Tamed (Torn #5)(4)

She elbowed me in the ribs. “I am not a nun. There just hasn’t been anyone to catch my interest. We can’t all be as boy crazy as you are.”

“Whatever. So, who is this guy?” I asked.

Chloe fidgeted a little and glanced at her shoes, which was a total mistake. I knew the shoe-staring was her thing when she was trying to keep something from me.

“Don’t you dare look at your shoes, woman! Spill!”

She sighed and looked up at me. “I don’t know his name or anything. He was just a guy who was sitting in the seat next to me this morning.”

I raised my eyebrows at her. “And what does this mystery guy look like?”

She glanced around, making sure that no one was near us. “He’s cute, I guess. His hair is so dark that it’s almost black, and he has these beautiful piercing eyes. Oh, and these really hot piercings in his lip and eyebrow. And he had some tattoos peeking out from the sleeves of his shirt, but I couldn’t tell what they were.”

As she spoke, I felt my mouth dropping in slow motion. “You don’t like just any guy. You like a bad boy. Holy shit, I’m pretty sure hell just froze over. My little Chloe is crushing on a bad boy!”

I pretended to faint, and she elbowed me.

“Shut up. I don’t like him. I just find him kind of attractive. What is this—middle school?”

I busted out laughing at her, unable to stop myself. “Touchy, aren’t we? Sorry, I’ll stop bothering you about the tattooed, pierced, and kind of attractive bad boy.”

Underneath all my teasing, I secretly worried about this new development. Chloe had never once paid attention to any guy. That alone had allowed Logan to keep his sanity. If Chloe fell for someone else, I wasn’t sure what he would do. Logan was so in love with her that I truly worried he’d do something stupid.

We started making our way across campus again, and we were nearly to the dorm.

“So, I know it’s a Monday and all, but some girl in my English class invited me to a party across campus at one of the fraternity houses. Will you please come with me? I need my wingwoman!”

“I really shouldn’t. I still have a couple of boxes to unpack, but I’m sure your roommate would be glad to go with you,” Chloe said.

I stuck my lower lip out and pleaded with my eyes. “Please, Chloe? I saw Chad today, and I really need a night out. We won’t even have to stay late, I promise!”

I really had seen Chad today, but it had been from several yards away. Still, even with that much distance, I would know him anywhere. Surprisingly, I hadn’t felt like crying when my eyes landed on him. Instead, I’d felt a hate so deep that I feared I would start breathing fire. My pain was gone now, but it had been replaced by something even more wicked—pure anger.

She sighed and pulled me into a hug. “All right, Amber, I’ll go, but only because I have that super cute dress I’ve been dying to wear.”

I squealed and started jumping up and down. “Yay! I love that dress. I told you so when I bought it for you! Plus, I have the cutest shoes to go with it!”

I grabbed her arm and pulled her into the dorm and up to her room. As soon as we were inside, I started rummaging through boxes in my closet, and I pulled out a pair of killer red heels.

She gave me a half-smile as I handed them to her. “Thanks. I’m going to head to my room and try to get the rest of my stuff unpacked before tonight. I’ll meet you back here around eight o’clock, okay?”

“That works for me,” I said as I watched her leave.

I felt like tonight was going to be the start of something great. I just hoped it wouldn’t turn out to be like the last time I’d had this feeling. That hadn’t ended well at all.



This is amazing! I thought to myself as Chloe and I climbed the steps to the fraternity house.

Drunk people were everywhere, all of them laughing and having the time of their lives. This was what I’d needed—freedom. Chloe and Logan had been great to me over the summer, but this was what I’d been longing for all along. I wanted to be around other people. I wanted to dance and drink and act like a stupid college freshman.

We pushed through the doors and looked around. I smiled as I watched the massive group of people in front of me. My eyes skimmed over the live band playing Chevelle’s “The Red” and landed on a table full of alcohol.

Bingo.

I motioned for Chloe to follow as I walked over to the table. I grabbed two cups and filled them up with beer from a keg. I handed one cup to Chloe before taking a sip of mine. I looked around to see several guys standing around us, all of them staring at Chloe and me. I had to admit, we looked good. Chloe pulled off that dress like a pro, and I wasn’t doing too bad myself in a tight micro-mini and a bright yellow tank top.

When two guys stopped in front of us, I looked up. I couldn’t hide my smile when I realized that one of the guys was the one who had been eye-f*cking me in class earlier. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” started playing, and his companion smiled down at Chloe.

“Hey, I’m Ben. This is Alex. Care to dance?”

Alex. I liked that name. I also didn’t mind the way he was looking at me. He was attractive with light-blond hair and blue eyes. His nose was a bit too big, but it didn’t take away from his overall appeal. His body wasn’t built like Logan’s, but Alex was solid.