Unbreak My Heart (Rough Riders Legacy #1)(21)

“Simmer down, big cuz.”

Boone returned with the beer before I could retort. His gaze winged between me and Hayden. “Is everything all right?”

“Sierra just gets het up when it comes to family.” Hayden squeezed my shoulder in a half-hug. “That’s why she needs a beer.” He plucked it from Boone’s hand and passed it over to me.

“That was fast,” I said to Boone.

“I told Tug it was for you.” He sipped his beer. “Both cups actually. Then he said he admired ‘a chick who could drink like she had a dick.’”

“Tug’s been influenced by Lex,” Hayden complained. Then he looked at me. “Have you talked to Lex tonight?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t know he was here.”

“I saw him inside. He asked about you.”

What was Hayden doing? Trying to piss me off and warn Boone away?

The exact opposite happened.

Boone growled, “Who the f*ck is Lex? Another football player who’s so freakin’ shy with all the grid-bunnies that he needs your special help too?”

“And…I’m done here. I’ll find people to talk to who aren’t judgmental dickheads.”

My first thought as I walked away? Don’t stop until you get to your car.

My second thought? Even a crappy conversation with Boone at this party was better than how things transpired at the first and only party we’d ended up at in high school.

I hadn’t planned on running into him that night either.

Now I was running again—away this time. I cut across the lawn, searching for a spot in the dark shadows of the house where no partiers would find me. I slumped against the stucco and sipped my beer. Warm. Yuck.

Why had Boone brought up that horrible party almost first thing? It’d been the most humiliating night of my life. Nearly eight years later, I still wanted to curl into a ball in the corner and hide my face in shame when I thought about it.

That’s probably why I subconsciously hid in the shadows now—because that memory kept floating closer and closer to the surface.

Maybe letting it come won’t be so bad. Things and perceptions change. You’ve changed.

Good freakin’ thing. Because during that time of my life? I thought I was the shit.

I had my driver’s license.

I had a car.

I had the burning desire to prove I was cool.

It was as if I followed a “How to Fuck Up Your Life” checklist for bratty sixteen-year-old girls.

Finding new friends with a “question authority” attitude? Check.

Lying to my dad? Check.

Making dumb decisions with booze? Check.

Showing bad judgment with a bad boy? Check.

I’d implemented all of those fantastically stupid choices in one night…


My new pal Kara knew where all the cool parties were. Not the “lame high school ones” but private house parties with booze and older guys.

I’d become a regular at these parties the last month. I stuck close to Kara and Angie because I was actually shy around boys and these older guys sort of terrified me. I hated that I was still hung up on Boone, even when I hadn’t heard from him at all since before Christmas. So a few beers filled me with the liquid courage to approach the new guy who’d just shown up. He was seriously cute, even if he looked rough around the edges.

As soon as I smiled at him? He was by my side.

“Hey, hot stuff. What’s your name?”

I smelled pot smoke on his clothes, which I ignored because…hello? Cute guy flirting with me? “Sierra. What’s yours?”

“Tyler.” Tyler eyed my chest first and then the cup I held. “Whatcha drinkin’?”

“Beer.”

“This is better.” He waggled a bottle of Jack Daniels he’d been carrying around. “And I’m willing to share.”

“What’s the catch?” While there was always booze at these parties, it never was free.

Tyler grinned. “Smart girl. Do a couple shots with me and we’ll figure something out.”

I said, “Sure,” as if I accepted shots from strange guys all the time. I drained my beer, intending to reuse the cup for the shot, but Tyler plucked it out of my hand and tossed it aside.

“No drinkin’ it like a *. Take your shot straight from the bottle.”

I snatched the bottle from him and drank. Somehow I withheld a shudder. Jesus. The stuff tasted like vomit. The Crown XR my dad drank was way better.

He laughed and grabbed the bottle back. “Eager to do what I tell you. I like that.” He tipped the bottle, keeping his gaze on my chest while he guzzled. “I haven’t seen you here before.”

“Really? I was here last weekend.”

“I wasn’t. I had to work.”

“That sucks. It was a great party. Been a lot of great parties lately.”

“And you’ve been to all of them?”

I attempted a flirty smile. “Yep.”

“So you don’t got a job?”

“No.”

“Must be nice.” He knocked back another slug. “So if you ain’t workin’, what do you do for fun?”

“I’ve been stuck at home for a few months without wheels, so it’s been a long time since I’ve had any fun. I’ve been making up for lost time.”