More Than Lies (More Than #1)(16)

Wow. That was stout.

“How much have you had to drink?”

“Enough that I should be in bed.” What’s with the twenty questions? More importantly, why does he even care? From what I saw earlier tonight, Shawn and Mason left with the brunette trash from Level. I don’t have to guess what they left to go do, and I certainly don’t want to imagine it.

“So, let me get this straight. You got onto the back of Cole’s bike, drunk? Are you fucking crazy, Tara?” He doesn’t wait for a reply. “Or do you have a death wish?”

“Neither! Are you done now?” His palm smacks the side of the refrigerator before turning away from me then disappearing down the hall. Moments later, I hear the door to the bathroom down the hall slam closed.

I turn back around, pour yet another double shot, and down it. I’m going to pay for this when I wake up, and it’s going to be so much worse than yesterday morning’s hangover. Screw it. If I’m going to do it in the first place, might as well do it right.

“You know, it’s only a matter of time before Holly has him back in her grasps. You don’t stand a chance with Shawn; you never have.” Cassie’s catty, bitch-ass voice assaults my ears. I guess she must have been in the living room and heard us.

Sometimes she’s worse than Amanda. I put up with Mandy’s shit because she is dating my best friend, but it’ll be a cold day in hell before I deal with her friend’s crap. Without giving it a bit of thought, I turn and leap forward. She needs a good butt kicking. I’m not a fighter. I know I can take her if I tried, but I don’t actively seek out confrontations. My mother would flip her lid, so I do what’s necessary to avoid that at all costs.

Before I reach her, a set of massive arms grab me around the waist, pulling me backward until I’m against his hard chest. “Get. Out. Of. My. House.” Shawn bites each word out through clenched teeth. I know they aren’t directed at me. Even if I weren’t looking at her shocked expression, I’d know they were aimed at Cassie Winston.

“What?”

“I don’t think he stuttered, Barbie.” Okay, Barbie is usually held for Holly, the queen bitch herself, but I had to. Sue me if you don’t like it. I don’t usually act like this, but I’ve had my fair share of alcohol tonight.

“You won’t disrespect her, or anyone else that lives here. Last time I checked, you don’t live here . . . so leave.” His words are still a bark. Shawn can come off quite scary at times. Frankly, Cassie looks like she is about to pee her pants. Inside, I’m loving it. This is so much better than me punching her. “Or I could let Tara go, but I don’t think you want me to. Trust me, she will crush you.”

I will? Hell, I don’t know if I will or not. But I’m willing to find out. I’ve never hit another person in my life. I’m bigger than Cassie, in every way, sure, but I’m not going there.

The snootiness crosses her face again. It’s the same one my mother wears around me. She should have been my mother’s kid. I’m certain her and my mother would get along much better than my mother and I do. “Yes, she would.”

Oh that bitch went there. Yes, I have issues with my weight. I’m not over-weight, I don’t think, but I’m not thin or skinny by any means, and it doesn’t matter how much I workout, I’m never going to be a small size. I love to cook and I love to eat the food I cook. It’s just not in the cards for me. Doesn’t mean I like it, but she doesn’t have the right to throw it in my face, especially with Shawn standing right here.

I try to jump forward, but Shawn’s hold on me tightens. “Leave! Now.” Another bark, only this time his voice is deeper. It’s a warning.

“Whatever.” She turns, exiting the kitchen followed by the house as quickly as her feet will move.

Once I hear the door click close he releases me, and as he steps backward the warm flannel shirt I’m wearing, Jared’s shirt, is pulled off my body. I turn, facing Shawn. What the heck is that about?

“Go take a shower!” My jaw drops at his order. Seconds after, he rips the shirt down the middle, making two unwearable pieces. What the flyin . . .

The material is discarded, landing in a pool on the tile floor.

I plant my hands on my hips in a defiant gesture. He’s not about to order me around. I might take that crap from my parents, but I won’t from anyone else. “Excuse me?”

Shawn wastes no time. He springs forward in an instant, making me step backward until my back collides with the wall. He continues to close in on me, placing his palms on the flat surface of the wall next to my face and leans in. “You smell like him and I don’t fucking like it.”

Well, tough shit.

“Because you smelling like a cheap whore is so much better,” I lash back. I don’t waste my time, either. I take both of my hands, placing my palms on his chest and push as hard as I can. It might not have come across as a shove, because his body didn’t move away from mine as much as I intended it to. “Piss off, Shawn.” With those last words I leave the kitchen, taking myself up the stairs to my bedroom for a shower . . . and not because Shawn ordered me to, but because I do, in fact, stink.

If I wasn’t as drunk as I am right now, I might have stopped to analyze what just happened between us, but I don’t. I’m going to struggle enough just getting out of my clothes to shower tonight, or this morning, or whatever the hell time of the day this is.