Page 11 of Sugar Rush
I carefully maneuvered around the lip-locked couples as I made my way up the stairs. When I got to the top, I found myself in a hallway with bedroom doors lining it, leading into an open loft.
As I approached the first one, I could hear loud, enthusiastic female moans coming from behind it. Pretty sure he wouldn’t be involved in whatever was going on in there. The second door was just a linen closet. As I got closer to the third door, I could hear soft laughing coming from behind it. When I opened it, I was treated to the sight of two betas making out and dry humping ona bed. One of them snapped out a complaint and an order to shut the door, which I obeyed only because Jordy wasn’t in there.
I found him in the loft. It was a large area with scattered chairs and couches, packed with people seated wherever they could fit, including the floor. Jordy was sitting on one of the small couches, gripping a red solo cup, having a conversation with a short-haired girl I vaguely recognized from when I’d gone to a few of his track meets. She showed him something on her phone screen, and he laughed. A guy passed by them, greeting them with a friendly wave, and they both waved back.
Relief trickled into my bloodstream, calming the ominous feeling I’d had since finding out about the party. Maybe I’d overreacted. He was fine. More than fine. The sweet smile on his pretty lips, and the relaxed way he leaned into the girl’s shoulder when he laughed made my chest ache a little. He was like a piece of priceless art I could have stared at for hours.
But the moment I started considering just turning around and leaving to let him have his fun, the hairs on the back of my neck pricked up.
An alpha with broad shoulders and a preppy, slicked back haircut pushed past me and headed into the loft, making a beeline for the couch. When Jordy glanced up and noticed him, his entire body language changed from comfortable to defensive. My hands curled into fists, my fingernails biting into the flesh of my palms as a growl sounded from my throat.
My field of vision narrowed to block out everything but them. My instincts had me completely on edge and ready to rip the smugly smirking bastard to shreds, but the logical part of my brain reminded me he hadn’t done anything. Yet.
They talked for a minute. I couldn’t read his lips, but it was obvious that Jordy was confused about him being there. I didn’t recognize him, and I was pretty sure he hadn’t gone to our school.
Eventually, the alpha plopped down onto the small couch, wedging his body between Jordy and the girl so both of them were effectively trapped against the arms on either side. She let out a spluttering squawk at his rudeness, but he didn’t seem to notice her at all. His attention was solely focused on Jordy.
When Jordy tried wiggling out of the tight space to stand, the alpha held out his arm to block him, preventing his escape. When he made an effort to push the stranger’s arm off his chest, the fucker only barricaded him more firmly, pinning his back against the couch. He grinned, and said something that I couldn’t hear but was absolutely certain I wouldn’t fucking like. My adrenaline exploded and shot my blood pressure through the roof.
“Jordy!” I barked out his name as I barreled into the room.
“Kieran?” He squeaked out, even before he’d whirled his head around to see me. Once his eyes locked onto me, he started scrambling to wiggle out of the uncomfortable position. “What are you doing here?”
Reaching out, I grabbed his wrist and yanked him toward me, shifting slightly so my body was squarely between him and the fucker on the couch. Glancing back, I gave him a quick look-over to be sure there wasn’t anything seriously wrong. He looked a bit shaken, but otherwise fine.
“Do you have a fuckin’ problem?” The alpha on the couch asked, shifting into a position like he was going to spring up into my face.
“Do you?” I countered, giving him a look I hoped appropriately conveyed that I was suppressing the urge to murder him on the spot. I noticed that Jordy hadn’t moved from his spot behind me.
When he opened his mouth to argue, puffing up his chest like he had something to say, my lips curled back to expose my teeth. I felt like I was going to turn into a werewolf or something.I wasn’t normally this bad, but something in me had snapped at seeing Jordy, someone who was usually the epitome of calm and collected, squirming in obvious discomfort.
He scoffed, muttering some childish insults about me under his breath, but I couldn’t have cared less.
“We need to talk,” I said, trying not to grit my teeth as I glanced back at Jordy. Before he could answer, I pulled him back into the hall, popping open the door to the room with the betas in it.
“Get out,” I ordered, pointing toward the door with my free hand. My tone must have been enough for them to understand I wasn’t fucking around, because they both hopped up like they’d been poked with a cattle prod, scuttling out the door like frightened mice.
The moment the door closed, leaving me alone in the unfamiliar room with him and muffling the noise of the party, I became hyper-aware of everything. The sound of Jordy’s soft breaths, just a little agitated, dug into my ears, and I could suddenly feel the pulse in his wrist hammering under my fingertips. But I couldn’t let go.
“I didn’t know you were going to be here,” he said, gazing up at me with his round, blue eyes.
“Didn’t I say not to do anything stupid?”
“What did I do?” He wondered, before glancing down to his wrist where my hand was still gripping him. I loosened my hold a bit. I didn’t want to leave bruises on him. But I still couldn’t bring myself to fully disconnect.
He hadn’t really done anything, other than come to this skeezy party full of douchebag alphas that had no problem using their strength to pin him against a couch and god knows what else. But I didn’t have anywhere else to direct my anger. And the thought of what might have happened if I hadn’t been watching had my blood rushing through my veins like a deluge.
“Didn’t you see the way that fucking creep was looking at you? The way he wastouchingyou?” I could barely force the word out.
With his free hand, he pushed his pale hair away from his face, blowing out a breath. At least he knew enough to know it wasn’t the time for him to screw around with me by arguing and deliberately trying to get under my skin like usual.
“Yeah, I… I don’t know why he’s here.”
“You know that guy?” I realized. That was even worse.
“Um, kind of,” he admitted. “He hangs around the youth center a lot, where I volunteer.”
“Stay away from him.”
