Savage Royals: A Reverse Harem High School Bully Romance(36)

Not that he probably needs good grades. Who needs those when you can play football like a god?

ME: Okay.

LEAH: Who are you and what’ve you done to Talia? But seriously, meet me at the student lot at 9? We’re all gonna drive over together.

ME: K. See you then.

Tossing the phone aside, I hopped off the bed and opened my closet. Leah had dragged me on a few more “retail therapy” shopping sprees over the past few months, but I’d barely gotten a chance to wear any of the clothes I’d bought. I wore my uniform to school every day, and I didn’t go many other places.

I picked my outfit carefully, refusing to think about why I cared so much. After tugging on a pair of slim-fitting dark wash jeans, I tried on a few tops until I settled on a light teal green tank that hung low over my hips and showed just a hint of my cream-colored bra straps. It was casual but flattering, highlighting all my best features. I slipped on a pair of black heels and threw my ID, credit card, and keys in my pocket, then headed out to meet up with Leah and the others.

Dan and Maggie caught up to me on the way over—I was starting to think there was a little thing developing between them, which was cute—and all three of us met up with Leah by her car.

“Damn, girl! You clean up okay.” She wolf-whistled at me, and I shoved her shoulder lightly before we all piled into her Mercedes.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” I said, rolling down the front passenger window.

“Excuse you? I look fine as hell!”

It took us forty-five minutes to get to Petra’s house. Leah, Maggie, and Dan chatted happily about their plans for the break as we drove. A feeling of palpable relief and pent up energy permeated the car—even those who didn’t think they’d done great on finals were still happy they were over, and we were all ready to relax and blow off a little steam.

The view as we climbed the winding road into the hills was just as gorgeous as it’d been the last time, and I remember sad, tipsy Talia’s words to Leah then. This place would be paradise if it weren’t for all the fucking people.

But it didn’t have to be that way. I was with three fun, easygoing people right now. I could hang out with them, have a few drinks, and try to ignore whatever other drama went on around us.

The party was in full swing when we arrived, and we muscled our way into the kitchen to grab drinks. Maggie and Leah opted for beer from the keg—Leah because she actually liked it, and Maggie because she was trying to impress Dan. But while Dan filled first their cups, then his, I zeroed in on a table with a bunch of bottles of expensive looking booze and a few mixers.

My stomach flip-flopped a little at the sight of the vodka bottle, so I avoided that, choosing whiskey instead and adding a generous amount of Coke to the cup too. It tasted sweet with a pleasant burn, and it warmed my chest as I swallowed the first sip.

We made our way outside, where music boomed so loud I couldn’t believe the neighbors hadn’t called the cops. Then again, I wasn’t sure where the closest neighbors even were. The houses up in the hills were all pretty spread out.

I saw a lot of Oak Park kids, but there were a bunch of people I didn’t recognize—students from other schools, probably. It was perfect. Since the new kids didn’t know me, they didn’t know the standing order was to treat me like dirt. One guy even asked me to dance. He was tall and built, with a dark tee hugging his biceps, and before I could really consider my answer, Leah and Maggie were shoving me toward him and the corner of the massive yard that’d been designated the “dance floor”.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close to his body as we swayed to the music. I’d already downed most of my whiskey and Coke, and it felt good to move. He told me his name, which I promptly forgot, and when the first song ended, he kept holding me and we kept moving until another song started up.

A sudden awareness made the back of my neck tingle, and I glanced over toward the far end of the yard, where another table with booze was set up. The Princes all stood in front of it—and all of them had their gazes fixed on me.

Something was different about the image than usual though.

A lot of the time, they seemed to function almost as a single entity, standing shoulder to shoulder like a wall of power. But right now, they looked distinctly separate. Each of them had a different expression on his face, although none of them looked happy. Mason was the closest, and I saw his hands curl into a fists by his sides.

Jesus. Could they not let me have a moment of peace? One second of fun?

Not wanting to risk some kind of fight when we’d only just gotten to the party, I pulled away from my dance partner after the song ended and made some excuse about needing another drink. I tracked the Princes out of the corner of my eye, but none of them followed me as I made my way across the lawn toward my friends.

Determined not to let them ruin my good time, I threw myself into drinking with the same single-minded focus I’d used to study for my exams.

I could be very good at something when I set my mind to it.

“Talia! Slow down, girl.” Two hours later, Leah laughed as I polished off my fourth whiskey and Coke, which had been a lot heavier on the whiskey than the Coke. “How are you not shit-faced?”

I scoffed, pointing a slightly unsteady finger at her. “Joke’s on you. I am very shit-faced.” I giggled as I leaned my head on Dan’s shoulder.