Page 20 of Pretty Lies (Watch Me Burn #1)

CHAPTER NINE

RORY

F riday night was bigger than I expected.

Tyler’s house was packed with people, groups of them spilling out into the yard as they laughed and stumbled around.

The sound system was pumping through the neighborhood, and I could barely make my way through the crowd as I stepped inside.

My skin crawled as shoulders and arms bumped me, discomfort clawing at my insides as I focused on not having a complete freak-out.

My denim shorts and red tank top meant my skin was exposed, and I wished I’d worn something with more coverage to avoid people’s touch more.

Caden put a reassuring arm around my waist as he sensed my inner battle, leading me into the kitchen to find Jensen and Tyler doing shots, while Lukas stood close by with a bottle of whiskey in his hand. It wasn’t as crowded in this spot, so I could breathe a little easier.

I smirked as I snatched the bottle from Lukas and chugged some down, needing a little liquid courage to keep my anxiety in check for the night. These kids were all from Ashburn Valley Academy and its surrounding areas, so I had to keep a brave face and make them believe nothing could knock me down.

“That’s mine, you know?” Lukas chuckled with amusement as he tongued his lip ring, taking the bottle back as I held it out with a grin.

“Oh, I know. I just wanted a little sip.”

“I didn’t know a sip was a third of the bottle.”

“I was never really good at math, sue me. Blame my trashy upbringing,” I joked, making him roll his eyes as he smiled softly.

“Yeah, you really suck at that.”

Jensen was suddenly in front of me, his arm going around my waist as he pulled me in for a hug as if we’d known each other forever.

It was nice to feel like I belonged in their circle.

“Hey, babe. You want your own bottle? I might have brought one for you.”

“You’re my hero,” I beamed, but Tyler scoffed from beside us.

“He just wants you to go home with him and fuck his brains out. Forget that idea though, come and dance with me.”

I’d never danced with someone before, but Tyler’s carefree vibes rolled off him in waves, soaking into me. I was getting used to their flirty banter, mainly by choosing to ignore it.

Jensen rolled his eyes but moved back from me with amusement. “Go have fun with Ty, I’ll find you with that bottle after. You’ll need it after witnessing his terrible dance moves. Watch your toes.”

“I will,” I laughed before accepting the hand that Tyler held out to me, letting him lead me to the designated dance floor and pull me close. I peered up at him shyly and he gave me a saucy wink, and I hated how weak these guys were making me.

A wink shouldn’t have made me wet like it did.

“You look ridiculously hot, as usual,” he exclaimed, his playboy smile firmly in place, earning a snort from me.

“I’m not getting naked for you, no matter how much you compliment me.”

“That’s what you said last time, but you ended up in the pool between me and Holloway,” he whispered, shoving a leg between mine to dance as “ Striptease” by Hinder blasted through the house.

Tyler’s body moved so perfectly against mine, keeping me close as his hands dropped to my hips. I knew Jensen and Lukas were watching us with surprise as I basically humped his leg like a horny dog.

Whatever had been in Lukas’ bottle had really loosened my nerves. Either that or Tyler was more charming than I gave him credit for.

Tyler’s fingers ran through my hair, his questioning eyes on mine. I could tell he was going to kiss me, and I found myself leaning into him to encourage it.

Approval flashed across his face as he tugged my head back by my hair to consume me with a hard kiss, his thigh pressing against my core and making me squirm.

My hands fisted the front of his shirt and I let out a breathy moan, his tongue pushing past my lips and into my mouth to swallow the sounds I was making.

I didn’t realize we were in our own little world until someone pushed up behind me and Caden’s voice rumbled in my ear, turning my legs to jelly.

“You’re making a scene and it’s making me horny. Probably don’t fuck Ty in the middle of the dance floor, even though it looks hot as fuck.” I leaned back against him, his hands dropping to my waist as he kissed my neck. “You’d look so fucking good in his lap as he fucked up into you.”

My eyes fluttered closed as he pressed his growing erection against my ass, but Tyler chuckled, drawing my attention back to him.

“Jense looks pissed, heads-up.”

I didn’t have time to glance over to where he was looking before Jensen’s arm snaked around my waist and hauled me against him, a scowl on his face that was aimed at the two guys who’d just soaked my panties.

“Back off, guys.”

The last thing we needed was them ending up in a fight, so I patted Jensen’s chest with a small smile, his eyes dropping to mine.

“It’s okay. They’d back off if I asked them to.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, I trust them.” That had been the wrong thing to say, apparently, because his worry turned to anger as he glared at both of his friends before shaking his head at me.

“You’re fucking stupid if you trust anyone, I don’t know how else to warn you.” He took off towards the backyard, my body becoming cold as his touch left me. I had no idea why he was mad at me, but if he knew something about his friends, then it was obvious he wasn’t going to tell me.

Their loyalty to each other would always come before their loyalty to me.

Tyler grinned, not at all fazed by the mini meltdown. “Wow, someone’s panties are in a twist. Want me to go see what his problem is?”

I shook my head, not wanting him to make it worse. We all knew he fucking would.

“I’ll find him and make sure he’s okay. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Caden pulled me close and kissed my lips, his voice warm. “Be careful.”

I nodded before walking after Jensen, aware of people’s eyes on me as I left the room.

The air outside was cool and the sun was almost gone, but the yard was lit up by fire pits and lights. Girls giggled as they climbed all over random guys, loud laughter coming from another corner where guys were pushing and shoving each other playfully.

I found Jensen by one of the fire pits with a beer in his hand and a scowl on his handsome face. Some girl was trying to rub up against him, but he kept pushing her away, snapping angrily at her until she scuttled off like a frightened rabbit.

Girls around here had zero backbone. I never understood why anyone would shamelessly throw themselves at guys like that then cry when they got rejected.

I walked over, stopping directly in front of him and crossing my arms tightly, a no-nonsense expression on my face.

“What the fuck was that?”

“Fuck off, Aurora,” he growled, my face hardening stubbornly.

“No. Tell me what the hell that was inside.”

He seemed to calm slightly, but he shook his head as he lifted his beer to his lips. “Just go back to the others. You were having fun before I ruined it. Forget I said anything.”

“No,” I argued, scowling as he wrapped my hair around his fist and yanked my head back to meet his gaze in the fire light.

“Aurora, seriously. Get lost.”

Why did I give a shit if he was mad? I probably looked just as pathetic as that other girl, except I wasn’t trying to fuck him, I just wanted to know what was wrong.

“Talk to me. I thought we were friends, so why are you acting like you’re mad at me?” I demanded, his face softening a fraction.

“Why do you want to talk about it so badly?”

“Because I fucking care about you and I don’t like you angry at me!” I snapped as I shoved his chest, his eyes darkening as he yanked me forward. His kiss was so sudden that I would’ve stumbled if he hadn’t slid an arm around my waist, dropping his beer in the process.

He grabbed my thighs and lifted me, forcing me to wrap my legs around him as I kissed him back. My arms tightened around his neck as his tongue teased mine, a groan leaving me as I clung to him.

I was too brave for my own good, and I didn’t even second-guess letting him manhandle me so publicly, ignoring any nerves that lingered below the surface.

“Jensen Gilbert, who’s your pretty friend?”

I stiffened at the unfamiliar voice, but Jensen kept hold of me, stroking my thigh to soothe my anxiety as he turned us to face a guy I’d never seen before.

His sharp, light-green eyes assessed me with both interest and torment, his tousled, auburn hair falling over his brow slightly.

Black swirls and slashes of ink covered his throat and vanished below his shirt, and the back of his hands both had skulls with a similar ink swirl design along his fingers, telling me he was likely covered in inked art under his clothes.

He had snakebite piercings in his bottom lip with a silver ring in his nose too.

He was hot but he screamed danger and violence, his lean frame not fooling me in the slightest. There were powerful muscles under that leather jacket, ones that I guessed were lethal weapons.

He was in a gang, if the logo on his jacket was anything to go by. There were a few local crews around here, I used to even hang around one when I was younger until they’d sent me packing.

I squinted at the logo, trying to see what it said. Was that a skull?

The Bloody Psychos had a bleeding skull with a knife through the top. If he was a Psycho, why didn’t I recognize him? It was their establishment I used to hang around, not that I dealt with many of them directly.

Whoever this guy was, he was trouble.

I had enough problems at home with Max being an abusive prick, so I didn’t need to fall into association with violent gang members. Especially when the news claimed that gang activity was getting worse around here.

The Reapers of Chaos crew was currently at war with the Hell’s Demons crew, but I had no idea what other crews were involved, if any.

The Demons had territory in the Heights, so I was well aware of them, and they were all fucking monsters.