wouldn't have told you about it now if you hadn't threatened to send your sick boys after me."
"Yeah..." I grin as I follow the crowd collecting outside of a tall, metal barn looking building. "About that," I say, "they're not exactly my boys."
He freezes, his hand reaching out and snagging my arm as he pulls me up short. "The fuck, man?" Jake's face is screwed up in confused shock. "You mean you're not dating Carter?"
"Not even if he begs," I reply, pinching the top of his hand between my thumb and forefinger until he winces and releases me.
"What the hell, Avalon!" He turns around and starts back to his car. "I'm fucking out of here."
"Hey!" I shout after him. "I still need a ride back."
"Oh, no," he calls over his shoulder. "Hell no, you're on your own."
God, he's being such a wuss. I roll my eyes and jog to catch up with him, grabbing his arm and immediately dropping it when he stops and glares down at me. "You owe me," I state.
He scoffs. "In what universe do I owe you anything, Ava?"
I arch a brow and cross my arms over my chest. His eyes dart down to my cleavage, but when I clear my throat with a meaningful growl they jump back up to my face. "You handed out my number, jackass," I snap. "To some rich bitch."
"Yeah, well, from what I hear, you two have been fast friends," he replies. "I fail to see how that means I owe you."
I shake my head. "The fact is, you sold me out. You also never texted me those locations you promised. I had to find out about this little district from Corina and her boy toys." He narrows his eyes at me, waiting, and I groan. "Fine," I snap. "Stay. Give me a ride back and I'll give you the earnings."
"What if you lose?"
I twist my tongue in my mouth and slide it through my teeth in the facsimile of a predatory smile before releasing it and grinning. "Do I really look like a loser to you?" I ask. Jake eyes me again, obviously doubtful. "And you might want to be careful in how you respond," I tack on. “I won’t hesitate to take out your ride like I did Kate’s and then where will we both be?”
“Rideless?” he guesses in a dry tone.
“Yup.”
He sucks in a breath and shoves his hands through his hair, yanking at the strands, turning and stalking a few feet away before halting and pivoting back around. Jake jerks his hands out of his hair and points at me. "You're a goddamn siren," he accuses. "You've got a fucking hot ass and a gorgeous face, but you lead men to their deaths."
I ignore the ass comment. "Don't be such a drama queen," I scoff. "I didn’t seduce you. Now, are you in or out?"
Jake storms towards me and then right past me as he follows the people heading into the building, cutting a glance my way when I reach his side. “You’re really not fucking Carter?” he clarifies.
“Why the fuck does everyone think I am?” I snap back instead of answering. “Have they seen him with his tongue down my throat?” This question I do answer. “No, they haven’t.”
“What about you with yours down his?”
I punch him in the shoulder and shove past him into the door when we reach the main entrance. The warehouse is large and perfect for an illegal fight night. It’s situated in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. Jake had driven even further than the day I’d taken the bus out of town for some lake cliff diving, but with how many people are currently crowding the interior space, it’s clear that despite the location, it’s popular and well known.
Already, there’s a certain electricity in the air. It hovers over everyone, a building anticipation of the night’s events to come.
“You know,” Jake says absently as he finds his way back to my side, “you never answered my question.”
“You never answered mine,” I point out.
He shoves his hands into his pockets as we find a good spot towards the back—it looks like someone has carted out old bleachers and people are starting to claim their watching spots around what looks to be a large black fenced-in cage.
“People may not have seen the two of you sucking face,” he finally says with a glance around—I assume to make sure the closest people are too absorbed in what they’re seeing to eavesdrop on our