A Whole New Crowd (A Whole New Crowd #1)(28)

Did I?
I shrugged. I should’ve been clearer about a decision, but I didn’t care in that moment. Gray was a friend, maybe the only one from Pedlam that I could still talk with. He knew me better than the people at the table, but Tray chose that moment to return with two cups in hand. He gave Grayley a brief nod in greeting as he placed the drinks on the table and pulled a chair to sit between us.
I said, “We can talk later.”
“Yeah.” An uneasy laugh came from him. “When it’s not enemy territory, right?” He clapped a hand on Tray’s shoulder. “That was an awesome prank, by the way. The guys are planning their revenge already.”
Tray nodded. “Good. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Grayley laughed. “I’ll let the guys know—” He stopped. “Or maybe I’ll keep quiet since I got a friend on your side.” Nodding to the others at the table, he tapped me on the shoulder as his farewell before he headed away.
Mandy asked, “Who was that?”
“A friend.”
“Like me,” Molly piped up, then her cheeks got red, and she ducked her head again.
“He seems like a good guy,” Tray spoke up for him.
I could sense an interrogation from Mandy coming, but it was halted at those words. No one went against Tray Evans, certainly not my adopted sister. Knowing what he did and that he had done it for me, I turned to him. “Thank you. He means a lot to me.”
“I know.”
“Yeah.”
Then Mandy shrieked in laughter and I sighed.
“Come on,” Tray murmured in my ear. He took my hand and stood up.
I didn’t care where he was taking me. He tended to know when I needed to get away so I went, with another wave of gratitude going through me, but paused when Molly jerked her head back up.
Tray pulled me into his side and leaned around me. He handed Dylan a twenty. “Can you call a cab for Taryn’s friend? For when she wants to go home?”
“Sure thing.”
I ignored the knowing look from the cousin and the confused expression from my sister. Molly was grinning from ear to ear. This would be spread over the school as well. Maybe I should’ve been happy. My goal for a while had been to distract the gossip mill from Devon and Mandy’s break-up, but at this point, I didn’t think it mattered.
We left. When he headed out, I asked, “Where are we going?”
He didn’t answer. He took my hand, glanced over his shoulder, and flashed me a smile. Oh f*ck. It was one of those smiles. It was earth-shattering, heart-melting, and a fireworks type of look. A lot of promises were attached to that look, and I swore my panties were soaked through. Yes. I definitely needed to deal with this. My body was starting to develop a mind of its own, and it was starting not to listen to me.
He squeezed my hand and slid both of them into his pocket. It was snug and too close to where I really wanted to put it. My body was ready to erupt. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been like this with a guy. A part of me loved it. The other part was in one giant pretzel-like knot.
His SUV was blocked by other cars. I climbed inside while Tray took his phone out and called someone. A little while later, three guys came out with keys and moved the cars. Then Tray climbed in beside me and backed out onto the road.
We drove in silence, just like before until he pulled up to his place and cut the engine.
Once we were inside, he went to the refrigerator, and I sat at the table. No lights were turned on. I was starting to realize Tray enjoyed living in the dark, but the light from the refrigerator flooded the room as he grabbed two beers. He came over to the table, sat across from me and slid a can to me. The room had gone back to the darkness again, and I shivered. It was like a blanket had been thrown over us. I’d been raw since my visit with Jace, and this was what I needed.
One night. I already made up my mind. One night and Tray Evans would be out of my system. We could be friends after that. Maybe? I wasn’t sure.
He leaned back in his chair and opened his can. The sound was jarring in the silence between us, and I jumped, then gritted my teeth. Of course he was going to open his beer. I should’ve been expecting that, but I was so overwhelmed with so many emotions. They were swirling all inside of me. Lust. Desire. Fear. Pain. Those four were the main ingredients that made me, mixed with fury. A counselor told me when I was younger that I had an unhealthy amount of anger inside of me. She’d been kind. It was fury, and it made me who I was. It was my foundation, but I didn’t count it. It was just there. Always would be.
“You have some messed up relationships.”
My eyes jumped to his, and my heart leapt in my chest. “What?”
He was watching me. The darkness didn’t matter. He could see through me anyway. He put his beer on the table and leaned back again. “You. Your ex. Jace Lanser. What is it with you and those guys?”
“They’re my family.”
He didn’t comment.
“They were my family.”
“Was there something going on with you and Lanser?”
“Brian.”
“Jace.”
Oh. “I was with Brian.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“Why are you asking that?”
“Because I was in the room with you two. It seemed like more than some nice family thing you think you had going on.” He leaned forward, his tone turned hard.
“It’s none of your business, if there was.” I sighed and shook my head. “I was with Brian. There was nothing going on with Jace, and besides, my relationships with both of them are done. I was given explicit instructions to stay the hell away.”