The Wrong Path_Smashwords (5 page)

To her surprise, it felt delightful, and she had no desire to stop him. She had never really liked Parker all that much, trying to avoid him and his womanizing ways, but she felt full of love for him, wanting to hug him.

“Let’s get a drink,” Parker said in her ear, low and throaty. She shuddered at the sensation and nodded, allowing him to lead her by the hand back to the kegs. Parker held up two fingers, and to her surprise, he tossed a twenty onto the table.

Another soccer player Annabelle only vaguely recognized flashed an impish smile and grinned.

“You look gorgeous, you know,” Parker told her, drawing her into his arms and leaning down to gaze into her eyes.

She smiled up at him coyly, pleased at the compliment. Maybe she had misjudged Parker all this time. He was a good looking guy, with his short crop of sandy brown hair and warm brown eyes. “Yeah?” she teased. “The clothes are Claudia’s, you know.”

Parker had her pressed up against him, and he was irresistibly warm, his embrace impossibly comfortable. “Maybe you should borrow her clothes more often,” he purred in her ear.

She shivered again at the sensation. Parker released her when the drinks were done, and she took the one the soccer player held out to her, toasting it to him in thanks. He grinned wickedly and she giggled, even as she turned back to Parker, who lightly tapped his glass against hers. “To trying something new,” he said.

She nodded and threw back the contents of the glass, guzzling it until it was empty. Then she laughed out loud, and Parker laughed as well, leading her back out to the dance floor.

“Can I cut in?”

“No,” Parker declared hotly, even as Annabelle stepped back away from him to look at the new voice. It was one of the football players… Mark, she thought.

Annabelle lightly patted Parker’s strong arm. “You and I can dance again,” she promised, even as she turned and all-but fell into Mark’s arms.

He danced roughly and out of time with the music, but she didn’t mind. It was almost a relief to have an outlet for all of the energy she felt building up inside of her. She writhed along with him, laughing when he started kissing her neck.

And then something strong and firm grabbed her arm and yanked.

Hard.

She went crashing into the person, yelping, even as she lifted her head to look up. To her astonishment, Will stood there, his eyes flashing as he stared at Mark. He was dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt, an open white shirt over it.

“What the hell is your problem, man?” Mark demanded furiously, stepping forward, almost crushing Annabelle between them.

“You don’t want to start this,” Will told him coldly, his grip on Annabelle fierce. She frowned up at him.

“Do you want to dance?” Annabelle asked him, confused.

Will glanced down at her, his expression a mixture of sympathy and anger. “Yeah,” he answered.

Annabelle felt delight fill her. “Really?” she asked excitedly, turning to face him. His grip on her loosened, but he didn’t relinquish her arm. “I kind of thought you hated me.”

He ran his free hand through his hair. “I don’t hate you,” he told her, almost patiently.

She frowned and leaned back slightly. “Are you patronizing me?” she asked, then turned and looked back for Mark, who she knew wouldn’t patronize her. But Mark had already vanished into the crowd, abandoning her with Will. She shrugged and returned her attention to Will, standing in front of her.

“No.” To her surprise, he was clad in only his white t-shirt, his button-down in his hands, which he held out for her to step into. She dutifully slid her arms into the arms of the shirt, shocked at the astonishingly soft material that enveloped her. A warm, heady cologne invaded her senses and she nearly swooned, the scent addictive and almost painfully delicious. As she stepped back she laughed, holding up her arms to show how large it was on her, falling almost to her knees. He nodded approvingly, smiling, and held out his hand. “Dance?”

She laughed again and threw herself into his arms. Will might have been a year younger, but he was strong and protective, and she felt completely relaxed in his arms as they danced. He was a good dancer, too, graceful and in-step with the beat. He held her a few inches away from himself, not like the other guys she had danced with, who couldn’t seem to get close enough. Irritated at the distance between them, she squirmed in his arms, trying to get closer. Will spun her by her hand away from him, then returned her to his strong embrace, at the same distance as before. She tried again and he repeated the movement, keeping her away from him.

It was frustrating and almost heart-breaking.

“Do you think I’m pretty?” she demanded, stopping short.

An aggravated look marred his attractive features as he ran a hand through his hair again, apparently a habit of his. He opened his mouth to answer when she felt something take her arm. Will’s dark eyes flashed, glaring up at something beside her. She followed his gaze up to her left, recognition flooding her.

“Grey!” she greeted enthusiastically, hugging him. “How are you?”

He grinned widely. “Great. How are you? Are you having fun?”

“Absolutely! I’m having the best time of my life!”

Grey held out his hand to her. “Would you like to dance?”

Before she could accept, she was suddenly yanked into Will’s arms, which he wrapped tightly around her. “Show a little class,
Grey
. She’s with me.”

Startled, Annabelle turned in his arms to look up at him. “I thought you hated me,” she said again.

To her utter disbelief, he touched his forehead down to hers and let out a soft sigh. “I don’t hate you, Belle.”

She smiled happily. “I don’t hate you, either. I think you’re amazing.”

Will smiled, almost painfully, and pulled back. “Everyone’s probably pretty amazing, huh?”

She let out a laugh and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yup! Everyone is amazing. Especially you! I’m having such a good time. Are you having fun?”

He was tense when he answered, but a flirtatious smile curled up his lips. “Of course. I’m with the most beautiful girl at the party. The guys can’t take their eyes off of you.”

She clasped her hands behind his neck and swung back, letting her knees go weak. He braced himself quickly, wrapping his arms tightly around her to keep her from falling and pulling them both down. “You think I’m pretty?” she asked, laughing.

“Everyone thinks you’re pretty, Belle.” He lifted her back up to her feet, returning her weight to her legs, barely an inch between them—the closest he’d allowed her to be to him all night. He was warm in the cool night air, the heat between them flushing her already-hot skin. Still, a shiver ran through her as she gazed into his eyes, which were fixed on hers, just inches away.

He started to say something, a troubled look in his eyes, when a startled, bewildered voice interrupted him. “What’s going on?”

Her head snapped to the right, causing her vision to swim, and she had to blink to clear it. “Can’t you tell, bro?” Will asked mockingly, and suddenly she was tugged against him in a hug.

Bro? Trevor! Trevor was there! Trevor, who she had loved since she was a little girl!

“Trevor!” Annabelle squealed in delight, breaking away from Will to throw her arms around him. “Hi!”

Trevor was tense, but his arms automatically held her back. “What’s going on?” he asked again, slower this time.

Annabelle pulled away far enough to look up into his face. “Will and I were dancing!” she declared giddily, thrilled that he had appeared after so long. His embrace was warm and gentle, just like Trevor, and she was so happy to be there she could have stayed in his arms all night.

Something seemed to alarm Trevor, because he suddenly looked down at her with wide, confused eyes. Then he looked over at Will, who crossed his arms and returned the look coldly. The boys stared at each other for several moments before Trevor sighed and broke the glare.

“Do you want to go home?” he asked her gently.

“Home?” she repeated distastefully, thinking of sitting in bed with her abundance of energy and nothing to do with it. “No. I want to dance.” She peered up at him, feeling all of the love she had for him pour out of her as if it were tangible. “I want to dance with you.”

Trevor smiled weakly. “I, ah, I don’t really dance…”

“Will danced with me,” she protested, frowning. “And he’s really good. You come from the same gene pool. Surely you can manage.”

Trevor’s smile was tight. “Will’s had a lot of practice,” he told her, almost shortly. She watched as he looked over at his younger brother—who Annabelle suddenly noticed was the same height as him. “Do you need a ride home?”

Will shook his head, even as Annabelle released her grip on Trevor and took Will’s hand as inspiration struck her. “You should come with us!” she insisted, not wanting to miss out on Will’s company, which she was thoroughly enjoying. “We can sing at the top of our lungs!”

Will’s hand lightly squeezed hers before letting go, looking up at Trevor with a cold smile. “You should stay. Get her some much-needed water.”

Trevor tensed, but Annabelle looked up at him pleadingly. “Can we?” she begged.

Trevor looked down at her, his expression torn. It was Will who spoke up, his voice low. “Unless you can guarantee her parents are already asleep, you probably shouldn’t take her home yet if you ever want to take her out again.”

Annabelle looked over at his cold glare, then up at Trevor, wrapping her arms around the older Scarlett. She fit so well against him, and strength just exuded from him. She relished in the sensation. “Do you want to take me out again?” she asked coyly.

He smiled weakly. “I’d like it if I could, yeah… If you’d want to.”

A large grin spread over her features. “I would love to!” she declared happily.

“You two should go park somewhere,” Will suggested behind her.

“Will—“ Trevor began angrily. He interrupted himself, looking disgusted, and stared out at the crowd. He sighed, then let out an aggravated, “What are you doing here, anyway?”

Will arched an eyebrow. “What do you think? A friend of mine was asked to bring some…” he paused, his eyes meeting Annabelle’s, “party favors.” He looked back up at Trevor. “She wanted some backup.”

“Party favors?” Annabelle repeated, frowning. It was like someone had tossed cold water on her. Everything was still brighter than normal, but somehow she felt sobered up. She looked up at Trevor, then over at Will, who was staring at her. “You mean…” She stumbled quickly out of Trevor’s arms, a cold sweat breaking out over her body. “Oh. Oh god.” She wrapped Will’s shirt around herself tightly, feeling violated and terrified. “Am I…?”

“Yup,” Will confirmed cheerfully. “How’s it feel?”

She looked over at him in horror. “You knew?” she demanded helplessly, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

He rolled his eyes. “Of course I did. You’re not really the type to let a guy practically undress her in front of a crowd of people.”

Her stomach churned. Her face flushed in humiliation. And then, unable to speak, she broke away from both of them and ran toward the trees she had escaped to earlier, her heart racing. She tried to throw up, but nothing came out. Exhausted, she collapsed to her knees on the dirt, using her hands to keep herself braced as she tried to control her breathing. She could feel the dirt under her hands, moist and rich, thick unlike anything she had ever felt before. And yet some part of her knew that it was just dirt.

Oh god, how had this happened to her?

She heard a noise behind her and whirled around, the trees spinning slightly with the movement. Trevor stood there, a look of concern on his face. “Are you okay?” he asked her worriedly.

She tried not to cry. Why did she have to realize what was happening in front of Trevor, of all people? “Yeah,” she assured him, trying to control herself. If she burst into tears, she would never live down her humiliation.

“Do you want to go home?”

She shook her head. She could never, ever let her parents see her like this. “I-I’ll stay at Claire’s tonight.”

He nodded. She still felt adrenaline pumping through her system, making her restless. Her body wanted to move, but now that she knew why, she felt like she could control it. Or at least what she did about it. “Do you want to get some coffee or something?”

Again, she shook her head. She just wanted to curl up in a ball and stay there until everything faded out of her system. “I’m okay. Thank you, though.”

He nodded and smiled encouragingly. “At least nothing bad happened.”

She thought about the hands she had let travel her body and hung her head, feeling dirty and ashamed. She had never known what it meant to want to crawl out of her own skin until that moment, but she wished she could; could just claw it all off. She had embarrassed and humiliated herself in front of the entire school. How could she ever live that down?

There was a clattering in the trees from the direction of the lake house. She quickly turned away as they were joined by a panting, half-panicked boy. “Trev. Dude. Trev. You gotta help me. Zach and Cody are about to kill each other.”

There was a hesitation. “I-I—“