The Rebel of Raleigh High (Raleigh Rebels #1)(67)

I hold the compact mirror to my nose, blocking off my nostril, and I inhale sharply. My sinuses are instantly both numb and burning with a dizzying wave of pleasure that spreads through my head, down into my body, down into my arms and legs. For a moment, my body is made of pure light. I’m floating up toward the ceiling. My skin’s tingling, alive with sensation.

Kacey strokes the side of my face, humming under her breath. “Pretty, pretty Parisi.” She takes the compact from me, cuts herself a line, and soon all three of us are flying high. She then takes the razor blade in hand, the metal gleaming wickedly under the bathroom lights, lays the sharpened metal against her tongue and licks off the powder residue. I giggle at the sight of the blade resting on her tongue—I can't decide which of them is sharper.

“Truth is, I don’t think you can handle Jake, Silver,” she says coolly. “You need easing into this shit. Fucking Jake would be tantamount to getting thrown into the deep. Better if you fooled around with someone a little less high-stakes first. Get yourself some training wheels.”

“Careful, Kacey. You’re beginning to sound like you might be a little jealous,” Zen says, winking at Kacey’s reflection in the mirror.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Why the hell would I be jealous of a potential tryst between Silver and Jacob when I have Leon?” Her voice is tight, though. The protest on her lips sounds disingenuous to say the least. Holy fuck. How can I not have noticed until now? It hits me, through the drugged haze of my brain—that Kacey is jealous. Jealous that a popular guy at school is pursuing me, and not her.





I’m consumed by the music. I’m covered in sweat and my heart’s racing, but this, right now, is officially the most amazing moment of my life. I’ve never had this much fun before. Never. My body moves in time to the thumping track that’s playing through Leon’s father’s top of the line speaker system, and every time my skin brushes up against someone else’s body, I find myself laughing at the sheer delight of the contact. Everyone’s dancing, grinding, raging along to the bassline and the beat. Kacey and Leon are practically fucking on the makeshift dancefloor; she’s pressing herself up against him, his face locked in between her hands as she licks at his mouth. Zen’s nowhere to be found, but Halliday bounces on the balls of her feet, grinning from ear to ear as the music begins to rise into a heady, maddening crescendo. I love that about Halliday—that she dances without caring what she looks like. She just has fun. I grab hold of her, grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh my god, this party is amazing!” she gasps, just as the beat quickens, the bassline drops, and the crowd erupts into screaming cheers. Halliday didn’t partake in any of Kacey’s coke, but her pupils are so blown, her entire eye is almost black, and she's chugging water like she can't slake her thirst, so I know she's on something. MDMA, probably, given the way she keeps hugging me and telling me how much she loves me.

“When we graduate next year, we need to move down to L.A. We can get a place together and become actresses. Make shitloads of money. Only sleep with fitness models. My cousin Sarah, you know, the one who got the boob job? She’s been down there for three years now. She says it’s basically one constant party. She sees famous people all the time. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

I wrap my arms around her neck, squealing. “Yes! We have to. Let’s do it! I haven’t had a tan since second grade!”

When I pull back, Halliday’s blushing. She looks at me meaningfully, her eyes wide, brows rising. “Incoming, Silver.”

“What?”

“Incoming. Hi, Jake! Wow, I really like your shirt. The blue really brings out your eyes.”

I can feel the fine hair at the back of my neck sticking to my skin. I must look terrible, so flushed and red from dancing, but when I turn around to face Jake, his eyes roam over me like I’m the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

“Thanks. Hey, you mind if I steal Silver for a moment, Hal? I just created this cool cocktail, and I wanted to show it to her.”

Halliday nods a little too enthusiastically. “Take her! I’ve got to find Guy, anyway. Have you seen him?”

“Out by the pool,” he says. God, his voice is so amazing. If football doesn’t work out for him, he could always do voice over. My pulse is already racing, but it quickens even further as Jake offers me his hand. “Are you a gin girl or vodka girl, Ms. Parisi?” He smiles, and it’s as if the world stops turning.

“Vodka.” I take his hand, allowing him to lead me off the dance floor, and I already know this is going to be great. I’ve been waiting for Jake to notice me for the past two years. He was dating Olivia Jenkins, Kacey’s mortal enemy and therefore my mortal enemy, for years. When she moved away at the end of last semester, he told everyone he was going to stay single and focus all of his attention on playing football, but now here he is, holding my hand, smiling confidently as he walks with me through the party…

It’s quieter in the kitchen. There are a group of guys playing some sort of drinking game with a pack of cards. Sam Hawthorne’s leaning against the counter by the sink, tapping something into his phone. His long hair’s tied back into a knot at the back of his head. He grins when he looks up and sees us. “Ahhh, a pretty flower. Such a dog, Weaving. You planning on plucking this one?”