Page 4 of His Temptation

“That’s because you’re on the outside looking in, Cas. He’s a real hard-ass. No wonder Mom left him.”

Ryan’s parents had already been divorced when I became friends with him. I never knew what they’d been like as a family living under the same roof. From what Ryan told me, his dad had worked all the time and barely paid Amber any attention. It had caused major arguments between the two. But it didn’t explain Ryan’s attitude. He seemed so annoyed.

Knowing I was wading into dangerous waters, I let the subject drop.

“A lot of people will be at the party,” I said, stating the freaking obvious.

Ryan shrugged. “Guess so.”

I shouldn’t have asked about his dad. Me and my big mouth.

Trevor lived out of the city limits, and his family owned like fifty acres. The parties usually got wild—bonfires, booze, and hookups. Sometimes fights even broke out. The whole graduating class had been invited and a bunch of people from other schools as well.

A night to remember, Trevor had said. I got a feeling the only thing people would remember was the massive hangover in the morning.

***

When we got to Trevor’s house, Ryan’s mood improved. We parked in the field with the other cars and walked toward the massive fire where everyone gathered. Music pounded in the night air, along with girls laughing and indistinct chatter.

“Hey,” Trevor greeted us. “About time you showed up.”

Ryan slid his fingers across Trev’s and bumped knuckles with him. “Blame my dad. But we’re here now, and I need a drink.”

“Just one?” Trev nodded to Brad, another of our buddies, before smirking at Ryan. “Bitch, I got a keg. Bet I can drink your ass under the table.”

The challenge mirrored in Ryan’s eyes. “Bring it. Just don’t cry when I show you up at your own party.”

While the two of them battled it out, I walked around searching for something to drink that wasn’t alcohol. A sign was set on a table to the side of the drinks that readReserved for DD’s.I smiled and grabbed a bottle of water. Trevor was pretty good at catering to the non-drinkers, and if he was in hearing range of someone trying to pressure another person to drink, he stepped in and shut them down.

“You’re stuck on DD duty too, huh?” a girl asked, grabbing a Diet Coke from the bucket of ice. I didn’t recognize her, so she must’ve been from another school.

“Yeah. I don’t mind it, though.”

“I’m Faith,” she said with a smile.

“Cason.”

“I was kinda bummed about being DD, but I have a feeling the night won’t be so bad now.” Faith stepped a little closer to me and watched the people around us. She was throwing off major vibes. Not in an overly flirty way, but more subtle.

Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled to the side in a single braid, and she wore glasses with jewels on the frames. A T-shirt was under her overall-shorts, and her shoes had splotches of paint on them—designed that way. She was pretty and seemed sweet. Quirky.

“Cas!” another girl exclaimed, running up and grabbing my arm. This one I knew, even if a part of me wished I didn’t. Lindsey had been trying to get down my pants for the better part of a year. “Come with me.”

Lindsey tugged me away, and I glanced back to see Faith’s expression falter. Lindsey knew she was hot and usually did what she wanted because of it. Faith seemed shy—insecure. I felt bad for the girl.

“Where are we going?” I asked, annoyed.

When we reached the area around the bonfire, Lindsey stopped walking and turned to kiss me. I froze at the contact, wanting to shove her away but not wanting to make a scene in front of people. My football buddies had been grilling me all year about rejecting Lindsey’s advances.

Dude, why don’t you tap that?

You gay or something?

I’d cut off my left nut to fuck her.

So, I squeezed my eyes shut and let her kiss me. Her hands moved to my waist, and she smiled against my mouth as she ran her palms over my stomach. She made some kind of weird sound, like a happy little moan, before grabbing my hand and leading me away from the fire.

I heard someone clap and yell out, “Yeah, boy! Get it.” Probably Brad.