Page 87 of Burnout
“The guys got rained out. They’re almost back to Valley.”
My heart rate speeds up.
“Do you want to go over to Colter’s place? He said they’re going to hang out there.”
I pull my phone out of my bra where I stashed it while we were dancing. This outfit doesn’t leave a lot of options for storage. My heart flutters seeing his name on the screen. Knox sent a text fifteen minutes ago asking what I was up to tonight. Nope, nope. No fluttering stupid heart.Casual.
“But we’ve only been here for an hour.”
Her expression is clouded with confusion. “Right, but Colter and Knox…I thought you’d want to hang out with them instead.”
“Did you tell Colter where we were?”
“Yeah.” Her brows pull together in a cute little furrow.
I reply to Knox, reading it out loud to Quinn as I type, “At a pajama party. Heard you got rained out. You should come by if you’re not busy.”
I drop the location and hit send. “There. They know where to find us.”
I plead to her with my eyes. I can’t run to him the second he gets back into town. That is definitely the opposite of casual.
I can see the second she gives in. Her lips curve up and she puts her phone away. “Okay. Yeah. You’re right. I’m hanging with my best friend. Colter can wait.”
“Thank you.” I take her hand and squeeze.
“Of course.” She pushes her shoulders back and surveys the party. “Now, how should we celebrate our independence?”
A second later she starts singing the lyrics to Destiny’s Child’s “Independent Women.” Smiling, I pull her back downstairs.
We get in on a game of beer pong with Tristan and Corey. Quinn is a boss at darts, but I’m the reigning beer pong champ.
“How is your aim so bad situationally?” I ask her as she misses the table entirely, hitting Tristan’s red, white, and blue-covered junk instead.
“What are you talking about?” she asks innocently. “I was dead nuts.”
I’m tipsy enough that I think she’s hilarious.
“His cup runneth over.” Corey tries to join in, but Quinn and I are in a world of our own. Happy and giggling, and probably obnoxious to everyone around us.
Quinn and I manage to win the first game, but Tristan is too competitive to quit so we start a second game.
He and I go back and forth, neither missing and not giving our partners a chance. It’s me versus him. I toss the ball straight into the cup closest to Tristan and then smile huge at him. I can’t hear his groan, but I can tell he does so as he lets his headfall back and stares at the ceiling. One more cup and I am the champion. Turning to Quinn with arms stretched over my head, I find my best friend looking around the party and not even watching my awesome skills.
“Hey, you’re leaving me hanging,” I tell her. But then I follow her gaze.
The alcohol makes me warm and has completely removed any filter on my mouth. Luckily the music is so loud it swallows the “Holy shit!” that erupts from my lips.
Knox smirks like he heard it anyway as he saunters behind Colter across the room.
Colter is wearing a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. He fits in, but Knox…Knox is wearing his usual attire of black jeans and shirt. If I hadn’t slept beside him, I might be tempted to believe he never removes his black uniform. With everyone else showing so much skin, he stands out as the only one not following the dress code.
Quinn hurries toward her boyfriend and jumps into his arms. He spins her around, kissing her, then sets her down and steps back to admire her outfit. “Damn, babe. You look sensational.”
“Sensational,” I repeat the word slowly.
Knox smirks as he closes the distance between us. “What’s wrong with sensational?”
“Nothing, if you’re a fifty-year-old woman.” I stare at him, still in shock he’s really here. “You came.”
