Yep, there was something seriously wrong with my brain.
"Hey, Vi, what are you doing here?" Jordan asked, shouldering his heavy sports bag and running a hand through his disheveled chestnut hair.
He really was gorgeous.
"I came to see you," I told him.
"Oh." He blinked at me with surprise, then his gaze darted down to where Rafe's hand remained against my body. "How come?"
Rafe gave my waist a small squeeze, then stepped away, and I felt noticeably colder for the absence of his touch.
"Mattie told me about..." I trailed off suddenly remembering I wasn’t supposed to mention it. Shit. Thankfully, Jordan didn’t seem upset with me; he just shot a sad smile my way.
"About my big bad brother? Yeah, I figured that might come out some time today."
I wrinkled my nose and gave a nod. "Sorry. He seems like a total asshole. Like, worse than Rafe."
The Swiss heir snorted a laugh, and Jordan smirked.
"That's a big call," he told me, slinging his arm around my shoulders and walking with me. "Rafe takes being an asshole to whole new levels some days."
I laughed, but this time Rafe didn’t. Whatever. He knew he was an ass.
"So what's the plan this afternoon?" Jordan continued on, oblivious or unconcerned with the tension between me and Rafe.
The doors behind us banged again, and Nolan called out. "Thanks for waiting, dickheads!"
We paused while he caught up, and he tugged me free of Jordan's arm to hug me himself. "New girl! Did you see all the awesomeness that happened out there? We kicked those Princeton Prick's butts!"
"Is that what that was?" I teased him. "'Cause it sure looked like you scraped that win by the skin of your teeth. But hey, what would I know?"
Nolan clutched at his chest, gasping dramatically like I'd stabbed him, while his friends chuckled.
"Harsh, New Girl. Real harsh. So what were we talking about? Sorting out your complicated love life? How's that all going, anyway? You and Jordy fucking yet?" There you had it, Nolan, Prince of the Guays, Master of Tact and Subtlety.
"Jesus, Noles," Jordan muttered, giving him a headshake. Meanwhile Rafe just punched him in the shoulder.
"What?" my red-haired friend asked, all wide-eyed innocence. Shithead. "Okay fine. If you three weren't about to have a DP threesome in the janitor’s closet, what were you talking about? Was it me? Were you discussing how great I look today? It's okay, you can tell me."
I rolled my eyes, fighting back a laugh. Despite the awkward subject matter—and how hot that suggestion of a threesome made me—Nolan was fucking fun.
"I was just about to tell the guys how Drake is having a party tonight," I said. "And Alex has demanded I attend as his date."
"What? No!" Nolan exclaimed.
"Hell no," Jordan snapped, folding his arms over his chest.
"Not. Happening." Rafe bit his words off like they were poisoned.
I sighed. "As cute as this little show of macho caveman bullshit is, have we all forgotten how very capable I am of handling myself?" I arched a brow and leveled each of the three of them with a warning glare. Okay. Just two of them. I was too shaky and turned on to fully meet Rafe's eyes.
"Besides," I continued. "Mattie has other plans."
Nolan barked a laugh as he relaxed. "Of course she does."
"She's planning her own party?" Jordan asked, and I gave a small nod. "Cool. It'll be fun. Mattie always throws great parties, and if Drake is hosting one the same night, we won't need to worry about Alex and his slimy hands all over you."
My palm reader buzzed, and I gave it a quick glance. "I better run, Mattie's already at my room. Catch you guys later?"
"You bet," Jordan replied, giving me a warm smile. "Thanks for coming to check on me. That was really sweet of you."
I could feel Rafe and Nolan staring at me, and suddenly everything seemed all too... personal. Feelings-y.
A flutter of awkwardness washed through me, and I peeled myself free of Nolan's side hug. "No worries." Without sticking around to make things even weirder, I hurried away and raced up the stairs to the girls wing.
Chapter 10
I eyed the colorful pile of silk and lace spread out across my bed with wariness and suspicion.
"Where's the rest?" I finally asked Mattie after standing there in confusion for way too long.
She frowned back at me. "The rest of what?"
I waved a hand at the clothing on my bed. No, not clothing. Lingerie.
"You said you were bringing outfit options."
Mattie flipped her perfect copper hair and gave me a puzzled look. "Yeah, and…?"
"You only brought underwear."
"Uh," she replied, running her eyes over the array of delicate fabrics. "No, I brought lingerie."
I rolled my eyes. Something I did a lot with her. "Okay, so I repeat. Where's the rest?"
Mattie squinted at me. "Babe, I feel like you've missed the point of a lingerie party. These are the outfit options."
"What?" I shrieked. "Since when is this a lingerie party? Mattie! What the hell?"
She huffed, folding her arms over her chest. "Girl, I told you it was." She paused, her brow dipping in thought. "Didn't I? I'm sure I mentioned it. Or... if nothing else, I definitely meant to."
"Oh my god," I groaned, falling forward onto my bed. "Mattie..."
"Oh, stop it," she chastised me, whacking me on the butt with...
"Did you just smack me with a pearl thong?"
My friend held up the item in her hand to inspect, then grinned. "Oops, my personal shopper must have gotten carried away. Don't worry, they're all brand new. See? Tags attached." She showed me a price tag with a jaw-dropping figure on it. "No flap sweat has touched this pair. Yet." With a giggle, she tucked the pearl thong into her handbag, then turned back to me with a serious scowl. "Now, pick your outfit, Violet Rose Spencer. I want to see at least two princes cracking hard-ons when they see you tonight, or I've failed as your best friend."
"Only two?" I joked. "Aim higher, girl." But my mind had already started playing out fantasies of the two princes that I hoped she meant... and their hard dicks.
Fuck. Somehow it was getting worse. And I had seriously too many issues to deal with to be in this state of constant arousal over them.
Yet, here we were.
“So if we have to wear,” I said, flicking my fingers toward the scraps of lace, “that. What do the guys wear?”
Mattie grinned, and suddenly I was much more interested in this little party.
“Girl, you just wait and see.”
Fuck, now that wasn’t playing fair. But I was intrigued, so her work here was done.
Moving back to the pile, I shifted through them with more interest, finally settling on a black set. It was not as revealing as some of the lingerie, but it had these lace panels that cut down on the ass cheeks and across the top of the bra. It felt like it covered more, but there was a lot of skin peeking through.
Stepping out of the bathroom, I had on the underwear, black heels, and a lace shawl that scraped the top of my thighs.
“Are you sure this is normal?” I asked, running a hand over myself. “I’m practically naked.”
Mattie’s eyes were wide as she gave me a once-over. “Holy shit, Violet. You look incredible. I don’t even understand why you wear clothes when you have that bangin’ body underneath.”
Shaking my head at her, I let out a low sigh. “This is the physique I need to be a good fighter, and it’s better that people don’t realize I’m a good fighter until after I’ve kicked their ass. I like to hide this side until I need to bring it out. ”
Mattie shrugged. “I’ll take your word for it. Personally, I like to let my assets shine.”
She grabbed a set and disappeared into the bathroom, returning a minute later dressed completely in red.
Unlike mine, hers was a thong, skinny straps across her hips the only thing holding it all together. Her bra didn't offer much more in the way of coverage, but I couldn’t actually see nipple. Not really.
“You look hot,” I said with a smirk. “Even if I can tell you have a fully waxed vag in that piece of string.”
Mattie laughed, her tits almost bursting free. “I won’t be the skimpiest dressed there. I can promise you that.”
I held both hands up. “No judgment here. You wear whatever you’re comfortable with. Everyone else can get fucked.”
She high-fived me, and then got straight to work on our hair and makeup. By the time we were ready to head to her party, we were flawlessly made up, and apparently, ready to rock out in our underwear.
The hall was silent when we left, and I took a second to check my palm reader. I’d been decidedly ignoring it for the last few hours, turning it to silent.
Twelve missed calls and twenty messages flashed up at me. Alex.
Not tonight, dickhead. I’d deal with you tomorrow.
Tonight, I was getting shitfaced.
I was definitely gonna slip a nip at some point, but it’d be worth it to forget Alex for a few hours.
Mattie led us along the silent hall, and I followed. I wasn’t closely paying attention to where we were going, but I was almost certain I’d never been here before.
“Dean Morgan isn’t exactly aware I’m throwing this party,” she whispered, and I fought down my laughter.