So Good Read online

10

  Ivy

  I was adjusting my shirt when I stepped off the landing and ran right into Matthew’s chest. A soft sound escaped me and I stumbled back, gripping the banister in the process. But he already had his hand on my upper arm, his big, strong fingers curled around my skin, searing me to the bone.

  I sucked in a breath and glanced up at him, his muscular body so powerful and big he blocked out everything else behind him. I saw nothing but him.

  Over the last couple of days, we’d kept our distance from each other, mainly because he was working a lot of hours and I was focusing on school. And he was all I thought of.

  But I knew that it wasn’t just our schedules that created this wedge between us. I knew he was working extra hours so we didn’t have to talk about what had happened between us, so he could avoid me and not deal with the reality of the situation. I could see it in the way he looked at me, felt it in the way the air changed when he was near.

  He stared at me for long seconds, not moving, his hand staying on my upper arm. I knew why he was keeping his distance, knew it was because of the taboo aspect of all of this. But then again, I didn’t know why he was stopping this. I could see the way he looked at me, especially right now, with his gaze heavy lidded and the air around us electrically charged.

  The desire he had for me was clear, as strong and powerful as mine. But still he said nothing, just watched me as if he were a predator and I was his prey.

  “Heading out.” He didn’t phrase it like a question. He knew where I was going tonight, had told me he’d overheard the party comment by Georgia.

  I nodded, licked my lips, and took a step back, seemingly all in the same breath. And still he stayed close, still he kept his hand on me. A long moment passed before he finally let go, moved back a step, and shoved his hands in his pockets. His body was so big and powerful, the tattoos covering his golden skin having every feminine part of my body coming alive.

  “Where’s the party at?” His voice was hard, cold.

  I felt chills race over my body just from the sound of it. It was as if he was in parental mode. That’s how protective he sounded right now.

  “At a guy’s house we go to school with.”

  He was silent. Still.

  “A guy?”

  I nodded.

  “I think you should stay home. I know exactly how guys act at parties, and I’m assuming there’ll be alcohol there, which makes it even worse.”

  As much as I loved Matthew, and wanted to be with him, the hardness that surrounded him now, the way he pushed me away, had this anger slowly filling me.

  I shook his hold off and narrowed my eyes. “I’m not a child. I’m going to this party.” He made a low, gruff sound, almost a growl of disapproval.

  I pushed past him toward the front door.

  “Ivy, I’m serious.”

  I stopped and curled my hands into fists at my sides, turning and facing him. There was so much I wanted to say, but now wasn’t the time. Instead, I tipped my chin up and looked him right in the eyes. “Matthew, you’re not my father. I’m going to this party and I’ll be home later. I’ll be fine.” His face grew hard, authoritative. He could be pissed all he wanted. “You don’t get to tell me what the hell to do.” I swallowed, my anger mixing with my emotions. “You don’t get to kiss me then push me away and think you care about how I feel, what I do.”

  The expression that covered his face tightened my chest. He looked like I’d just ripped his heart out.

  I heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway, and knew it was Georgia here to pick me up.

  Thank God she had perfect timing.

  I could see that Matthew wanted to argue the point, maybe demand I stay. He’d always been protective of me, but right now seemed different. He seemed more intense, dominating.

  I gave him one more last lingering look before turning and stepping out the front door. The truth was, it was hard leaving him. I wanted to stay there, wanted to talk, work things out. But if this was how my life was supposed to go, without Matthew in it, then I needed to try and move forward.

  He made his stance clear, silently told me that we couldn’t be together.

  I had to respect that.

  I had to accept it.

  What other choice did I have?

  11

  Ivy

  Georgia pulled up to the party, cars lined up on either side of the road, a row filling the driveway. We had to park down the street because it was clear the place was congested and we wouldn’t find anything closer to Zachary’s house.

  His place was on the outskirts of town, more like a farmhouse than anything else, although there wasn’t anything “farm” about the estate. Zachary came from old money and his house portrayed that.

  Because of who his family was, and because the house was so far away from town, this party would be pretty untouchable.

  Georgia parked and cut the engine and we just sat there. A truck drove by, four guys in the back of the pickup, one standing up and banging his hand on the roof of the vehicle. They all hooted and hollered, beer cans in their hands, and a keg situated between them.

  “Georgia, are you sure this is a good idea? This seems pretty wild and it’s still really early.” I looked at her and could see her worrying her bottom lip, maybe thinking about changing her mind.

  But then she looked at me and grinned. “This is going to be the party we won’t forget.”

  I looked at the house. I had no doubt about that.

  She climbed out and then opened the back passenger door, pulling out a medium-size paper bag that looked like it had some heft to it. I knitted my brows in confusion.

  “What’s that?”

  She opened the bag and pulled out a wine cooler, wagging her brows.

  “Got seven more where this came from.”

  I could have snorted for how proud she sounded about that. Wine coolers compared to what was probably flowing. Her party was tame as hell.

  “Let me guess, friend of a friend got that for you too?” She winked and slammed the door shut.

  I climbed out, making sure my phone was tucked into my pocket. I breathed out as I stared up the hill to where the house was located.

  “Hey, you never told me how that peach schnapps was.” I looked over at her and grimaced. That had her chuckling. “That bad?”

  I felt my cheeks heat at the thought of what had happened after I’d drunk all the schnapps. “Let’s just say I don’t wanna talk about it.”

  She grabbed my hand and together we walked up the hill.

  “Fair enough.”

  The noise got louder the closer we got, and although I wasn’t a prude when it came to parties, this seemed a little out of control already.

  We saw a few people we went to school with, who I considered friends, and we all started heading inside together. The lights were bright, the music loud, and this hazy film filled the entire interior of the house. I could smell a hint of weed, the aroma of alcohol. It all coated the air, wrapping around me and pulling me in like a temptation.

  Although I wasn’t a big drinker, and certainly didn’t do drugs, when you were in this kind of situation everything seemed a little bit unreal. It felt dreamlike, that you could do just about anything and it would be okay … it would be safe.

  I heard some shouting and looked to my right to see Zachary and a group of guys start to head over. They pushed their way through the thick sea of people, beer bottles and cans in their hands, their glossy expressions and red-rimmed eyes telling me they were already pretty drunk.

  Zachary came up to stand beside Georgia. Marcus, Charlie, and Lane were next. They all looked trashed with glazed-over expressions and goofy grins on their faces.

  “You guys came,” Zachary said with a big grin on his face, flashing straight white teeth.

  I looked around the living room, bodies packed inside like sardines. “Zach, this is kind of intense.” All the guys started laughing and I looked back at them. I saw the way
Georgia glanced at Charlie, and for the first time I noticed the desire and longing in her expression. Had I been blind this whole time? It was clear she wanted him, but Charlie on the other hand seemed oblivious. Or maybe he wanted her too and I was just as blind to that fact.

  “Yeah, it’s bigger than what we thought,” Zach said and looked over at his friends. They started laughing obnoxiously again and I was starting to think this might not have been a good idea coming here. This really wasn’t my scene. I was more of a bookworm, a stay-at-home kind of girl who wanted to be covered in a blanket watching some old romance on TV.

  “Here, Ivy,” Marcus said and handed me a beer. I smiled, taking it but not really having any desire for it. For the next twenty minutes, I stood there nursing the beer until it got warm and started to make my stomach turn.

  “Girl, are you still sipping on that one?” Zachary said and tipped the bottle up to my mouth. “Drink up, we got another one for ya.” Before I could say anything, warm liquid was rolling down my throat. He took the empty bottle and handed me a shot.

  “Listen up everyone,” Marcus hollered. There was still music pounding but a moment later it lowered. “We got a birthday to celebrate.” Marcus tipped his chin in my direction. “Baby girl here just turned nineteen. We got a special birthday shot for her.” He held up the shot. “A buttery nipple.”

  The crowd started hollering and shouting, cheering me on. Zachary gestured for me to take the shot from Marcus, and with everyone watching me I felt my face heat. The shot was this creamy coffee color with whipped cream on the top. It looked more like a dessert than anything else. How bad could it be if it looked so good?

  I took the shot and smelled it. It was sweet, and I couldn’t really pick up on the strong aroma of liquor.

  “Shot. Shot. Shot.”

  The crowd yelled and hollered.

  I tossed the shot back, the flavor of butterscotch instantly coating my mouth.

  I hated butterscotch.

  Zachary took the shot glass away and everybody started cheering. They acted like I’d just done a keg stand or something. I breathed out through the burn of alcohol, surprised that it was a hell of a lot stronger than I’d assumed. Someone handed me another beer and I took a long sip, trying to get rid of the nasty flavor in my mouth. I needed to slow down, to pace myself.

  “Water,” I all but shouted to Georgia. She nodded and took my hand, pulling me toward the kitchen. I moved to the side as she pushed her way through the people and grabbed two bottles of water off the counter. My stomach felt queasy from the beer then taking the shot.

  When she handed me one of the bottles, I cracked the cap and took a long drink. For the rest of the night I was sticking with water. Last thing I needed was to get drunk again, go home and run into Matthew, then deal with a hangover the next morning.

  “Come on, let’s actually enjoy this party.” Georgia looped her arm through mine and grinned, leading us back into the living room.

  Zachary and the other guys were in the process of bringing a keg into the house, metal clanging against pieces of furniture and the floor as they maneuvered it through the crowd of people and finally set it down in the center of the room.

  It was like I was at a concert, people shouting and yelling, dancing and groping each other. I had no doubt there were people banging upstairs, in the bathrooms, hell, probably even right around the corner. I could practically smell the scent of sex filling the air.

  And maybe at my age I should have been enjoying the party, making out with some random guy in the corner, getting felt up by one of the jocks. But instead I felt like a loner, an outcast. I felt like I didn’t belong, like where I should be was back at home, curled up on the couch and pressed up against Matthew, his arm around me and not a care in the world … least of all what people thought about a niece being in love with her uncle.

  12

  Matthew

  I paced the kitchen, not caring if I was going to eventually leave a rut in the floor.

  I brought the bottle of beer to my mouth and took a long drink, glancing out the window at the driveway where my truck was.

  Reaching into my pocket and pulling out my cell, I stared at it. I wanted to go to her. It would be easy enough to find her, to make a few calls and see where she was. The town we lived in was small, and word spread around, especially if it was concerning a big-ass high school party.

  But I didn’t want to break her trust. I didn’t want to embarrass her by making a scene, and I sure as fuck would.

  What I wanted to do was find out where she was. I wanted to pull her out of that house and throw her over my shoulder, tell her I was doing this for her own good.

  Then I’d bring her home, take her to my bed, and finally claim her. I’d part her pretty thighs, stare at the sweet spot between them, and devour her.

  Fuck, I was hard thinking about her, picturing all the filthy fucking things I wanted to do to Ivy.

  And trying to refrain myself any more seemed fruitless.

  * * *

  Ivy

  Two hours later I was staring at Georgia as she stumbled around.

  “Georgia, you’re trashed,” I said and helped her into the bathroom.

  “Ugh, I know,” she slurred and sank to her knees. “I need to make myself throw up so I’ll feel better.”

  I grabbed the long fall of her hair and kept it out of the way as she tried to do just that. After a few minutes of dry heaving, she sighed and leaned back.

  “Why did you drink so much?” I asked her.

  She had her arms braced on the toilet seat and turned her head to look at me, her eyes unfocused.

  “Why did you let me drink so much?” She started giggling and then promptly groaned.

  Although the truth was I’d paced myself for the past couple hours, Georgia had been the total opposite. Where I was completely sober, Georgia was piss-ass trashed. Every time I’d seen her, she was weaving in and out of the crowd, with either a beer in hand or a shot. Not to mention, Charlie was the one by her side the whole time, being her drinking dealer.

  And I was pretty sure that’s why she just kept chugging them back ... because Charlie was the one guy she clearly desperately wanted.

  “Ugh, Ivy.” She looked up at me, her eyes watery, her cheeks red. “I need to go home.”

  I nodded and helped her up. “Let’s go.” We started heading out of the bathroom and down the stairs, Georgia hanging on to me as her balance was for shit. “Your mom isn’t home, right?”

  She shook her head. “Working third shift.”

  Good. Last thing she needed was her mom seeing her drunk.

  I had my focus on her and ended up tripping over my own feet on the last step. Hands caught my shoulders, steadying me, and I glanced up to see Marcus standing there, a grin on his face.

  “Easy there.” He let go of me and looked at Georgia. “Shit, she’s gone, isn’t she?”

  “Yeah.” I held my hand out to her. Georgia dug in her pocket and tossed her keys on my palm. “I’m gonna take her home.” I looked back at Marcus.

  “She drove?” I nodded. “How are you getting her home after dropping her off?”

  “Shit,” I muttered. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “It’s cool. I’m heading out anyway.” He moved to the side for us. “I can follow you guys then take you home.”

  “Really?” That sounded a lot better than having to call Matthew to come get me, especially after everything and how awkward things had become. “That would be awesome, thanks.” Marcus smiled at me and in the back of my mind I thought about what Georgia had said. How he was interested in me.

  The thing was, I didn’t see Marcus as anything more than a friend. We’d gone to middle school together and were in our last year of high school together. He was attractive and popular, was an overall nice guy, but his reputation as a playboy wasn’t something I was into.

  He pushed people out of the way as I helped Georgia to the front door, and then we made our
way down the street toward where her car was parked.

  Marcus had parked closer to the house, and by the time I got Georgia in the passenger side seat and buckled in, then climbed into the driver’s seat, he was coming down the road. He slowed his car when he got to me and I rolled down my window.

  “I’ll follow you,” he said and grinned.

  “Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” The low sound of music pumping from his stereo could be heard.

  “I’m good. I stopped drinking hours ago. I shouldn’t have even come out tonight. I have a track meet tomorrow.”

  A part of me wished I could be attracted to Marcus.

  It certainly would have made things a lot easier in my life.

  13

  Ivy

  Marcus pulled his car up to the curb in front of my house. I looked up at it, no lights on, the place looking abandoned. I didn’t assume Matthew was in bed. No doubt he was waiting up for me.

  I shifted on the seat and smiled at Marcus. “Thanks for taking me home.” After I’d gotten Georgia inside, tucked her in bed, and locked up when I left, Marcus had been waiting. I’d found out he lived close to Zachary, in the rich part of town, and following me to Georgia’s then going to my house meant he’d gone out of his way twice.

  “Hey, it’s no problem.”

  I opened the door and climbed out, realizing Marcus was getting out as well. Looking over my shoulder, I felt my brows knit.

  “I was just gonna walk you to the front door. Looks like no one’s home, and it’s late as fuck. I’d feel like a real asshole if I didn’t make sure you got in safely instead of sitting my ass in the car and not being a gentleman.”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle, and didn’t bother telling him he really didn’t have to go to the trouble. “Thank you.”

  We headed up to the porch, and when I stood by the front door I faced him. “Thanks for everything, Marcus. It was really nice of you.”