Lost in the Moment (A Savioe Family Novel) (33 page)

“I really hadn’t planned on it. Last time I turned into a bit of an Alco-ho and a mean one at that.” I took a drink of cola from my cup.

“Just a few? You can spread it out throughout the night that way you don’t go all ho-ish but you still get the warm fuzzy feeling.” She pouted clasping her hands in front of her pleading. “I don’t want to be the only one of us to drink tonight.”

“Fine. Just a few.” I relented.

             
                                          *****

The house started filling up over the next thirty minutes. By the time my brothers showed up everyone was shoulder to shoulder. Scott and Payne helped Hunter move the furniture in the living room to create a bigger area for people to dance. That was where Roxy found us. I was trying to teach Jess how to dance like Rihanna but she had no rhythm at all.

“Roxy!” I shouted as I spotted her walking over to us. I laughed pointing to Jess. “Has she always been this uncoordinated?”

Roxy turned her head just in time to see Jess try to twerk, though it looked like she was having a seizure. Roxy giggled. “She’s gotten better though. Well, kinda.” She looked at my outfit her lips curving up in a half grin. “Killer outfit.”

“Thanks.” I looked over her green and yellow bodysuit with brown jacket. It wasn’t until I saw the X in a circle on her chest and the white in her hair that I placed it. “Rogue right?”

“Yup.” Her green eyes twinkled. “Luke came as Gambit. Though I swear if he lets that accent out, I’m going to jump him.”

“Gross, I don’t want to hear that.” I pretended to gag. We both know though that it didn’t matter if he did or not she still wasn’t medically cleared to participate in any ‘strenuous’ activity.

She took a drink of her water bottle and motioned to the archway leading into the living room. “You should see Drez. He looks hotter than usual.”

I refused to look in that direction. “Not talking to him.”

She looked up at me in surprise. “What? Why?”

“He hasn’t spoken a word to me since Tuesday night. Not one single word.” I adjusted the cape around my throat. “I’m not going to go to him. If he wants to mend things, he has to make the next step. Not me.”

A hand slapped my ass startling me. I turned around to see Hunter grinning wide. “Sorry it slipped. Get ready, Red. Here comes your wolf.”

I looked back over to the entryway and lost my breath. His shaggy hair was mussed and spiked in all directions giving it the look that someone had just spent hours running their hands through it. His grey eyes were intensified by the line of black encircling them. That shirt showed off his muscled arms to perfection and gave small glimpses of the golden toned flesh underneath every time he moved. My legs felt wobbly and every cell in my body tingled in excitement the closer he got.

I
unconsciously licked my bottom lip as he stalked over to me. The heated gaze he gave me as he slowly looked me up and down sent a shiver down my spine. I quickly downed the drink in my hand trying to get the cotton out of my mouth.

He sent me a wicked grin showing off the fangs he wore with the costume causing my heart to triple its rhythm. I suddenly felt like the main course at a buffet. He stopped in front of me and tilted his head to the side. “‘Ello, pet.”

                                                        *****

Drez

My god she was beautiful. Her honeyed hair cascaded around her face in soft ringlets. Her smooth shoulders were bare exposing the faint dusting of freckles that graced them. That corset cinched in her already tiny waist accentuating her slight curves. I had to stop myself from drooling over her stocking covered legs and that flirty red skirt. When I stopped in front of her, I noticed her topaz eyes
were alight with blatant hunger as she checked me out. My breath stumbled when she licked her darkened lips and ducked her head bashfully.

Roxy cleared her throat beside us. “I’m going to find Luke. Laters Marie.”

Marie waited until Roxy had left before she turned toward Hunter. “Go with her. I know she won’t admit it but I think she’s in some pain.”

He nodded at her before casting me a wa
rning glare. “Sure thing, Red.”

He shoulder
checked me as he walked by. I tensed up glaring over my shoulder getting ready to go after him. Marie placed her hand against my arm instantly stilling my need to punch him. I looked back down at her ducking my head to her ear. “Do you want to go someplace quieter to talk?”

She pursed her lips at me and raised her eyebrow her face slowly contorting into her mother’s
‘stink eye’
look. “Oh. Now ya wanna talk?” She took a step away from me while mumbling. “I need a drink.”

I stood there feet glued to the floor flabbergasted.
What did I do this time?
I started to head in her direction with every intention of sorting this mess out when Scott and Payne waylaid me. “Look, mates, I need to go talk to her.”

Payne laughed grabbing my arm steering me in the opposite direction. “And you will. Trust me. In the meantime Beau would like a word with you.”

Scott shot him a confused look before sucking in a deep breath. “Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Come on this way, brother.”

I reluctantly followed them. Something was definitely going on. If Beau wanted to talk to me then he would have done so before we walked in the front door. I braced myself for any possibility as we walked out on the deck. Payne handed me an empty cup before motioning to the tapped keg. I shrugged and filled it to the brim. I faked taking a drink as I waited
for what was to come. I glared at Scott not breaking eye contact trying to make him as uncomfortable as I could.

It didn’t take long for him to crumble under my scrutiny. “All right, brother, Beau didn’t want to talk to you. Hunter did.”

“So where is he at?” I stuck my hand in my pocket and lifted the cup to my lips.

A slight tap on my shoulder had me turning around. The fist connected with my jaw leaving me stunned. I stumbled back bumping against the side of the house trying to regain my balance. The cup flew up in the air slinging beer in a giant a
rch.

Scott jumped in front of me with his hands up stopping my attacker. “Brother, you said there would be no violence.”

Hunter shrugged shaking out his hand. “And there won’t be. I owed him that from my last party.”

I rubbed my jaw trying to ease the sting from the strike. He walked around Scott and held his hand out to me. I looked at him then it. What was his game? I grabbed hold of his hand. He nodded smiling at me before clasping my elbow with his other hand. “Truce?”

I raised my eyebrow at him. “What’s the catch?”

He laughed releasing my arm bent down to pick up my cup and refilled it before handing it back to me. “No catch. Seriously
, there is no catch.” He nodded to Payne and Scott to go back in the house. They looked at each other then over at me. I gruffly nodded my head. They reluctantly went back in the house.

Hunter sighed before taking a drink. “Look
, I know you think I’m moving in on Marie. In truth I was at first, until I found out she’s a Savioe. When Beau left the team last year, we made it an unwritten rule to leave them alone. All of them. That’s what I was trying to tell her that night before you sucker-punched me. Since then I just flirted with her to piss you off.”

“So what was with you smacking her bum earlier?” My voice was void of any emotion as I assessed his sincerity.

“Well, just to piss you off.” Hunter smirked over the rim of the cup. “After that kiss, yeah the only thing I feel for her is strictly platonic in nature. She’s cute yeah, but damn I felt like I was kissing my cousin or something.”

I nodded my head and drained the cup. “So
, this whole evening was for what?”

“Want a refill?” I handed him the cup as he continued. “To make amends for my meddling and well just to see the girls dressed like that. Have you seen that much skin before? Damn, I have been half-staff most of the night.”

I chuckled at him shaking my head then motioned to our outfits. “These costumes?”

“Oh come on. It’s sorta funny. The entire school sees you as this big badass and me as some white knight, when we both know the opposite is true.” He placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah, you are a bit of a bell-end.”

He frowned in his confusion. “A what?”

“A dick, idiot, git, wanker, ponce, or as Marie likes to say jackass.”

He looked startled for a moment before he cracked a smile. “Bell-end huh? I’m going to have to start using that.”

                                                        *****

The music was pulsing when I walked back in the house after six beers and actually talking to the git. He wasn’t as bad as I had originally thought; though there was no way I’d intentionally hang out with him. I ran into Jess in the kitchen pouring a huge shot of four different liquors.

“What in the bloody hell is that?” I peered over the rim of the cup and turned my nose up at the muddy liquid.

She pasted a devious grin on her face. “It’s called the Four Horsemen. Jack, José, Johnny and Jim. My four favorite men.”

“Who is it for?” I hesitantly asked.

“Why Marie of course.” She grabbed the cup and walked into the living room. I followed behind her suddenly very anxious over her handing Marie that lethal of a concoction. That much straight liquor could cause some serious damage to a person.

All the Savioes stood on the side of the makeshift dance floor talking amongst themselves. Luke stood behind Roxy with his arms wrapped around her slowly rocking back and forth in time to the music. Charles had his helmet off cradling it under his arm as he drank from a bottle of water. Beau leaned against the wall smiling at something one of them had said. Marie had her cape flipped over her shoulders talking adamantly with her hands.

Jess hurried over to her, grabbed one of her hands and placed the cup in it. She mouthed the words. “You promised me.”

As I got closer, I saw Marie’s shoulders deflate in reluctant acceptance. She tilted the cup up to her nose and blanched at the smell. She turned to look at Jess before slinging back the noxious liquid. “I seriously hate you a little bit right now.” Her face scrunched up in disgust and pain before she grabbed the water bottle out of Charles’s hand and chugged it. “Gawd, that was nasty.”

Beau nodded to the cup. “What was that?”

“Just a shot.” Jess smirked looking back over her shoulder to someone in the corner nodding her head slightly. She turned back to Beau shrugging her shoulders. “Though it might knock her on her ass.”

Shit, that’s what I thought. I started to take a step closer to them when Marie’s
‘not’ friend stepped in front of me. Her hand slid inside one of the rips in my shirt and touched my stomach. I gently shoved her off me. “Angie, isn’t it?”

She nodded her head and batted her dull blue eyes at me threatening the stability of one of her false lashes. I looked down at her with her tiny white cat ears on her head and the barely there Hello Kitty outfit and took another step away from her toward the Savioes.

She plastered herself on my arm and smiled at me looking down at the front of my jeans. “My, what big… eyes you have.”

I raised my eyebrow at her in
exasperation. That’s the best she could come up with. I grunted at her. “All the better to look somewhere else.” I stepped around her and headed toward Marie.

I heard her snort and felt her hand slide in my shirt yet again. “I don’t give up that easy, sexy.”

I sent a pleading glare over to the Savioes for a little help in getting untangled from this… girl. Roxy looked over to me and mouthed. “Shit.”

Marie swung her head my way, her mouth dropped before snapping shut. “Aw hell no!” She shoved the water bottle at Charles and stomped over toward me. Her stony expression should not have had this kind of effect on me yet I found myself seriously turned on by her at the moment. Her golden
eyes blazed with jealousy and possessiveness. Her chest heaved in righteous indignation drawing my eyes to her gently bouncing breasts.

When she reached me, I had almost completely forgotten about the annoying cow at my side trying to crawl into my shirt.
“Care to lend a hand, pet. For some reason she seems to think no means go ahead.”

Marie snorted jerking Angie away from me. “Back off him.”

Angie rolled her eyes at Marie. “Whatever. You threw him away.” She stepped back toward me foolishly turning her back on Marie.

Marie grabbed her shoulder halting her progress. She bent down and whispered something in Angie’s ear that made the brunette turn red in anger. She spun around slapping Marie across the face. That resonating slap drew everyone’s attention
in spite of the throbbing bass of the music.

Marie did not hesitate in her reaction. She balled her fist and punched the girl in the face. Angie clutched her f
ace and screeched. “You bitch!”

She jumped at Marie seizing her by the shoulders as they toppled to the floor. I quickly took a step back to avoid falling with them. Angie tr
ied to smack Marie in the face.