Page 5 of The Boy Next Door
“A what! A rat?” Her eyes go wide.
“Yeah. I got rid of it. Don’t worry.”
Her expression goes soft. “You didn’t kill it, did you?”
If I say I killed the rat, she won’t talk to me for the rest of the night. “Of course not,” I say, squeezing her shoulder. “I scooped it up in the dustpan and put it out back.”
That earns me a wide smile. “You’re so sweet, Ev.” She pats my back as she struts around me. “I’m going to get some more glasses.”
She disappears to the back, and I settle in behind the bar, feeling like a lead weight has been lifted off my dick.
The front door flies open and slams against the wall with a bang, but no one in the bar even flinches. Winston Carlson, frat boy extraordinaire, staggers in solo, which tells me he must have been kicked out of Killigan’s across the street.
When he reaches the bar, he leans over the counter and winks at me. “Emma working?” he asks, and his ultra-bleached, trust-fund smile makes me want to punch him right in the face.
“Go fuck yourself.”
“You know, I thought you were a man’s man, Drake.” He laughs. “But what kinda guy would be friends with a girl like Emma and not have fucked her at least once?”
As much as I hate him, he’s right. What kind of guy wouldn’t have slept with her? Me. The guy with the bad reputation. The guy she knows she’s too good for.
The guy who has been in love with her since he met her on the playground when they were six.
That’s the problem, I’m in love with my best friend, and I can’t risk freaking her out. I fucking love that girl, but it’s better to love her and never have her the way I want than lose her altogether.
Winston slaps his hand on the counter. “Shithead? You gonna answer my question?”
“What do you want to drink?” I ask, annoyed.
“Coors.” He takes a seat at the bar, folding his arms over the counter. “Now, the question is...what lucky bastard is going to get to pop that sweet cherry?”
“I swear to God, if I wasn’t at work I’d beat your ass.” My jaw tightens as I grab a beer from the cooler. I don’t want to think about Emma giving herself to some asshole like Winston. I’ve done my best to keep guys away from her. The one time shedidhave a steady boyfriend—fucker—I managed to climb through her window any time they were alone. In a way, I pride myself in acting as her own personal chastity belt, but I can’t do that for the rest of my life.
I pop the top before placing the beer in front of Winston. He takes a sip while glaring at me.
“Ah.” He chuckles. “You don’t know about the auction, do you?”
“That beer’s four bucks, dipfuck.”
“You should look it up, Drake. The virgin auction Beta Kappa Nu is putting on.”
How drunk is he? Those girls are the goody-goodies on campus. They volunteer at the animal shelter. Take bananas to the retirement home. They arethe lastgirls that would ever do a virginity auction. Maybe he has them confused with the Kappa Omega Mu girls...
“Four bucks,” I say.
He fishes his wallet from his pocket and tosses a five on the counter. “It’s almost too good to be true. An entire sorority of virgins up for grabs—your precious little Emma included.” He chugs his drink, then slams the can on the counter before belching. “And just to be clear, that pussy is as good as mine.”
The way he’s talking about my Emma makes me want to punch him. My jaw clenches. Heat fires over my face, spreading down my neck and arms until my hands are drawn into tight fists.You can’t beat his ass in the bar. You cannot beat his ass in the bar...
The door leading to the kitchen opens and Emma steps out with another rack of glasses. Winston catcalls at her, and she breezes right past him.
“Ah, come on, Emma. When are you gonna let me take you out?” he says, pushing away from the bar and following her around to the side. Just as she sets the glasses on the counter, I move to block Winston’s path.
With a smile, he peers over my shoulder, nodding. “Fuckin’ A.”
I spin around and see Emma bent over, her ass on display. “I’ll get the glasses,” I snap.
Emma pushes the last glass on the shelf, then turns and glares at me. “What’s your deal tonight?”
