Best Served Fake

twenty-one // stage one

Rebecca's house was even busier than Jack's had been. The blasting pulse of music could be heard as soon as we stepped out of the car. Laughter and chattering spilled into the night air, merry and slightly slurred. Bec was a popular girl, but I hadn't realised just how popular. The house and lawn were milling with students; it was the biggest party I'd ever attended.

My head was buzzing with a mix of noise and the four shots Izzy had passed to me on the drive over. It seemed that she had Hermione's handbag, except that it was full of an assortment of liquor rather than library books. I was thankful for the faint blurriness of my thoughts as we picked our way across the front lawn. It was the first party I'd ever attended without either Tommy or Sydney flanking my sides, and I was grateful when Cora slipped her arm through mine.

"I know that I didn't support the top, originally, but you do look amazing," she whispered in my ear. "I'm always on your side, I hope you know that."

"I know." I dropped my head onto her shoulder. "I love you, Cors."

She tugged a lock of my hair affectionately, before releasing me back into Kai's diligent care. He stepped up to my side and snuck his arm around my waist, tying us together in matching steps. Cora was immediately grabbed by Izzy, who spun her around with a dizzying laugh.

"I'd be jealous, if I was Tommy," Kai told me in a low voice, sending a shiver through me that settled with a heady warmth low in my stomach.

"Yeah?" I replied, intelligently. I couldn't help it; my breath had caught in my throat, and his eyes were such a vivid blue, it felt like he could through the words caught there.

His voice was a little hoarse. "Oh, yeah. I'm a little jealous, and I've got you." The corner of his lips kicked upward. "For now, at least."

I found that I didn't hate the idea of belonging to Kai Delaney, even if it was just for now. But I liked him being mine even more.

As we strode through the open front door of the house into the crowded hallway, all of our movements were tracked. Appreciative stares lingered on me in ways they never had before. The reflected light of Kai Delaney's attention elevated me to something other, something I'd never been before. I was hyperaware of Kai's hand on me, the warmth of his skin and his body, the distinct smell of him; I was just as aware of myself, the short skirt curving around my ass, the top baring a diamond of skin on my midriff, the slope of my shoulder exposed by Izzy's hairstyle. I felt hot.

Isabelle immediately disappeared, swallowed up by the pulsing crowd instantaneously with a cheerful whoop. I assumed she'd gone to find Jake. Cora followed her into the crowd with a resigned shrug. I barely even noticed. I was caught up in eyes and looks and Kai Delaney.

"I guess this is stage one," I said to him quietly, my lips close to his ear, and I couldn't help the tingles that erupted in me from being so near to him. "What was the next step?"

"God, I can't remember," said Kai, stepping toward me and letting those warm fingers trail from my back a little lower, to play with the hem of that oh-so-short skirt. My breath hitched. "But whatever it is, I hope it involves my hands all over you."

Those blue eyes held promises I didn't know that I could keep. I knew he would do it. Our impending relationship was fake, but there was one part of it that Kai would let me have without complaint. It was hardly a secret that he was a flirt. And by all reports, the payoff was excellent.

I let my fingers find the hair at the nape of his neck, soft strands sliding through my fingers. "Of course, you do," I said. "We all know that you're a shameless hussy, remember?"

"I would never deny my hussy intentions," Kai said with mock seriousness, not at all put out by my reticence. "All of my intentions are completely and utterly hussy related. Oblige me?"