Page 62 of A Little Jaded
My eyes drop to her lips, and I force myself to nod.
“Yes, you can kiss me,” she whispers.
“What about dancing?”
“What’s wrong with dancing?”
“Can I grind against you?” I clarify.
Her jaw drops. “Did you seriously just ask me this?”
“I’m only trying to figure out your boundaries.”
“And what areyourboundaries, Everett Taylor?” she challenges.
With her? I’m not sure there are many. Not if she keeps looking at me like this. You’d think I’d hold a grudge after she threw me under the bus with her dad. But after confessing how she felt safe around me, I couldn’t help but let it go, realizing it was all I needed to hear. All that really mattered. Not gonna lie. This entire situation has messed with my head from the beginning. Seeing my similarities to Drake. Our differences. Our attraction to similar girls, nomatter how much I don’t want to admit it. The whole thing is screwing with me, and I’m not sure how to handle it.
Rolling my shoulders, I shove the thought aside. “I’m up for whatever sells this.”
“Good, then so am I.”
“Good,” I mimic.
“Good,” she finishes and reaches for the door handle again. This time, I don’t stop her, letting her step outside.
The place is already buzzing. I didn’t think Raine’s nerves could handle us showing up early, so I figured arriving a little later than usual might not be a bad idea. However, when a drunk-off-his ass-freshman stumbles into her, I immediately regret my decision. Holding her waist to keep her steady, I see Jaxon cutting through the crowd, heading straight for us.
“Hey, have you seen Rory?” he calls.
Jaxon is Dylan and Griffin’s older brother. He’s also LAU’s hockey coach for the girls’ team and my former roommate. He graduated and moved out earlier this year. Even then, he was never a fan of our game nights, so why the hell is he standing in the family room tonight while a party rages around us?
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
The guy looks nothing short of panicked as he rises onto his tiptoes and searches for something over the top of my head, barely giving me an ounce of his attention. “I’m looking for Squeaks.”
Squeaks is Rory’s nickname. She’s Maverick’s and Archer’s little sister and is also in middle school.
“Why would Rory be here?” I ask.
His nostrils flare as he turns back to me. “She asked if she could stay at my place because her parents were going out and she didn’t want to be alone. We were hanging out, watching a movie, and she, uh,”—Jax looks down at his feet—“she got embarrassed and ran off. She didn’t take Kovu withher, either,” he adds, mentioning the family’s German Shepherd who hasn’t left her side since Archer died. “I gotta find her.”
“Why was she embarrassed?” I challenge.
Squeezing the back of his neck, he mutters, “She, uh, she tried to… You know what? It doesn’t matter. What matters is finding her.Now.”
He’s right. This is the last place a girl Rory’s age should be, and the faster we find her, the faster we can sneak her out before she sees something she shouldn’t.
I stand a little taller and scan the crowded house in search of a small girl who doesn’t belong.
“Wait, I’m sorry…who are we looking for?” Raine asks beside me.
“Rory,” Jaxon answers for me. “She’s Maverick’s little sister and way too young to be here.”
“I know who Rory is,” Raine comments.
I interject, “Are you sure she’s even here?”
Jax shakes his head. “No idea, but since this is the only real place she knows within walking distance of the penthouse, I figured it was my best bet. If I don’t find her in the next ten minutes, I’m calling her parents. I have a feeling no one wants that.”