The Same Side (University Park #2) (24 page)

“I’m Reece,” she smiled and it was mesmerizing. The girl was absolutely gorgeous. I feared that Raven had hooked up with her and by the way she studied him, I knew the answer.

“I’m Lexi Thompson, nice to meet you,” I said, remembering to keep my enemies close. Raven and I followed her to the kitchen. She towered over me in her four inch stilettos and I promised myself to buy a pair of stacked heels the next time I went to the mall. I seriously needed a wardrobe makeover. Where the hell was Delaney when I needed her?

“What do you want to drink?” Reece showed me a few bottles of liquor and I immediately zoomed in on the one that I was most familiar with — Malibu Rum.

“How about Rum and Coke?” I pointed to the white bottle among a few other liquor bottles.

“Sure.” She turned around and said, “What about you, Raven?”

My stomach dropped when she said his name in a familiar tone. It confirmed my theory. She was probably one of his tramps.

“I’ll just get a beer.” Raven opened the fridge and took out a bottle.

I watched her make my drink, but hesitated to take it from her, knowing that I shouldn’t. However, I really needed something to take the edge off.

“Thanks,” I said, taking it from her.

Raven sat at the table with Jared and I reluctantly stood behind him. Macy was still clinging to Jared’s side, petting him while maintaining one eye on Raven. It made me sick.

“Let’s play some poker.” Jared picked up a stack of playing cards and shuffled them several times in his hand. I tried not to watch his skillful hands, but it was hard not to. The cards fluttered through his fingers with precision and speed, like a professional dealer at a casino. I wondered how many times he’d been to Vegas and if that’s how he earned his money or if my intuition about drugs being involved was true. “Come on, Lexi, don’t be shy.” Jared winked at me and I cringed. “Sit down and play with us.”

“I’ll play.” Macy’s voice was seductive and her body language expressed what she truly meant by her words. Pulling the empty chair next to Raven, she eased down on it while purposefully sticking out her behind for everyone to see. She whipped her long ponytail to the side and then leaned forward, giving everyone a clear shot of her cleavage. Her fingers wrapped around a dark purple glass and she took a sip.

Why the hell did I agree to come here?

“Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about.” Jared placed the cards in the center of the table. “Well, what’s it going to be, Lexi?” He took another puff from his pipe and motioned at the cards. “Are you going to cut them?”

“Jared, leave her alone.” Raven shook his head. “You don’t have to play if you don’t want to.” He eased his hand around my waist and pulled me close to him.

“Um, I guess…” I cast a doubtful look at Raven but before I could sit down, Reece grabbed my hand.

“Let’s have a dance off.”

“What?” I looked at her and then at Raven. Was it safe to leave him with Macy? I didn’t trust her and even though I wanted to trust Raven, I wasn’t sure if I should. I reasoned with myself that I would be in the next room with a clear view of what was going on in the kitchen. If things got out of control, I could end it quickly. With that, I hesitantly followed her.

“Come on, it’ll be fun.” Reece pulled me toward the living room where two girls were dancing with each other as Cage humped one of them from behind. The only time I had danced in that way was at the frat party with Brian and I was somewhat drunk.

“I guess.” I downed half my drink and decided to make the best of it while I was there.

“Cage! Get your ass over here,” Jared yelled.

“Shit.” Cage’s smile quickly turned into a frown and he sighed. “I guess.”

Cage dragged his feet past us toward the kitchen and I felt slightly relieved. Maybe he’d take Macy up on her offer and she’d forget about Raven. I sat on a white leather chase and looked around for the other two football players that were sitting on the couch with the girls that were hanging on them. My eyes navigated down the hallways and
I
listened for any signs that would tell me if they were in a room with them or if they had left.

I watched Reece get down with the two girls. I laughed as they fought to keep up with the video game while continuing to sip the remainder of my drink. The door to the loft opened and another football player walked in, carrying a bag. The girls stopped dancing for a moment, eager to see who had entered. One of them exchanged a silent look with him and he cast a crooked smile, giving her a quick wink.

“Shawn, my man,” Jared greeted him from the kitchen.

“What’s up?” Shawn slammed the door behind him. He walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door, placing his brown paper sack inside. When he shut the fridge, he had a beer in his hand.

“Have a seat,” Raven placed his cards face down on the table, “we’re just getting started.”

“That’s okay.” Shawn patted Raven on the back. “I’m gonna chill and drink my beer.”

“Alright.” Raven tipped his beer to Shawn’s. “I get ya.”

Shawn took off his letterman jacket and tossed it on a chair near the patio doors. He had on a short sleeve polo-style shirt and jeans. His bicep muscles cut into the sleeves of his shirt making his tattoos stick out more. He sat on the couch and propped his feet on the leather ottoman in front of us. I tried not to stare but I wanted to know what the annotation on his arm spelled. When he caught my gaze, he leaned forward.

“Hi, I’m Shawn.” He held out his hand. I shook it, not wanting to be rude. His thick, warm hands swallowed mine and the callous from his palm scraped my skin.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Lexi.”

“I’ve never seen you around before.” He cast me a dubious stare as though trying to place me. He ran his hand over his short hair and reclined against the couch.

“That’s because you haven’t,” Raven yelled from the kitchen.

Shawn looked over his shoulder. “Oh, okay.” His brows lifted as though he knew what Raven meant. I was his girl and hands off. It made me feel good but also cheap when he rubbed the stubbles on his chin a few times as if contemplating what Raven was doing with me.

“And she’s a really good girl,” Jared sneered.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. Eventually I’d break and tell Jared how I really felt about his comments, but I knew right then wasn’t the time.

“How do you know Raven?” Shawn held the beer bottle up to his mouth.

“I used to tutor him,” I admitted, hoping that set the record straight for every football player in the room.

Shawn cut his drink short. “No shit.” He turned around toward Raven. “This is the girl you were talking about?”

Raven shot a quick glance in our direction. “Yeah.”

A flutter swirled through my body. Raven had told Shawn about me? How many of his friends knew about me?

Shawn leaned forward and whispered. “Keep him in line, okay?”

I smiled and was glad to see that Shawn wasn’t like the other football players in the room. “Don’t worry, I will.”

“I heard that,” Raven commented and I held up my hand, trying to cover my giggle.

Shawn pointed to himself and then to me, while mouthing, “It’ll be between you and me.”

I nodded and shot him a quick wink. Returning my focus to Reece and the girls, I observed the huge TV on the wall. I had never seen a screen so large with a picture so crisp and clear. My dad would’ve loved it. I continued watching the girls dance and made a conscious effort to check on Raven every chance I got. Thankfully, Macy had taken a keen interest in pleasing Jared and left Raven alone.

Two drinks later, I finally began to feel the effects of the alcohol and relaxed enough to start dancing. The girl who was eyeing Shawn when he walked in sat next to him on the couch when I asked Reece if I could join the fun. For the next hour, Reece and I danced with the other girl, laughing, and having way too much fun. The good thing about playing the game was it taught me some good dance moves. I couldn’t wait to show Raven.

“Lexi.” Shawn got my attention and I stopped dancing. He motioned with his head down the hallway.

My stomach flip-flopped and a sickening feeling overcame me. Raven wasn’t in his chair and neither was Macy. I tossed the remote to the video game on the couch and rushed down the dimly lit hallway. Standing at the end of the narrow passage was Macy. She was knocking on the bathroom door.

She rolled her eyes when she saw me coming. “Not you again.”

I was ready to pull her by the hair when the door opened. Raven looked at Macy and then at me. “What do you want, Macy?” Raven shouldered past her.

She bit her lower lip and gave him a more than thorough look over. “You know what I want.”

“You bi—”

“She’s not worth it. Trust me, baby.” Raven wrapped his arms around me and forced me away from her. I had never fought a girl, or guy for that matter, in my entire life, but I was ready to show Macy that Raven wasn’t available and she needed to stop. When Raven’s lips covered mine, I quickly forgot about the tramp behind us.

His kiss was deep and tasty. It sparked a calling that made me want to pull him into one of the bedrooms. Not wanting to fall in the same category as Macy, I decided to let that lustful desire go. I could wait until we got home.

“Damn, you taste good, baby.” Raven spoke across my lips and my body shivered in excitement.

“I was thinking the same thing.” I eyed him hungrily, ready to leave.

“Raven, c’mon man. This shit is good.” Jared coughed and sniffed a few times.

Raven quickly released me and that’s when I noticed in the bright light how his eyes glassed over. “We’ll leave in a little while.” He planted a quick kiss on my cheek and I heard the slur in his speech. Was he drunk?

I reached for his hand but his fingers slipped from my grip as he walked toward the kitchen. I felt a little disappointed that Raven was that anxious to return to his Poker game and not me. I picked up the remote and decided to return to my dance game with Reece.

“Raven, I think you need to leave,” Shawn commented and I turned around.

“Nah, I’m good.” Raven eyed his friend and I watched for a moment, trying to gauge his next move. His behavior was vagarious, but I had never been around Raven when he was drunk, so I had no idea what to expect. My heart rate picked up and I took a few deep breaths. I could handle this.

“Don’t do it, man. Just walk away,” Shawn insisted and that’s when I noticed the white lines that reflected off the square mirror on the table. Raven’s eyes widened in delight and I knew being in that apartment was a bad idea.

We needed to leave. Now.

“Leave me alone, Shawn.” Raven bumped his chest against his friends, trying to push him out of the way.

“Fine. It’s your life. If you want to fuck it up again, be my guest.” Shawn stepped to the side and then stormed out of the kitchen. “You’re a dick, Jared,” Shawn yelled and grabbed his jacket. He passed by me and then stopped and turned around. “You better do something and save your boy.”

“Shawn, don’t go.” The girl chased after him and I couldn’t help but wish he had stayed to help me.

I didn’t know what to do. If I grabbed Raven by the hand and yanked him out of there, I’d probably piss him off and since he had been drinking, I wasn’t sure how he’d react. I also knew that doing that would make him look whipped in front of his friends and that was probably a bad idea. So, I decided to use the next best thing. The one thing that would persuade him to leave with me and not touch the stuff that would destroy him.

I whipped out my cell phone and text him.

Me: Hey, sexy, you look damn hot in those jeans. Care to show me what’s underneath them?

His phone chimed and he retrieved it from his pocket. He studied the screen for a moment as though trying to focus on the words. His eyes widened and he grinned. Pressing his lips together, his fingers worked furiously, typing a message.

Raven: Baby, I’ll show you anytime. Just say the word.

He tucked his phone in his back pocket and shot me a wink.

“Are you going to snort or what?” Jared chopped the powder repeatedly with a straight razor blade, forming a few perfect, thin lines.

Raven sat down in the chair and my stomach dropped. “Yeah, cut me two.”

No!

My fingers worked diligently as my brain communicated the right words that would lure Raven away from the past, begging him to come back. I had no idea how to deal with people who had drug addictions, but I had to do whatever I could to stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life. The music from the video game blared loudly and the words being sung gave me the perfect idea.

Me: Talk dirty to me.

I waited eagerly for the text to arrive on his phone. With each passing second, I held my breath as I watched Jared slice and dice the white powder with precision. Raven’s phone sounded and he titled to the side, pulling the phone from his back pocket. He eased back in his chair as he read my text. His brows rose and his eyes lifted, pinning me with a hungry desire that undressed me with one sweep. He took a drink of his beer and set the bottle on the table. His fingers dragged across his phone and I gripped my phone tighter when Jared moved the mirror in front of him. I prayed for the next words that would keep him preoccupied.

“What the fuck, man? Are you going to text all night or what?” Jared twisted his mouth in frustration.

“Go ahead, man. I’ll do the next one.” Raven waved him off and I sighed silently in relief.

A few second later, my phone chimed.

Raven: So, you want me tell you nasty, dirty things I’d love to do to you? A sly grin played at the edge of his lips and I knew I was on the right track.

Me: Yes. Tell me, baby. Tell me how much you want to kiss and lick me.

Raven let out a low laugh and then licked his lips. He rolled his shoulders and kept his gaze steady on his phone.

Raven: You like what I do to you with my tongue?

Me: Hell yeah. It’s freakin’ awesome. But tell me how you like it. Tell me what you want me to do to you. How you want me to touch you…

Raven shifted in his chair and adjusted his jeans.