him.
“Lindsey,” he grunted.
I watched as he grabbed her by her waist. She giggled as he pulled her against him and crushed her mouth with his, kissing her deep and hard.
They broke away after a second. The two guys that had followed wandered a few feet off, apparently watching the beer pong game. Everyone around us was a little quieter, a little calmer.
“Jay, this is my friend Becca.” Lindsey nodded at me.
“Nice to meet you,” he said, his accent a thick French Canadian mess.
“Hi, Jay. Good to meet you.”
He smiled and held out his hand. We shook, and his grip was strong in mine. I pulled my hand back quickly, a strange fear mounting in my gut.
Lindsey hung on his arm and smiled stupidly. “I’ve known Becca forever.”
“Is that right?”
“Sure. Her brother is Climber.”
Jay paused after she said that and then looked back at me, his smile much larger.
“You are Climber’s sister? I have heard a lot about this Climber.”
I nodded. “Reid is pretty popular, I guess.”
“You guess? You must know how popular Climber is. Everyone loves Climber.” He leaned back and laughed.
I felt profoundly uncomfortable. Lindsey was looking at Jay like she was a love-struck puppy dog, but there was definitely something sinister beneath his exterior. Everything about him screamed bad news, from the tattoos down to the way he held himself. There was just something off about his look and the way he smiled, almost as if he did it just to fit in, not because he felt anything.
“Do you know where this brother of yours is?” he said to me.
“Uh, he’s not here.”
He gave me a look. “Are you sure about that?”
Before I could respond, someone appeared at my side. I looked up and my mouth dropped open as I saw Reid standing there, staring down Jay like an angry bull.
“Reid, what the hell are you doing here?” I said, surprised.
“Jay,” he said, ignoring me. “What are you doing?”
“Just meeting your lovely sister.”
“You two know each other?” I asked.
Jay grinned at me. “Only just.”
“We should get going, Becca,” Reid said, looking at me.
I blinked, surprised by his intense expression. I knew something was strange about what was going on, but the way he looked at me suggested it was much worse than I realized.
“Um, I’m not sure.” I looked at Lindsey. “Are you ready to get going?”
Jay laughed. “She is fine here. Yes, Lindsey?”
“Sure. I’m fine, Becca.”
Jay slapped her ass and laughed loudly. Lindsey just smiled at him stupidly.
“Oh, okay.”
“Come on, Becca.” Reid grabbed my arm.
“Sure you must go, Climber? We can have one drink?”
“Another time.” He started pulling me toward the car.
“Ow, relax your grip,” I hissed at him.
“See you around, Climber,” Jay said.
Reid led me quickly away from the group and back toward the cars. “What the hell was that?” I asked him.
Once we were safely away, he relaxed his grip but didn’t let me go. “That guy is really bad news.”
“I know that. But I was fine. Lindsey was with him.”
“You don’t understand,” he said, opening the passenger door of his truck and helping me inside.
“Then explain it to me.”
He climbed into the driver’s seat, started the engine, and pulled out quickly.
“I can’t. Not right now.”
“What the hell, Reid? You can’t just pull me away like that.”
“Yes, I can.” His eyes were locked on the road.
“Don’t be an asshole,” I said. I could feel my temper rising. “What happened back there?”
“Your piece of shit friend happened, that’s what.”
“Don’t talk about her that way.”
“Haven’t you figured it out yet, Becca? Lindsey is a pill-head loser. She’s not worth your fucking time.”
I hit his arm. “Don’t say that about her, Reid. Who do you think you are?”
He ignored my smack. “Don’t be so fucking naïve, Becca. Your friend from high school is long gone, replaced by that pathetic slut.”
“Fuck you,” I said, angry beyond words.
He grinned at me. “Gladly.”
“Seriously. Leave me alone.”
He looked back at the road. “Whatever you say, college girl.”
We drove back home in silence. I was seething inside, beyond angry at him. I hated that he just pulled me out of there and then insulted Lindsey like that, as if he didn’t give a shit what I thought.
I could take care of myself. I knew that Jay guy was bad news and I was getting ready to get out of there on my own. Reid didn’t need to swoop in and save me like I was some baby bird all the time.
When we were back at the house, I climbed out of the truck