“No. It’s fine.” I gripped his hand tightly before he could pull away from me. I needed someone’s touch right now, even if it wasn’t the man’s touch that I wanted most. The smile he gave me in response would’ve made any other girl’s dreams. I just didn’t have the heart to tell Matt yet that it wasn’t him and that it never would be.
We held hands the entire way out to the field. There were no words said after he asked me about Talon’s feelings toward me and mine toward him. I was under the impression that he was afraid to lose me to him, and he should be. I wasn’t going to tell Talon he had a chance. He would throw a party and do something far more reckless than he normally did.
Matt watched me out of the corner of his eye as we pulled into the field. A house the size of a mansion set off in the distance. I didn’t know who this Donovan guy was, but by the looks of it his parents had a lot of money.
“You look surprised.” Matt observed.
“I’ve just never heard of this guy. I had no idea that there were so many millionaire families in the Central Heights area,” I replied. The grass in the field was long, and the barn off to the right of where we parked seemed to already be housing quite a few people. A huge pile of branches and pallets were in the center of the field. I had never been to one of these things, but I was kind of excited.
“There aren’t really a lot of people that have money around here, it’s more so based off of who you know.” Matt seemed saddened when he spoke. I didn’t understand what the problem was, but I felt the need to apologize for hurting him if I really had.
“I didn’t mean to say something or bring something up if…”
“No. You didn’t do anything. It’s just hard when you’re less than cool in comparison to the others around here. That’s all. Money talks in a town like this.” Matt’s confession rung true. Someone like Talon only hung with those that held the same status as him. Matt and I were the outsiders in all of this.
“Come on. Let’s have some fun and forget about life for a few hours.” I smiled and it was a genuine one. I felt butterflies flutter around in my belly as we both got out of the car and headed toward the barn.
Then my eyes landed on his and everything came crashing down on me. Talon was here, and even worse than that he was alone. There was a determination in his eyes that scared me into place.
Suddenly I just wanted to go back to the car.
Beauty and The Asshole
I never claimed to be a nice guy; a guy that cared for anything other than a little fun. I wasn’t out to find love or share my dark secrets. No one wanted to know that shit. Not really at least.
All I could feel as she got out of the car with him was the urge to reach out and shake her. To ask her why I wasn’t good enough, even when I knew the answer all on my own. I just wanted her to say it out loud. To remind me with her own voice why I shouldn’t try, because the need to try was almost overpowering me.
“Dude!” Matt greeted me with a fist bump, and I almost didn’t greet him the same way, my eyes only on Mia. She had her hair up in a high ponytail, small ringlets of curls formed at the end of her hair. I loved that she went casual with a gray sweatshirt, a pair of blue jeans, and brown boots. She looked like she belonged here, in this environment. The sky behind her was an array of colors blending from orange to blue. I wanted to capture the moment with a camera but couldn’t so instead I stared at her.
“Talon?” My name came from her mouth with a purr. My cock grew hard, and my body begged me to possess her as my own.
“Ahhh, yes. What’s up?” I snapped out of my own mind. I had to stop thinking about it. About her and the fact that she was here with him and that it wouldn’t be me holding her hand tonight or introducing her to all my friends. I would be standing here, drink in hand, doing nothing but watching. All because that’s the only thing I could do.
“Nothing. We just got here. I was going to ask you where the drinks were,” Matt questioned, his eyes never leaving Mia’s body. My eyes shot down to where their hands were connected.
Fucker. A deep-rooted jealously spread throughout my body like a wild fire. I wanted to punch the guy, to tell him she was mine. Again I held off though. She wasn’t mine, and that was a hard fucking pill to swallow for a man like me.
I pointed to the entrance to the barn. “Head right inside. There are coolers full of beer and wine coolers.” He muttered a thank you and headed off toward the barn leaving Mia with me for a second.
“I’m surprised to see you alone tonight.” She kicked at the dirt, her eyes couldn’t even meet mine. Had I really pushed us apart so much so that she couldn’t even look me in the eyes?
“I don’t always have to have someone with me.” That was a lie because I almost always came with someone and left with a different girl. It’s just how I rolled...until Mia came barreling into my life.