Page 57 of The Betrayal You Serve

"I hate to say I told you so, but… I totally told you so," Ella shouts at me when one song comes to an end and everything quiets down a little.

"Yeah, alright."

"Drinks, ladies," Violet says, handing them over as she joins us.

Before long, the alcohol is buzzing through my veins and I find myself sandwiched between Ella and Violet as we move together to the music. It feels so good forgetting about everything, even if it's for the briefest of time and letting go with my roommates that are fast becoming my rocks.

"I need to pee," Violet shouts before her body heat disappears from behind me.

Her leaving drags me from the zone I'd lost myself in and for the first time in a long time, I open my eyes and look around at the students all enjoying themselves, and smile. This is how it's supposed to be. My freshman year at Columbia feels like a million years ago now, I barely remember how easy it had all been back then.

Before that party.

Beforehim.

My skin tingles as I think about him and everything we've been through. Even with all the pain, I still find myself searching through the sea of people in the hope of finding him.

No matter what my brain tells me, my body is always on another page when it comes to Kane Legend.

I find the guys with the rest of the team, Luca and Leon included. My heart aches when Luca turns into the light from the bonfire and I get a quick look at the dark shadows under his eyes. I know I'm not the only one to put them there, I know just how much he's feeling the pressure, but the fact I haven’t helped doesn't sit right with me. I want to help, I want to go over and just give him the hug he looks like he so desperately needs, but I know I can't. Even if I did, he wouldn't accept it.

As if he knows I'm looking at him, he turns my way, his eyes immediately landing on mine.

My breath catches as the connection we've always shared passes between us.

Just when I start to think that he's going to come over then he suddenly turns his back on me. Pain rips through my chest at his dismissal.

"He'll come around," Ella shouts in my ear, having clearly watched the whole thing.

"Yeah," I mutter sadly.

"You need more alcohol?"

"No," I answer quickly. The last thing I need right now is to lose the sense of myself.

Ella takes my hips in her hands and spins me around, I have no idea if she's got a game plan—a game plan that involves a certain football player—but she moves seductively behind me, earning us more than a few heated stares from every guy in the vicinity.

"Ella, what are you playing at?" I shout over my shoulder.

"Just enjoying myself," she says innocently, although the wink she adds tells me otherwise.

Looking forward once more, I let her do what she needs to do, my eyes still scanning the crowd for him.

The longer we dance, the more my skin tingles. I tell myself that it's the alcohol but deep down, I know it's not. I know it's him.

My mouth waters as I think about our previous experience of being under the cover of trees and my thighs clench together.

Damn him.

I find Micah in the crowd talking to Ellis, a few feet behind them is Devin talking to some guys I don't know and then I find Ezra with some poor girl pinned up against a tree.

Their presence only confirms what I already know.

He's here and he's watching me.

Fighting my urge to keep searching, I rest my head back on Ella's shoulder and close my eyes as she grinds to the beat.

I don't realize that a shadow has fallen over us until Ella's hands on my hips tighten and her movement falters.