Thin White Line Read online

  A couple of years? Why am I suddenly so bothered by that bit of information?

  “Who is Scarlet and what happened?”

  “Scarlet was her stage name,” Sadie says with an exaggerated eye roll. “There were rumors circulating that Scarlet was fooling around with some guy in her band and that was it. Deklan dropped her. She was pretty determined to get him back. I mean we’re talking relentless.”

  “Relentless in what way?”

  “Stalking him. Parking outside his house and work. Deklan’s boss even ended up calling the cops on her. She went on to write an autobiographical song about their relationship that was pretty intense.”

  I’m curious, but before I can ask any more questions, the rest of the band meets us outside.

  “Can I get you guys anything?” I ask, doing my part as go-fer.

  “No, we’re good,” Brooke answers and I notice that she finally gives Curtis a lingering glance. He immediately perks up and smiles.

  I meet Sadie’s gaze and we both grin.

  Deklan opens a pop and takes a long swallow.

  A group of girls walk up and one of the girls gushes, “You guys are so good.”

  I wonder what it must feel like to always have the opposite sex throwing themselves at you. Both Ryder and Deklan seem comfortable with their local rock star status, though.

  One of the girls in the group is all over Deklan’s nuts. She can’t keep her hands off him. Ryder laughs under his breath and gives his buddy a wink.

  Deklan sends him a withering glance.

  “Someone wants it bad,” Brooke says under her breath.

  Curtis stands back and watches Brooke, a desperate look on his face. I wish they would just get it over with and make up already. They are both miserable. I honestly don’t believe Curtis fooled around with Laura. I think it’s just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  “Your ass looks great in those jeans, by the way,” Curtis says to Brooke before taking a drag off his cigarette.

  Brooke lifts a brow, acting like she doesn’t give a shit about his comment, but I can see a sparkle in her eyes.

  Ryder actually gives her a little nudge towards Curtis.

  “I didn’t touch Laura,” Curtis says, dropping his cigarette and crushing it beneath his heel. “I want you. I don’t want anyone else.”

  The sides of Deklan’s mouth curve into a grin and he motions for us to give them a moment.

  “Where are you going?” Brooke asks, grabbing my wrist.

  I hesitate. “I thought you could use some time alone.”

  Curtis reaches out, taking ahold of her hand.

  At least she doesn’t pull away. I smile, leaning in towards her. “Give the guy a break.”

  She releases me and I walk away. When I glance back, Curtis is holding both of her hands and she’s nodding at something he says.

  When we head inside, the stereo is cranked, playing a slow song. At least a dozen couples dance and I’m stunned when Ryder takes my hand. “Come on.”

  Sliding my arms around Ryder’s neck, I savor the feel of his body pressed flush against mine. The pill I took has a completely different affect on me than the coke I snorted the weekend before. I feel...relaxed.

  “You smell so good,” he whispers against my ear.

  I smile. “So do you.”

  “I love the bra. Nice touch.”

  I see Sadie chatting it up with another group of girls. She gives me a wink and I smile. That is, until I see Deklan dancing with a gorgeous redhead, one of the girls in the group who had followed us outside.

  Her eyes are closed, her head resting flat against Deklan’s wide chest. I don’t think her arms could be any tighter around his shoulders if she tried.

  A strange sense of jealousy washes over me as I watch them and that bothers me. Why should I care what Deklan does? I’m dancing with the guy who caught my attention from the second I saw him. I should be ecstatic.

  However, Deklan has my attention as well. Rather, he’s intrigued me in a way that surprises me. Maybe that’s it. Or maybe it’s because he was so quick to defend me when Sasquatch got too close and Ryder kind of stayed back, watching, waiting to react.

  The girl’s hand moves up and down Deklan’s back.

  Oh my God...is she actually cupping his ass?

  I grit my teeth.

  Deklan must have sensed my gaze because he looks at me. Since I’ve been busted staring at him, my first instinct is to drop my gaze to the floor.

  But I don’t.

  Instead, I stare at him. He really is beautiful; tall, insanely perfect body, intriguing features.

  He smiles then, a lazy grin that makes my heart lurch.

  I try to slow our steps, kind of moving in place and it works for a few seconds, but then Deklan turns. His shoulders are crazy broad, his waist so narrow, and the redhead’s hands are wrapped so tight around those shoulders, her hands linked together like she’s terrified to let go of him.

  When they turn back around, Deklan isn’t looking at me anymore.

  “You coming by the house after the party?” Ryder asks.

  I glance up into his handsome face and those sexy blue eyes. “Whose house?” My voice is husky.

  “Curtis and Deklan’s pad.”

  Of course Curtis and Deklan’s. After all, their house is the party pad.

  My heart lurches when I look over at Deklan and he is watching us once again.

  “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

  CHAPTER 10

  I want to strangle the bird that’s chirping like crazy outside the window. I don’t know what is worse, the chirping or the pounding of my head…and I have the worst case of cottonmouth ever.

  I reach for the glass of water that I usually always keep on my nightstand. Problem is...there is no glass of water there. Instead, my fingers entangle in hair.

  Opening my eyes, I half expect Brooke to be beside me, but instead, I’m stunned to find Ryder there.

  What the hell?

  With heart pounding nearly out of my chest, I peek beneath the blanket.

  Oh my God.

  I see in a glimpse that I have on panties, but I’m completely topless.

  A thousand different emotions rush through me—most of all panic. Where are my clothes?

  As I come slowly awake, I recognize my surroundings.

  I’m in the basement of Deklan’s house.

  The couch has been pulled out into a hide-a-bed. A really uncomfortable hide-a-bed with a bar poking into the middle of my back.

  With heart still racing, I start to slide out from under the sheets onto the floor. I recognize Ryder’s jeans and t-shirt tossed over the recliner.

  “Looking for this?”

  I let out a strangled gasp. Ryder’s holding up my bra.

  His laugh is nothing short of wicked. “I’m not sure if I told you this or not, but you have excellent taste in lingerie.”

  Thank goodness my hair is long enough to cover my breasts because Ryder’s staring hard.

  He swings the bra on his finger and I approach him, reaching for it, only to have him out of range. A second later he grabs me by the wrist and pulls me down on the bed.

  I feel every hard inch of him beneath me.

  When and how did things go sideways on me? I remember the Pharm party, taking a pill and just feeling extremely relaxed.

  I swallow past the tightness in my throat. His fingers brush along the ridge of my spine, from the edge of my panties to the back of my neck and down again. He kisses me softly and I wince. I haven’t even brushed my teeth, nor has he for that matter.

  The unasked question lingers in the air between us. A part of me is desperate to find out the truth, while another part is terrified.

  I hear people moving upstairs and then Ryder lifts his hips against mine. There is no denying he’s ready to go.

  The panic I feel must show on my face because he laughs under his breath.

  I stand and snag the bra from his fingers, h
ooking it in the back. My jeans are partially under the bed. I yank them out, slide them on, and begin the search for my shirt.

  “I think it’s in the living room.”

  My stomach drops to my toes. “Are you serious?”

  He nods as he sits up and runs a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s on the couch.” Once again he laughs wickedly.

  Shoot me.

  Ryder stands, sliding his jeans on. “I’ll see if it’s still there. I’ll be right back.”

  I rush to the bathroom and wince upon seeing my reflection. What the hell had happened?

  I took a pill and I felt completely relaxed. Apparently, too relaxed if I blacked out. Mascara is smudged beneath my eyes and my hair is matted to the back of my head.

  I can hear muffled voices on the side of the wall in the vicinity of Deklan’s room. I freeze. Is that Deklan?

  Soft laughter follows and then silence. An image of Deklan and the redhead enters my thoughts. Are they making out or doing more? I wonder. A door opens and then light, dainty steps head up the stairs.

  My stomach clenches.

  I turn the water on and resist the urge to stick my head under the frigid water.

  I open a drawer, find some toothpaste and squeeze it in my mouth, using my finger as a toothbrush. The drawers are immaculate, not a thing out of place. A bit OCD, even, I think with a smile as I open up another drawer. A brush and a comb sit beside a hair dryer. I pick up the brush and five minutes later I have the knots out. I don’t even want to think what had caused those knots.

  After a careful search of the entire bathroom cabinet, I can’t find a single hair band. I do find a box of Magnum XL condoms, though. I try not to think about Deklan or the condoms, but fail miserably.

  There is a knock at the bathroom door and I jump up guiltily, shutting the cabinet door with a loud click.

  Shit!

  I take the few steps, releasing a deep breath, and open the door.

  Ryder stands there with my rumpled silk shirt in hand. “Ta da!”

  There’s a stain on the entire right sleeve. I gasp, horrified that I possibly ruined my cousin’s expensive blouse. “What is that?”

  “Red wine,” Ryder says in way of explanation.

  Red wine? When did I drink red wine?

  “You chugged half a bottle with Sadie,” Ryder answers my silent question. His brows furrow. “You don’t remember? Brooke was warning you that it probably wasn’t the best idea. You know with it being a screw bottle and all. Word to the wise. Cheap wine is not your friend.”

  Damn straight it isn’t.

  He passes by me and does basically what I had, using Deklan’s toothpaste. He even goes so far as to use the toothbrush. “Don’t look so disturbed,” he says. “I keep an extra one here since I’m practically a roommate. See, mine is green and his is blue. It’s been that way since he came to live with me.”

  A knock sounds at the door and, before we can respond, Brooke appears, looking a little ratted, but far better than me. Her gaze shifts between us. “Good morning, you two.”

  “Morning,” Ryder mutters.

  “I’m going to get some coffee,” Ryder says. “You want some?”

  My gut rolls at the thought of coffee. “No, thanks.”

  He walks over to me, lifts my chin with his hand and kisses me lightly. A second later, he’s out the door and Brooke is watching me with a grin.

  “Well, obviously I can’t keep the two of you from being together, so spill already.” She locks the door behind him.

  “I wish I could remember.”

  Her eyes widen. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, seriously, the night is a blur. I remember the party, dancing with Ryder and then nothing.”

  And here I am hoping she would fill in the blanks for me. Apparently, that isn’t going to be the case.

  Her brows furrow. “So you don’t even know if you had sex?”

  I shake my head. “I woke up practically naked.”

  “Are you sore?” My entire body hurts, but I’m pretty sure that’s not the kind of sore she’s talking about, so I shake my head. “Trust me, you’d know if you’d had sex.”

  I hope she’s right. If I am going to lose my virginity, I want to be in charge of my actions...and this makes me wonder just how ready I am to lose it to Ryder.

  “I was sore for days after.”

  “Who did you lose your virginity to?”

  Brooke takes in a deep breath and releases it. “His name was Preston.”

  I lift my brows.

  “Don’t judge,” she quips. “We were at summer camp.”

  “What grade?”

  “Ninth. Trust me, it was memorable...but in all the worst ways.”

  “Why did you do it?”

  She shrugs as though we were talking about the weather. “I liked him. He liked me. We’d spent two summers before hanging out and we were getting ready to leave for home. He lived in Utah, so I knew it would be another year before I saw him again. He emailed me every day for like three months, swearing his undying love for me.”

  “Did you write him back?”

  “The first week I did, but then…I don’t know...I guess I just lost interest.”

  That’s not much time to lose interest.

  I think back to when we first met and she told me about Ryder and how easily he loses interest after he lands a girl. Will that be me? Will he suddenly now completely lose interest in me?

  Brooke stands. “We need to get ready to go.”

  “I don’t even know where my purse is.” Probably upstairs where my shirt had been.

  The steps up to the living room seem way longer than normal. I secretly hope that everyone has left and it’s just me and Brooke.

  No such luck.

  Everyone in the household is up. Deklan sits in a chair, wearing a black t-shirt and black track pants. His hair is wet. My stomach tightens. He would have to pass by me and Ryder to get to his bathroom.

  He glances over at me. “Are you feeling better?”

  Curtis slides an arm around Brooke’s waist and kisses her.

  “Still a bit green,” I answer.

  Ryder walks out of the kitchen and comes to stand beside me. He has a cup of coffee in hand and takes a long sip before setting it on a side table.

  “What’s on the agenda today, boys?” Ryder asks.

  “I’m going to the shop,” Deklan says, drying his hair with a towel, the movement makes the muscles in his biceps, pecs and stomach clench. “I’m helping Uncle Steve move in a new table.”

  “Lucky you,” Curtis says.

  Ryder steps behind me and slides his hands around me.

  My ex rarely, if ever, showed any PDA, so it’s tough for me to be okay with it, especially with so many people in the room.

  The redhead from the party appears in the kitchen doorway. No doubt the same redhead who had been talking to Deklan in his room, the very same redhead who is cooking him breakfast and is now walking up to him then planting a kiss on him.

  It’s a fast peck—barely anything—I convince myself, but then, why am I gritting my teeth as I watch them. Why am I so jealous?

  I remember the redhead dancing with Deklan last night at the party. The way her cheek was pressed firmly against his chest. I’d been staring at them and he’d been staring at me. What had he been thinking? I wonder. Maybe that I was creepy.

  “Who wants pancakes?” she asks, brushing a bouncy curl behind her ear.

  I look and feel like road kill next to her.

  “You don’t have to make breakfast,” Deklan tells her.

  “I want to,” she says in a little girl tone that makes me want to roll my eyes.

  Brooke beats me to it, though. She smirks as she cozies up against Curtis. He holds her tight and kisses the side of her head. I’m glad they patched things up. “I’ll take some bacon and eggs,” Curtis says and my stomach immediately curls to my throat.

  “Coming right up,” the
redhead says with entirely too much enthusiasm before returning to the kitchen.

  I need to leave before she starts cooking because I’ll embarrass myself.

  “Brooke, can you take me home?” I ask.

  “I need to get my car first. It’s still at the party.”

  “I’ll take you over to get it,” Curtis volunteers. “But I’d really like to get cleaned up first...and eat. If you don’t mind,” he adds. “I’m freaking starving.”

  Ryder doesn’t offer.

  Deklan stands. “I can take you home now. It’s on the way to the shop and I need to get over there.”

  My pulse skitters.

  The redhead frowns. “But I was making breakfast for you.”

  “Save some for me. I’ll eat it later.” He flashes a boyish smile and she beams while she nods.

  Deklan shrugs into a leather jacket while I give Brooke a hug and watch as Deklan walks into the kitchen to tell the glamazon that he’ll be back soon. She throws him a heated look, presses a kiss that speaks volumes to his lips, and even pats him on the butt.

  “I’ll be back in a few.”

  Ryder walks us out to Deklan’s truck. Deklan opens the passenger’s door first and then walks around to the driver’s side.

  “I had fun last night,” Ryder says, his gaze shifting to my bra.

  “Me, too,” I say, wishing I could remember even a little of what had gone down after the party.

  “I’ll call you later, okay?”

  With that, he kisses me, his lips soft against my own. His hands cup my ass and he actually groans under his breath.

  Deklan starts the truck and Ryder smiles before he helps me in.

  I put the seatbelt on and Ryder shuts the door. He stands there until we pull away.

  The interior of Deklan’s truck is as immaculate as the exterior. There isn’t a single thing out of place. It even smells like a brand-new truck and has a top-of-the-line stereo.

  “Thanks for taking me home.”

  “No problem. I could tell you wanted to get out of there.” He hands me a bottle of water. “I thought you could use this.”

  “What’s with you and water?”

  “Got to have it, right?”

  “Definitely. Thanks.” I take the cap off and take a small sip.

  The sides of his mouth lift in a boyish smile. “Rough morning?”