Tell Me Pretty Lies(37)
“Sorry,” I say, snapping out of it and wrapping my arms around her. “Long day. I’m out of it.”
She pulls back, assessing. “Why didn’t you drive today?”
“Hmm?” I look up at her. “Oh, I rode with Valen.”
She nods, not questioning the lie, then goes to make a plate for herself. A thought occurs to me, and I bend down, fishing my keys out of the front pocket of my backpack. But they’re not there. Unzipping the main compartment, I tip it over, dumping out all the contents. No keys.
What the hell? I know they were in here. I threw them in after locking my car up when Ashley gave me a ride. I stand abruptly, speed walking toward the front door.
“Where are you going?”
“I forgot something in my car,” I throw over my shoulder. I jerk the door open, running down the porch and to my car. Pulling on the handle, I find it unlocked, my keys sitting in the driver’s seat. My brain is about to short circuit wondering who’s fucking with me now, waiting for the punch line, when something dangling from the rearview mirror catches my attention.
The key from the barn. Thayer. I unhook the key from the mirror, feeling the cold, rusted metal in my palm. He did this? Why? Why would he go out of his way to help me? And why return the key? If sending mixed signals were an Olympic sport, he would be a gold medalist.
Maybe it’s a trick. Maybe it means nothing at all. But I can’t help wondering if this is the old Thayer coming back to me little by little.
Shayne
“I can’t believe I’m here of my own free will,” I say, bringing the red plastic cup of beer to my lips. Valen and I already had some drinks while we got ready at my house, and I realize I’m not as uncomfortable as I thought I’d be. Holden begged us to come by tonight, and I’ve actually started to let my guard down with him a little bit. I said no at first, but then Valen talked me into it because Liam canceled his visit this weekend, and she wanted a distraction.
“Is it weird being back?” Valen asks, scanning the crowd of people. The house is bursting at the seams, and somehow, that makes me feel better. Everyone’s too preoccupied with getting trashed and finding someone to hook up with, making it easier for me to blend. “I mean, since you used to live here?”
Nodding, I lick the excess beer from my lips. “Yep,” I say, the word popping from my mouth. I spot Holden coming our way from the other room, making his way through the throng of drunk people. I think everyone in town between the ages of seventeen and twenty-five is here. That’s nothing new, though. With the Ames boys all being different ages, their parties have always been a mix of both high school and college. But they’re usually more selective of who and how many people they let in. This…this is on another level.
“Well, look who didn’t puss out!” Holden yells, holding out his arms. When he bends his knees and wraps his arms around my waist, I let out a surprised squeal, holding my beer out as he spins me around.
“Holden, my butt!”
He sets me down and tugs my dress back down from where it rode up, and I slap his hands away.
“Damn, Shayne,” he remarks, looking me up and down, taking in my houndstooth print mini dress with spaghetti straps. It’s a little too short and a little too tight, but I paired it with black Converse instead of heels to make it more casual.
“Shut up,” I say, rolling my eyes, but the tips of my ears smolder under his attention. “Stop looking at me like that.”
I spend most days in spandex shorts and baggy t-shirts with volleyball, and I felt like getting dressed for once. So sue me. I won’t lie and say that the possibility of seeing Thayer here didn’t factor into my decision, which is all kinds of messed up, considering how we left things. Or rather, how he left me. Near naked. On top of his car.
“Thayer’s gonna love this,” he says, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“What?” I snap, taken aback. No one knows about us, so the off-handed comment catches me off guard along with the news that Thayer is here somewhere. I wasn’t sure he would be with the disappearing act he likes to pull.
“Nothing.” He turns to Valen, greeting her with the flick of his chin. “’Sup, Valentina?”
She gives him a bratty smile, hating that he used her full name. “Not much, Holden Cock.”
“Always so pleasant.” Holden laughs, scraping his teeth over his bottom lip. “But if you want to hold my cock, all you have to do is say the word.”
Valen shakes her head, but a smile pulls at her lips.
“Come on, let’s go see what’s up out back.”
Holden grabs my hand, pulling me through the crowd, and Valen follows, latching onto my shoulder. Holden stops in the kitchen to grab another cup, and we refill ours. Drinks in hand, we head out back where clusters of people are grouped off in various parts of the yard. To the left, an obnoxiously loud game of beer pong takes place, and to the right, tucked into the corner, sits a fire pit with only a few people. Christian, Baker, Taylor, Alexis, and Aiden. Christian and Baker exchange a look that I don’t care to decode, and the girls look annoyed that female competition is encroaching on their territory.
“Why is she here?” Taylor asks, nodding in my direction, a sense of déjà vu creeping in.
“Because she’s fucking family, and she has more of a right to be here than you ever will,” Holden shocks me—along with everyone else by the looks of it—by saying. “And if your insecure, petty ass can’t handle it, you can get the fuck out.”