tucked into the corner, sits a fire pit with only a few people. Christian, Baker, Taylor, Alexis, and Aiden. Christian and Baker exchange a look that I don’t care to decode, and the girls look annoyed that female competition is encroaching on their territory.
“Why is she here?” Taylor asks, nodding in my direction, a sense of déjà vu creeping in.
“Because she’s fucking family, and she has more of a right to be here than you ever will,” Holden shocks me—along with everyone else by the looks of it—by saying. “And if your insecure, petty ass can’t handle it, you can get the fuck out.”
No one speaks. Alexis averts her eyes, taking a sip of her drink, but I swear I see a flash of a smile. Aiden smirks, sitting back in his chair, and Taylor looks around for support, finding none. Valen, of course, is the one to break the silence by snorting out a laugh, and I elbow her side.
“Great,” Holden says, lifting his cup. “Now that that’s settled, let’s get fucked up.”
Everyone falls back into their conversations with the exception of Taylor who looks to be plotting my demise. I know Holden thinks he’s helping, but once again, he only poked the bear. I decide here and now that I’m done caring about Taylor. What is she going to do? Start another nasty rumor about me? Sling insults at me in the halls? How will I ever survive? Note the sarcasm.
Holden takes a seat around the fire between Christian and Baker, and Valen takes the remaining one next to Aiden, while I stand here still stunned, wondering what the fuck just happened.
“Hey, Blondie.”
I look to my left to see Aiden slouched back in his Adirondack chair wearing a hoodie pulled over his head with the strings tied in a bow, matching sweatpants, and white kicks. He’s so hot, he manages to make even loungewear look both stylish and expensive.
“You get all dressed up for me?” he asks, eyes roaming me head to toe, but somehow, it doesn’t come across in a salacious way.
I tilt my head, eyebrow raised. “Obviously,” I tease. Aiden is tempting, but dark, broody eyes pop into my mind, unbidden, and I know it wouldn’t be fair to lead him on when I’m hung up on someone else.
He pats his lap. “Have a seat.”
“Sorry,” I say, pushing my lips into a pout. “I’m here with my boyfriend.”
The confusion on his face morphs into amusement as I reach a hand toward Valen, and she pulls me onto her lap.
“It’s true. I’m her daddy.”
I snort out a laugh and she wiggles back into the chair, making room for me to sit in between her legs.
“I saw a porn that started like this once,” Holden says, rubbing his hands together.
“Just once?” Christian gibes.
Taylor rolls her eyes. “Pretending to be lesbians for attention. How original.”
Holden cuts her a warning glare and she throws up her manicured hands in mock surrender. “Sorry.” She shrugs in a way that says she’s not sorry at all. “Old habits die hard.”
“It’s called a joke. You should try it sometime,” I say. She’s always so busy trying to be the prettiest, the richest, the smartest, the most athletic, that I don’t think she’d know what fun was if it bit her in the ass.
She gives me a bratty smile and then averts her eyes, effectively ending the conversation. I don’t know how I was ever friends with her. I mean, we were frenemies at best, but even being friendly with Taylor seems impossible at this point.
“I think summer is officially over.” I shiver, glad for the fire. I should’ve brought a jacket.
“Drink more. It’ll warm you up,” Valen teases, guiding my cup to my mouth with the palm of her hand. Usually when we go out, one of us will limit ourselves to a drink or two if the other plans on getting drunk, but since I live right across the woods, we can both partake.
The guys fall into some conversation about basketball, and Valen rolls her eyes, completely uninterested. At first, I’m tense, still not completely at ease here, but then we all fall into conversation, and I start to loosen up. Taylor still looks put out, as if my mere presence offends her, but she doesn’t make any additional snide comments. The more I drink, the more I relax. I’m feeling warm from both the fire and the alcohol, leaning back on Valen, with my feet perched on the edge of the