Rock Hard: A Stepbrother Romance Page 0,61
felt like time moved differently, like it dragged and dragged and then suddenly caught up. Parties seemed like they lasted forever, the same party over and over, until one day that party ended. Everywhere else kept up with the times, but small towns moved slowly and then all at once, big huge stuttering steps to the future.
I followed Linds into the party, smiling at a few people that I recognized from the flip cup game. We quickly got some beer and then found the same exact chairs we had sat in last time.
“Cheers, to Ridgewood,” Lindsey said.
I clinked her plastic cup with mine and sipped the cheap foamy beer. “Lots of people tonight,” I said.
“More than usual.”
“So,” I said, turning my head toward her, “I’ve been dying to ask. Any guys in your life?”
“Guys in my life?” She laughed. “How very quaint.”
“What am I supposed to say? Fucking anybody?”
“That’d be better.” She sipped her beer and gave me a mysterious look. “There might be a guy or two.”
“Tell me!”
“He’s here right now, actually.”
I looked around at the party again but couldn’t pick out anyone I thought she might be with. The more I looked, though, the stranger the vibe suddenly felt. There were older guys interspersed throughout the gathering, guys that didn’t look like they belonged.
“Where is he?” I asked, looking back at her.
She nodded toward the trailer. “He’s probably in there.”
“Is that who you were seeing when you ditched me?”
She gave me a sly look. “Maybe.”
“Oh come on! I want to meet him.”
“I don’t know. He’s private.”
“Private? What, is he married or something?”
She laughed. “No, not married. At least he fucking better not be.”
“How old is he?”
“Older than us by a few years.”
“What’s he look like?”
She sipped her drink. “Tall, dark, and handsome.”
“Oh come on, Linds, just introduce me.”
“Maybe a little later.” She looked around and spotted someone. “Oh hey, Tommy!”
We fell in with another crowd of people and Lindsey introduced me to everyone. As we talked and joked, I kept glancing around the party, the feeling of unease growing in the back of my mind. I could tell something was different about the party.
On the face of it, everything was exactly the same. But the difference was subtle, a slight shift in the mood. There were the older guys, serious looking guys, but there was something else, too. Like people were afraid to be a little too loud. The first time I had come, I could barely hear the music over the roar of people yelling and laughing.
But tonight I could hear the music just fine.
I followed Lindsey and the others across the party and ended up standing by a makeshift beer pong table watching a few people play. It was boring, but Lindsey kept chattering on about the people we were meeting, mostly talking shit.
And she kept the drinks coming. I only had three, but I was feeling a little giddy, a little light-headed. I wasn’t drunk, not yet at least, but I was well on my way. Lindsey seemed even more manic than she had when the night started.
“And then she totally licked his balls under the bleachers,” Lindsey said, finishing up a story about a girl we went to high school with.
“Did anyone see?”
“Nah. But it definitely happened.”
I stifled a yawn and glanced at my watch. It was almost midnight, which surprised me. The hours flew by imperceptibly.
“I’m getting a little tired.”
“Tired? The night’s still young!”
“I know, but that doesn’t change anything.”
She pouted. “Come on, just another hour. Then we’ll go.”
“I don’t know. Are you okay to drive?” She didn’t answer. Her gaze was suddenly drawn to something over my shoulder, and her face shifted slightly, a big smile creeping across her face. “Linds?”
“You said you wanted to meet my boyfriend?” she asked.
“Boyfriend? You didn’t say boyfriend.”
She gave me a look. “Want to meet him or not?”
“Yeah, absolutely.”
“Okay, good, because he’s coming over.”
I turned just as three guys came striding out of the party toward us. They were the same older-looking kind of guys I had been noticing all night, but they looked even more intense. The two guys walking slightly back were almost nondescript with their brown hair and brown eyes, and they looked almost bored.
But the guy up front was scary. He had tattoos all over his thick, muscular neck. In fact, he looked like one giant ball of muscles, and his intense brown eyes were taking in me and Lindsey like he was hungry for us.
“Hey, Jay,” Linds said, walking over to