Page 132 of Broken Prince
“Then don’t drink. One of the fraternities is throwing this massive end-of-the-year party. It’s supposed to be epic.”
“I thought you hated parties?” I remember back to when Elijah said they never go to them and would rather stay at home.
She blushes. “You bring a side out of me that I didn’t know I had. When I’m hanging out with you, I see how you carry yourself, your confidence. You never let your fear be the reason you miss out on things in life. I want to be more like that. Like you.”
“Winter.” My eyes well up. “You're going to make me cry.” I hug her tightly. “I think you're an amazing person. You're funny, fun, kind, and loyal. If anything, I want to be more like you.”
“You stop it right now.” She sniffs.
I laugh. “Alright. Let’s go to that party.”
“Yay!”
“What party?” Owen comes over, Elijah and Logan next to him. A warmness fills my belly. Before, it was a forbidden want, something I scolded myself for feeling. Now, it’s this giddiness that I welcome. “Hey, Jellyfish.” Owen nods, shooting me a sexy grin that makes me swoon. He doesn’t hug or kiss me because we’re not in private, and there are students all around. But I can tell how much he wants me by the look in his eyes.
“Hi.” I smile.
“Hey, Siren.” Logan grins. “How were your exams?”
“Good... I think? You?”
His smile falls. “No clue. All I can do is hope for at least passing grades.” He sighs.
“Next year, we will continue with the study groups and make sure your grades don’t get the chance to fall behind.” He might not be at risk of being kicked off the team anymore, but if he fails this year, it won’t look good for his position on the Florida Bobcats.
“I’d like that.”
My eyes find Elijah. He’s standing next to Winter, the two of them leaning in together, whispering. I frown because Elijah looks pissed. I hope it’s not at me.
“So, what party?” Owen asks again.
“Winter mentioned a party at a fraternity.”
“Oh, Eta Nu Chi. I can confirm they have some wild parties. It’s not just drinking and dancing. They have a massive pool, a bounce house covered in bubbles, other games, and then fireworks at the end of the night.”
“Really?” Winter’s eyes widen. “Laney, we have to go. Please! I’ve never done anything like that before.”
“It does sound fun,” I agree. “We should go.”
“We’ll come too,” Owen says.
“We should invite Justin. You know he’s going to want to come,” Winter says.
I give her a grin. “Yeah, can't leave him out.” I have no idea what's going on between the two of them, but I do know they are at least best friends.
“I can't, sadly,” Elijah says. “I have a previous engagement. But you all have fun. I gotta go. See you, Laney.”
My smile falls as he leaves. “Bye.” I turn to his brothers. “Is he okay?”
Elijah hasn’t really been the same since Thanksgiving.
Owen and Logan watch their brother leave with frowns on their faces before looking at each other. “I think so. But we'll talk to him tomorrow,” Logan says. “As for tonight, I agree with Owen. We’re in. It’s the only partying I’m going to get to do on this break.” But he doesn’t look upset about it at all. He loves spending time with Benny.
For the most part, Stacy hasn’t done anything new to fuck with his life or mine. I’ve been good at avoiding her too, and she hasn’t tried to seek me out. She must be happy enough with how things are going with our deal.
Still, being out in the open with Logan like this has me wondering if someone is watching and will let her know we’re hanging out.
“Okay, so we’re going as a big group. No one leaves the other behind to go off and do wild things,” Winter says, looking at me with a raised brow.