The Peer and the Puppet (When Rivals Play #1) - B.B. Reid Page 0,141

to have to prove it’s what you really want because I won’t ever stop trying.”

She suddenly had trouble meeting my gaze. “You’ll get bored, Ever. You always do.”

My eyes narrowed as I pushed away from the door. “You think I got bored?” Four was the single most fascinating person I’d met in a long time. She was an amalgamation of right and wrong and exactly the girl my mother warned would steal my heart and then dare me to take it back.

“I think you seek me out when you need a thrill and then toss me aside when you’re done playing.”

“If you truly believed that, you wouldn’t be worried about me winning you back.”

“I’m not worried because you never had me.” I listened to the lie slip through her perfect lips and smiled.

“Oh, baby, you’re terrified.”

THE POLICE SHOWED UP BEFORE I could deny his claim, so Ever and I got out of dodge before the police could ask us for ID. Tyra and I had ridden to the party with Jamie who had been happy to have a DD. “As a rule, I don’t let chicks drive my wheels, but Four, you’re a one of a kind chick.”

Since he had managed to shed his sobriety within an hour of arriving, I jumped into the driver’s seat. Starting the car, I caught sight of Vaughn carrying a giggling Tyra bridal style to his car. The front passenger door was yanked open, and assuming it was Jamie, I flashed a smile only for it to fall when Ever slid his long frame inside the Wrangler.

“Didn’t you ride with Vaughn?” I was hoping he’d take the hint and get lost.

Instead, he flashed a wicked grin and got comfortable. The back door opened a moment later, and Jamie dived inside.

“I didn’t say you were welcome in my ride,” Jamie slurred.

“You gonna make me leave, motherfucker?”

Tired of watching them lock horns, I drove off before either one of them could make good on the challenge.

Jamie reached from the back seat and tossed his phone with the GPS activated into my lap. “There’s another party not far from here.”

“She’s not going to another party,” Ever dictated.

I had been ready to call it a night until Ever’s highhandedness forced me into another rebellion. When would he learn?

I followed the GPS while Jamie clumsily changed clothes in the back seat. Twenty minutes later, we arrived at a corn maze in the middle of nowhere. There were maybe ten or fifteen cars parked every which way. I sent a text to Tyra.

Where are you?

She immediately responded:

TYRA: The party pooper is taking me home. Talk tomorrow. <3

We jumped out, and Jamie immediately announced that he was going to find the beers before taking off. Music was already blaring, drinks were being passed around, the conversation was flowing, and every once in a while, I’d hear a scream or two followed by raucous laughter. It wasn’t until a breeze touched my skin that I realized why this wasn’t such a smart idea.

I casually looked around and caught Ever eyeing me.

“You’re cold, aren’t you?”

“No.” Another breeze came making me shiver violently. Why didn’t I bring a change of clothes? Better yet, why couldn’t I have given my stupid pride a rest?

Shaking his head, he stomped around me and yanked open the back of the Wrangler. After digging around, I nearly cried tears of joy when he found a sweatshirt. Bliss was short-lived, however, when he shoved the sweatshirt over my head.

“I can take care of myself,” I huffed when my head was free, and the sweatshirt fell halfway down my thighs. It covered more than the tape did and instantly provided me with warmth.

“If you were any good at it, you wouldn’t be here.”

“No. If you weren’t such a dick, I wouldn’t be here.”

“You thought you’d teach me a lesson by torturing yourself? Smart.” His sarcasm—and maybe because he was right—had me turning away and rushing toward the entrance of the maze. I thought for sure he’d follow me, but when I glanced over my shoulder, I realized I was alone.

Shrugging, I rounded the first corner and was almost run down by a redheaded cheerleader fleeing from the clutches of some asshole wearing a Freddy Krueger mask. When my heart rate finally slowed, I moved through the maze, though a bit more cautiously. After ten minutes of trying to find the exit, I accepted that I was lost. It was unfortunate that I’d also left my phone in the car. I kept