Page 11 of Bond Strength

BottomsforDays had responded.

I don’t see you. Found a different hookup. Sorry.

Relief poured over me. The second Declan had walked in through the door, my whole plan for the night had been shot. Yet I didn’t regret a damn thing.

Even if my attraction to Declan Brannon never went anywhere, I’d steal whatever seconds I could claim.

Chapter five

Declan

Today, I’d planned on tooling around with my battery project at home.

Instead, I’d arrived at Rory’s birthday party, and I already regretted my life choices.

Come to my party, he said. It’ll be small, he said.

My brother was a lying liar full of lies. I shoved my hands into my pockets and squared my shoulders as I headed up the walkway to the house Rory rented with his coworker, August. Based on the cars jam-packed on the street around the property, Rory and I had different ideas of small. With the exception of our family affairs, I considered three people a larger gathering than I wanted to deal with.

We celebrated with a family dinner yesterday, so why he needed a whole different party was unfathomable to me, but here we were. If it grew too noisy, too buzzy, I’d check out. Thankfully, my family never questioned my need to evacuate social situations.

The hum of chatter and music drifted through the front door. My skin broke into a sweat, and the urge to retreat rose something fierce. This would be short.

I opened the door, and Aislin skidded right in front of it. “Declan!” Her cheeks were rosy, and guessing by her extra loudness, she was trashed. Her hair was up in double buns, enough messy strands poking out that I couldn’t look at them anymore. “You made it!”

“Apparently.” I entered the house. The kitchen teemed with people to the right, and to the left, the living room…also teemed with people. Ugh. At least the left route contained a quick exit to the back porch, where I could find some peace.

“Where’s our brother?” I asked. The living room was crammed with family members. Felix and Cor lounged on the couch with Ollie, and Liam sitting between his legs. A few of Rory’s heavily tattooed friends from Alchemy Ink were chatting, which was enough to dissuade me from going over to say hi. The furniture and wall fixtures were barely visible with this many in a small room. Peopling was the worst.

“Rory’s in the kitchen with August, doling out shots.” Aislin rocked back and forth on her heels. “I had…this many.” She held up four fingers, which said plenty for her levels of inebriation. I didn’t mind a drink to unwind every once in a while, but getting drunk had never been for me. Saying I was a control freak put things lightly.

Right. Maybe if I hit the kitchen and said hello, I could dodge out right after. I’d rather clean between the tiles of my shower with a toothbrush than attend a house party. Maybe I could do that once I left.

Aislin slid an arm through mine and all but dragged me to the kitchen. Already, the reverberations of sound started to make my brain buzz. I hung by the doorway as Aislin pranced forward. Rory sat onthe countertop with a beer in hand and shirtless, though I didn’t question why with him. August stood next to him, along with another guy I didn’t know, also in the younger and tattooed range. However, my gaze latched onto one person.

Noah fucking Langston.

He was dressed down in a gray tee that clung to his shoulders and a backward black cap, his blond hair escaping in tufts. It matched his black jeans capped off by black work boots. His eyes glittered, and the damned smile was on his face, as infuriating as always. My skin prickled, and combined with the response from the noise, I fast teetered into overload.

“What are you doing at Rory’s party?” I asked him.

Noah’s grin grew wider. “Well, hello to you too, Dec.”

“Holy shit, you made it.” Rory hopped off from the counter. “Jer here was just going to do a shot off my stomach.”

“Categorize that under the things I never needed to know,” I muttered. “Is the backyard less crowded?”

Rory slung an arm around me and gave it a squeeze. “Yeah. Grab a beer and go turn into a werewolf or some shit.”

I arched a brow. “A werewolf?”

“Since you’ll be guaranteed stargazing, and it’s a full moon tonight.” He let out a loudawoo, and I rolled my eyes.

“I’ll give you a full moon,” Aislin called out, starting to pull up her shirt, which missed the point entirely.

“Fuck right off, Ais.” Rory returned to his perch on the countertop.

The last thing I needed was to see either of my siblings strip down. I lifted two fingers in a halfhearted salute and moved to the fridge. Once I snagged a cider, I made my escape. Noah stood right by the hallway that led to the backyard, which meant I had to pass by him to leave. Bully for me.

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