His lips tilt up into a sneer, blue eyes narrowing as he takes in my summer dress. "You disappoint me, Ariella." He tuts at me like I'm in trouble. "What happened to wearing something tight? Kingston will not be pleased."I flush red, shifting to put most of my weight on my left leg as I pop my hip out. "I don't have anything tight." I shrug, eyes darting to the party happening behind him. He nods and shrugs. "Looks like I owe Ivy ten bucks." I frown at him, taking in the way his messy blond hair looks perfect, "Are you guys betting against me?" "Would you get mad if I said yes?" He steps off the front porch and walks towards me. When he's standing in front of me, I tilt my head back so I can look at him. He's so fucking tall. My gaze drifts to his biceps, then his chest. If I spilled a drink on him, would he take it off? My breath hitches, skin lighting up when he curls a strand of my hair around his index finger. He gives it a firm tug, causing a dull ache when he pulls it hard
"How about a game?" He asks when I don't say anything, eyes still glued to the dildo wearing unicorn. Only when he's out of sight do I turn my attention back to Kingston. "Huh?" "Wanna play a game?" He chuckles, hand reaching up to tuck a strand of brown hair behind my ear. I suck in a breath when his warm fingers graze my cheek."I don't want to end up with a dildo on my forehead." I giggle with a shake of my head. His green eyes light up at the idea. Fuck, he's so beautiful, it's unfair. "As entertaining as that sounds, we don't have to play dare.""No?" I ask with furrowed brows. "What kind of game then?" I force myself to look away. I find myself staring at two guys making out on the other side of the room. My eyebrows raise in surprise. Being part of the LGBTQ+ community is a huge no-no in Bethany. My eyes dart to Kingston in question. When he sees what I was staring at, he laughs."Never seen two dudes make out before?" He asks, voice curious. I shake my head, eyes darting ba
I stop at the edge of the crowd, eyes searching for a girl with black hair. I find her against the wall, talking to a guy. I rush to her and drag her away, ignoring her protests. I stop in the middle of the floor, surrounded by all the other bodies. I turn to face her with an excited smile on my face, and I start to dance. I don't ever get to do this. I don't go to parties and drink. I don't dance. And I'm forever regretful for not going sooner. I wave my hands in the air, fingers wiggling. I have amazing spirit fingers. "Are you drunk?" Ivy laughs. She starts to sway her hips, her arms raising, and she looks sensual. The twinkle in her eyes is mesmerizing, and she seems so different from her usual self. More lively.Her allure is instant, and it's no wonder she went from dancing with a female to talking to a male. "Yes! I played beer pong with King!" I shout. I turn around and start to grind my hips into hers, just as I saw her doing with the other girl earlier. Ivy's hands fin
I remember the way Kingston stared at Ivy and me, the dark look in Stone’s eyes."Wha-" my sentence is cut off with a moan."Such a pretty sound from even prettier lips," Haeden murmurs. He bites and sucks on my neck some more, the assault sending shivers of pleasure through me."What’s happening?" I gasp out, my head tilting back against the fence."You shouldn't have come to this party, Ariella. I'm going to devour you." A shiver runs down my spine at the darkness that drips from his tone.Before I can open my mouth, maybe say something to embarrass myself, we hear a crash and a shout sounds from inside Stone's house."God damn it," he grumbles, pulling away. He grabs my hand and drags me behind him back towards the party. "Come on." Dazed and breathless, I follow him.When we're inside, there's a circle that’s formed in the living room."Get off me you crazy bitch!" A girl screeches from within. "How many times do I have to tell your skanky ass?" I gasp at Ivy's familiar voice. H
STONE POVWatching Ariella walk into my house wearing a summer dress that barely reaches her knees almost makes me bust a nut. I forget all about the girl sitting next to me, my eyes glued to her milky thighs hidden behind that swishing skirt. She always knew how to pull off the teasing-daughter-of-a-pastor look.Imagine my fucking surprise when he turns out to have a thirst for taking away a life.I didn't know anyone personally that was murdered. My family never went to church. Sure, my dad is religious, but his self-absorbed ass is too busy to attend a weekly gathering of the community to praise the god he worships. While I wasn't directly affected by the incident, Haeden was. An old family friend of his was among the people her father killed. The confusion he's feeling now - whether he still wants her or hates her entire existence solely for being related to the man who caused his pain - is eating away at him. Either way he's still obsessed, and one is more dangerous than the oth
I've heard hangovers are the worst aftermath of a night of drinking. I've especially heard of the strange concoctions people swear by to get rid of it. Waking up to a door rattling as the person behind it pounds their fist into it while having my first hangover just makes the entire situation worse. It sounds like the banging is in tune with pounding in my head. The sound and feeling so in sync that it’s driving me crazy. I grab the nearest thing to me, a pillow, and hold it over my ears "Get the fuck up!" The angry voice shouts on the other side. It's a familiar deep tone that has my brows furrowing. With a groan, I press a hand against my temple and roll over. "It must've been a good lay," someone else chuckles from outside the room."Shut the fuck up!" the first one snaps back.Once the voices register in my head, my body jumps up out of instinct, eyes wide. I'm full of instant regret as the ache in my temple worsens. I recognize both of those voices. Stone is probably angry tha
On Monday, I wait for Stone to leave first. I can't run into him after seeing what I did. How can I face him after that? Would we just ignore it and never bring it up? I would, but I don't know if he'll want to talk about it. Accuse me of being a pervert for just standing there, watching. Just like the girl in the library when I found her with Haeden.I liked watching.I shake my head and peek through the window once more, stiffening when I see him walk out. Once his car is out of sight, I begin my walk to school. I never realized how many students walk the same path I do, but now that they all throw different things at me, rocks or rolled up paper, it becomes clear that quite a few people walk to school. It's hard to ignore them when we're walking to the same place, but when I don't react, eventually most of them get bored and stop. Luckily I don't see Haeden, Kingston, Ivy, or Stone. I may not have seen Kingston or Ivy when I left yesterday morning, but I'm sure they were brough
Seeing the courts empty, I smile. It brings a little peace knowing I’ll be alone. And if not that, there's not enough people to drive me away. I walk under the bleachers, avoiding the mass collection of gum in one particular spot, and take off my sweater. I lay it on the ground, tossing my bag to the side and sitting down. Taking my phone out of my pocket, I set an alarm twenty minutes from now just in case I fall asleep again.I take out the project I worked on at Lucas' yesterday and continue on with my essay. We agreed to work on the presentation together once all our essays are finished. The more I do as soon as I can, the less time I have to spend with Lucas. Especially at his house.Loud laughter pulls my attention from the paper on my lap, and I cringe. Damn it, so much for being by myself. I glance up, squinting as the sun glares at me from above. My heart picks up pace when I see Stone, Ivy, Haeden, and Kingston making their way to the other bleachers across from me. “Plea