Evanescent (12 page)

Grayson gasps. “Teal tie!” The veins on her
neck protrude like cords. Her face contorts with shock like I just
kicked her in the gut.

Laken pops up next to her and gives a
private smile at Grayson’s newfound distress.

“Have either of you seen Flynn?” She says it
friendly enough—benign for that matter, but Grayson channels some
uncalled for aggression in her direction.

“I guess you need someone to slut around
with now that Cooper’s taken.” Grayson wraps a loose curl around
her finger. “Anyway,
Coop
”—she touches her hand to my cheek,
and I don’t stop her—“if you’re craving a little R and R you know
where to find me.” She gives a brief wink before strutting off into
the crowd.

“R and R?” Laken looks simultaneously pissed
and cute as hell in the process. As lame as it is, I’m flying high
off the fact she might actually be jealous. Jealousy is born from
something. In this case, I’m hoping it’s just a hair away from love
because I think that’s exactly what I’m feeling for her.

“Rest and relaxation,” I say. It’s code for
blowjob, but I’m not clueing Laken in on that tidbit. Grayson likes
to help a lot of guys get some R and R. Rumor has it her entire
acting career hinges on the respite benefits she provides.

Laken’s face crumbles. Her perfect lips
twitch under duress for a moment before recovering.

“What a mess,” she whispers below the
music.

“What’s a mess?” I can guess, but I’d rather
not go there.

Laken looks up at me, her eyes filled with
sorrow.

“We are, Coop.” She strains the words
through hesitation. “I thought we had something. I thought maybe I
was wrong about Wes and me, that if he never came back—if he was
too far gone that it would be me and you.” Her eyes glitter in this
dim light. “But Grayson…” she shakes her head. “She’s beautiful.
You look good together, and by the way that makes me want to hurl.”
She sticks her tongue out playfully, and I suddenly want to catch
it with my teeth. A surge of adrenaline pushes through me at the
thought of Laken wanting me on some level—but Wes is the condition.
A part of me hopes he never gets his memory back.

“I guess I got caught up in the moment,” she
continues. “I’m sorry if I led you on. I never meant to do that.
And I would never expect you to wait around for me while I try to
figure things out.” She sniffs and gives a little shrug. “I care
about you, Coop. And if a little R and R with Grayson makes you
happy then that’s what I want for you.” Her voice breaks with that
last sentence. Laken’s chest quivers. She stands before me in her
Ephemeral-issued cheer skirt, her hair still high in a ponytail
with a bow on top. In a roundabout way Laken Stewart is breaking up
with me. She thinks I want Grayson and those overblown lips of hers
massaging me into a sexual euphoria rather than the perfection that
is her.

I’d like to tell her how I feel, but I
can’t. There aren’t enough words to describe these incredible
feelings. So I do the only thing I can—show her. I gently grab the
back of her neck and crash my lips to hers. Laken swipes her tongue
over mine, and I indulge in something far more primal, much more
intense and viral than I had ever hoped to achieve.

The world stops spinning. I’m having a
heightened sexual experience right here, in the middle of the
student body, through the portal of Laken’s mouth. My stomach
clenches as she pushes in deeper, and a moan vibrates from her
throat to mine.

Laken pulls back, her face red with shock.
She looks past my shoulder at the door, her fingers still
interlaced with mine.

Wes
. Her chest heaves from the state
of nirvana we just launched ourselves into.

Laken hurls her open palm in my direction
and ignites a fire across my cheek.

“You bastard!” She screams it in my face
with her left hand still clutching mine.

See you at the ridge at midnight
, she
says before taking off in Wesley’s direction.

My heart soars. That kiss personified
everything we could be—everything electric.

Wesley is the enemy, and Laken knows it.
She’s just using him in an effort to save our families. He’s a
necessary evil for the time being just like Grayson.

I watch as he ushers her out the door with
his hand firmly planted over the curve of her skirt.

She might be in Wesley’s arms for the next
few hours, but she’ll be in my bed tonight.

Wesley

My heart pounds against my chest like a
judge sounding a gavel. I’m fucking finished with Flanders. He
signed and sealed his death warrant tonight by ramming his tongue
down my girlfriend’s throat.

“Just get me out of here.” Laken chokes the
shit out of my hand like it was Cooper’s neck. And right about now,
I’m betting she wishes it were. “I want to go someplace to forget
about all this. Maybe Charity Lake? Or your room?”

A smile cinches up my cheek at the thought
of Laken being so ready and willing.

“Yeah,” I say, leading her outside. “I’ll
take you wherever you want.”

The stars spray out like an umbrella over
Ephemeral. It’s cold as hell with the frost already coating the
pines—the grass. A layer of mist seeps from the forest and sails
over the campus like a ghost.

I glance back at Melville House pumping like
a drum with its windows rattling from the noise. It’s taking all of
my strength, not to go back in there and rip Flanders’ balls out
from his throat.

“What happened?” I slip my arm around her
waist as we continue down the road.

“I don’t know.” She shakes her head. “It’s
weird because the Cooper Flanders I know doesn’t just manhandle
girls. Last I heard, he was taking Grayson to homecoming.” She
raises her shoulders to her ears. “I was talking to Carter, and the
next thing I knew Grayson backed into me—she waved at someone and
took off. Cooper was so wasted he lunged in my direction just as
she left and planted one on me.”

Aiming for Grayson and missed? Doubt it. I’m
damn sure Coop hit his target tonight.

“That’s probably it,” I say, brushing a kiss
over her cheek. “Coop’s way too nice a guy to go around attacking
girls, especially mine.” I’ll layer on the frosting, and make Coop
look like a hero. When they find him lying in a ditch, I’ll be the
last person Laken will suspect. Not that I’d kill the
bastard—
injure
maybe.

If that less than stellar performance he
gave on the field tonight is any indication, the varsity team won’t
be missing him too much, either.

Laken looks up me with her eyes filled with
fear.

“Hey”—I press a kiss over her temple—“let’s
get to Henderson before we freeze to death.” I rub her arm. “I’ll
get you something warm to drink.” And if all goes well, we’ll be
drinking each other down in less than an hour.

I pull her in close and examine her under
the pale light of the moon.

“I have something special to show you in my
room,” I whisper.

She licks her lips and gurgles out a
sexier-than-hell laugh.

“You’re a dirty boy, Wes. You know
that?”

“That’s not what I was going to show you.” I
hold back a smile. “But if you insist, I might give into your
demands.” My lips curve at the thought. “Anyway, I really hope
you’ll love it.”

“I love everything about you, Wesley
Parker.” She dots my lips with a kiss.

I wrap my arm back around her waist as we
head in the direction of Henderson Hall.

She loves everything about me.

Too bad she can’t remember my name.

Laken nuzzles against me, blowing kisses in
my ear all the way up the steps to Henderson. Her hair holds the
scent of vanilla and flowers, a country meadow blinks through my
mind like some long forgotten dream that I struggle to
remember.

It’s warm inside, toasty and well heated
from the fire. The downstairs lights are dimmed just enough to give
it a romantic feel—a code that lets me know one of my dorm brothers
is about to get laid.

“I’m freezing.” Laken takes off toward the
fireplace before I can stop her.

A tangle of bodies writhe over one another,
then leap apart as Laken lets out a high-pitched scream.

Fletch and some chick with a rack the size
of grapefruits scramble to cover themselves. It’s only when she
looks up do I see it’s Carter.

“Shit, Laken.” Fletch tosses his shirt at
her as he holds a pillow over his manhood. I know what I’ll be
tossing in the fire later. “Can you scream any louder? I think I
still have some hearing in my right ear.”

“Oh stop, Fletch.” Carter buttons up her
blouse. “She probably saw that log between your legs, and nobody
wants to see their brother’s junk. Isn’t that right?”

“Excuse me.” Laken groans before bolting for
the kitchen. “I’ll be washing my eyes out with soap.”

Soap. Maybe as a courtesy she could gargle
with it, too. Just knowing Flanders defiled her makes me want to
vomit. Speaking of Flanders, didn’t she say she was with Carter
before he dove into her mouth?

“How long have you two been here?” I ask,
curious as hell as to when their private party began.

“Since the game ended in tragedy.” Carter
slides into Fletch and pulls a blanket over the two of them.

“I’m adding the blanket to the burn list,” I
say under my breath.

Fletch beams me in the face with the pillow
he just employed as a penis protector.

I toss it back in the event he discovers a
creative need for it before heading off to find Laken.

Fletch has more than his fair share of balls
to sleep with Carter, front and center, in the common room—either
that or he’s dumb as a post. If he gets caught, they could both get
tossed out on their bare-naked asses.

The clanging of pots and pans fills my ears
as I take in the scene from the kitchen.

Flynn has his hands up like there’s a
hostage situation underway while Laken turns two long-handled pots
into a pair of annoying gongs.

“What the heck?” I shout, speeding over.
It’s only then I notice Hattie cowering in the corner, looking
scared as all hell with her arms up over her head. “Whoa!” I disarm
Laken before she commits a culinary-based felony. “What’s going
on?”

Flynn jumps up, pumped with adrenaline. “I
was making out with this chick, and your psycho girlfriend storms
in and starts banging pots and pans in our ears like its fucking
New Year’s Eve. You’d better call Flanders and tell him to set up a
permanent bed at the palace for the mentally unstable.”

Coop’s grandfather started up the psych
hospital, and ironically I’d like nothing more than for his
grandson to take up residency there.

Laken snatches a dirty steak knife from the
counter before I can defend her mental stability and darts over to
Hattie like she’s about to decapitate her.

“
Laken
!” I dive over the island and
knock her down in a play that could rival any move made on that
field tonight. She struggles free, sending the blade sliding up my
cheek.

“Shit!” She drops the knife and covers her
mouth in horror. “Oh my God, Wes, I’m so sorry.”

“We’re out of here,” Flynn says, moving
Hattie toward the door. “Lay off the booze, girl.” He shouts to
Laken. “You’re one mean drunk.”

“Wait, Flynn, she’s…” Laken folds into me
helpless as they walk out of sight. “She’s not human.”

I touch my cheek and examine the pink stain
on my fingers.

“You’re cut.” Her voice quivers as she lays
her hand over mine.

“It’s just a graze. I’ll do more damage with
a razor in the morning.” I get up and help her to her feet. “What
did you mean she’s not human?” God knows we have enough of that
floating around in our world for me to consider it an option.

“She’s”—Laken shakes her head as if
searching for answers—“a real bitch. I saw her hanging all over
some guy back at Henderson. Her tongue was in his ear, and it was
just sick. I don’t like her messing with Flynn like that. He seems
like a nice guy.” She pinches her shoulders to hers ears as if she
were stressed beyond belief.

“What?” I pull her in and melt a kiss over
her lips. “Trust me. Nobody wants to be taken advantage of more
than Flynn. He’s anti-monogamy—roaming hands don’t offend him.
Now—pots and pans might offend him if they’re used in an effort to
stop him from hitting a homerun. I think you should let Flynn worry
about Flynn. But that’s what I like about you best.” I run my hand
up her cheer sweater and adhere to her heated skin. “You care about
how other people feel.”

“You’re right, Wes.” She gives a limp smile.
“I absolutely hate the thought of someone being taken advantage of.
It kills me to know there are people being used—abused and tortured
in this world, especially when I can’t do a damn thing about it.”
She buries a hard look into me as if she were wielding that knife
all over again.