Crushed (Torn #7)(12)

“Truly cool, Rob, or I wouldn’t be asking.” College people did things differently than people in high school. Come to think of it, I wanted to grow up and leave my parents’ home just like them so I could do whatever the hell I wanted without having to deal with the backlash of my parents’ ceaseless disapproval of me.

It didn’t take long for the both of us to come out of the pool area. With great caution, I even came out of it without having to splash my entire body and wetting my hair in the process. I could deal with a wet bottom, but dripping wet hair? Not so much. Well, not when I was trying to look pretty and secure a man for the night.

“Where’re we headin’?” I asked the moment we started to walk into the congested crowd of people stalling in the patio area, boozing and smooching it up.

He paused, looking back at me, before he reached out to touch the back of my shoulder, guiding me in his direction. “They’re most likely out in the parking lot,” he almost yelled into my ear, informing me of his hunch as Iggy Azalea’s latest hit song blasted through the speakers.

“Brave men, doing it out in the open.” I smirked, wondering what his friends were truly up to and how they were going about it.

Our amusing banter didn’t seem to slow down as he became too familiar with me by sliding his hand lower, holding the side of my hips before his lips brushed against my ear. “We’re not entirely that disrespectful to the homeowners. Besides, we hardly know who runs this party, anyway. We’re just crashing. ”

I was sure Mister Brody there would not appreciate random people doing drugs in his home. He would go mental.

“Good call there, Rob,” I whispered back to him as I got accustomed to his blatant flirtation. I was practicing, and it didn’t hurt that I was starting with this fella.

“Amber!” My name was bellowed loudly from inside the house just as we almost hit the front door, garnering attention from the curious folks within close range.

Damn. He had to interfere just when the party was seriously about to start.





Chapter Five





“Is that a boyfriend? Friend?” Rob pushily inquired against my ear as we both spun around to face Brody.

“Friend.” I made a tight-lipped smile when I faced Brody’s not too happy countenance. In fact, I had never seen him that way—like he was really about to give me a lecture or something.

Throwing Rob a death stare before sending me one, as well, he didn’t waste a second before he started barking out questions. “Where the f*uk do you think you’re going?”

I would normally brush his attitude off, but there was something in Brody’s eyes that made me think twice. It mattered to me that he knew I was okay, that he understood he didn’t need to worry about me, because that was all this was—he was looking out for me, nothing more.

“Rob and I are meeting his friends right outside in the driveway. I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Amber…” He looked like he was about to hurl me over his shoulder or something, but I stood my ground. My mind was already set on following through.

Reaching out to touch his shoulder, I gave him a pleading smile, hoping he would let me pass without much fuss. “I’ll be right back, I promise.” I silently begged while our eyes duked it out until I found him a little acquiescent. The moment I was assured he was going to let me do as I asked, I winked at him before softly tapping his cheek. “Thanks, babe.”

I wasn’t sure how I managed to function after seeing his not so pleased face, but Rob and I did emerge out of the front door, and I realized I had been holding my breath when my lungs expanded, hungry for air.

“He’s not a happy man; that’s for sure.” Rob tried to play it off with a teasing tone.

Walking side by side, I merely shrugged. I wasn’t ready to talk about my relationship with Brody, though. It was no one’s business but mine. “I grew up with him. He’s not so bad.”

Done talking about Brody and anything in between, I cocked my head to the side, wondering where his friends were. From the looks of things, there were a lot of people in the driveway, and parked cars stretched almost a mile away down the street. Frowning, I wondered who all these people were.

“So … um … Do you remember where your friends parked?” I wasn’t sure if he was high or stoned as f*uk. He didn’t seem it, but those days, anyone could play it off well.

“I got you. No need to worry your pretty little head.”

Sure enough, his group of friends that consisted of four men, not including us, were parked in their SUV with the back popped open and two stoned looking yet friendly men were lighting a joint while the other two were passionately talking about a concert they had seen the other night. When they saw us approach, they didn’t even stall their activities to greet us. They simply went on as if we weren’t there until Rob lazily introduced me.

“You sure about this?” Rob addressed me in a serious manner. “‘Cause, once you do, I mean, I’ll be here if you guilt trip yourself. You know, shit happens, but there won’t be any going back after this.”

Did I look like a child who wasn’t capable of making a damn decision? Of course I knew there was no going back after this. I wasn’t stupid. I went out with him for a reason, and that was that.