Page 16 of The Rowdy Ones

Wild disappears with our cups to get us more to drink. Lila steps closer to me, looking up through her crazy thick lashes. I’ve never seen eyelashes that thick before. Not even Talia’s are like hers. When I stare a little closer, I can tell they’re not really hers. It’s as if they’ve been glued to her eyelid.

What the actual fuck? Who glues hair to their eyelids?

“We can go someplace quiet,” Lila purrs, mistaking my close inspection of her eyelids as interest. She slides a palm up my chest. “Just you and me.”

Though I’m not really attracted to her, I can’t stop the zing of arousal coursing through me. I could close my eyes and just get lost in the sensations. It’d be nice to be intimate with someone again. Being drunk is a hell of a lot different than being blissed out on heroin. I could remain in control still.

Commotion jerks me away from thoughts of taking Lila up on her offer. Wild is at the door of the loft, arms flinging around angrily. I jolt to action, staggering his way in case he needs backup. Before I reach him, he launches at some guy, swinging a fist right into his face. The guy beside him cries out in shock and tries to put himself between Wild and his victim.

“I said get the fuck out of here,” Wild snarls, voice dripping with fury. “Now, Evan.”

Evan.

Evan. Evan. Evan.

What. The. Fuck.

The man, Evan, recovers from the punch and lifts his head. Blood oozes from his nostrils as his eyes search the loft behind his cousin. His gaze latches onto mine and it’s as if I’m the one who’s been punched. All breath is knocked out of me. My knees buckle and the rooms spins.

“Rowdy,” Evan croaks out. “Holy shit. You really are back.”

“If you’re not leaving, we will,” Wild barks out. “Move, fucker. And tell your boyfriend if he gets in my way again, I’ll break his pretty nose too.”

Wild grabs my arm and manhandles me out of the loft, past Evan and his boyfriend. I’m dizzied and my ears are roaring. Somehow, Evan’s next words needle their way into my skull.

“I’m clean now, Rowdy. Just thought you’d want to know. I’m so fucking sorry for everything.”

I barely make it into the elevator before losing my shit. Vomit pours out of me without warning. I’m a hundred percent sure it has everything to do with seeing the demon from my past and nothing to do with the alcohol.

Fuck my life.

Weston is fun.

Who knew I needed a little fun in my life? I’m not sure I’ve laughed this much, well, ever.

“Stop,” I whisper, trying to keep my voice down since everyone in the cabin is in bed. “You’re insane.”

He really is. It’s adorable, though.

“Just saying,” Weston rumbles through my earbud—a wonderful piece of technology I’m in love with. “Snitches get stitches.”

His stories about college are hilarious and never ending. My jaw hurts from smiling so much.

“I’m really glad I met you,” he murmurs, voice growing serious. “It feels like I was meant to. Had I randomly not dropped in on Mom at that exact moment, I may have never known you existed.”

My stomach flutters at his words. “I’m happy too.”

“Plus, what guy doesn’t like talking to a pretty girl who laughs at all his jokes?”

He thinks I’m pretty?

I bite down on my bottom lip, unable to hold back my grin. “It’s not fair, though. You could be hideous and I would never know.”

He snorts with laughter. “Love is blind, though, Destiny.”

“Bad joke,” I say with a groan.

A draft of cold air chills my heated flesh. Did I wake Uncle Atticus up with my giggling?