Page 11 of Unwritten Rules

I waved a hand in the air. “Yeah, yeah. Save it. I need a drink.”

The party was in full swing, and a lot of people looked drunk already. I needed to get a buzz on and clear my mind.

“Brent! My man!” Josh waved me over to the counter where he was pouring shots.

Good, I needed a few. “Hey, man. Got any for me? I could use a double.”

Handing me a freshly poured red cup full of Vodka, we tapped our cups together and drank.

“First week treating you alright?” His eyes seemed glazed over with booze which told me he’d been here a while.

“Yeah, how’s the party?”

“Good, good! A few rounds of beer pong got me relaxed enough. We demolished this cute blonde earlier before her boyfriend took over and got me loaded.” His head was bobbing to the beat and I could tell he should call it quits on drinking for a bit. His being too drunk never turned out well and we both played on the baseball team with me–Coach punished us all if one of us made mistakes.

Last time, it was my fuck up and Josh was due for another soon.

“Nice, man. Hey, I’m going to go pop out for a smoke. I’ll catch up in a bit. Don’t do anything stupid,” I said, pointing at him playfully.

My exit was interrupted by someone rudely bumping into me. I sighed, knowing this could turn south at a party with drunk students. He looked a bit drunk, and his eyes lit up as recognition hit him. “Hey! You’re Brent?” Words slurring, his face contorted into something that looked like anger.

“Yup,” I said, emphasizing the ‘p’ and expressing my annoyance with a grunt. I crossed my arms, looking him over.

I saw what he was doing before he knew what he was doing. An arm wound up and aimed a punch directly at my face. Easily slipping his sloppy punch, I caught his arm. “Whatcha doing?”

He spit in my face. “You slept with my girlfriend!”

A few eyes turned in our direction and I heard a couple of chuckles from the back as I wiped my face.

“So?” I smirked.

Anger grew behind his drunken gaze. “You’re a–a bitch! That’s my girl, man...” He tried to yank his arm from my grip.

“Nah,” I said, shoving him back. “She wasn’t your girlfriend. Sounds like it was just your turn, bro.”

With that, he snapped and charged for me. Another easy slip–he wasfartoo drunk for this. Shoving him to the ground as I chuckled from the pure stupidity of our interaction, I left him in a mess on the floor while he muttered some other insults and slipped out the back to enjoy a cigarette in peace.

Contemplating the meeting with my grandfather, I took mental notes of what I’d gotten out of John before his inevitable–too early–death.Damn Reaper for being trigger happy.Work had been picking up with whispers of traitors and rumblings of something I wasn’t privy to just yet.

Nothing a cigarette couldn’t fix.

I leaned up against the railing, flipping my zippo out of my pocket with a case of cigarettes. The nicotine settled the feelings in my bones and gave me a rush at the same time.The best of both worlds, I thought as I took my first puff, looking at the party goers in the yard living their best lives.

A lot of these kids did dirty business like I did–just without the death part. We all held our places in this filthy little world of the elites. Some of them were here for fun before joining the family business, and others were here to keep tabs on the others. Not all was what it seemed at Willow Bay.

The back door opened and that cute little blonde that lives across the street from me rushed out looking a hot mess.Hmm, I wonder whathas herflustered like that. She adjusted her hair and outfit, looking like she felt out of place here. She looked like the type of fun I was looking for tonight, but her posture said something else that I couldn’t quite put my finger on...

She took in the sights before settling her gaze on me.Why was she staring at me?She did that earlier, too. It wasn’t ‘fuck me’ eyes like the rest of the girls, but more out of sheer curiosity. Maybe my tattoos and overall personality confused her. Whatever it was, I hoped she took full advantage as I raked my eyes over her delicious body.

I held up my cigarette case in her direction. “Want one?”

“Eh, fuck it,” she said.

Blondie had a dirty mouth, too?Just my luck.I held her gaze as I lit up the cigarette that hung from her full lips.I think I like this one.

“Tired of the party?”

Her eyes didn’t waver from mine as she dove into her ramblings. “Not really. I bombed beer pong and then found my friend a soda she’s been looking for.” She held up a can of soda. “But, she’s with a guy so they’re probably sequestered somewhere. Figured I’d chill for a bit before I started back up looking for her.” She took an awkward drag from the cigarette, clearly never having smoked a day in her life. It was cute.

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