Page 15 of The Casualty of Us (Philosophies of the Heart Duet #1)

I take my first step into the church with my gaze immediately rolling over the inside of the place, noting how it’s completely absent of any pews and instead has some couches filling up the spaces in the corners.

People spread out across them with drinks, and a collection of tables stands in the center where others are playing beer pong as well.

A few groups are scattered around dancing to the music, and a small glassed-in room beside us seems to be acting as the kitchen, with bottles of liquor and stacks of beer filling it.

“Fitzroy!” Graham’s voice has me turning to see him rise from one of the couches on my right. Some kind of toga and fishnet hanging off him with a crown on his head. “You made it!”

“I did,” I call back, eyeing his costume as he comes to stand beside me before guessing. “Poseidon?”

He smirks back. “You got it.”

“Cute.” I grin.

“What’s she doing here?” The snarky voice has me turning my head to the other side and finding Lisette Conners standing in a devil costume with a pinched look on her face. “First years aren’t allowed, Graham.”

“Calm down, Lizzy,” Graham sighs, tossing an arm over my shoulders. “I’m aware of the rules, but Ophelia’s cool. I invited her.”

I nod along playfully. “Thanks, I think I’m very cool.”

Another beat passes, and she continues to stare angrily before Graham adds a little more authoritatively, “My party, my guests, Liz.”

“Whatever,” she scoffs, stomping off to the other side of the room and leaving me the space I need to scoot out from under his arm.

He looks down at me, crestfallen expression definitely for show. “Sad.”

“You’ll survive.” I laugh, flicking my eyes to see Ollie and Hayes staring at us with tense brows. “And you know my friends.”

“Yes, yes.” He turns to them, pointing while calling out.

“Roommate, Flynn, random library guy I don’t know, and the other Fitzroy.

” His arms spread wide. “Drink and be merry, just don’t puke on anything.

” He looks between Hayes and Ollie once more.

“You two look like you really need a drink, though, so follow me.”

He takes off for the glass room then, and I catch Ollie’s mutter right before they follow in after him. “When did I become the other Fitzroy?”

“What do you think?” Marley bounces up to me. “Beer pong first?” She nods to the back left corner. “Or should we investigate what’s going on back there?”

I take in the tequila bottle being passed around for all of two seconds before deciding. “Beer pong.”

“Sounds good to me.” She claps her hands. “It’ll get my competitive juices all flowing.”

I snort a laugh at her. “You’re so weird.”

“Don’t act like it won’t do the exact same thing to you.” She turns to me with a stern look. “You’re even more competitive than me, you just hide it better.”

“Only when it’s something I care about.” I shrug, accepting a brightly colored can from Ollie as he staggers back out of the glass room. “Hence why I ride at a solid B average in math.”

“Well.” She snags my hand, pulling me along forcefully toward the beer pong tables while ordering. “Just know that I need you to care about beer pong then.”

The next hour passes in a stream of drinks and laughter with the boys wandering off to do their own thing while Marley dominates the various drinking games the upperclassmen are all too happy to share.

By the time Graham calls us over to where he’s sitting with the tequila bottle people, we’re both buzzing happily.

Marley from the seltzers and me from the fact that no one has really looked twice at me.

With the exception of Hayes, whose eyes I’ve felt tracking me throughout it all.

I collapse into one of the chairs beside Graham, and Marley props herself on the arm of it as he looks us over before asking. “Feeling like a normal girl yet, Fitzroy?”

“Almost.” I grin happily, eyes straying to the bottle of tequila and shot glass he’s holding. “What’s going on over here?”

“I’m so glad you asked.” He smirks. “This is a little game called truth or tequila.”

My brows fall. “No dare?”

“No dare, this is about getting drunk and loosening lips. It’s really conducive to working shit out actually.

Liz and I have to play at least once a year.

” He nods to the group of people sitting around on various chairs and couches.

“Someone asks you a question, you can either answer or take a shot, and then it’s your turn. Want to play?”

“Sure.” I shrug, looking up to see Marley give him a nod as well right before Hayes appears over her shoulder.

“I’ll play.”

Graham stares at him for a beat before a slow smirk spreads on his face. “All right, baby Flynn.” He smacks the couch next to him enthusiastically. “Come take a seat.”

Hayes goes over and sits down next to him, the two continuing to stare at each other as Graham starts the game again. “Is it true…that your father hired an escort for you to lose your virginity to on your thirteenth birthday?”

Hayes pauses, shoulders seeming to rise with a breath before shaking his head. “Considering he wasn’t even in the country at the time, that’d be a no.”

“Damn.” Graham laughs, passing the bottle over to him. “And people were so sure about that one.”

Hayes wastes no time in tossing back. “Why’d you really let us come tonight?”

“Because who could say no to America’s thirty million dollar girl?”

Marley leans down, whispering in my ear, “I think I need some popcorn to go with the show.”

Graham asks someone else in the group something that they refuse to answer, taking a shot instead before asking one themself.

The next few rounds pass with increasingly personal questions being asked by the upperclassmen of each other before a girl that I think is a sophomore eyes me curiously again.

“Thirty million,” she starts hesitantly. “Is that really how much your mom paid to get you back, or did the media just pick a number and roll with it?”

The sudden tension of the group at her question is palpable and has my skin itching with the way everyone’s eyes settle on me.

I finally manage a nod. “Yeah.” Not wanting to back down in front of a crowd, I quickly add, “It was really thirty million.”

“Damn, I might kidnap you myself for that much.”

My head whips toward the guy who’s laughing at his own joke, and I’m about to snap back at him when Graham does it for me.

“Thomas, bad call, get the fuck out.”

“What?” he parrots stupidly, head whipping Graham’s way. “Dude, you can’t be serious.”

I look away from both of them and find Hayes’s gaze waiting for me, an intensity darkening it with his fists clenched in his lap.

Like he’s torn between keeping me in sight and something else.

“Oh, I’m very serious.” Graham laughs back shortly. “No one makes fucking jokes about that shit in here. Am I clear?” Silence thrums through the group, but I keep my eyes on Hayes’s while focusing on my breathing. “Now get the fuck out and don’t come back.”

A few seconds pass before Marley nudges my shoulder, and I finally look away, breaking the connection to find that she’s holding the bottle out to me. “It’s your turn, O.”

“Thanks.” I take the bottle, debating for a split second that has my stomach flipping before looking back at Hayes. “Did you really steal a car and take it street racing?”

He pauses, brows shooting down. “Ollie?”

“It’s not your turn,” I snap, something leftover from that one stupid comment pushing me right to the edge. “Truth or tequila?”

“Yeah.” He clears his throat quickly. “I did.”

I blink at him, brows falling because—

“Why?”

“Not your turn, O.” He bites back, reaching across for the bottle, and I grudgingly pass it over. Not sure what to think about his honest answer or the fact he even did it in the first place. “You control the music, right?”

Graham jolts next to him, like he’s surprised to be drawn into whatever little battle we’re having, but he quickly recovers. “Yeah, why?”

Hayes leans over enough to say something to him under his breath that has Graham laughing before his eyes come to me and he gives him a single nod.

“What?” I raise a brow, but they both ignore my question, Hayes lifting the bottle to his lips instead and taking a quick gulp before looking at Marley.

“Oliver has been over there for the past thirty minutes talking to those guys about how football is the most superior sport.”

She gasps. “No, he hasn’t.”

“Yeah, he has.” He nods seriously. “I think he needs to be set straight.”

She’s gone before I can even blink, and Hayes takes full advantage, passing the bottle to Graham before coming to stand before me. “Dance with me?”

He holds out a hand with a twitch of those damn dimples, and I stare up at him, making him wait a good ten seconds before countering. “This is your move? Really?”

“The tea didn’t seem to be doing it.” He shrugs, hazel eyes all lit up but pushing more seriously with a quiet rasp. “Dance with me.”

“Fine,” I sigh dramatically, placing my hand in his and letting him haul me up. “But just so we’re clear, it’s under duress.”

“Of course it is,” he scoffs, pulling me away from the group as some slow electronic beats start to fill the air. “Wouldn’t expect anything else.”

I wrinkle my nose at the sound of a low voice starting to sing about a window, and he grabs my other hand. “What song is this?”

“A classic, Freckles.” He smirks, winding our fingers together and lifting my hands to his shoulders. “It’s a classic.”

I roll my eyes at his playfulness, but it only makes the dimples cut deeper into his face as we start to dance.

Everything about him echoes through the movements as he starts to sway with me.

Unexpectedly twirling me under his arm and coming to my back before having me raise my hands in the air as we jokingly move side to side of each other.

Forgetting about everyone else in the room as we simply exist in our own little bubble of movement and music.

Smiles edging more grins and singing bringing us closer together before swaying takes us apart.

His movements smooth to my ridiculously uncoordinated attempts but not caring anyway because of the magic of the moment.

In getting lost in the simple happiness of something pure.

A guy caring enough to make me laugh, singing along to lines about only you.

Hayes winds our fingers together again as the song comes to a slow stop and brings them back to his shoulders, ending with us in the same position we started in.

The only difference being the silly grin on my face matching the one on his now.

I lift my brows at him teasingly. “A classic, huh?”

“Something like that.” He drops his hands to my waist. “Had to make sure you knew I was original at least.”

“Oh, I’ve never had any doubt about that.”

A quiet laugh falls from his lips, and my eyes drop to them, the rosy color making me stare for a couple of blinks too long before quickly looking back up.

Blue meeting hazel as something sparks suddenly between us.

It has me sucking down a breath at the way my stomach starts to flip and his gaze drops down.

Staring for a lot longer than I did with these tiny movements to his eyes, like he’s tracing the shape of my lips.

His eyes rise back to mine with a surety there, hands squeezing gently around my waist. “I like you, Ophelia Sage.” He drops his forehead to mine. “I’ve known it since the first time you cursed at me.”

My fingers tighten on his shoulders, and I try to rack my brain for something to quip back, but it’s like my neurons are checking out one by one. Overloaded by that faint hint of cedar that has everything low—

“Dude!” Ollie’s voice crashes in. “Baby sister!”

I jump at the loud intrusion, and Hayes’s fingers give me another squeeze, frustration flaring in his eyes for a beat before his hands drop away.

Both of which are why I quickly take a step back and turn to see Ollie staring at us with a look of horror on his face.

Holden stands beside him with a slightly impressed expression and his gaze bouncing between the three of us.

I roll my eyes at my brother and immediately move to grab Holden’s hand. “Come on, I promised you a shot.”

Leaving the other two to work things out among themselves.

And hoping that involves copious amounts of drinking on the part of my brother.