On The Rebound (Steinbeck U #1) - L.A. Cotton Page 0,5

of the cheerleaders.

“Messiah, let’s go,” Brad yelled.

“Nah, man, I’m good.” I held up my beer.

“Not optional, Zach. It’s the first party of the year. We always take body shots off the cheer captain.”

“Yeah, Zach, I don’t bite.” The girl—Jenny, I think her name was—smirked. “Unless you want me to.” She pushed up onto her elbows and her tits jiggled, barely confined in the tiny bikini top she wore.

“Messiah, Messiah, Messiah,” Brad started chanting and soon everyone joined in, the words rattling around my skull like bricks.

It’s what they’d called him.

Declan.

My brother.

Their friend.

Their point guard.

But now he was gone, and I was here.

I wasn’t Declan... yet, they were treating me as if I was.

It was fucked up, but I was the only one who seemed to give a shit.

Stalking through the crowd, I thrust my beer at someone and said, “Fine, let’s do this.”

Brad slapped me on the back. “That’s the spirit, Messiah. Now for the fun part. Tits or pussy?”

The girl giggled as Brad glided a full shot glass down the valley of her tits right down the apex of her thighs. She had a skirt on, but it was so short it left nothing to the imagination.

“Tits,” I grumbled.

“My kind of man.” Brad expertly placed the shot there and stepped back. “On three, man. One, two—”

I dipped my head, closed my mouth around the glass and tipped it back. The tequila burned but I welcomed the sting. It was the small things that made me remember I was alive.

Shaking my head, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, accepting everyone’s applause.

“Nice, my man.” Brad squeezed my shoulder. “This year is our fucking year. I can feel it in my bones.”

Nodding, I shirked out of his hold and grabbed another beer. I was supposed to be taking it easy, but the weight of responsibility crushed my chest like a sack of bricks. At least if I had another couple of beers my body would relax, even if my mind remained tense.

“Saul, let’s go.” Brad started the routine all over again and I slipped into the shadows.

At least there, I could breathe for a minute.

Somewhere close to midnight, I finally made the decision to leave. I’d stayed there, on the periphery of the drinking games, forcing the odd smile, acting arrogant enough for most people to give me a wide berth.

A lot of girls loved an asshole though. They gravitated to that shit, but my answer was always the same.

Not. Interested.

Ever since laying eyes on Calli, I’d searched the party for another glimpse of her. If she knew what was good for her though, she’d already be tucked up in her bed, far away from here. What I felt toward her wasn’t healthy. It sparked anger in me so overpowering my body trembled.

Relax, she’s no one.

But that was the thing.

She wasn’t no one.

She was always there, in the back of my mind, taunting me. Her whiskey eyes haunting my dreams.

And now she was here.

It was some fucked up karma.

Dragging a hand down my face, I slipped around the bodies grinding to the music, dodging a couple of my teammates who were professing their bromance to one another, and left the house. The air was thick and balmy with the blistering summer heat.

It was about a fifteen-minute walk to my place, but I appreciated the quiet. Being around the constant noise… the questions… and conversation, it was exhausting.

I was exhausted.

But I didn’t make it very far. There, in the shadows, falling over her own feet was Calli.

Fuck, she was beautiful. All delicate lines and soft curves, with a long slender neck I could imagine closing my hand around. But it was all a lie. She was nothing more than a snake wearing a swan’s clothing.

“Come on, drunk girl.” Her friend, Joel’s sister, said, trying to hoist Calli into her side and pull her toward the path leading to the dorm buildings.

I watched as she struggled to put one foot in front of the other, unable to fight the smirk tugging my lips. She was so fucking pathetic. A fish out of water. A lamb in the lion’s den. It would have been so easy to storm over there and torment her. To whip out my cell phone and document the righteous Calliope James’ fall from grace... literally.

She went down like a ton of bricks, splattered on her back on the sidewalk. Josie looked to the sky, cussing to the heavens. I smirked to myself. You won’t find any help