Games of Fire (12 page)

One of the boys she recognized from school swayed as he turned and shuffled towards her. The image struck her so much of a zombie horror movie, she cringed.

“I know you!” the boy slurred, stabbing a sausage-sized finger in Sophie’
s face, nearly catching her in the eye. “You’re—” She never found out who he thought she was when he clutched his middle and doubled over. It was the hand around her elbow, dragging her out of the way that rescued her shoes from being decorated by clumps of unidentifiable grossness.

“Thank you!” she breathed, staggering sideways into her rescuer when her heel caught on a sweater lying discarded on the floor. Warm, gentle hands steadied her and pulled her closer into a solid body, seemingly shielding her. “I
…” she trailed off when she glanced up into his face.

Spencer stared down at her, his gray eyes pools of melted silver. The firm grip of his toned fingers imprinted five strips of heat into her upper arm. She felt every point sear her to the bone. The overwhelming fragrance of leather, tobacco, rain and motor oil wafted off him, surrounding her in velvet ropes of delirium. She shivered. His fingers tightened.
Why could she never keep her head around him? It seemed like no matter how furious she was with him, how much she wanted to toss him under a bus, the moment he was close, the second he touched her, looked at her, she was finished. Her bones were putty and her mind drenched in thoughts of him. It was pathetic, but she couldn’t stop.

“Sophie!” Brian shoved and elbowed his way through the
horde containing him. His hair was disheveled, standing in disarray around his flushed and grinning face. There were crease marks on his shirt like someone had been fisting the material. He staggered forward, narrowly tripping on someone’s foot. He swiped a hand over his chin, wiping away the trickle of liquid dribbling from his lips to stain the front of his shirt. “I’m sorry! The guys get crazy sometimes.”

Sophie didn’t know what to say. The weight of Spencer’s hold on her felt immeasurable. Part of her wanted to shake it off. The other part wanted to turn into it. Spencer made the decision for her. He let her go and took a step back.

Some of Brian’s smile faded, turning a soft shade of curious. “Oh, hey!” He extended his hand towards Spencer. “You’re the new kid, right? Sorry. I’m crap with names.”

Spencer stared at the hand as if it he were being offered a poisonous snake. Brian dropped his arm, not looking offended, but surprised. Sophie could imagine why. Everyone loved Brian. He was a sweet guy. He was fun and outgoing and captain of most of the sporting events at Westwood. He was River Port’s
golden boy. Everyone expected him to do great things once he finished high school. Spencer’s clear dislike was uncommon.

“This is Spencer,” Sophie said, breaking the awkward silence. “Spencer, this is Brian.”

Spencer made no comment, but he turned his gaze towards Sophie. He traced the contour of her face before turning to Brian again. He took the other guy in, everything from his messy brown hair to his expensive Nikes. The left corner of his mouth twisted upwards, oozing mock antipathy.

“Fitting,” he bit out, lips barely moving to form the single word. Then, he was stalking away, disappearing into the crowd.

“Did I do something?” Brian asked, turning away from Spencer’s retreating back to focus on Sophie.

She could only shrug, hating the irrational sting in her chest.

“Do you know him?”

With a sigh, she shrugged again. “He’s my neighbor, but I don’t really know him.”

Brian nodded slowly, thoughtfully. “So … he’s not like an ex or something?” He said the words slowly, carefully, like he was testing the waters.

Sophie blinked. “Me and Spencer?” She laughed. “I’m pretty sure he’d rather kiss a cobra on the mouth. The guy hates me.”

Little lines creased over the bridge of his nose as he scrunched his face into what looked like doubt. “I don’t think that’s it.”

She began to ask him what he meant when the crowd ahead of her parted and Lauren stumbled out, towing a very
limp Jessie.

“Sophie! Thank God!” Jessie was shoved forward, nearly colliding into Sophie.

Frantic, Sophie grabbed Jessie’s shoulders, trying to steady her while attempting to peer into her eyes. “Jess?”

“Some guy gave her a cup of something and she drank it
before I could stop her!”

Brian
stepped up next to Sophie and gently took Jessie from her. He peered into her face closely. He sniffed her.

“Pretty!” Jessie giggled, stroking Brian’s face.

Brian laughed, passing her back to Sophie. “She’s just had too much beer.”

Lauren blinked. “
Too much? The girl had one sip!” The outrage in her tone made Sophie bite back a relieved laugh.

“Lightweight,” Lauren grumbled, folding her arms.

“Come on. We can put her in one of the bedrooms to sleep it off.”

“Oh no you ain’t!” Lauren thrust out a hip and planted a fist on it. “I’ve seen what happens to passed out girls at parties!”

Brian didn’t seem offended. He offered Lauren a small smile. “We’ll use Roy’s bedroom. It locks. I’ll ask him for the key—”

“And all spare keys,” Lauren interjected. “And I’ll hold on to them.”

Brian’s mouth twitched. “Yes, ma’am!”

Nimbly, he scooped Jessie up into his arms and ushered them back through the throng of people towards the sitting area. The group there glanced up when he stalked around the U-shaped leather sofa
with an unconscious girl in his arms. He said something and Roy rose out of his seat, handing a pretty blonde beside him his drink as he dug into his pockets. Seconds later, he was passing Brian a set of keys. Brian shook his head and used the hand he had tucked beneath Jessie’s knees to point at Lauren.

Like an Amazon queen, Lauren marched over and took them from
Roy. Sophie saw her mouth moving, but the music swallowed the words. Roy shook his head, pointing to the keys. Lauren narrowed her eyes, said something with a sharp stab of her finger into Roy’s chest, then spun on her heels and marched towards the doorway. Brian met Roy’s bewildered gaze and grinned before following. Sophie took the tail.

The wall leading up to the second floor was plastered with photos in black and white frames. Each one was neatly positioned to form a larger square. There were six in all to the top. The landing followed the photo theme, but in singles. These frames were larger and
held school pictures of Roy. The narrow hall with its peach colored carpet paved a path to eight doors, each one closed. At the far end was an arched window, beneath it was a table holding a vase of tulips.

“What are all these rooms?” Sophie asked, grateful not to have to yell anymore, but the floor beneath her feet vibrated still.

“Guestrooms mostly,” Brian said, shifting Jessie’s weight a little higher. “Roy’s parent’s offices. Bathrooms. Bedrooms.”

“Dayum,” Lauren
murmured.

They reached one of the last rooms and Lauren hurriedly opened the door into solid darkness. Brian carted Jessie through without waiting for the light to be turned on. Lauren fumbled along the wall until she located the switch. With a flick, the room was enveloped in a soft, gold light that illuminated every boy’s fantasy room.

A queen bed sat pushed up into one corner, leaving the rest of the room open for a giant TV and surround sound system. There were shelves upon shelves, cluttered with games, trophies, books, comics, magazines and action figures. A basketball hoop was mounted into the wall against the opposite wall. Posters of celebrity athletes papered the ceiling. There was a dresser on the other side of the bed, holding up a giant stereo. Despite the amount of stuff, the space wasn’t cluttered or messy.

Brian lay Jessie down gently on the ocean of soft, navy-blue, turning her onto her side. Lauren drew the comforter over her friend’s body and stepped back. She turned to Sophie.

“Do you have pockets?” At Sophie’s nod, Lauren tossed her the keys. “Guard those with your life!” There was no humor on her friend’s face so Sophie didn’t crack a smile as she slipped the keys into the pocket of her jacket, next to her cellphone and house keys.

Quietly, they left, closing and locking the door behind them.

Lauren exhaled. “I’ll check on her in twenty minutes.” To prove it, she set the timer on her watch as she marched to the stairs.

“She’s
…” Brian trailed off, at a loss for words.

“An amazing friend,” Sophie supplied,
grinning.

Brian stayed by Sophie’
s side the whole night, introducing her to his friends, sitting and chatting with her in the sitting area, pulling her onto the dance floor, ignoring her protests that she didn’t know how to dance. He kept her laughing with his jokes and shielded her from the harsh looks some of his friends were giving her. But even he couldn’t stop the sharp taunts some of the girls said right to Sophie’s face.

“They’re friends with Tiffany,” he explained. “They weren’t happy when we broke up.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Sophie said, meaning it.

Brian shrugged, staring down at his hands. “It was bound to happen.”

It was such an unusual response that she couldn’t help asking, “What do you mean?”

He
looked up, his sea-green eyes hooded with a hue of sadness. “I don’t like drama. Even with everything you saw tonight, I’m not the kind of guy who goes out of his way to be the center of attention. I like keeping my personal life private. Tiffany …” He trailed off, giving a sheepish wince.

“Didn’t,” she finished.

He nodded slowly, turning to stare off over the pool. It wasn’t as crowded now that the temperature had dropped. Most of the swimmers had crawled out in search of towels and dry clothes, leaving the backyard nearly empty. There were the odd couples huddled in shadowy corners. Most of them even had their clothes on still. When Brian had brought her out there, leading her to the wrought iron bench beneath the gnarled branches of an oak, she had been certain it was to follow the trend. She’d been working on how to turn him down when he sighed and dropped like a sack of potatoes on the bench, his entire body melting, almost pouring off the edges. He threw his arms over the back and stretched out his legs. Sophie took the spot beside him and watched the others enjoy the night.

Lauren was in the crowd. Sophie could see her flirting quite shamelessly with a boy that didn’t go to their school, and judging from the stubble darkening his jaw, wasn’t even their age. Sophie
was worried, but not for Lauren. The guy had no idea who he was dealing with. One wrong step and Lauren would skin him alive. She spotted Roy watching her friend every so often with a new sort of interest that made Sophie wonder if he would make some kind of move. He didn’t. He remained at a distance, sipping his drink and just watching.

“Your friend is interesting,” Brian said, following her gaze across the courtyard. “Have you been friends for very long?”

“Our whole lives,” she said, feeling a smile creep into her voice. “It’s always been the four of us.”

“Four?”

Sophie nodded. “Joe didn’t come.”

Brian nodded slowly. “The guy that you always sit with. I’ve seen him around, but we’ve never talked.”
He tilted his head to the side, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. “So how come I’ve never talked to you before?” he asked.

Her fingers fiddled nervously at the hem of her dress. “I’m not sure.
I guess because we don’t exactly run in the same circles.”

He
made a soft humming noise. “Well, I’m really glad I got to know you now.”

Her heart jumped in her chest. “You are?”

His shoulder moved in a shrug. “Well, yeah. You don’t give me that vibe.”

Sophie’s eyebrows shot up. “Vibe?”

“A lot of girls have gotten it in their heads that now that I’m single, I’m ready to just jump into another relationship. You haven’t tried hitting on me once all night. It’s nice. Truthfully, I still love Tiffany and that will probably never change so this has been very refreshing.”

The disappointment was crippling. The selfish desire to blurt out that Tiffany was no good for him rose up into her mouth and dissolved, melting down her throat and back into her pinching abdomen. She tried not to meet his gaze, tried not to blink, worried that any sort of movement would somehow give away
her guilt. Surely if she even opened her mouth at this point he would know just what a horrible person she was. After all, wasn’t that what she’d been hoping for?

“Are you sure you and the new kid don’t have something going on?” Brian interrupted her thoughts to ask.

Sophie blinked, surprised by the question. “Spencer? No. Why?”

Brian jerked a chin towards the three set
s
of French doors, all open to the cool January air where they could just make out the dance floor, the sitting area and part of the kitchen. Sophie didn’t see him right away, not with the small cluster of girls surrounding him.

“Well, he hasn’t paid a shred of interest to any of the other girls here, except you. So either he’s severely interested in you, which I would bet money on, or he’s interested in me, in which case … awkward.”