it’s the vibrato of his voice, but I swear I can feel his laughter vibrating at my feet.

Addy bites at her bottom lip and slides into his side, peeking up at him through her lashes and— wow, she is truly smitten.

I’ve seen her interested in a dozen different guys at a dozen different parties, but I’ve never seen her look at one of them like this.

He bends down and kisses her neck, his auburn curls tickling her cheek, and she giggles wildly. And I’m really going to need a drink or five more to survive this third-wheel party, aren’t I?

“I’m gonna go find a drink!” I shout, interrupting their whispered conversation.

Addy maneuvers her way out of his arms. “Wait! Let me introduce you to some of Boss’s friends first.”

My heart takes off with her statement. Amazingly not at the thought of meeting a bunch of strangers, but at the idea of finally meeting him . For whatever reason, I still haven’t told her about last night.

His head lifts with Addy’s words, and I can feel his gaze caressing the surface of my skin, my instincts begging me to look back, but I force a smile for Addy and a calm, “Sure,” instead.

She smiles sweetly and tucks my arm into hers, sensing my unease and pulling me in close, proceeding to introduce me to four guys I’m sure I won’t remember the names of, or the faces of for that matter, and then I’m standing in front of him, my gaze locked with his.

A muscle ticks in his jaw. His stare is cold and intimidating.

Yet my nerves shift and fall away anyway. And even though I can’t take a full breath at the moment, there’s something about his stare that leaves the room around me falling quiet, too.

Not actually quiet, but fleeing from the boundaries of my senses, quiet.

I’m not sure I process anything but the inscrutable look in his eyes and the shape of his full lips as they tilt downward.

It’s cruel for someone to look both that mean and that beautiful at the same time.

I swallow down the intimidation of him as Addy bounces in place beside me, drawing his attention toward her. An amused smirk slowly curves his lips and lights up his face. Like sunlight creeping over the horizon, he goes from arctic to lukewarm just like that.

I have the sense to wonder what his problem is, but I’m not really interested in the answer. People either like you or they don’t, and it’s not our job to convince them one way or the other. I’ve learned that the hard way.

And this guy doesn’t know a single thing about me, so whatever it is, it’s clearly his problem and not mine. And sure, I can think that all I want, but it doesn’t mean it isn’t still triggering—in some familiar, homespun kind of way I’d rather ignore.

“Declan, this is Jude. He’s from New York—Brooklyn, I think. Right?” She turns to him, and he dips his chin in confirmation.

She smiles wide. “And Jude, this is Declan, from California. My best friend in the whole wide world, so be nice to her.” She pins him with a scowl, but it’s Addy, so it’s like a kitten trying to intimidate a tiger.

He breathes out a forced laugh, but I can’t hear it over the music, and then his hand reaches up toward mine. “Declan, from Cali,” he confirms.

I slide my hand into his. “Jude, from Brooklyn,” I greet back. It must be where his slight accent is from. But there’s something else in there, too, that I can’t quite pinpoint. Just the subtlest hint of somewhere both familiar and foreign.

But my attention catches back on our clasped hands. It feels like I’ve placed my hand inside an incinerator, his touch scalding my senses. I pull my hand back before I get burned.

“You ladies want to take a seat?” Boss drawls. “I’ll go get you some drinks. What do you like, Declan?”

I can feel Jude’s stare on me as I answer, “Anything with whiskey, please,” and when I look back down at him, despite my will not to, his features have hardened again.

His scowl somehow makes him look even more attractive, though.

In a brooding sort of way. Drawing more attention to the hard edges of his jawline, the tattoos hugging his neck, and the turbulence raging in his eyes.

“You got it,” Boss booms, rerouting my attention.

I tug on Addy, dragging her to the farthest side of the couch from Mr. Dark and Surly.

From Jude.

I don’t want to admit it, but I liked the way his name felt on my lips. The way his eyes felt on me when they were looking at me. The way his touch burned straight through me, making me feel something in a way I’m not sure I’ve felt in five long years. Or ever, maybe.

I can’t, for the life of me, tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing yet.

______

I don’t know how many drinks in we are now, but I’ve managed to score myself a game controller and am kicking Boss’s ass in a side-by-side play of Bloodborne as the party rages on around us.

There must be an unspoken rule about stepping past the bounds of the couch and gaming area because the party doesn’t dare push beyond them, which brings a sense of comfort, and is also the reason I haven’t bothered to venture beyond them myself even though I can feel the dark raincloud of space Jude occupies at the corner of the couch, scrolling through his phone with a bored look on his face like this is the last place he wants to be.

I don’t know why I feel his presence so strongly. Why I’m so aware of exactly where he is in the room. I don’t know, and I don’t want to know.

“Damn, girl!” Boss hollers with a loud chuckle. He tosses his controller onto the couch beside him. “I ain’t ever met a girl who can play like you. And I mean no offense by that whatsoever, but shit!”

“None taken.” I smile, setting the controller I’ve been hogging down onto the glass coffee table in front of me. I lean over to whisper in Addy’s ear, “Bathroom?”

“Straight down that hallway, last door on the right. You can use the bathroom in there since the other one will have a line at least twenty people deep,” she answers.

“Okay. I’ll be right back.” I stand from the couch and stretch my arms above me, but they shoot right back down when I notice Jude’s stare glued to my stomach.

The corner of his mouth twitches when his eyes trail up to mine and he catches me staring, too. I’m not sure what to make of it .

“I’m going out for a smoke, man. You wanna come?” some guy behind him asks.

“Fuck no,” he replies, his gaze not wavering from mine. “That shit is slowing you down, Parker. Better quit before you can’t make it to touchdown without wheezing.”

The guy laughs and says something else I don’t hear, before disappearing into the party. I follow his lead and dip into the crowd, turning in the opposite direction for the bathroom, telling myself I don’t feel the storm clouds of Jude’s eyes trailing me until they can’t reach me anymore.