A Whole New Crowd (A Whole New Crowd 1)

“Fuck.”

Mandy hung up.

Just then the shower cut off and Tray came back to the room. A towel was around his lean hips. I jerked away. I would be reaching for that towel in two seconds if I let myself go where my body was screaming to go and had been screaming the entire night. I shifted and tried to force that need to feel him inside me away. True to his word, Tray stopped us every time we got close. I had yelled at him a few times, but he chuckled, ducked my fists, and started to kiss me again. I would end up clinging to him seconds later.

“What?” He reached for his pants.

“My parents are heading home.” Fuck my life. A night filled with torture, pent-up sexual tension, and now the parents. When had this become my life?

“Alright.” He grabbed the rest of his clothes and dressed in front of me. Then he grinned. “You planning on teleporting? Is that how you do your cat burglar/thievery stuff? It would explain a lot.”

“Shut up.”

He laughed. “We gotta get over to Dylan’s to pick up your car.”

I’d forgotten about my car. I was still reeling, thinking of the illegal acts I committed since my adoptive parents had been out of town. If they knew what I had been doing, they’d give me back or never let me leave the house again.

Tray sat beside me and nudged me with his leg. “Is this about last night?”

I shook my head. “I’m not used to having parents.”

He laughed and then rolled over so he was above me. He braced himself up with his arms on either side of me. “If it’s any consolation, Mandy’s parents don’t give a shit.”

I laughed. “Yeah, right. Thanks for trying.”

“No, they don’t. For real.” He dipped down and pressed a kiss to my lips. Dear god. My hand found his cheek. As he pulled away, I tugged him back down. Each nibble from him was a morsel to my starving hormones. Then I heard what he said and pulled away. “Wait. What do you mean?”

He pressed another kiss, this one chaste, before sitting up. “I thought it was a joke when I heard they adopted a girl. They’re never home. Mandy’s dad is a doctor, but he hardly practices. Then I saw you.” He looked at me wolfishly and made a show of scanning me up and down. “I got a different idea. Maybe Kevin wanted to adopt you for a different reason.”

I hit him. “Are you kidding me?”

“No.” He laughed, pretending to rub at his arm. “I’m not, not about Mandy’s parents. They’re not real nurturing parents. Mandy’s fucked in the head because of them.”

“What do you mean by that?”

He gazed at me in disbelief. “She’s high-strung.”

Yeah? I lifted an eyebrow.

“She’s got some perfect complex. That’s all from her parents.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“You don’t have to. Go home and watch how fake they are.”

I couldn’t argue that. They were fake. They acted like they were perfect with no problems, no worries, and there was some truth in what he was saying. Still. I shook my head. “Why did they adopt me?”

“Exactly. When do you turn eighteen?”

Two months. I frowned. “They must care about me. Why would they bring a teenager into the house if they didn’t?” I glanced at the bed, remembering what we had done. Parents cared about that, right? My fosters hadn’t. They cared if I broke curfew, but that had been it.

“Come on.” He softened and tapped my hand. “I’ll stop and get us some breakfast on the way to Dylan’s.”

“No.” I stood and grabbed my clothes, dressing in record time. “Let’s just get my car. I should be at the house when they show up.”

I bent down for my shoes and Tray groaned from behind me. “We could shower first. You should be clean. You want to shower?”

“We don’t have time.”