Page 7

7

ANYA

THE NEXT MORNING, it isn’t until I’m about to open my bedroom door that I remember what happened last night. I danced with Mason. Mason felt me up . In front of Dylan. And it felt fucking amazing. I hope the betrayal tasted as bad as what he made me feel.

Turning, I lean my back against the door, closing my eyes and letting myself relive the moment when those haunting dark eyes watched me dance, remembering the way his firm hands felt running over my body. I have wanted to feel his hands on me ever since my eighteenth birthday. A part of me is angry with myself for giving in and letting him break down the walls I spent so long building. The other part is floating on cloud nine from the small taste of his attention again.

I have always wanted Mason, and clearly, he still wants me too. But I can’t forget everything that’s happened. We might be older now, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s my brother’s best friend. If things were to not work out for us – like last time – everything would be difficult. I was okay with pretending the rift never happened when he wasn’t around, but now he’s back and settled in, for at least the next four years of school.

Things have always been complicated when it comes to Mason.

Expelling a breath, I turn, banging the back of my head against the door. I feel a headache forming behind my eyes; it isn’t even eight a.m. yet. Pressing my ear against it, I confirm that there’s no noise coming from the other side. Stepping out of my room, I walk down the hallway and into the kitchen. My shoulders relax when I see that no one is there. I make myself a coffee before hightailing it back to my room.

I’m in such a rush to get back unnoticed, I don’t see Mason walking just as quickly out of the laundry. We collide and I scream when the hot coffee splashes across the front of me. I fly backwards and land in a painful sprawl.

‘Ow,’ I moan.

‘Jesus!’ Mason exclaims, yanking out his AirPod. He pulls me back to my feet and stares down at me. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I just got fucking burned!’ I snap, blinking away the tears that are stinging my eyes.

‘I didn’t hear you, obviously,’ he bites back.

Sighing, I slowly peel my shirt from my skin, whining in pain. I tug it over my head and stare at the red welts across my chest. Mason clears his throat, and it dawns on me that I’m standing in front of him in a lacey white bra that reveals more than it covers. A flush spreads over my cheeks. Swallowing, I look up at him. Those bottomless eyes of his quickly dart away from my chest.

Scowling, I wrap my arms around myself and march into the bathroom. I inspect the damage, wincing as I run my fingertips over the marks.

‘Can I get you anything?’ he calls.

‘No!’ I yell back, hissing as my nail scratches the burn. Huffing, I peel off the rest of my clothes and step into the shower. The cool water helps soothe the burning sensation flaring across my skin. When I return to the hallway, Mason is nowhere to be seen and the mess is cleaned up.

I need to move house. Immediately. I can’t live in a house with him. I feel like so much has happened already, and I haven’t even been here for two days. It’s always been like that between Mason and me. From zero to a hundred. Back and forth, up and down. The flirtation and games may have been exciting and fun when we were teenagers, but we’re adults now, and I don’t have time for this. It’s exhausting.

Dressing quickly, I get ready and basically sprint out the door.

Fifteen minutes later, I’m at the university carpark. Since I’m early, I manage to find a park easily and make my way to the coffee shop. I order myself a large cappuccino, hoping it will magically cure my headache. I head to the courtyard, suddenly experiencing first-day jitters.

Sweat dots my forehead, and I dab the back of my hand across it. Having moved from a coastal town that was more often windy than not, being further north means the weather is a little more tropical than what I’m used to.

The only other person here is a girl who is seated at one of the tables with a kindle in one hand and a takeaway coffee in the other. I squint, trying to read the stickers on the back of her e-reader.

Hot Coffee & Anti-Heroes

Grinning, I walk over to her.

‘I love that sticker,’ I say, pointing to the back of the kindle. ‘My kindle says: “brB, reading smut”.’

The girl lifts her eyes. She is gorgeous in a very in-your-face kind of way, with long, brunette waves, crystal-blue eyes and smooth, pale skin. I realise we are wearing an almost identical outfit: Vans and a black t-shirt tucked into ripped jeans.

‘Sorry,’ I say quickly. ‘I get excited when I see someone reading.’

She smiles, and I feel my shoulders relax a little. The run-in with Mason this morning has rattled me, and I don’t need to make an idiot of myself in front of this stranger to top it off, but thankfully, she seems friendly.

‘Bookworms are the best type of people.’

‘Definitely. May I?’ I ask, gesturing to the empty seat.

She nods, clicking her kindle off and taking a sip of her drink.

‘I’m Anya,’ I say, dropping into the seat and flicking my long hair over my shoulders. It’s way overdue for a cut. Dylan used to pester me about it and say I should cut it off, so now I want to grow it out really, really long.

‘Nora,’ she replies. ‘First semester too?’

‘Yeah. I just moved here.’

‘Oh, me too!’ Nora replies, perking up. ‘I’m living on campus.’

‘How are you liking it?’

‘I live with four other people who I didn’t know before I moved in. It’s definitely going to be a party apartment.’

‘Are they nice at least?’ I ask, and briefly wonder if I should investigate on-campus housing. Last I checked it was full, but maybe there is a cancellation list they can put me on. People drop out of uni all the time. I’m sure something would pop up eventually.

‘I’ve made friends with one of the girls. She’s coming to this too, but she’ll be late. She’s late to everything.’

‘I just moved in with my brother and his best friend. I was meant to move into a share house, but my stupid ex-boyfriend screwed that up for me.’ I let out a huff at her curious eyebrow raise. ‘Long story.’

‘I’d love to hear about it one day.’

‘Maybe we could have dinner later,’ I say, wanting any reason to avoid the house and Mason, then I laugh at myself. ‘Wow, that felt like I just asked you out on a date.’

‘Sounded like it.’ She smiles, two splotches of red appearing on her cheeks. ‘I’d love to go to dinner.’

A few other people are starting to arrive now. A guy who doesn’t look much older than us calls out, asking everyone to gather around him. Nora and I head over to where he is, and a girl rushes up to us, her hair covering her face. She hastily throws it over her shoulders as she does her lipstick.

‘You made it!’ Nora exclaims, looking relieved that the girl turned up on time. ‘Cami, this is Anya.’

‘Hey!’ she says brightly. ‘I’m Camilla.’

Camilla towers over both of us, with long tanned legs that seem to never end. She is stunning in every single way. Her dark complexion and features are striking, only enhanced by the red top she is wearing. Dainty gold jewellery glitters on her wrists and fingers. She has more earrings in one ear than Nora and I have combined.

‘Nice to meet you,’ I say.

‘Anya just moved here too,’ Nora explains.

We fall into a brief conversation. I start to feel at ease the more we talk. They both seem kind and genuine, which is exactly what I need right now. The guy commands our attention once more and the group falls silent.

‘Hey everyone. I’m Jeremiah. I’m going to give you a campus tour to show you the ins and outs. Hopefully you’ll meet some new people along the way.’ He beams, clasping his hands together. ‘Let’s get started.’

My mother once told me that one good friend is worth a thousand bad ones. After spending the last few hours with Nora and Cami, I’ve decided there’s some truth to that. Already I feel so at home with these girls compared to my friend group back home.

We’ve been talking nonstop for hours about anything and everything. A day like this was something I desperately needed. We have been taking advantage of Happy Hour at the uni bar. I feel warm and floaty as I follow the girls down the busy walkway through town. Cami has taken us off-campus, to show us the other place a lot of students go to, since the uni bar can get quite crowded.

‘And here it is,’ Cami says, gesturing towards the building with a wide sweep of her hand. A bright-orange neon sign flashes above the door: The Illusion.

‘Looks swanky,’ Nora observes.

Cami shoves the door open, and we follow her inside.

‘It’s a fun place to work. I’ve been here for almost six months. We’re hiring, by the way,’ Cami says over her shoulder while she struts through the room, waving and greeting each person she passes.

It’s a dimly lit place, with lots of high tables and dark, patterned couches scattered throughout the room. My eyes drift towards one of the many poles situated throughout the dance floor and a shiver of something runs down my spine. I would love to know what it feels like to dance on one of those.

As if reading my mind, Cami smirks at me. ‘You game?’

‘Hmm?’

‘Give it a go.’ She raises a hand towards the pole closest to us.

A blush kisses my cheeks and I shake my head. ‘I am not coordinated enough to look good doing that.’

‘Practice makes perfect.’ She winks.

‘Can you dance?’ I ask.

‘I was dancing before I could walk.’

‘Do you compete?’

‘Not as much as I used to, but yeah. I mostly cheerlead now.’

‘Can you pole dance?’ Nora asks, eyeing the pole to her right with a curious expression on her face.

‘Yeah, I pole dance a lot.’

‘Show us!’ Nora and I exclaim at the same time.

Shrugging off her bag and kicking off her sandals, Cami climbs onto the stage. She circles it, placing her hand onto the pole and sending us a wicked grin. ‘Watch and learn, ladies.’

Elegantly, she twists, her leg extending before wrapping around the pole. She tosses her head, bends her arm behind her and arches her back in a way that I could never. The way her body moves and twists looks effortless. My eyes widen in awe as she climbs up higher, flipping so that she hangs upside down. She shimmies down the pole and finishes her performance in the splits. She extends her neck, and her gorgeous black hair tumbles down her back. When she stands, she bows towards the men who are now hollering. She leaps off the stage and beams at us.

‘Dancing is my happy place,’ she says, enjoying the fact that our jaws have practically divorced our faces.

‘You’re incredible at it!’ Nora gushes, squeezing her arm.

‘I go to a class every Thursday night for it. You both should come!’

Nora’s face falls and she steps back. ‘I couldn’t do that.’

‘Why not?’ Cami demands, a crease appearing between her brows.

Nora lazily flicks her hand towards her body.

‘You’re both gorgeous as fuck and would have a great time at the class. If you want to come, it’s at the dance academy studio every Thursday at seven.’

Turning her back to us, she strides towards the bar. We exchange glances before following her. We order our drinks and find a secluded booth at the back of the room. The bar is bigger than I expected, and busy for this time of afternoon. Everything about this place is ultra-modern and chic.

‘Okay,’ Nora says as she sits down opposite me. ‘Spill the beans on the brother’s best friend.’

Cami gasps, swivelling to face me. She takes a long, obnoxious slurp of her drink. Leaning forward, she smirks. ‘Brother’s best friend? Tell me more.’

Groaning, I sink into the seat. ‘It’s a giant complication that I don’t have the energy for.’

‘Spill the tea, sis!’ Cami urges, tapping her hand impatiently on the tabletop, her bracelets jingling together.

‘Basically, I’ve always been into him. It was embarrassingly obvious to everyone when we were growing up. But as we got older, he seemed to return my feelings. Whenever we were seeing other people, we both had the same problem – our partners always had an issue with Mason and I hanging out.’

Nora’s lips stretch into a smirk. ‘Sexual tension – check.’

‘He would flirt with me, convince me that he liked me and then deny it to everyone else. Basically, he made me feel like I wouldn’t ever be good enough to have him.’

‘Sounds like an A-Grade asshole,’ Cami mutters, shaking her head. She brings her hands up in an ‘X’ shape in front of her and makes a buzzer sound. ‘It’s a no from me.’

‘Then he broke up with his girlfriend – Zayden said he never really liked her, but I don’t know. It was a whole big thing. He came to my eighteenth birthday and things got heated. I don’t want to go into it but, basically, he hasn’t been around for ages and now he’s back and we’re living together. I don’t really want anything to do with him now, but I also want him to fuck my brains out. I have complicated feelings.’

Nora spits her drink across the table and Cami shrieks when half of it lands on her. I burst out laughing and hastily grab a napkin, dabbing it on her arm and then the table.

‘Sorry,’ Nora chokes, slapping her chest. ‘I didn’t expect you to say that.’

‘You just need to show him that he is the one who isn’t good enough for you .’ Cami points a shiny, black-nailed finger at me.

‘Mmhmm,’ I mumble, reaching for her hand to inspect the dainty tattoos covering her fingers. I have been wanting to get a tattoo for ages, but Dylan always told me he hates the look of tattoos on women. ‘I’ll get right on that.’

I take a long sip of my drink. My head is feeling a little light, and I decide then that I need to slow down. I don’t make great decisions when I drink, and since Mason will be at home, I need to have a clear head and be on my best behaviour.

‘The hottest of hot just walked in,’ Cami whispers, running her tongue across her teeth as she not-so-subtly checks them out. Nora and I both turn to see.

I scoff, turning to glare at my drink. ‘Gross.’

‘Gross?’ Nora exclaims with wide eyes. ‘Are we looking at the same guys?’

‘That’s my brother,’ I mutter. ‘And Mason. Aka, the best friend.’

Cami and Nora gasp, then turn to stare at the boys walking over to the pool table. My hands curl into fists seeing Mason. He is too damn sexy for his own good. It makes it hard to hate him. It honestly feels like having an ex, but we never even had the relationship part. Can you have a ‘one that got away’ when you never got to have them in the first place?

‘Damn, girl.’ Cami waves a hand near her face, fanning herself. ‘I get it now.’

‘Get what now?’

‘The infatuation.’ She blows out a breath. ‘That boy is so hot, it’s criminal.’

‘Right?’ I sigh, leaning my head back against the seat. ‘I’m so screwed.’

‘Also, your brother ... wow.’

‘Ugh,’ I groan, reaching for my drink – my earlier decision disintegrated the moment the boys entered the bar.

Nora not-so-subtly stares at the boys, quietly sipping her cocktail. She quickly looks away and shoots me an apologetic look. ‘Oops. I think they saw us.’

The girls sit up straighter in their seats as the boys approach. I suddenly find the table fascinating and glare down at it.

‘Looks like they let anyone in here.’ My brother smirks at me. His hair is messy, and his shirt looks two sizes too big, but that’s standard for my brother. He rocks the ‘just rolled out of bed’ look no matter what the occasion, but to be fair, it does work for him. If I attempted that, I’d look like I just stepped out of a hurricane. ‘Must be cool by association with these lovely ladies.’

‘Ugh.’ I scowl, but it’s half-hearted. ‘Don’t flirt with my friends.’

He raises his hands innocently, and I notice some new tattoos lining his wrists. At this rate, he will have more tattooed skin than not. Our mum will have a fit when she sees him. She was horrified when he got his first one, and now he has two sleeves. ‘I’m simply here to say hello to my dear sister.’

‘Hi,’ I say unenthusiastically, avoiding the searing eyes of Mason. I squirm in my seat, hating how the temperature seems to increase whenever he’s close by. ‘You can go now.’

Zayden’s eyebrows rise and I sigh.

‘This is Zayden,’ I deadpan.

Zayden grins, extending a hand to Nora. She smiles up at him as he shakes her hand and then repeats the procedure with Cami, who is looking at him like he’s something she wants to eat. Mason smirks at me when I finally turn to look at him.

‘What?’ I snap rudely.

‘Aren’t you going to introduce me?’ Mason asks, leaning onto the booth and looking way too good right now.

Grinding my molars, I wave my hand at him. ‘This is Mason. My brother’s annoying friend.’

‘Ouch.’ He smirks, placing a hand over his heart. ‘You wound me, Anya.’

‘You have to have a heart for it to hurt,’ I mutter.

‘Someone is grumpy,’ Mason says, shooting me a sweet smile. ‘Did you forget to take your happy pills today?’

‘Go away.’

‘I’m Cami,’ Cami interrupts our banter. ‘This is Nora.’

‘Pleasure,’ Mason replies, but his eyes don’t leave mine.

‘Pleasure is all mine,’ Cami chirps.

I lightly kick her foot, and she yelps, scowling at me.

‘If you’re free tonight, we’re having a party,’ Zayden says casually, leaning forward, pressing his palms flat on the table. His eyes shift towards Nora. ‘You should come.’

‘Huh?’ I ask, raising an eyebrow. ‘What party?’

‘Our party.’

‘Where?’

‘At the house, obviously,’ Mason pipes up unnecessarily.

‘Since when are we having a party?’ I frown.

‘Since always,’ Zayden says, flashing his trademark playboy smile at my new friends. ‘Anya can give you the address.’

‘Cool,’ Cami says. ‘We’ll be there.’

Zayden leans over and takes a long sip of my drink, slurping it obnoxiously as he finishes the last of it.

‘Hey!’ I exclaim.

‘Hay is for horses.’ He flicks me on the nose. He glances at my friends, looking cockier than ever. ‘See you later, ladies.’

When I look up at Mason, his eyes are already on me. My stomach clenches. His gaze hasn’t left me the entire time he’s been here. He smirks.

‘See you tonight, Blush.’

My heart slams painfully in my chest, like it always does when he says that familiar nickname. Offering him a sarcastic smile, I raise my middle finger, hoping my face doesn’t betray how I’m really feeling. He blows me a kiss before turning to follow Zayden.

‘You’re in so much deeper than you realise.’ Cami gives me a pointed look. ‘You two have such hard-ons for each other that it literally made me uncomfortable.’

‘Oh my God,’ I squawk. ‘We do not.’

‘Did he call you Blush?’ Cami smirks. ‘He has a nickname for you. Ugh. That’s hot.’

‘Go away,’ I mutter.

Both of them are looking far too happy right now, considering what I told them earlier about my situation with Mason. They’re meant to be helping me get over him, not fall even more in love with him. Not that I’m in love with him anymore. That’s the old me. I made a vow to myself to no longer fall for boys who are only going to break my heart.

‘Don’t get me started on you.’ Cami points at Nora. ‘You and Zayden.’

‘What?’ Both Nora and I exclaim.

‘He was looking at you like you’re a little mouse’ – she grins – ‘and he’s the lion trying to catch you.’

Nora’s face erupts in flames. ‘I don’t even know what you mean by that.’

‘Mmhmm.’ Cami rolls her eyes. ‘Let’s go back to campus. We needed to start getting ready, like, yesterday.’

I exhale. I feel like another drink, since my brother so kindly finished mine off for me. Despite living with him now, I was hoping to keep to myself as much as possible, to try my best to avoid crossing paths too much.

Looks like my plan to avoid Mason is off to a great start.