Page 30 of Rebel

“I’m not attached,” I said forcefully. Maybe a little too forcefully. “Yeah, I fucked her. How could I not? She’s so close. It’s convenient as hell.”

“Who are you trying to fool, Rebel? I’ve known you since we were kids. Something is up with you and this girl.” Auryn used a rolled up twenty to suck a line of blow up his nose.

Sipping my beer, I glared hard at him. A giant grin lit up his face in response. This idiot was impossible.

“Nothing is up. I’m fucking her, and that’s all. River Harris needs to keep his fucking distance and stop trying to touch my things.” I gripped my beer bottle tight enough to make my knuckles turn white and my hand cramp.

Auryn wiped some white powder from the side of his nose and nodded. “Sure dude. Whatever you say. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you pussy whipped before. She must be fucking amazing.”

Because he deserved it, I punched him in the shoulder hard enough to make his face crumple in pain. Not bothering with a reply, I left the couch and went in search of something harder to drink.

In the kitchen I found Casper being held hostage by a girl who wouldn’t stop chattering at him. Being unable to physically answer her made him the perfect listener. She didn’t seem to notice the bored expression he wore, or maybe she simply didn’t care.

He shot me a look that begged for a rescue. Since I was on a mission of my own, I left him to find his own way out and perused the kitchen for some hard liquor.

I poured whiskey into a glass when two more girls entered the kitchen. They’d both been around campus and had probably attended our graveyard parties. I noticed how one of them gave the other a shove toward me before disappearing into the living room.

The remaining girl must have already had a few drinks. She approached me with the confidence that alcohol instilled. Adjusting her tits in her top as she approached, she flashed me a smile she probably thought was flirtatious but was actually kind of cringeworthy.

“Hi, Rebel. I didn’t get the chance to talk to you at the last party. I was hoping we could hang out.” The way she batted her lashes at me told me everything I needed to know.

“If by hang out you mean that you want to suck my cock, then sure. I have a few minutes.”

I didn’t know why I said that. Nothing about this girl appealed to me. Something made me feel like I needed to prove to myself that Storm didn’t have the hold over me that Auryn believed she had.

The girl seemed surprised at my blatant response. She recovered quickly. Nodding, she said, “I would love to. Let’s go upstairs.”

I let her take my hand and lead me through the kitchen to the stairway. We entered the first bedroom at the top of the stairs. Drinking my whiskey, I sat on the edge of the bed, pointing for her to get on her knees in front of me.

Her quick obedience was a turn off. She didn’t have that fierce intensity in her eyes like Storm. There was no risk of her throwing a punch in my face or trying to bite my dick off. It made the whole thing really lack excitement.

I watched with thinly veiled disgust as she opened my pants. My cock seemed to shrivel up, like it tried to run away from her. Completely soft. I willed it to get hard, to do something other than shrink away. No such luck.

Before she touched me, I pushed her away. “Never mind. I can’t do this. Thanks anyway.”

I shoved off the bed and left the room before she tried to convince me otherwise. From down the hall, I heard Stray and the girl he’d been flirting with fucking. Nothing about this scene appealed to me. I was out of here.

Without a word to any of my friends, I abandoned my drink and left the house. Not yet ready to go home, I went to the gym instead. Maybe a solid workout would help release whatever this was building inside me. There wasn’t even a name for it. At least not one that I was willing to acknowledge.

I started with a vigorous run on the treadmill. It helped to get my blood pumping, but it didn’t purge the knot in my stomach. I moved to the punching bag where I was able to let myself go. Although it helped me release some of my pent-up energy, it wasn’t exactly what I wanted.

River Harris’s face would have felt a lot better. Waiting until the weekend was going to suck. It would be worth it though. He would never look twice at Storm again.

The heavy weight of someone’s gaze bore into my back, making me turn around to find Chase Masters standing several feet away. Arms crossed, he watched me with open hostility.

“Got a problem?” I asked, not really giving a shit if he did or not.

He shrugged. “I might. Depends if you’re still hassling my sister.”

“I’m doing a lot more than hassling her. Not that it’s any business of yours. If she didn’t tell you about it, then you don’t need to know.” I turned back to the punching bag.

Chase didn’t seem to appreciate my quick dismissal. He grabbed my shoulder, jerking me away from the bag as he spun me to face him. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but I’m only going to say this once. Stay away from Storm. You’re bad news. She doesn’t need someone like you in her life.”

His efforts to protect his sister were admirable. I’d give him that. Unfortunately, he didn’t know he was protecting her from the wrong person. There was no getting rid of me.

I laughed. “You are really adorable, you know that? Do you really think Storm would appreciate you sticking your nose in her business like this? I don’t think it’s for you to decide who is or isn’t in her life. Or her bed.”

I probably shouldn’t have thrown in that last bit. He just pissed me off. Chase needed to know that anything that went down between Storm and me was going to happen regardless of what he thought about it. I would not be intimidated, and I sure as hell wouldn’t be told what to do.

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