Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits, #1)(60)

I clasped his hand, happy Antonio had brought a girl of his own. “Beth doesn’t like anybody, and me telling her to give your girl a break is only going to make things worse.”

“Yeah, you’re right. So, how did you convince a classy girl like Echo to hang out with a bastard like you?” Antonio applied pressure to my hand before releasing it. He may not be interested in her, but he cared about her enough to not like the idea of me being with her. Which spoke volumes about his friendship with Echo. Until now, Antonio never cared what or how many girls I brought home to sleep with.

Not sure how I felt about Antonio and Echo, I linked my fingers with hers. Antonio cocked a surprised eyebrow. Damn straight, bro. I did just mark my territory. Rico punched his cousin in the shoulder. “Noah’s gone all serious. Even went to a dance.”

Antonio relaxed his position. “No shit. Gonna do prom next? I’d pay money to see you dressed up like a monkey.”

“Very funny.” I pushed past Rico and his hyena cousins and led Echo inside.

The already small living room seemed to have shrunk a few sizes thanks to several teenagers strewn across the furniture and floor. Beth sat on the kitchen table, beer in one hand and cigarette dangling from the other. Isaiah stood beside her, making ridiculous faces, enjoying every time Beth howled in laughter. Looked like the two of them had made a head start on the dime bag we bought this morning.

The sound of a car screeching came from the television. Several people called out a greeting and told me to move out of the way so they could see the TV.

“‘Sup, man.” Isaiah pulled me into a half hug and smiled like an idiot. “Echo.”

Echo pressed closer to me and I took advantage of the situation by wrapping my hand around the curve of her waist. My mouth watered from her sweet scent. Man, she smelled good.

“Hi, Isaiah. How are you doing, Beth?” Echo asked.

Beth took a long draw off her cigarette, glaring at Echo. Standing her ground, Echo stared back, pretending Beth’s fury didn’t matter to her. Pride flooded my body. Beth broke first, blowing smoke to the side. “I went to the store today, Noah, and bought glue. The crazy kind.”

Echo’s entire body flinched and I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Isaiah hissed something into Beth’s ear as she took a long drink from her beer. Her bloodshot eyes sparked with happy condemnation.

“Come on, let me show you the house.” Like a house tour could help salvage this situation. I applied pressure with my hand on Echo’s back, pushing her toward the hallway.

“Enjoy the grand tour, Princess!” yelled Beth.

When Echo stepped away, I hissed to Beth, “Knock it off.”

She shrugged and took another sip of beer.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have far to go. Four steps later we stood in the middle of the hallway, next to the pink-and-green-tiled bathroom. Echo stared at the cracked white paint on the ceiling, probably wondering how to escape.

“The room behind us is Beth’s and the other one is Shirley and Dale’s,” I said.

Echo tugged at the gloves on her arms. She had to know that this one time, Beth meant to tear me down. “Echo, what Beth said … that was a shot at me, not you. She thinks she’s going to have to put me back together after you rip my heart out and shatter me.”

Laughter erupted from the living room and Rico cursed. Twice in one night I’d declared my emotions to her and she had yet to say a thing back. The silence between us dragged. She finally asked, “Are you any good at Xbox?”

It couldn’t be that easy. Anytime Beth tore down a girl I brought here, I spent more time convincing them to let it go than I did trying to get into their pants. I wanted to play, but I also wanted Echo to enjoy herself. “Yeah.”

“Then why don’t you prove it?” She yanked on my hand and led me to the living room. Was this some sort of test? Should I be protesting, telling her we should leave because Beth made her uncomfortable? That’s what the other girls had wanted.

But she seemed persistent as we entered the living room and motioned for me to join in the game. I’d find out soon enough if this was a test. I snagged the open spot on the couch and pulled Echo down on my lap. “Hey, Rico, hand me a controller.”

“Yeah, Rico, give it to someone who can actually play,” said Isaiah. More laughter and insults followed.

“You’d play better without me on your lap,” she whispered.

I added myself to the game and prepared to kick some ass. As everyone else selected their player, my lips grazed Echo’s earlobe. I loved how she closed her eyes and leaned into me. “But then I couldn’t do this.”

After a half hour, Antonio lured her away by throwing around words like technique and shading. I planned on joining her in the kitchen when the game ended, but decided against it when she grabbed a pencil and spoke rapidly as she sketched. I’d wanted her to be comfortable and I’d wanted to hang with my friends. Somehow, I got both my wishes.

An hour and a half later, Antonio sat in the kitchen chair opposite from Echo, making out with his girl. He occasionally mumbled something to Echo while she sketched and nursed a beer.

Beth emerged from the basement, bag of pot and rolling papers in hand. I tossed the controller onto the couch. “I’m out.”

Several of the guys groaned when Rico snagged my controller. Isaiah threw an empty beer can at me. “Come on, man, Rico sucks. I can’t believe you’re leaving me hanging.”