Page 28 of Pucking Possessive (Kings of Castlebrook #2)

CALLUM

W hen the girls head to the restroom, the guys and I claim a table near the back of the karaoke bar. Ramsey volunteers to be a creep and stands guard outside the women’s bathroom like the overprotective menace he is.

By the time they return, we’ve got the drinks ordered and appetizers are on the way.

Tristan grabs the bottom of Winter’s chair and yanks her closer until she’s basically in his lap.

She doesn’t blink, just leans into him like it’s second nature.

He’s having such a hard time lately. No matter the time of night I get up, he’s already awake, playing chess or just pacing the hall.

He’s becoming more agitated, and the common denominator for his outbursts is being separated from Winter.

Ramsey introduces Reese to the group like it’s a formal event and Madi, all chipper and sweet, says, “We just peed together. We’ve met.”

Everyone cracks up. Except Hayden, who makes a face like his girlfriend just admitted to something deeply traumatic. I shake my head, laughing.

There’s a tall, blonde guy lingering awkwardly next to Reese, like he doesn’t want to be here. The feeling’s mutual because none of us have attempted to acknowledge him. I’ve never met Justin, but I already don’t like his vibe.

I watch the three of them like it’s my own personal trashy TV show.

Reese is angled toward Ramsey. She’s making eye contact, talking animatedly about what songs she wants to sing tonight.

Not just sing, but sing with Ramsey. It’s their thing, apparently.

Judging by the look on Justin’s face, he doesn’t think his girlfriend should have a thing with another guy.

I don’t think he has the balls to say anything to Ramsey, though.

I know if that were me, I’d have already blacked out with rage and turned this place upside down.

Lilac can have as many hobbies as she wants…

with me. Not some other guy. Ramsey’s smirking, nodding along to everything Reese suggests, his arm resting on the back of her chair.

Justin is literal wallpaper, and I decide then and there that he won’t even be fun to try to annoy.

Lilac must feel the awkward tension at the table because she says, “Hi, I’m Lilac. You’re Reese’s boyfriend, right?”

I grin and duck my head into her shoulder to hide my laugh. As much shit as we talk, I’m not going to be the one to laugh in this poor guy’s face.

Hayden doesn’t have that same restraint.

“So,” he starts, his voice overly casual, “where do you play hockey?”

“Harmony College,” Justin says. He’s dry as fuck, and I can see the look in Hayden’s eyes that Justin’s attitude in this moment is what seals the deal. Hayden nods like he’s calculating a hit.

Because he is, but I can already tell poor Ramsey is going to catch some strays in this one-sided verbal spar.

“So you just let Ramsey take care of your girlfriend while you’re away, or what’s the deal?” Hayden smiles, big and fake, and I’m going to combust if I can’t laugh at this shit.

Madi smacks Hayden’s chest with a gasp, and there’s a low rumble of laughter around the table. Ramsey flips Hayden off. Hayden flips him off right back. They’re in the dictionary next to the word frenemies.

I’m glad I already had Ramsey put a tracker in Lilac’s neck. After that swing from Hayden, Ramsey probably isn’t gonna help us out again anytime soon.

Justin says, “I wanted Reese to come to school with me, but she insisted on living out the Blackwood legacy at St. Charles.” His voice isn’t mean or even grouchy. It’s like he’s detached or disappointed.

Reese jumps in with a bright smile. “I wanted to stay close to my sister. I went to boarding school for so long…”

Lilac cuts in. “You don’t owe us, or anyone…” Lilac pauses rather cinematically to shoot Justin an annoyed look before she finishes, “an explanation. Do what’s best for you.”

Reese looks at her like she just handed her a gift. Like maybe she’s been arguing with Justin about this very thing for a long time. The mood is ruined, though, and I’m not about to sit here and play the poor, pitiful Justin game.

“Well, this got awkward,” I say, standing. “Time to serenade Big T.”

I kiss Lilac on the mouth quickly, but so gently that my lips are buzzing by the time I’m rounding the table. I blow a kiss to Tristan, who’s already scowling as I make my way up to the front of the room.

The DJ is trying to wrap up some sorority girls’ drunk version of “Party in the U.S.A.” when I get to the stage.

I tell the guy running the machine I want to sing “Yeah!” by Usher.

I flip my baseball cap backwards because this is fucking serious.

I’m going to razzle dazzle my lady, and Tristan is going to be pacing the halls tonight with Lil Jon’s rap stuck in his head.

I step up there as soon as the girls are stumbling back to their seats, and the beat starts.

The crowd is instantly into it, cheering, clapping, some already up on their feet.

And the best part of the song hasn’t even happened yet.

Phones come out, camera lights blinking to life as people record.

There’s a loud whoop from someone near the bar and I hear my girl yell, "Let’s go, cowboy!

" I feel like I’m fucking nine feet tall with the way she’s beaming at me.

Even Winter is singing the chorus, one hand on Tristan’s shoulder like she’s silently saying sorry for contributing to his misery. Tristan is still scowling, but there’s the ghost of a smirk on his face when she leans into him.

I own the stage for the first verse, playing to the crowd, giving them everything. I’m feeling it. Feeding off their energy, off the way Lilac’s watching me like I hung the stars just for her.

I would fucking hang stars for her if she wanted me, too.

When Ludacris’ part hits, I hop off the stage and start heading toward my table of friends. A move that in hindsight is probably frowned upon, but not illegal. I make my way through the crowd, spinning once just to get a cheer, and then I’m back on course to our table.

My eyes lock on Lilac.

She’s glowing.

Singing along, mouthing every word with a wide grin on her face, her cheeks flushed with laughter. Winter’s laughing beside her, bumping her shoulder gently in rhythm. Madi’s filming with her phone, shaking her head like she can’t believe I haven’t missed any of the lyrics.

But Lilac, my eyes are just drawn back to her. She’s sincerely the only fucking thing I see.

She looks carefree. Lit from the inside out.

And it hits me. This is the happiest I’ve ever seen her. And it’s because of me. Because of us.

I stop in front of our table and hold the mic toward Tristan like we’re going to do a duet.

He glares at me and deadpans directly into the mic, “I will kill you in your fucking sleep.”

The whole place erupts into laughter.

But I don’t care about any of them. My eyes flash back to Lilac.

Because she’s watching me like maybe, just maybe, she loves me the way I love her.

When my song is over, and I return the mic, I head to the bar, feeling invincible, and order drinks for the table.

When I glance back, I catch Lilac laughing with Winter.

Happy is a good look on her. Winter’s hard to crack, and seeing her take to Lilac like this…

it makes me feel like everything’s falling into place.

Tristan’s absentmindedly stirring the ice in his drink with one hand and twirling the end of Winter’s braid with the other. He looks tired. Not just physically, but worn out in a way that sits behind his eyes. He’s not doing well. I can see it, and I’m starting to worry.

I turn back and nearly walk straight into Madi.

"Ahhh!" I shout, jumping back. I don’t need Hayden trying to kick my head in for knocking into her.

She’s giving me that stern big-sister glare, arms crossed. Then I see Hayden looming behind her like a bodyguard. But he’s not glaring though and oddly he doesn’t look like he’s powering up to fight me. He’s grinning, like he knows something I don’t.

Madi levels me with her eyes. “I need you to not mess this up with Lilac. I really like her and I want her to stay.” I hate to say this, but I’m not used to seeing her do anything but smile and it’s throwing me off, so I’m trying not to burst out into laughter.

“What did I do?” I’m grinning like an idiot because I was not prepared for the girls to become this close this fast. That’s an interesting and promising development, and it makes my chest warm.

“Nothing yet, I’m just letting you know…

” she scrunches her nose up like she’s trying to remember what her argument was now that I’ve poked a hole into it.

Madi’s voice returns to her regular soft tone, but she tries to stick with the bit when she says, “Just see that you don’t.

Or we’ll be speaking again.” This time I do snicker because we speak every single day, and this makes her nostrils flare because she apparently really wants to keep Lilac as a friend.

And well, that just means every-fucking-thing to me.

The girls love Lilac just like I love her, and that means she can never leave me.

Because I’ll just send in the blonde-haired, pink bow wearing terror Hayden has created to negotiate for me if she ever tries.

“You don’t like her talking to guys. I’m a guy, shouldn’t you be throwing a chair or threatening to castrate me with a broken beer bottle?

” I say to Hayden because this is some bullshit also that he’s encouraging this.

He should have my back the way Madi clearly has Lilacs in this fake fight that Lilac and I aren’t even having.

Hayden shrugs. “I’ll make this one exception. I want to watch her chew you up and spit you out. I think it might be my new kink.”

I roll my eyes. It’s cute, Madi getting all protective over her new friend. I’ve known Lilac longer than anyone here, but it’s nice she’s got people in her corner now.

I say. “You don’t need to worry. I’d never let anything happen to her.”

Madi glares up at me and pokes me in the chest. “Good. Or you’ll answer to me.”

She turns and walks away, her blonde ponytail bouncing like she didn’t just threaten my life. Hayden follows, still grinning.

“I can see why you two work,” I call after him. “She’s as much of a psycho as you are.”

He nods, proud. “I know. Isn’t it great?”

When I get back to the table, Reese is giggling and grabbing Ramsey’s hand, pulling him toward the stage. He yanks her back and throws her over his shoulder like it’s the easiest thing in the world, making her squeal as he marches her up to pick a song.

I watch Justin watch them. He doesn’t look pleased. Not unhinged like the guys and I would be. He’s not ready to throw punches. But he looks embarrassed. Like he knows he just got shown up and wants to punish someone for it. I suspect that someone is going to be Reese.

He turns to me. “What do you know about their relationship? She says he’s her best friend, but?—”

Tristan cuts in, his voice sharp and cold. “If you were with her, you’d know what she was doing and who was around her. Wouldn’t you?”

Justin opens his mouth to respond, but Winter speaks instead. Her voice is sweet when she says, “He’s literally snuffed the life out of someone for touching me. I don’t think you wanna debate him on this one.”

The song Ramsey and Reese picked starts and I instantly recognize it as “Him and I” by Halsey & G-Eazy.

Lilac, sensing the rising tension, turns to me with a teasing smile. “Know any more songs, cowboy?”

I throw my head back and laugh hard. God, I love her.

We miss most of Ramsey and Reese’s performance because two girls from Lilac’s skating team walk up to greet us.

They’re with Danny and he doesn’t even have to say anything for me to be annoyed.

I wrap my arm around Lilac protectively.

Danny glances at Lilac and says, "Are you seriously going to let that guy control you? "

Lilac straightens, voice firm. "That guy is my fiancé. And it’s not control, it’s protection. He has my best interest at heart. All of our teammates are showing up dead. And someone is stalking me. I’d think you’d understand."

My hand is already on her thigh, but my fingers tighten, flexing against her skin. I want to snap this guy’s neck. I’d stomp him out right here in the middle of the bar if I thought Lilac would be on board. But I don’t.

Because she’s handling it.

Because her family and the town we grew up in have spent years trying to silence her, and she’s finally using her voice.

So I keep my rage on a leash.

But if he says one more word, I won’t.

I’m not fucking playing when it comes to my girl.

When Danny and his little sidekicks finally walk away, Lilac turns to me and says, “You did really well. I thought you were going to throw a table.”

I smirk. “We can only have one furniture thrower in the group, and Hayden’s already claimed that title.

” Just as the words leave my mouth, Ramsey and Reese return to the table.

Justin overcompensates, wrapping his arm around Reese and pulling her to sit next to him in much the same manner Tristan did with Winter.

The difference is that Reese doesn’t melt into Justin the way Winter does with Tristan.

We both look over. Madi is leaning across the table to chat with a girl sitting at a nearby table.

And Hayden? He’s posted up beside her, glowering at the guys at the same table like he’s mentally measuring how far he can toss each one.

“He’s such a sourpuss,” Lilac laughs.

Reese overhears and chimes in. “There are actual rumors about him at my school. Did he really throw a teacher’s desk out a fourth-story window because he got a bad grade?”

I snicker. If they knew even half of what me, Hayden, and Tristan have done, no one would believe it.

“Nah,” I say. “He only flips out over Mads.”

Hayden hears, and his reaction is instantaneous. He chucks his empty cup at my head. “Don’t fucking give my girl a nickname.”

Everyone laughs.

Reese grins. “You could give Lilac a nickname to get him back.”

I glare at her. “We won’t be doing that.”

Lilac stands up, shaking her head with a smile. “Okay, I think we need to call it a night before Hayden ends up on the roof hurling karaoke equipment at someone’s head.”

Hayden scowls and Madi hums. “You know, I don’t feel like that’s even that far off.”