Page 99 of The Golden Boys
“Sip and pass,” Marcus instructs, handing the cup over to Dane next.
He reacts pretty much the same as Southside before I take a swig and give it to Sterling.
The stuff’s always awful, but this year … something tastes even more off than usual. I watch as others go in on it, but no one else seems to notice, so I figure it must just be me.
A second later, the music kicks up again and the chalice is already making its second round. Marcus is keeping an eye out for when it’ll need another refill, which won’t be long.
Joss bobs over, perfectly sober tonight. From what Dane told us, she got in pretty big trouble after Homecoming. My brother, the hero, was fully prepared to take the heat—despite having nothing to do with how much she drank that night—but Joss wouldn’t hear of it. Possibly because we all know how much her dad hates him already.
Which isn’t an overstatement at all. Judge Francois would skin my brother alive if given the chance. In his eyes, Dane’s nothing but a self-absorbed pretty boy with nothing going for him, and I’m guessing he sees how he stares at his daughter. Still, the judge is only half right.
Dane would definitely kiss his own ass if he could, but the kid’s going places.
“I feel like dancing,” Joss announces.
Recalling the stunt Dane pulled at Homecoming, it’s the perfect opportunity to get him back. So, I take Joss’s hand before he has the chance.
“Know what? Me, too,” I announce, cock-blocking Dane about as thoroughly as Parker did to me a little while ago.
Joss doesn’t think twice about getting out there with me, and I hope Dane feels the burn. The same burn I felt in the center of my chest when he thought it was a good idea to grind all over Southside’s ass. Granted, I’d never touch Joss like that, but he could still sit this one out, wishing it was him instead of me.
Not so funny now is it, dickhead?
Joss is vibing out, getting into the song and I’m only halfway there, because I’m on the hunt again. Like always. Hoping to catch a glimpse of the one girl I should never want as badly as I do.
I spot her and it seems she’s already feeling the effects of Marcus’s Monster Mix. She lowers into a seat and I recall my first taste of that shit. It hit me pretty much the same way.
“Uh-oh,” Joss says, nodding to my left where Parker’s storming toward me. “That’s my cue to move it along. I don’t do crazy. Later.”
I wish I could make a run for it, too, but Parker’s like a heat-seeking missile when it comes to me. There’s no place to hide.
Not even in a mausoleum, apparently.
“We need to talk,” she demands, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder. I hadn’t gotten a good look before now, but that little number she’s wearing is thinner than I realized.
I only follow her to the tree line so she doesn’t make a scene.
“What?” I ask flatly, already wanting more space between us.
She flashes an incredulous look my way. “Are you kidding me, West? What the hell was that I walked in on? One minute you’re giving me and the girls carte blanche to terrorize this bitch, then I catch you with your dick in her hand? I mean, I know you’ll screw anything that moves, but she is way,waybeneath you,” she insists. “You have to know that.”
My brow twitches with curiosity.
“Wait … you don’t realize that …you’rebeneath me?”
The question has her mouth gaping open for a moment, but in true Parker Holiday fashion, she rebounds quickly.
“Don’t be an ass West.” She scolds me, then, which only encourages me to be evenmoreof a dick.
“Ah, I see what happened. You’re confused because I fucked you,” I say with a grin. “Guess this mistake is right up there with you thinking that opening your legs for me will eventually lead to me feeling something for you.” As my smirk turns into laughter, I feel an adrenaline rush coming on. “You reallyarea fucking idiot, aren’t you?”
Even with what little light there is, I see her face turning redder by the second.
“You are such a dick,” she scoffs.
I shrug. “I’m a dick and you giveterriblehead,” I shoot back. “Honestly, you should consider taking pointers from some of your friends. Especially Ariana. I taught her well. Girl listened to every pointer I’ve ever given her.”
I see tears and my heart beats faster.