Page 13 of Muse (Fighting Fate)

a car we would all be ready to climb into bed, but we weren’t. Maybe it was the red bull. Maybe it was just because we knew we were finally home. Whatever it was though, we were wired.

We mucked around for a bit while Aiden took Mia home. Matt shot off a few texts, and by the time Aiden was back, the house was starting to fill up with people.

Apparently we were having a party.

We didn’t end up mucking around with my new song. Instead, we ripped out all our other ones, as well as a few covers for our friends.

When we decided to call it quits and just plug in Matt’s iPod, I grabbed a beer and followed Aiden outside for some fresh air. I was there for a total of ten seconds before Kacey came sliding on up to me. I groaned internally. Maybe I just needed to do it. Maybe this was the way to get over my guilt.

Putting my hand on her lower back, I bent down and whispered in her ear. “Want to go find some privacy?”

She beamed up at me, and I was suddenly pulling her through the crowd towards the bedrooms. I took her to the closest one, which just happened to be Dean’s room, and closed the door behind us.

I pushed her up against the wall and kissed her hard. She giggled against my mouth, annoying me, so I kissed her harder, trying to shut her up. My hands found her hips and I pulled her against me. Her lips parted, her tongue seeking out mine, and she wrapped her arms around my neck.

She tasted like some sickly sweet raspberry drink she’d been having, and I had to force myself not to pull away from it. I moved my hands under her top, running them over her ribs, but instead of turning me on, it only reminded me how different she was from Mia. Kacey was too much skin and bone. I could feel every rib with ridiculous detail.

Shit. I didn’t think I could do this.

I was just about to push her away, when the door flew open. Dean groaned and rolled his eyes. “Man, you know my room’s off limits. Get the fuck out and go find somewhere else.”

He didn’t need to ask me twice. I gave Kacey a look which I hoped was apologetic in appearance before following her out. Instead of heading for another bedroom though, I walked back towards the party. “I’m just going to grab a beer.”

She gave me a kiss with a touch of tongue before letting me go. I made for the kitchen, but instead of going to the fridge, I walked straight out the back door and kept going.

Chapter 7

Mia

Apparently spending twelve hours overthinking a situation can turn you a little loopy, because by the time I arrived at school on Monday morning, I was completely flipping out over seeing Jace again. It was an incredibly ridiculous notion because prior to our little romp, we didn’t ever see each other at school anyway. Well, besides that one class I had with him anyway.

I was hesitant to admit it, but it wasn’t the thought of there being any awkwardness between us. It was the thought of seeing him flirting with other girls.

Yes, I was turning into one of those girls.

The second Aiden pulled the car into a space, Kaeli was at my door. “Did you see it?” she asked me quietly.

I looked over at Aiden who was smirking at me over the roof of the car. He gave me a little wave that wasn’t a wave. “See you this arv, baby girl.”

I watched him saunter off before turning my full attention to Kaeli. “See what?”

She looked around cautiously before speaking. “Kacey’s post.”

Something sour turned in my stomach. She was talking about Facebook. Not knowing where my voice had gone, I gave her a look to continue.

“It more or less says she slept with Jace last night.”

Something inside me suddenly felt heavy. I knew I had no right to feel cheated, but I did. Keeping my expression even, I shrugged. “We’re not dating, Kaeli. He can sleep with whoever he wants to.”

She frowned. “Yeah, I know, but it just feels wrong. There should be some sort of time period guys should stick to after sleeping with someone before moving onto the next. It’s called respect. I mean, I can totally see why he wouldn’t with all the other girls, but you’re different. You deserve the respect.”

I smiled at her reasoning. “And you’re a little biased.”

She huffed. “Maybe a little, but I’m also right.”

We made our way to our lockers, which were in a small group around the corner from all the other lockers (a request made by my mom to help prevent any anxiety attacks) and I grabbed my books for my first two periods.

“You sure you’re okay?” Kaeli asked quietly.

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