Page 17 of Hard Rock Love

6

As it turned out, a “casual get together” was putting it lightly.

There wasn’t anyone jumping from roofs or hanging off chandeliers, but dozens of people with drinks in their hands milled on the front lawn of the huge mansion we pulled up to. I could see through the front door to the open space interior, and out through the glass pane patio doors to the back yard. There were just as many people in the back yard as in the front yard. I didn’t know how many were inside the actual house.

Uproarious laughter and shouts drowned out all conversation, and even that was barely audible over the loud music pounding out of every open window.

“Casual, hm?” I asked my sister.

Everly looked worried.

“Maybe this is going to get a little crazy after all,” she said. “But hey, no one’s even broken a window yet. This is still tame.”

“Ow, shit!”

Some guy cursed out loud as he fell from his perch on a first floor window ledge and onto the bushes outside. His friends all laughed at him as they peered over the windowsill.

I side-eyed Everly.

“The window isn’t broken,” she pointed out.

“Just maybe his arm or leg,” I replied.

“Come on, let’s find the guys,” she said.

Tugging on the hem of my dress, even though it wasn’t all that short, I followed her inside, navigating my way through a throng of drunk people.

“Hey!” Everly called with a wave of her head to someone behind me. “You see Julian yet?”

I turned to find Seth heading over. His auburn hair was tousled, but stylishly so. He wore dark denim skinny jeans and a black and white band shirt from some group I’d never heard of. The t-shirt allowed him to show off some colorful tattoos on his forearms. His strong, muscled forearms.

My heart pounded a quick, heavy beat.

Seth’s attention was on Everly as he answered.

“Yeah, Julian’s around here somew—”

Seth’s eyes bugged out with a sound like he’d choked on his own tongue.

His gaze fixed on me, roving all over my body, from the skin of my thighs exposed by my short hem to the see-through mesh showing off my collarbone and below.

I squirmed inside, pleased at his response. Seth had only ever seen me in leggings, jeans, and sweaters. He probably didn’t even know I had a figure, or hips or boobs.

He was certainly getting an idea now.

“Hey, Seth,” I said, aiming for breezy.

“H-hey,” he stuttered. He blinked once, slowly, then forcibly turned his eyes away from me to my sister.

“Julian’s around here somewhere,” Seth said.

Everly swatted him in the chest.

“No drooling over my baby sister,” she admonished. “She’s only eighteen.”

Yeah, and Seth is only twenty-two, so…

I didn’t voice that thought out loud.