horrifies me. “I… I’ll meet you there. I told Megan I would… um… go there right now.”
My lame explanation is right there between us. Aiden squints at me and then shrugs. “Okay. See you there.”
I halfway run to the house rather than walking leisurely as I planned. Then I control myself, more walking than running down the driveway. As I walk the quarter of a mile over to the house, I get honked at no less than three times.
Although I get that you don't see a lot of cute girls in short skirts walking beside the highway, by the second one I start to wish that I’d taken Aiden up on his offer. It’s a quick walk though, no more than five minutes. I turn down the driveway where Megan told me to just as dusk settles.
Cars line the narrow pathway. I can hear the house party from here, the heavy bass line and shouts of party guests. Wub-dub-dub. Wub-dub-dub.
God, what have I gotten myself into? I glance behind myself and see a group of guys walking toward the party. Not wanting to get caught up in that net, I scurry toward the sounds.
The house reveals itself to be a Gothic masterpiece, all gables and dark red exteriors, three stories tall and rambling. There are people spilling out of the open front door, laughing and talking to each other. Each step closer seems like a worse and worse idea.
Then a familiar face turns my way. Carter spots me and trots over, wearing a dirty red button up and dark slacks. With his dark hair ruffled, his cheeks unshaven, and his dark eyes glinting, he looks like a million bucks.
God, maybe I tried out the wrong brother.
“I didn’t realize you were coming,” he says, giving me a hug.
I’m beyond glad to see him, and not just because he looks like he just did a photoshoot for GQ. I flush. “Yeah, me either. Megan invited me.”
His lips curl up. “Same. She isn’t here yet, as far as I can tell though. Come on, come inside and grab a drink.”
He grabs me by the arm and tows me up the front steps. The music here is almost unbearably loud; we pass right by a speaker the size of my body as we head through the house. His height and broadness easily part the denseness of the crowd inside.
Soon we reach the back porch, where there is a keg and a large bowl of something blue on the table beside it. Carter leans over and cups his hands to his face.
“Beer or punch?” he asks, indicating the two choices.
“Ummm… punch?” I say quizzically.
He nods, grabbing us each a cup of the blue liquid. He hands me mine and I take a sip. Incredibly, I can’t taste the alcohol in this at all. Maybe it’s a non-alcoholic version or something.
I turn to Carter to say as much, but my attention is drawn away from him. Aiden appears out of the back door and looks around. He lays eyes on me, then sees Carter right next to me. Instantly his face turns as dark as a sudden thunderclap.
I have another gulp of the punch as Aiden makes his way over to us, glaring at us like he’s ready to cause trouble. God, I’ve only been here for two minutes and I’m already about to be the cause of an incident.
I plaster on a huge smile and move towards Aiden, stopping him with a hand on the middle of his chest. “Aiden! Glad you’re here.”
His gaze slides between me and Carter. The jealousy emanating from him is so evident it almost makes me laugh. He looks down at me, pinning me with his gaze. “I don't trust you alone with him,” Aiden rumbles in my ear.
My fake smile grows wider. “Okay! Okay, no problem. How about you and I grab you a drink?”
Aiden scowls at Carter. Carter shoots him almost the same look, a glare that would kill a lesser man. I need to break this up, fast.
Grabbing Aiden’s hand, I put on my bossiest voice. “You’re coming with me, Aiden.”
At the sound of his name, his gaze slides to me. He quirks a brow, his lips turning up faintly. My cheeks flame; he’s obviously amused by my tone.
I don’t care. Tugging at his hand, I stubbornly tow Aiden to the back door. Once we get inside, there are a ton of people to navigate through. The second he sees me struggling even a little, Aiden takes