Broken Hill Halo (Broken Hill High 2)

Twenty minutes later, the party is going nuts and I’m curled up on the couch with the girls in the den, all of us with a glass of champagne in our hands as we laugh about the way Courtney had missed the edge of the couch and landed flat on her ass, tipping her drink right down her dress. I didn’t even groan knowing I’ll be the one mopping up the sticky floor in the morning.

Our laughter only gets worse when Phoenix walks past the opening of the den, acting as though she’s having the time of her life at the party that should have been hers.

It’s after two in the morning when Courtney and Brylee disappear and Brooke falls into Maxen’s lap. I’m far too tired to get up off the couch and am quickly falling asleep, though, I don’t want to sleep on the couch during the middle of a party. That’s just asking for trouble.

Nate appears in the opening of the den and pulls me up into his arms. “You look tired,” he tells me.

I smile up at him as I rest my head against his chest. “Exactly what a girl wants to hear.”

“Shut up,” he chuckles as he reaches the stairs. “You’re fucking beautiful and you know it.”

I roll my eyes as a yawn rips through me. If I had my way, I would have been in bed hours ago, but I didn’t want to be a party pooper. Nate opens the door of my bedroom and flicks the light before we both look straight towards the bed, making sure it’s not being used by anyone. He closes the door behind us and locks it before dropping me down onto my bed.

I grab the hem of my shirt and pull it up over my head before slipping my jeans down my legs. I mean, there’s nothing worse than sleeping in skin-tight jeans. A moment later, my head goes crashing down on my pillow and I moan out in relief as I close my eyes.

I open them back up to watch Nate shrug out of his shirt in that weird way boys do when they throw a hand over the back of their heads and pull it off. His eyes smolder as he watches me, while he works his belt buckle and pops the button of his jeans, allowing them to fall down with the belt buckle clattering to the ground.

He slips into bed beside me and reaches out to pull me back into him, the same way he has done every other night for the past month. I melt into his body as he curls around me.

Another yawn rips out of me before I close my eyes and snuggle in deeper. “Where do your parents go every weekend?” I ask as I enjoy the darkness of the room while tuning out the bass thumping up through the floor from the party below.

I feel Nate shrug at my back. He goes quiet for a moment and I wonder if he’s fallen asleep or if he’s thinking it over. “I don’t know,” he finally says. “I’ve always assumed it was a date night kind of thing.”

“I thought date night was Monday nights?”

“Fucked if I know,” he grunts before pulling me in a little tighter and running his fingers through my hair, knowing it helps me to sleep. “Every night seems to be date night with them lately.”

“Does it bother you?” I ask. “You know, that they’re not here much.”

“Not really,” he says. “I think it bugs Jesse though.”

I nod my head. I can understand that. While Jesse has a tough exterior, he’s like a marshmallow on the inside. He doesn’t like to let it show and tends to cover it with his bad boy persona and humor, but once you get to know him, it’s as obvious as the sky is blue. He loves fiercely and he hurts deeply. Nate though, he’s similar but much more of a closed book, he also loves fiercely and he while he has the ability to hurt deeply, he prefers to get even.

“Why do you ask?” he murmurs into the dark room. “Are you missing your parents?”

“I’m always missing my parents,” I tell him, hating that they’re so far away in Australia caring for my sick Nanna. “But that’s not what made me ask. I was a little more curious about how you guys are always getting away with having parties? I mean, you guys never get caught.”

“Oh,” he says. “I was wondering where you were going with this, but believe me, we’re not always that lucky.”

“Really?” I giggle. “You guys get in trouble? Does daddy bend you over his knee and spank you or do mommy’s precious little boys get a stern talking to? Lose your allowance? Go to bed without dinner?”