Evanescent - By Addison Moore Page 0,65
the gown, the lingerie. You’ve got all the bases covered.”
“We should have a double wedding.” Grayson drips with dark humor as she taunts Laken. “You know,” she glances up at Wes. “You and Kresley, me and Coop. It’ll be like the old days.”
Wes frowns, but doesn’t say a word.
“Oh!” Grayson claps her pink nails over her mouth. “Was I not supposed to say anything? I mean Kres was telling me all about how the two of you reconnected. It was after homecoming, right? You were running around, looking for Laken and couldn’t find her—then Kres stepped in.”
“Enough.” Wes grits it through his teeth.
Laken and I exchange a quick glance. You can see the hurt on her face, plain as day.
“What?” Grayson feigns surprise. “I could have sworn Kres said you found her in your bed—or was it that Kres ended up in your bed?” She fills her mouth with a chip and bites down over it as if it were Wesley’s balls.
“Nobody ended up in my bed.” Wes gruffs it out as if the topic isn’t up for debate. “Drop it.”
We put in our orders and hobble through light conversation, avoiding the minefield that is Kresley and homecoming. Laken has lost her shine. Her easy smiles traded in for long eyes, the shadow of a frown hovers around her mouth.
Grayson excuses herself to use the restroom, and, to my surprise, Laken follows.
“You hear anything else about that girl? Pearl?” Wes crumples his napkin with marked aggression.
“Nothing.” I take a swig of my soda. “They ever find her parents?”
Wes cuts me a dirty look as if it has the power to set my balls on fire. “They’re not finding her parents, Coop,” he hisses, leaning in. “She morphed into a fucking Spectator in the event your blond ass hadn’t noticed.”
The muscles in my jaw distend because Paxton or Parker or whoever the hell he is tonight, is really starting to piss me off.
“Find a way to dump that body,” he snaps. “The last thing we need is the coroner, turning this over to the government.”
“Just what I was thinking. I’m on it.”
His dimples go off without a smile. “You and I seem to be thinking about the same things lately—the same people.”
“Are we back at this again?” I say, plucking the straw from my cup and pouring the rest of my drink straight down my throat. “I’m with Grayson,” I say, clamping the red tumbler over the table. “Things are great. Sorry if she rocked the boat with you and Laken, tonight. I’ll talk to her—make sure it doesn’t happen again. If you want to bang both Kres and Laken”—I hold out my hands—“that’s your business, dude.”
Wes lunges across the table and pulls me in by the shirt with a snarl locked on his face. “You fucking pussy,” he huffs it out low as if trying to avoid a scene. “I wasn’t with Laken last night. You were.” He knocks me back as he lets go. “I drove to your house, or didn’t your daddy tell you?”
“My dad?”
“That’s right.” Gone is the sarcastic ass he’s been all night. Wes is pissed, plain as day, not one undercurrent of defeat—never a good combination in a power-hungry brat who’s used to getting every damn thing he wants.
“I couldn’t find Laken,” he continues. “She wasn’t answering her phone, and neither were you.”
Shit. I saw his stupid missed call this morning and blew it off.
“I drove to your house,” he insists as if he wants me to admit to something. “Your dad was out front smoking a cigarette.”
My gut bursts in a vat of hot bile. I knew it was his truck.
“I asked where you were, and he said you had a girl upstairs.” His brows rise, amused at the concept. “I drove back to campus, and the only girl missing was Laken.” His chest expands, and I can feel a fight coming on. “Kres helped me track down Grayson, who, by the way, was off entertaining herself with a dick not attached to your body—just like old times, huh?”
Wes leans back and folds his arms. I know what he’s waiting for—the big denial.
“So tell me, Coop.” Wes doesn’t take his eyes off mine, neither one of us blinks. “Who was this mystery girl you were shacking up with under daddy’s supervision? Are you going to try to tell me it was Pearl? You expect me to believe you’ve got dead Spectators giving you blowjobs now? Who was it?”
“It was Laken.”
Wesley
A trail of smoke fills