The Ferrari driver never even saw it coming, but by the time he completes the corner, Tanner is already long gone, proving again that his crown will never be knocked off his head.
Tanner’s performance makes me laugh, and I stand here watching, feeling like the Ferrari. I never saw Tanner coming, and by the time I realized what was happening, he was already gone, his crown still firmly intact.
Tanner flies across the finish line, and just like before, the crowd erupts into ear-shattering applause, and I can’t wipe the smile off my face. Hell, I might even cheer for the fucker too. I can’t tear my eyes off him, watching as he slows and brings the Mustang to a stop, the Ferrari pulling in behind him.
The crowd surges onto the track and Ilaria and I are pushed with them. “Time to party,” she shouts just as loud music blasts through the speakers erected around the property. I laugh, my eyes widening in disbelief. I was wrong, rich kids don’t just know how to have fun, they know how to shit all over everything I ever knew and blow my fucking mind.
Chanel and Arizona find us, and before I know it, an hour has passed and we’re standing on the outskirts of the property, watching over the massive party, our feet aching from dancing and our throats raw from laughter.
It’s been an incredible night, made even better by my ability to avoid Tanner and his band of assholes, but it’s not hard. All I have to do is search for the crowd and they’re right there in the middle of it.
This party is so much better than the lame Hope Falls party I was just at. No wonder we never saw Bradford kids crashing. Why would they come and hang with us when they were partying it up like this? All I know is that I’ve been missing out.
We talk shit as the girls point out people in the crowd, telling me everything there is to know about my new classmates. I’m filled in on all the town gossip, whose mom is having an affair with whose dad, which family is committing tax fraud, whose parents are dirt poor … you know, apart from my mom, and most importantly, they share with me the long line of Tanner’s conquests. Not that it should matter to me. In fact, I do my best to zone it out, already scarred with the image of Tanner getting his dick sucked through his bedroom window.
Chanel ends up in a drunk fight with Logan, only it seems more like a contest over who can swing their dick around the most. Insults are flying and with Chanel on the verge of tears and Logan looking as though he’s only warming up, Arizona rushes in to save her, leaving Ilaria to drag me back onto the track to dance.
It takes all of two minutes for some guy to move up into Ilaria and she grinds back against him, grinning as his hands fall to her waist.
Ilaria’s eyes meet mine, and I don’t need another word to know that she’ll be going home with this guy tonight. My gaze sweeps over Mr. Handsy. He looks nice enough, and since Ilaria hasn’t been drinking, I trust her judgment. Plus, she said only people from Bradford come here, so I’m sure she has known him a lot longer than she’s known me.
Grinning back at her, I decide that she’s more than okay to handle herself, and I leave her to get her skank on. She didn’t give me the save me eyes, and if I’m not fast enough, I’ll probably end up witnessing the whole deed right here in the middle of the track.
Chapter 19
BRIELLE
Making my way back to our deserted corner on the outskirts of the track, I feel a familiar set of eyes lingering on my body, and I let out a frustrated groan. Nerves spike in my chest, and I’m immediately on guard, every part of me desperately trying to shut out the feelings I’ve been trying to smother for the past two days.
“Stop being such a fucking creep, Tanner. I know you’re there,” I say, turning to face the thick bushland and searching through it until my gaze finally settles on him. He’s leaning up against a large tree with his hands deep in his pockets, staring intently and making something die inside of me.
“Why are you here?” he questions, that deep, husky tone rocking right through me as the rest of the people enjoy the party, completely oblivious to the pain pressing against my chest.
Determined not to back down or scurry away in fear, I hold my head high, not allowing him to crush me like he did two nights ago. “Trust me, if I knew you were going to be here, I wouldn’t have come.”