A door closes down the hall, and several first-year girls shoot me dirty looks before they head toward the elevator. Gray’s got one of his hands up my shirt, sliding over my waist, and we’re grinding against each other like horny teenagers. But I have a feeling those girls would be pissed if all we were doing was looking into each other’s eyes from several feet apart. They’re not annoyed by the PDA. They’re annoyed that Gray likes me. Period.
Well, whatever. I didn’t come to this school to please a bunch of snobby bitches.
When Gray finally pulls back from me, we’re both breathing a little harder, and I can feel the unmistakable bulge of his cock pressing into my lower belly. He stares down at me, biting his lip as if he’s wondering whether this party is really all that important after all.
I’m right there with him on that.
But I told Max I’d see her there, and I want to see Declan and Elias too. I want to celebrate, maybe even get a little drunk.
And then fuck Gray Eastwood’s brains out.
As if he can read my plans for the evening written across my face, Gray makes a hungry little growl in his throat, then steps back and threads his fingers through mine, tugging me away from the wall. “Come on, Sparrow. Let’s go.”
The party is at another sprawling mansion in the hills, and the place is already packed by the time we show up. I have a feeling some people started pre-gaming the second their last final wrapped up.
Declan and Elias are already there, and despite the noise and chaos, they both look up as soon as we enter. Elias’s face splits into a wide grin, and instead of Declan’s usual half-smile, I’m gifted with a full one. It beams so bright that my stomach flutters a little as the two of them make their way through the crowd toward us.
Elias jerks his chin to Gray in greeting before gazing down at me. “You look fucking amazing, Blue.”
He drops his head and presses a kiss to my cheek, but I turn my head a little as he does it, which makes his lips brush the corner of my lips. I feel a strange sort of tug in my stomach, like a hook has wrapped around the core of me and is pulling me toward him, and our lips linger for a second in this almost-kiss.
My heart thuds in my chest as we break apart, and Elias’s light brown eyes turn darker as his pupils expand.
Jesus. We kissed a lot more than that at the afterparty, but somehow this feels more loaded with meaning.
Maybe because this time there’s no ulterior motive coloring it. Because this time, instead of trying to piss Gray off, I’m hoping he’ll be okay with it.
As Elias steps back, Declan moves in to take his place. He doesn’t kiss me—on the mouth or anywhere else—but he wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a tight hug.
“You did it, Soph. Fucking congratulations.”
His curse-laden words of encouragement make me smile, and I suck in a deep breath of his woodsy, warm scent like I’m hoarding it until I can get my next fix.
When we break apart, Gray is watching both of his friends with an inscrutable look on his face.
I thread my fingers through his again, enjoying the way his hand grips mine back immediately. “Drinks?”
“Fuck, yeah.”
The four of us make our way through the house, although it takes us longer than I expect it to because the guys, unlike me, are actually popular. We keep getting stopped by people wanting to say hi or guys wanting to fist bump or whatever.
I notice Cliff and the rest of the Saints in one corner of the room, lording over a few obviously drunk first-year girls, and my skin crawls.
I want to march over there and tell all of those girls to watch out for that lecherous motherfucker, but it’s not like they don’t already know. The whole school has heard about his attempted assault on me, but some people either don’t believe it or just don’t care.
Caitlin, Gemma, and Reagan all glare at me like usual as we brush past them on our way to the kitchen, but I ignore them.
“Sophie!”
When we enter the large kitchen, where almost every available surface is covered in bottles of some kind of booze, Max looks up and grins at me. She leaves Jeff and Abigail and a few other friends and slips through the crowd to give me a hug.
“S’up? You look hot, girl!”
I grin. “You too.”
She shrugs, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Three weeks of no classes? That’s something worth celebrating.”
“Cheers to that.” I take the drink Gray hands me and hold it up to clink the rim against Max’s drink.