“Maybe that’ll keep the bitches at bay.” She turned away, stomping through the crowd.
Sarah shot me a look that would neuter a weaker man. Lisa smiled sweetly. “I love you, Hayden, I really do, but you have a lot to learn. I hope you enjoy the couch tonight, or the solitude of your own bed.”
“You think she’s that mad?” Tenley’s ponytail swished angrily as she headed for the sliding doors that led to the backyard.
“You just gave her a giant hickey because you can’t stand the thought of anyone looking at her but you. Yes. She is that mad.”
“Shit.”
“I’ll go talk to her. In the meantime, find Jamie and stay out of trouble.”
“Okay.” Lisa turned to leave, but I caught her arm. “Wait. Make sure you steer clear of Trina and Erin and Destiny and that other one . . . Cl—” Christ. I was such a fuckwit. I couldn’t even remember the name of the woman I had sex with less than two years ago. “Charity?”
Lisa gave me a pained look. “You told me you were going to talk to Tenley before the party.”
“There wasn’t a good time.”
“There’s never going to be a good time.”
“I know that. I didn’t want to ruin things. Can we talk about this later? I need you to find her and take care of her. She’s drunk and angry and Sarah’s with her. None of those things are good for me.”
“Fine. But don’t think for a second we aren’t going to talk about this.”
I pulled her into a brief hug. “I’m sorry I’m always screwing shit up.”
She seemed surprised by the affection. “Your intentions are always good, it’s your execution that’s lacking. I’ll see what I can do.”
Lisa disappeared outside. I had a strong urge to follow, but then I’d look like a whipped loser. Which I was. Instead I headed to the basement, where Chris was playing pool. At the built-in bar was an array of drinks and snacks, including cupcakes. They were definitely Tenley’s creations. Black-and-white wrappers in varying designs housed a variety of flavors, icing piled high, little hearts and skulls sprinkled on top. I took one, unwrapped it, and shoved the entire thing in my mouth.
“She made six dozen–you don’t need to inhale them,” Jamie said. He approached the bar, dropped ice cubes in a plastic glass, and poured me a scotch. “You look like you need this.”
“Hey bro, I haven’t seen you all night,” Chris said as he racked the balls. “You want to play?”
“Sure.” I didn’t have anything better to do.
“Whoa H, Tenley having a hard time waiting to get home?” Chris asked.
When I gave him a blank look, he pointed to the side of my neck.
“Oh that.” I hadn’t bothered to look at it. It was sensitive to touch, so it must have been pretty bad. “No, that was payback for being an asshole.”
“You? An asshole? That’s hard to believe,” Jamie snickered.
“I guess it could have been worse?” Chris offered.
“It probably will be later.”
The upcoming conversation with Tenley was one I didn’t want to have. I’d put it off for too long and now, like always, it was biting me in the ass. Almost an hour later Tenley still hadn’t come looking for me. Irritable after losing three games, I went upstairs to find her. I trolled the rooms and ended up running into Damen.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked, checking for his entourage of wannabe tattooists and thugs in training.
“I was invited.”
“By who?” Jamie would never welcome him into his house, and Lisa steered clear of Damen at all costs. “Has Lisa seen you?”
“Not yet,” he said, apathetic. His eyes drifted to my neck. “Sienna’s here somewhere, although from the look of things you might have already found her.”
Shit. The situation was going from bad to worse. I needed to find Tenley and get her home before those two ran into each other.
I turned away from Damen, looked over the room, and came up empty. Maybe the girls had gone upstairs. The hall was roped off past the bathroom. I ducked under the rope and tried all the doors, but they were locked. Stepping into the bathroom, I closed myself in to muffle the pounding music and called Tenley. Voice mail kicked in, so I hung up and sent a text instead. I was about to go back downstairs and do another sweep of the house when the door flew open.
Sienna. She was wearing a black-corset-looking thing that didn’t begin to cover enough skin. Her massive cleavage was pushed up and in, her nipples hazardously close to showing. The sequined black miniskirt she paired it with was so short that I’d catch an eyeful if she bent over.
“Trina! Guess who I found?”
Trina appeared behind her, blocking the doorway. Her eyes lit up with the same salacious intent.
“Trina tells me you’ve been occupied all night, but it looks like you aren’t anymore.”