Page 21 of Devious Love

He huffs an exasperated breath. “Don’t act like I was the only one who wanted to throw a party.”

“If I remember correctly…” I point my finger at him. “You wanted to throw a party, and then you felt bad about Mia and told her to invite her friends too. Look how it turned out.” I crane my neck and scan the houseful of high schoolers. “She’s all alone in her room because Chiara’s mom saw the cars lining the street, turned the fuck around, and took her daughter home.”

“Shit. I didn’t know that would happen.” He hangs his head low. “I thought once Mia saw how fun it could be here, she’d want to stay.”

“Stay? What do you mean?” I take a sip of my beer, playing dumb.

His whole body deflates. “Mia wants to move to Phoenix with our dad.” Curling forward, he threads one hand through his hair. “I tried to change her mind.” He peers over at me. “Told her to have fun at the party, but she won’t come down. So much for convincing her to stay.”

“If she’s unhappy here, wouldn’t it be better to let her go?”

He homes in on me.

“I can help you talk to our parents if you want, make them understand this is what’s best for her.”

“You think it is?”

“Yeah.” I scratch my chin, my stubble rasping.

“Maybe you’re right.” He sighs.

As I nod and sit back, a body lands on top of me, nearly spilling my drink.

“What the?—”

“Hey, handsome,” murmurs Remi, a girl from my AP Calc class who I’ve been hooking up with the last few weeks. Shewraps her arms around my shoulders. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Hi, Remi,” Matt says, picking up his cup from the coffee table.

She nods, but her deep brown eyes stay fixed on me. Her red curls spill down her shoulders as she leans in and presses her lips to mine. The kiss is gentle at first, but the more she wiggles on my lap, the more heated we get, until I’m hard as a rock and all I want to do is fuck.

“We’ll be in my room,” I say to Matt as I haul myself up, taking Remi with me. “Tell our guests goodnight for me.”

Remi holds tight, wrapping her legs around my hips as I stride toward the stairs.

“Does this mean you’re gonna stay locked in your room till fucking morning?” my best friend yells after me.

“I plan to stayfuckingin my room till morning!” I yell back.

Matt laughs, and so do several of the guys from the team. I carry Remi upstairs. It’s not the easiest task, but I’m a determined guy, especially when I want something.

We’re a few steps from my room when Mia’s door opens, and she peeks outside. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she mumbles, pulling her head back in.

I lower Remi to her feet despite her protests and turn to Mia. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

Hands on my hips, I take a step closer. “No one is bothering you?”

She scowls. “Define ‘bothering.’ Because there are a shit ton of people making noise downstairs, and the music is so loud, I can’t hear myself think. Oh, and let’s not forget the people trying to sneak into my room looking for a place to fuck. So, yeah, I guess I am being bothered, though I highly doubt that’s what you’re asking.”

“Feisty.” Remi whistles, though neither of us looks at her.

“Lock the door. That solves one issue. As for the noise, the party won’t last that much longer.”

“Thanks.” She steps back, her attention darting to Remi, her lips thinning into a straight line. “Night.”

Before I can respond, Mia shuts the door and, based on the sound, locks it.