Frat row is lined with cars and all the driveways are filled. Last year, we were on this street three or four times a week. I’m glad we all kind of backed off this year. Most of the parties are at the beach now, which somewhat keeps them under control. I pull up in front of the packed Sig Alpha house and park right on the grass of the front lawn. The music is pumping so loud, I can feel my heart beating in sync with the tune already.
As I hop out, a little guy who looks a lot like a freshman comes barreling down the drive. “Hey, you can’t park here, this is Sig property,” he squeaks.
“I’ll be out in ten minutes. I’ve got fifty bucks with your name on it if no one touches this car,” I call out to him as I climb the porch steps.
“Deal,” he cries with his hands up in surrender.
Max is perched at the top with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. “I was hoping you would show up instead of Em.”
The second I reach him, my hands shove his chest, forcing him to shuffle backward. “Next time, asshole, you call me,” I demand.
He raises his hands and says, “She begged me not to.”
“If it concerns her, it concerns me.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Message received. Now go get her. Hopefully you’ll have more luck than I did.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Hey, if it means anything, I was hoping by calling Em I’d get you,” he confides to my retreating back. I nod my head because that’s all I can give him right now.
It takes some effort to push the front door open with the thick crowd on the opposite side. I shoulder my way in, searching for her. It’s not hard to spot Audrey in this mass of bodies, and it’s not because I practically have a homing device on this girl. It’s because she’s standing on the kitchen bar top with Mason, Garrett, and a few other girls I don’t recognize, the five of them dancing wildly to the blaring music.
I may be pissed at the circumstance but seeing her again is like a breath of fresh air. When Jaxon and I were kids, we used to go out to the lake near our house and swim all the way out to the very middle. Once we got out there, we would race down to the very bottom, touch it, and swim back to the top.
The only problem is that it was extremely deep. Our ears would begin to pop from the pressure by the time we were touching the cold sand. The worst part was swimming back up. I can’t even remember the number of times I began to panic, thinking that this was going to be the time I wasn’t swimming fast enough and needed air about three seconds ago. Each time the surface seemed a little bit further away, but the second my arms would cut through the water into the open air, I would feel this moment of extreme euphoria.
Seeing Audrey again is like breaking through the water and taking that first gulp of air. Except this time, I didn’t even realize how oxygen-deprived I was. I can’t let her get away from me again. If she doesn’t go to Texas, I’ll have to figure something else out because I go where she goes. But first, time to get her away from these guys and get my girl back in my arms.
Garrett takes a swig from his beer bottle and tilts it toward her lips for her to take a drink. Audrey leans his way and takes in a mouthful. She covers her mouth to swallow and laughs out loud. Mason moves up behind her and latches onto her hips. I begin to have déjà vu at this familiar scene. I yell for him to remove his hands, but the crowd is too loud and my voice is lost in the music. I’m charging forward when someone grabs a tight hold of my arm, halting my advance.
“Watch it,” I growl and turn to face my captor. When I realize it’s only Cole, I reel in my temper.
“Easy...” he cautions.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, still trying to get closer to Audrey.
“Jax called me in for back-up. Good thing he did too,” he gestures to my girl and whistles.
“I’m not gonna get in a fight...” I don’t even believe the words that leave my mouth, so I know Cole’s not going to fall for them.
“Right...seeing as how Mason is leaning in closer to her neck, I’m having a hard time believing that.” His words cause my body to go rigid, and I instantly start shoving people out of my way. I’m fucking done trying to push through politely.
AUDREY -
My Auditing and Assurance class spent the day sitting in on one of Los Angeles’ top accounting firms while they went through their clients’ audits. The day could not have dragged by at a slower pace. Lane went to a different firm than I did, so I got to know Olivia, one of my classmates, really well today.