you invited to the pool where I was hanging out will cause you to fly into a rage and leave bruises on my arm. Got it.”
I saw a flicker of something that I couldn’t identify in Maverik’s eyes, and he let me go. “You can leave.”
I huffed before stalking out. “Unbelievable.”
“Hey, Kitten,” Kingston called as he caught up to me just before I would have slammed the door in his face. “Don’t let Mav ruin your day.”
“I won’t,” I said with a defiant toss of my hair and a look back over my shoulder.
“Come do a shot with me. That’s what I was coming over there to ask you.”
I turned to look at him and was surprised when I saw an honest expression on his face. “I didn’t mean for that shit to go down,” he told me. “Promise.”
I was about to say no automatically, but then I stopped. My goal today was to try and live like a normal teenager, not a ballet-crazed shut-in. Instead of going to my studio, alone, and pushing my body to the breaking point, why not try to relax Kingston’s way? He looked like he was genuinely trying to get to know me, and pushing him away wouldn’t help my situation.
Living life for one day wasn’t going to kill me. Plus, I wasn’t going to let Maverik chase me away. I was too stubborn to let him win.
I nodded. “You want to do a shot? Sure.”
Kingston shot me a grin. “Yeah, let’s go. You like Patron?”
“Sure,” I shrugged.
I’d never really had anything but an occasional sip of wine because of how controlling I was about my diet and practice schedule. But today seemed like a good day to break that habit. If I was going to do this, I might as well go all out.
Kingston called a bunch of other people over and poured the bottle over a line of shot glasses. I got more than a few strange looks from the group as they grabbed shot glasses, but I just shrugged it off. Kingston didn’t explain our relationship to anyone, and I really didn’t care to.
Kingston called out another toast as everyone raised their glasses. “This is to my little Kitty Kat, let’s get her drunk!”
I tried to toss back the shot just like everyone else did, but I choked.
“That’s terrible,” I spluttered.
Kingston slapped me on my back. “Was that your first shot? I popped your cherry!” He laughed wildly as I got my breath back and tried to play it cool.
Maverik walked up beside me, but I refused to look in his direction.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said in a low voice.
“I can do whatever I want,” I said through gritted teeth. “And I want to take a shot with your brother.”
“Another shot!” Kingston shouted at me. A couple of girls gave me dirty looks, probably because they would prefer to be the recipient of Kingston’s attention, but I was beyond caring.
“Let’s do it,” I said as I held out my shot glass for a refill.
Kingston gave me an approving grin. “Just us this time. Mav?”
Kingston looked over at his brother, and I risked a glance. I never expected to see the all-powerful Maverik wearing an indecisive expression, but he looked torn. As soon as he saw me watching him, his expression hardened.
“Nah, I’m good.”
Kingston poured for just the two of us, and this time when I tossed back the shot, I only choked a little. Kingston still laughed as I shook my head as if that would help to eliminate the burning sensation.
“You gotta keep taking them until you toss it back like a pro,” Kingston said excitedly. I could tell that the alcohol had definitely taken effect because he was a little unsteady on his feet, and there was a wild gleam in his eyes.
“You’ll kill her,” Abby scolded him as she walked up to us. “A skinny little thing like her needs to build up her tolerance over time.”
I rolled my shoulders back and scowled. “I’m not skinny. I’m athletic.”
Kingston slapped me on the back. “That’s my girl.”
“I’m not your girl,” I corrected automatically.
Kingston winked at me. “That’s what you think. One more.”
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t completely hold back my smile. Kingston was fun, and his attitude was infectious. It was difficult to stay angry at him when he was making a genuine effort to include me with his friends. Maverik frowned at Abby, then turned in the other direction and walked away. Whatever.