Page 5 of Side Out

“Theodore Young!”

I hear her footsteps coming to find me in the kitchen, where I’m about to polish off my second glass of whiskey, and when her face comes into view, I down the last sip. “What?”

“Go over there and shut this monstrosity of a party down,” she huffs out. “I just saw two naked people running through the front yard!”

I stare at her, hoping if I don’t answer she will go back upstairs. But as I look at her, I’m reminded of the fact that, despite her personality, Bridget truly is beautiful. Blonde hair, perfect skin, long legs. Physically, she truly is every man’s dream. But then she snaps her fingers at me, and I’m reminded of exactly who I’m dealing with.

I roll my eyes at her dramatics. “It was probably just a dare. Didn’t you do crazy shit in college?”

She looks at me like I’ve grown another head.

I pour another splash of whiskey into my tumbler, down it, and slam my glass back on the counter before sliding my runners on. Maybe getting out from under the same roof as her will help clear my head a little.

Here comes old-man Theodore, coming to shut the fun down.

* * *

Ishould notbe in this house right now.

Ishould notbe at a college party filled to the brim with students who attend the college that now employs me.

And I definitelyshould notbe three glasses of whiskey deep while stepping foot in here.

I spot a broody Dom over in the corner and give him a head nod before I’m scanning the room for the man I know who runs this house.

A split-second later I see a tall, dark-headed guy with dimples as deep as the Grand Canyon in the middle of the living room screaming lyrics to Shania Twain.

The guy on the dance floor is yelling the lyrics across the room at someone, and I find myself smiling at the antics. He makes his way across the room and grabs someone, who I can’t quite see through the crowd, by the front of the shirt and pulls him to the middle of the room.

That smile is wiped off my face when I finally see who the other man is.

The man I haven’t been able to keep my eyes off of from my window.

The man I don’t know the name of.

I stand still in my spot for what feels like an eternity, as I watch Emerson approach them. A moment later, Emerson finally spots me. And… his brother.

And as he stares at me, it feels as if he can see straight into my soul. Even with the insanity that’s occurring around us, it suddenly feels like we’re the only two in the room.

All too soon he shakes out of a trance and practically bounces over to me. And the fact that he’s coming to me, does little to ease the unexplained and sudden jealousy I have over him dancing with some other guy.

Which is why, when he finally gets to me and says, “Hi, I’m Jackson,” I don’t introduce myself like a civilized human being. Instead, I practically growl, “I need you guys to turn the music down.”

harder to lie. - elijah

CHAPTER4

MARG IS COOLER THAN YOU

JACKSON

He can’t be serious.

After a week of catching him staring at me through his front window, which has been both creepy and flattering at the same time, this is the first thing he decides to say to me.

He’s lucky I’m a nice guy.

And slightly buzzed.

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