500 Days (23 page)

The party was in full swing. The guys
finally relaxed enough to let me dance without pulling guys off of
me. I think that’s only because Jaxson was on the dance floor with
us. He hit on any girl that walked by him and most of them turned
him down. I laughed at his pathetic attempts. I was tipsy and
definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol. I decided to take a
break from dancing and head back to the table. I nearly tripped
over myself when I saw Colby. He had finally arrived and he had a
date. Some small blonde bimbo was hanging all over him and it took
everything I had not to throw up everything I just drank.

“
Is something wrong?”
Declan asked.

“
No,” I replied, forcing a
smile. I took Declan’s hand and pulled her up the steps with me.
When Colby saw me he came right over.

“
Happy Birthday, Alex.” He
gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

“
Thanks…who’s your
date?”

He looked over his shoulder. “That’s
Heather. She’s just an old friend.”

Old friend my ass.
“Thanks for coming.”

Colby offered to buy me a drink and shot so
I allowed him to escort me to the bar. “So how you been?” I asked
when we reached the bar.

“
Busy. Ever since people
got wind of me being back I’ve been booked with
appointments.”

“
Well that’s good,
right?”

“
Yeah…you look amazing
tonight, by the way.” He gave me his million dollar smile, making
me blush. I pushed my way closer to the bar to order. Colby put his
arms around both sides of me closing me in. I could feel the heat
rushing to my cheeks from his close proximity.

“
I’m glad you could make
it out.”

“
Me too,” he said,
pressing himself closer to me. I was a little disappointed when the
bartender returned quickly with our drinks. I wouldn’t have minded
staying like this for a while. Colby pulled away all too soon and
helped me carry the drinks and shots back to the table. I noticed
Casper was watching us. His expression was a little pained and I
couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong. He seemed to tense up a
bit when Colby and I returned, but he didn’t say anything. Colby
got enough shots for everyone, but a special one for Jaxson and me.
We saluted and I downed the double shot before Jaxson even took his
first sip. They looked at me wide eyed.

“
What?” I said
innocently.

Jasper just laughed, shaking his head. Ready
to cut loose on the dance floor again, I grabbed Declan and shoved
our way to the middle of the club. The place was packed and the
amount of bodies just made it hotter in there. The DJ played the
latest dance song making the crowd go nuts. I was laughing and
dancing with Declan, having a blast until I caught sight of the
chicks surrounding the table. This time it wasn’t Casper who was
swarmed by girls, it was Colby. A slight flicker of jealousy surged
through me. I nearly lost it when I saw a familiar blonde with her
arms all over Colby.

“
What is she doing here?”
I asked Declan.

She turned her gaze in the direction of my
piercing glare. “I heard she was back in town.”

“
And she doesn’t waste any
time, does she?” I was about to march right over there and put this
bitch in her place when Declan jumped in front of me. “What are you
doing?”

“
Trying to stop you from
making a fool of yourself. You can’t go charging up there like a
bat out of hell. Your brothers are here and if you start acting all
jealous in front of them they’ll put two and two together. You know
you can’t lie to Jaxson.”

I sighed, feeling defeated. She was right,
but that still didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy my own party. I pushed
my way through the sea of girls to grab my drink from the table.
“Alex?” I made sure to count to ten before I turned to face the
evilness that was standing behind me.

“
Georgina, is that you? I
hardly recognized you without your old nose.” Declan managed to
cover her laugh, but Jaxson and Jasper didn’t.

If the Botox wasn’t keeping her face
paralyzed I’m sure her eyebrows would have dropped into, two thin
checkmarks. “Alex, I see you’ve actually started dressing like a
girl. Did you find a pen pal who could actually give you some
motherly advice?” That was a low blow and she knew it. I took a
step forward. Colby put out an arm in front of Georgina, pushing
her back slightly.

“
You’re defending her?” I
snapped.

He took a step forward. “No, I’m helping you
out. You know better than to try and battle it out with her.” I
hated to admit it but Colby was right. Georgina made it her job to
torture me all throughout high school. I came home crying on more
than one occasion because of her, but I never cried in front of
her. I never knew why she had it in for me. I just figured she was
one of those girls who were mean to everyone and I was just an easy
target.

I stood taller and held my head higher. I
was still pissed at Colby for standing in my way but I was not
going to let this bitch ruin my party. I turned my sights on
Georgina and delivered the next blow. “Ahh, Georgie porgie had too
much pie, so she went to the doctor to have them suck the fat out
of her thigh. While she was there she had an affair and made daddy
lose his hair.”

“
At least I still have a
dad,” she countered. This time Jasper and Jaxson stepped in. I was
ready to take her out when Casper gently placed an arm around my
waist standing in between us.

“
You need to leave…now,”
Jasper warned.

“
If you don’t get her out
of here I will personally remove her myself,” Declan
growled.

Georgina rolled her eyes at us before she
turned to Colby. “Call me later,” she winked, dragging a hand
seductively across his chest. Colby looked uncomfortable, but I had
no sympathy to offer him.

Colton put a hand on Declan’s shoulder to
calm her, but she shrugged him off. She was too upset to be
bothered with at the moment. “Hey, you okay?” Casper asked. I
nodded not able to form words.

Jasper walked over and grabbed my face,
forcing me to meet his eyes. “Hey, she’s just a spoiled bitch who
gets her rocks off on hurting other people. It doesn’t matter what
she said. You got it?” I nodded again only because he was holding
my face which was making it hard to talk. He pulled me in for a hug
then.

When I pulled away, Colby was right next to
us. “Guys I’m sorry. I had no idea she was going to be like that.
It’s my fault.”

“
Don’t worry about. It’s
over.”

Jacob tugged on my wrist and led me and
Jaxson to a table full of shots. “The waitress just delivered them
and what better timing?” he smiled. I hugged his shoulder and waved
all my friends over. We held up our shots while they all wished
Jaxson and I Happy Birthday. Casper pulled me back on to the dance
floor with everyone else until they had to go back on stage for
their final set. We worked up another sweat dancing like crazy and
decided to take a break when the band was about to go on. The boys
took the stage again and the audience crowded around with excited
anticipation.

By this point, I was passed the point of
buzzed. The little debacle with Georgina was now a distant memory.
The band finished about an hour before the bar closed and now they
no longer had to perform the boys were knocking back the drinks.
Since I was pretty drunk myself I didn’t care how ridiculous I
looked while I shook my butt.

I felt strong hands on my hips. Not caring,
I kept dancing. The fingers pressed harder into my sides as I
circled my hips back and forth to the beat of the music. I pressed
my back against his chest and put my hands on his thighs. His smell
was so intoxicating and familiar. I had a flash back to New Year’s
when I danced with the mystery man. There was something so familiar
about the way this guy smelled, felt and danced.

I could feel his hot breath on my neck. His
hands slid across my stomach and yanked me back into him, hard. I
bit my lip loving the feel of him rubbing against me. I reached my
arm above my head and back around his neck. His arms closed tighter
around me as we grinded on the dance floor. His scent wafted up to
my nose, awakening my senses. I gasped and dropped my arms. I knew
that scent. I knew it well. I closed my eyes afraid to see who the
mystery man was. I turned around and almost passed out when I
opened my eyes. Casper reached out to steady me. “Easy there…you
okay?”

“
I think I just need to
get some air.”

“
You want me to go with
you?” The concern in his eyes was genuine, but I needed time away
from him to think.

“
No, I just need a few
minutes.” I darted off the floor and pulled Jaxson aside. “Give me
a cigarette.”

“
I don’t
smoke.”

“
Neither do I. Now give me
one.” We were the only two who couldn’t lie to each other. He
muttered something under his breath. His eyes zigzagged back and
forth making sure no one was looking as he pulled a pack from his
back pocket. I took one from the pack along with his lighter and
bolted for the exit. My head was still spinning a bit from my
revelation. No way could Casper be Mr. New Year. It was just a
coincidence. They wore the same cologne and I had a lot to drink
tonight. It was easy to think it was him. I pressed my back against
the cold stone wall and took a few puffs. I heard a shuffle of the
rocks and a few muffled voices.

Being nosey, I carefully inched my way to
the voices. Around the side of the club was a couple – a man and a
woman. I couldn’t see their faces because the man had his body
blocking hers. His hand was planted against the wall while his
other worked up and down her side. His head was tilted down and I
could see fragments of bleached blonde hair. When I heard the
smacking of lips I pulled back. I didn’t care to see that. I
finished my smoke and stomped it out with my heel but not before
the over eager couple made their way back into the club. I’ll be
damned. Tonight was just full of surprises. Colby froze like a deer
caught in headlights when he saw me. Georgina clung tight to his
side with a smug smile on her face.

“
Gina, I’ll meet you
inside.” She turned back to him and pawed at him with her dragon
like claws. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him in
for a not so innocent kiss. I looked away, feeling sick. Colby
pulled her arms off of him, but it didn’t matter anymore. She
licked her lips and wiped the corners of her mouth as she sashayed
her way back into the club. “Alex.”

“
Don’t,” I
snapped.

“
I don’t get why you’re so
upset? You knew nothing could ever happen with us.” His hand grazed
my arm and I flinched. He walked around in front of me. “I like you
Alex I do, but you’re Jasper’s sister. It just wouldn’t
work.”

“
You think that’s why I’m
pissed? Because I caught you making out with some girl?” He nodded.
“You’re just all kinds of stupid, aren’t you?”

He narrowed his eyes at me not appreciating
my comment. “Real mature Alex. That’s another prime example.”

“
So now I’m immature?” He
didn’t respond. He didn’t have to. It was written all over his
face. “I’ll admit I was a little jealous to see you making out with
someone else, but then when I saw it was
her
of all people. You got a lot of
nerve.”

“
Alex, you’re
overreacting,” he reached for me but I slapped his hand
away.

“
You have no respect for
me or my family.”

“
I’ll tell you what. How
about you give me a call when you grow up?”

I smacked him across the
face. “Fuck you.” He rubbed his cheek before he turned around and
left. I felt my walls tumbling down. I bent down and wrapped my
arms around my knees and tucked my head in tight.
“
I will not cry
”,
I repeated over and over again in my head.

“
Miss, excuse me, Miss?” I
looked up to see a very handsome young man standing in front of me.
He had big brown eyes and light brown hair that was cut short into
a cropped style. He was wearing the typical preppy college boy
clothes – jeans and a polo shirt. “Are you okay?”

I wiped away the few tears that I’d shed and
stood up. “I’m fine.” I straightened out my dress and turned my
head.

“
You don’t look like
you’re fine. You need me to get someone for you?”

I shook my head no, hoping he would go away
but he stayed put. “Really, I’m fine. You can go inside.” I waved
him away.

“
Well, what kind of person
would that make me if I left a pretty girl crying outside by
herself?” he smiled sweetly. “Why don’t you come inside and I’ll
buy you a drink?”

I laughed. “Look, save the pickup lines for
the sluts inside.”

He rubbed his jaw, clearly uncomfortable. “I
apologize. I didn’t mean to offend you. I was just trying to help.”
His face was sincere and his eyes were kind which made me think he
was just trying to be nice.

“
Sorry,” I
mumbled.

“
No need to apologize to
me. After all, I am the creepy guy hitting on the beautiful girl
crying outside the bar.” I smiled at his teasing. “Well now, at
least I got you to smile.”

“
Do you always lurk
outside bars looking for women in distress?”

“
Nah, usually I just hang
around the women’s bathroom.” He gave me a teasing grin and I
couldn’t help but smile back. He was cute. “I’m Reece by the way.”
He extended a hand.