I beg, and he closes his eyes. "Is this about your parents? Did something happen?"
He tenses up. "Stop."
"No, Cade. Just tell me what's up with you. I can help!"
His gaze meets mine, and I immediately wish I had kept my mouth shut. "Oh, because you were so helpful the last time?"
Okay, so maybe I deserved that. "I can't do something that will hurt my dad, but I'm sure there's another way I can help. I have to get to Colby's birthday party, but when I get home we can figure it out."
He scoffs. "Colby's birthday party. Of fucking course. Your boyfriend."
"What? Colby isn't my boyfriend."
"Stop talking. Stop fucking talking." His anger grows even further, and he punches a hole into the wall, right next to my head. "I'm so sick of hearing that name, and seeing his hands all over you. And you just eat it all up, don't you? Little fucking cock tease."
"Excuse me?" I ask, offended.
"You heard me," he snaps back.
I place both hands on his chest and push him back, not caring that the towel falls at my feet. "Get out."
Clarity fills his eyes. "Lennon."
"I said get out!"
He looks me up and down, my naked body on full display, then grips his hair before storming out of the room. A few seconds later I hear his door slam shut.
I may have been worried about him before, but not anymore. Whatever he has going on, he can deal with it on his own, because I'm done. Fuck Cade Knight and everything he stands for.
THE HOUSE IS FULL of people, from celebrities to football players. Grayson looks like he's in heaven as he circulates, chatting with so many of his idols. Of course, not to seem like a total dork, he drags Knox with him throughout the party.
"You may lose your boyfriend to an NFL player," I tell Sav.
She chuckles. "Please. I live with him. If they want to take him off my hands for a bit, I'm fine with it."
Delaney and Tessa are talking to Asher when Colby finally has a chance to pull himself away from the conversation he was having and comes over to me. I smile happily as he gives me a hug.
"Happy Birthday!"
He grins. "Thanks, babe."
Sav gives me a look, but I ignore it. "Are you having fun? Did you have a good birthday?”
Colby looks down at me and smirks. "I just turned twenty-seven. Birthdays stopped being fun after twenty-one.”
"Yo, Hendrix!" Griffin shouts across the room. "The keg is in the pool."
"In it?" Colby asks.
Griffin nods, trying to conceal his smile. Colby looks over at Asher and nods toward the back yard, and the two of them leave to go deal with it. Meanwhile, Savannah gives me a look.
"What?" I question.
She crosses her arms over her chest. "Babe?”
"And?" I ask, dumbfounded.
She rolls her eyes. "He's totally into you!"
"He is not."
Her mouth forms into a frown. “That’s a shame, because you two would look super cute together.”
"Who would look cute together?” Tess appears at my side.
Savannah smiles. "Colby and Lennon.”
"Oh." She waves her off. "Yeah, it’s a lost cause though. I’ve been trying to get them together for months.”
"Jesus Christ," I breathe. "We're just friends."
All three of them chuckle, not taking me the slightest bit seriously. Even Delaney seems to be on their side, but I just don't see it. Colby is a natural flirt. He does that with everyone. It's part of his playboy charm.
Sav sighs. "Okay, then answer me this hypothetical question. Cade or Colby?"
I groan, even at the sound of Cade's name. "Neither. Cade is a prick I want nothing to do with, and Colby has no intentions of settling down. He's practically a shoe-in to be the next Hugh Hefner."
Tessa laughs. "Well, then you won't have any problem with what I think you should give him for his birthday."
Oh God. "And what's that?"
She smirks. "A lap dance."
22
CADE
I'm lying in my bed, scrolling through pictures on social media and trying to stop torturing myself with the vision of Lennon naked. I'm starting to sober up after the beers I had at the beach with Bryce and Jayden, and now that I think of how I acted, it wasn't exactly the smartest.
All I've wanted to do is get back in her good graces, but hearing that she's spending the night with Colby set something off inside me. I hate that stupid fucker and everything he has to do with Lennon. Even knowing she’s with him right now has my blood boiling.
As I'm scrolling