Page 1 of Drive Me Wilde

prologue

. . .

Indi

13 years earlier

"Indi, hurry, grab that hot man of yours and come over to the balloon arch. The cheer squad is going to take a photo of all the couples." Susie hurries off in a flurry of teal satin and golden curls. I glance around the ballroom. Everyone walked in looking energetic and dapper and ready for the big night, but postures have deflated and crisp tuxes and dresses look crumpled and sad. It's been a long night. I'm holding my shoes because I would have screamed in pain if I wore them for one more second. The rum-laced colas we've been sipping in the hotel room between sets are making me think I'll never drink cola or rum again. Zach's tall, dark head is usually easy to spot in a crowd, but I don't see him anywhere.

"Indi!" Susie waves frantically from across the room. She still has tons of energy. On the cheer squad, we call her "hummingbird"because she never runs out of steam. I walk across the tile floor. It's sticky and gritty and the last place I want to put my bare feet, but I'll walk over hot coals before putting on the torturous pair of pink heels hanging from my fingers.

The rest of the squad is already standing under the balloon arch practicing their pouty smiles and sultry gazes. Their dates stand nearby looking bored as they pass around a silver flask.

I walk up to the guys. "Have any of you seen Zach?"

Noah Hardy, Emily's boyfriend, is drunk. He looks me up and down, slowly, then sways on his feet. "There she is—the jewel of the school." He laughs at his comment. "Where's your crown, school jewel?" His words stretch long, and he's blinking in slow motion. I step back worried he'll puke on my dress.

I look at the other guys. Most of them play football with Zach. "Anyone seen Zach?"

"Haven't seen him," a few mutter in unison. They're all so drunk, I'm not entirely sure they'd remember if they had seen him.

"Emi, baby, where the hell have you been?" Noah's drunkenness seems to evaporate when he spots his girlfriend running across the room.

Emily's sobbing hysterically, leaving rain puddles behind as she reaches us. "They're fighting. It's bad." She throws herself into Noah's arms.

I look up but don't see a fight. Emily tends to be overdramatic. She is the one person on the cheer squad I never bonded with. I see my brother, Weston, charging through the ballroom, and others follow him. He slams out the exit doors. Some of the chaperones race that direction too.

I toss my shoes on a chair and run to the exit. A group of people are standing under the overhang of the building avoiding the heavy downpour as they watch two figures throwing punches in the middle of the parking lot.

"Zach!" I scream. The asphalt is cold and wet and sharp on my feet. Jameson plows his fist into Zach's stomach. Zach stumbles back and lands hard on the ground. His friends rush over to make sure he's all right. It takes Weston and two otherguys to hold Jameson back. Jameson has blood running down his chin, and his knuckles are bleeding. In the darkness and the pouring rain, his pale blue gaze finds me. He looks positively feral as he tries to pull free from Weston's grasp.

I stomp over to him, ignoring the grit that's impaling my feet. There's a flicker of something beyond rage in his gaze. He flinches as I scream at him. "You asshole!" I move closer and lower my voice. "You fucking ruin everything. I hate you."

Blood mixes with rainwater, and it pours like a river from his bottom lip. The tension leaves his body, and the anger in his gaze is replaced by that hardened, lost look he wears so often. He yanks his arms free.

Mr. Connors, the vice principal, arrives. "Well, Mr. Wilde, looks like you just got yourself a suspension. Don't expect to walk at graduation."

I don't realize our gazes are still locked until Jameson pulls his away. He turns to Mr. Connors. "Twoof us were fighting," he reminds him.

"And I'll bet a year's salary that you started it."

"Right, well, that's it then. Guess you're judge and jury. Make it an expulsion. I'm not going back to that fucking school." Jameson turns his gaze my direction once more before leaving.

I watch as he walks away, his broad shoulders still taut in defiance. Weston takes my arm. "You should get out of the rain." I look back and see that Zach's been walked inside.

I'm soaking wet and shivering, but it's more from the last few moments than the late spring rainstorm.

"What was that about?" Even my voice is shaky.

Weston shakes his head. "No idea. Let's go check on Zach."

We head back inside, past the big neon sign welcoming us to prom night and past the fake palm trees brought in to add to the tropical theme. The shiny tile floor in the elegant entryway is slippery with rain. Zach is sitting on a chair that someonepulled from the ballroom. Mrs. Norton, the girls' softball coach, is dabbing a cut under Zach's eye. Emily is standing nearby, still sobbing. Even her boyfriend has given up trying to console her.

People step out of the way to let me pass through. Zach reaches for my hand as I near him. I stoop down next to him. "What happened? Why did you and Jameson fight?"

His face drops, and he shakes his head. "It was nothing."

Mrs. Norton scoffs. "That didn't look likenothing." She clucks her tongue next. "Those Wilde boys, they're nothing but trouble." She continues to blot at the cut.

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