Page 26

CHAPTER 26

ASHTON

Why do I keep looking for him when I know he's not going to show up?

No matter how much I beg, there is nothing on God's green earth that could convince Marcus Vell to come to a frat party, least of all one thrown by Alpha Omega Psi. While Anderson and Preston aren't at the same level of obsessive that Sebastian was, they are still very much concerned about status and appearances, so it isn't an average frat party with a keg and red plastic cups littering the floor. The frat hosts an annual block party with kegs and food trucks, but that party is held outdoors, and only senior fraternity members are allowed to go inside the house. Regular Alpha Omega Psi parties are by invitation only, and they reserve the right to turn anyone away. A right which they've executed often, based on things as trivial as what someone is wearing or how hot their date is. Hell, I've seen Anderson send someone away only to escort their date inside. But people keep coming back, like they're honored to be abused and humiliated by the elite douchebags of America. We have the best booze and designer drugs money can buy, though, so it might not be the company that keeps them coming.

I hate these parties. I hate the people and the pomp. I hate the smell of booze and the cloud of expensive colognes and perfumes used to cover it up. I hate the two years I spent drowning in the bottom of a crystal tumbler while I pretended everything was fine. And I hate the memories that simply being here is forcing back into my thoughts.

There's a reason I haven't moved in here full-time, even though my father is paying out the nose for me to live here. He's also paying for the dorm, but it's not like he notices. I'm pretty sure none of his financial people are checking the receipts from CVU, they just pay the bill when it shows up. It's another drop in the bucket for him. He's probably not paying as much for me to be here as he took from Marcus' dad. I told him I didn't want to live at the frat house, because of what happened at GSU, but he said something that Preston almost parroted word-for-word the day I came to check out the room.

"The Alpha Omega Psi brothers at Cumberland Valley are a different caliber of people, Ashton. Had your little incident occurred here, rather than that second-rate liberal arts school for the so-called Hollywood elite, not a word would have gotten out."

He didn't care that someone had gotten hurt, only that his son and heir had once again embarrassed his name. No doubt it cost more to cover that one up than Kent's stupid court case in high school. He hadn't cared about anyone else then, either. Once the surveillance footage was found, he made sure it would never see the light of day. He got Kent's granddad to drop the case, paid people off, and scrubbed my name from every aspect of the case. But when I pointed out that Marcus should get some kind of apology, or at least compensation to recover from the loss of his scholarship opportunities for something that was unequivocally not his fault, he sneered and told me to shut my mouth or he'd make it much worse.

"Hi, I'm Starla—” Disturbed out of my thoughts by the familiar name, I jerk my head up and look into a pair of wide green eyes. My heart calms, and I take a breath. It's no one from my past. "Sorry to startle you. You're Ashton James, right?"

Pushing off the wall and skirting around her, I shake my head. "Sorry, no." I find a new corner to hide in. This one doesn't have as good a view of the door, but I can still see people coming and going.

Pulling out my phone, I see Marcus responded to the text I sent earlier. I respond with another pathetic plea to save me from my misery.

Me: Are you sure you don't want to come to this awful party?

Hot Trash: Well, when you put it like that…

Me: Can I come over to yours?

I'm so ready to get the fuck out of here. I don't give a fuck if the frat considers these parties important, or about the pledges getting initiated tonight. I don't want to be here. It's not that I'm tempted by the booze or drugs, either. It's the company, the whole scene. I'm utterly uninterested, and I truly believe that even if I didn't have a hot as fuck ex step-cousin's dick to suck, I wouldn't want to be here. The only way these parties were ever tolerable was by getting wasted, and too many bad things happened when I let my guard down like that.

"Who has got you smiling like that, my brother?"

I tear my eyes away from my phone, instinctively turning the screen off so Anderson Hearst, Preston Biltman, and Chase Astorfeld, previously known as Bernice, can't get in my business.

"Don't know what you're talking about," I say, stuffing my phone into my pocket. "What's up? Ready for Tennessee this weekend?"

Our first game against a top-ranked team is going to be at the Basketball Hall of Fame in San Antonio this weekend. It's a huge game with a lot of fanfare and media coverage, almost like an early season tournament game. Winning against the #12 team in the nation could push us into a higher seed.

Chase answers enthusiastically, launching into a discussion about how the outcome could affect our tournament chances. Preston interrupts. "None of his tonight, gentlemen. Finals are over and the game isn't for three days. Tonight is for letting loose and having fun. Anderson, call them over."

Anderson looks over his shoulder and lifts a hand with a beckoning motion, like he's signaling for the check at a restaurant. Like they were waiting in the wings to be summoned, three young women walk over, tottering in heels that remind me of the night I met Bianca. She walked in them so effortlessly while these girls look like they've been playing dress up in a supermodel's closet.

"Mindy, I'd like you to meet my friend Chase. He's a new pledge, a walk-on forward for the Cougars basketball team, and his father is a bank executive." It's hard not to roll my eyes at the way Anderson acts like he's handing over an auction prize to the girl, who apparently gets no other introduction other than her name and the fact that she's gorgeous. Chase unfortunately takes the bait, proving that he is not, in fact, better than any of the rest of them. He hooks her arm around his and they walk off into the house, to talk or do whatever Chase wants, I'm sure. That's just how it does for Alpha Omega Psi men. No one ever says no. And even if she did…

"Now, this man needs no introduction, I'm sure," Anderson teases, interrupting my downward spiral. "Star of the Cougars Basketball team, heir to the wealthiest family in the southeast, and possessing only the best qualities that a man of his pedigree can have."

"I'm not a dog," I deadpan. But I hold my hand out to each of the ladies and greet them politely. "I'm Ashton. It's nice to meet you. I hope you're enjoying the party." Turning to Preston, I give him a nod and straighten my fraternity issued blazer. "I think I'm going to head out."

"What?" Anderson says, too loudly. Preston levels him with a look, and Anderson shuffles the girls off towards the living room, where the rest of our frat brothers are hanging out. There's a silver tray of white powder sitting in plain sight on the coffee table.

When Anderson comes back, he has a blatant look of disappointment on his face. "What is wrong with you? Those girls are hot, and you just dismissed them."

"Let's not pretend you care about their feelings," I snark back.

"I don't understand what your problem is?—”

Preston cuts him off with a nudge to quiet down. Then he throws his arm around my shoulders. At six-foot-eight, he's one of the only guys that can to do that casually. He lowers his voice. "If the girls aren't to your liking, is there something I can offer you that's more to your taste?" His head tilts in the direction of a guy I've never seen before but must be from one of the other upper-crust fraternities, if his preppy clothes are any indication. He's smaller in stature, well dressed, and good looking. Good looking is probably an understatement. He's actually beautiful, with soft looking blond hair and pink, puffy lips.

"It's pretty offensive for you to assume that he's interested in?—”

"Ashton, brother, don't you trust me? I did my research. He’s safe. I invited him here just for you," he says, squeezing my shoulders playfully. "Would you like me to call him over?"

As he says it, the guy looks over at us. His pale eyes lock on mine, then do an obvious sweep of my body from the bottom up. He lifts his sculpted brows and quirks one side of his pouty lips, a clear indication of interest.

I blink back memories of chugging liquor and leading pretty twinks like this guy into whatever the closest private space was. I'd let them suck me off, then send them on their way with the unspoken agreement that they never repeat a word of what happened between us. And then the last time…

"No, thank you." My gut churns, the taste of vomit and regret climbing up my esophagus. "I'm sure he's a nice guy, but he's not my type."

"But Vell is?" Anderson spits, unreasonably offended that I'd turn down their party offerings. As if I'm turning up my nose at crudites they made from scratch according to my special dietary needs.

"Why do you care?"

"Look, it's not like we care that you like dick, but you don't have to slum it to get some ass," Preston drawls, his entitled tone dripping with false empathy. "We're only saying something because we care about your reputation. He's just not on our level, and you know it."

Anderson crosses his arms. "I know all about the arrangement between our families. And if you give my sister some kind of disease because you're off sticking your dick in some low-rent piece of ass?—”

"You better watch your fucking mouth, Hearst." I growl, the warning clear in my tone. "If that's what this shit is about, I'll have you know that I have zero intentions of marrying your sister or anyone else. I already told my dad I wasn't interested." Stretching to my full height, I take a threatening step towards both of them. "I don't give a fuck who you think you are. You keep Marcus' name out of your goddamn mouths. You're jealous that he's better than you. He's a better player, a better man, a better person, than any of us will ever be."

"I wonder what your dad will have to say about that," Anderson says, clearly not getting the hint to shut up while he has the chance. Like the entitled prick he is, he has to get the last word. "He asked me to watch out for you, you know. To keep an eye out for you, make sure you don't get in any trouble again."

Grabbing Anderson's collar, I wrench him to me and get an inch from his face. "If you know anything about what happened at GSU, then you should know better than to test me. I'll fucking end you, Hearst."

Preston steps in, chuckling nervously. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Alright now, let's all take a step back. We're all brothers here?—”

"Fuck you, Biltman. You're just as much of a pretentious prick as Hearst. I don't give a single fuck what any of you think of me. His opinion is the only one that matters."

Their eyes dart to something, someone , behind me.

"Ash?"

Just hearing him say my name, even in that uncertain tone of his, has the tension melting from my shoulders. I definitely didn't mean for him to hear me lay it all out on the line like that, but I'm not upset that he did. I just hope it doesn't scare him off.

Giving the two douchebags my back, I turn and reach for Marcus' hand. I'm almost worried he won't take it, but he does, looking around at the crowd that gathered to see if there was going to be a fight. Wrapping his hand in mine, I pull us out of the frat house and into the frigid night.

Not able to wait another second, I pull Marcus into me and cup one side of his face. I choose to ignore the uncertain expression still plastered on his face and press my mouth to his. Forcing my tongue between his lips, I lick into him, deepening the kiss until he's giving me back everything I'm giving him.

"I want you to fuck me," I say into his mouth.

"Wh-what?" Marcus pulls back to look me in the eyes.

I stare down at him with all the sincerity in my bones. "I want you to fuck me," I repeat. "I want you to hold me down and own every part of me until you believe I won't ever fuck up again."

My phone buzzes, breaking the tension. I ignore it, but it continues to vibrate.

"Should you get that?"

Pulling the phone from my pocket, I glance down to see my father's name on the screen.

Sigh. "Well, that didn't take long." I turn the screen towards Marcus so he can see. His eyes flash with concern. After staring at the name for another few seconds, I hold the power button down until the screen goes black.

"Come on," I tell Marcus, grabbing his hand and pulling him behind me. "Let's go back to my room and pop my cherry."