After We Collided (The After Series) (39 page)

“Lame,” Molly chimes in.

Tessa ignores her and downs the shot. She’s already wasted—if she has much more, she’ll be getting sick.

“Molly, truth or dare?” Tessa says, her voice much too smug. Everyone tenses. Steph looks at me questioningly.

Molly’s eyes meet Tessa’s, clearly surprised at Tessa’s bold move. “Truth or dare?” Tess repeats.

“Truth,” Molly answers.

“Is it true . . .” Tessa begins and leans forward, “that you’re a whore?”

Gasps and chuckles fill the area. I bury my face in Tessa’s back to muffle my laughs. Jesus, this girl is nuts when she’s drunk.

“Ex
cuse me?
” Molly retorts, mouth agape.

“You heard me . . . is it true that you’re a whore?”

“No,” Molly says, her eyes now small slits.

Nate is still laughing, Steph looks amused yet worried, and Tessa looks like she’s ready to pounce on Molly.

“It’s called truth for a reason,” Tess eggs her on. I gently squeeze her thigh and whisper to her to let it go. I don’t want Molly to hurt her, because then I’ll have to hurt Molly.

“My turn,” Molly says.

“Tessa, truth or dare?” she asks. Here we go.

“Dare.” Tessa smiles sadistically.

Molly fakes surprise, then sneers, “I dare you to kiss Zed.”

I look up quickly at Molly’s terrible face. “Fuck no,” I say loudly. Everyone but her seems to shrink back a little.

“Why not?” Molly smirks. “It’s familiar territory—she’s done it before.”

I sit up more, pulling Tessa against me as I move both of us.
“Not fucking happening,” I growl at the little whore. I don’t give a shit about this stupid-ass game, she isn’t kissing anyone.

Zed’s eyes are focused on the wall, and when Molly looks over at him, she sees she has no support there. “Fine, let’s do truth, then,” she says. “Is it true that you’re a dumb-ass for getting back with Hardin after he
admitted
he fucked you for a bet?” she asks in a cheery voice.

Tessa’s body goes rigid on my lap. “No, that’s not true,” she says, her voice small.

Molly stands up. “No, no, this is
Truth
or Dare, not little-girl make-believe. It is the
truth—
and you are a dumb-ass for it. You believe anything that comes out of his mouth. Not that I blame you, because I know all of the amazing things that mouth can do. Man, that tongue—”

Before I can stop her, Tessa is off of my lap and lunging toward Molly. Their bodies collide, Tessa pushing her back by her shoulders and grabbing on to them as they both fall back over Ed. Luckily for Molly, some other random kid breaks her fall. Unluckily for her, Tessa moves her hands from Molly’s shoulders and grabs her hair.

“You fucking bitch!” Tessa screams, holding Molly’s bright hair in her fists. She lifts Molly’s head off of the carpet before slamming it back down. Molly yells and kicks her feet under Tessa’s body, but Tessa has the advantage and Molly can’t seem to gain any control over the situation. Molly’s nails claw at Tessa’s arms, but Tessa grabs her wrists and slams them down to her sides before raising a hand and slapping her across her face.

Holy shit.
I jump off of the couch and hook my arm around Tessa’s waist, yanking her off. I never in a million years thought I would be breaking up a fight between Tess and anyone, let alone Molly, who’s all talk.

Tessa’s body thrashes in my arms for a few seconds before she calms slightly and I’m able to drag her out of the living room. I tug
at the ends of her dress to make sure it isn’t hitched up; the last thing we need is for me to have to get into a fight, too. There are only a few people in the kitchen, and already they’re talking about the fight in the living room.

“I will fucking kill her, Hardin! I swear!” she yells, moving out of my grip.

“I know . . . I know you will,” I say, but I can’t take her seriously, despite witnessing her savagery firsthand.

“Stop smirking at me,” she huffs, out of breath. Her eyes are wide and shining, and her cheeks are red with anger.

“I’m not. I’m just really surprised at what happened.” I bite down on my lip.

“I hate her so much! Like,
who the hell does she think she is?
” she shouts and bobs her head toward the others in the room, obviously trying to get Molly’s attention.

“All right, Ortiz . . . let’s get you some water,” I say.

“Ortiz?” she asks.

“He’s a UFC fighter . . .”

“UFC?”

“Never mind.” I laugh and fill a glass of water for her. I check back in the living room to make sure Molly is nowhere to be found.

“My adrenaline is rushing like crazy,” Tessa tells me.

The best part of fighting is the high from the adrenaline. It’s addicting. “Have you ever been in a fight before?” I ask, even though I’m sure I know the answer.

“No, of course not.”

“Why did you get into one just now? Who cares what Molly thinks about us being together.”

“It’s not that. That’s not what made me mad.”

“What was it, then?” I ask her.

She hands me the empty cup of water, and I refill it. “When she said that . . . about you and her,” she admits, her face twisted in anger.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. I should’ve punched her,” she huffs out.

“Yes, but I think knocking her to the ground and slamming her head against the floor worked pretty well, too, Ortiz.”

A small smile breaks from her lips, and she giggles. “I can’t believe I just did that.” She giggles again.

“You are so drunk.” I laugh.

“I
am
!” she agrees loudly. “Drunk enough to slam Molly’s head against the floor,” she says, laughing again.

“I think everyone enjoyed the show,” I tell her, snaking my arm around her waist.

“I hope no one is mad at me for causing a scene.” There’s my Tessa. Drunk as shit, yet still trying to be considerate of other people.

“No one is mad, baby. If anything, they’ll be thanking you. This is the kind of shit these frat kids live for,” I assure her.

“God, I hope not,” she says and looks momentarily grossed out.

“Don’t worry about it. Do you want to go find Steph?” I ask to distract her.

“Or we could do something else . . .” she says, hooking her fingers into the top of my jeans.

“You are never drinking vodka when I’m not around,” I tell her, teasing but so serious.

“Sure . . . now let’s go upstairs.” She leans up and plants a kiss on my jaw.

“You’re a bossy little thing, aren’t you?” I smile.

“You aren’t the only one who gets to be bossy all the time.” She laughs and grips the collar of my shirt, pulling me down to her height. “At least let me do something for you,” she purrs, nipping at my earlobe.

“You just got in a fight—your first fight, at that—and this is what you’re thinking?”

She nods. Then she says in a low, slow voice that makes my pants feel even tighter, “You know you want to, Hardin.”

“Okay . . . fuck . . . okay.” I give in.

“Well, that was easy.”

I grab her wrist and lead her upstairs.

“Has someone already taken over your old room?” she asks when we reach the second floor.

“Yeah, but there are plenty of empty rooms,” I tell her and open the door to one of them. The two small beds are covered with black comforters, and there are shoes in the closet. I don’t know whose room this is, but it’s ours now.

I lock the door and take a few steps to meet Tessa. “Unzip me,” she commands.

“Not wasting any time, I see—”

“Shut up and unzip my dress,” she snaps.

I shake my head in amusement, and she turns around and lifts her hair. My lips brush over the nape of her neck as I slide the zipper down her back. Goose bumps appear on her soft skin, and I follow them down her spine with my index finger. Shivering a little, she turns around, sliding down the sleeves of her dress. The whole thing drops to her feet, revealing the hot-pink lace bra and panties that I absolutely fucking love. I can tell by the smile on her face that she knows this.

“Leave your shoes on,” I practically beg.

She agrees with a smile and looks down at her shoes. “I want to do something for you first.” In a swift motion, she tugs at my jeans, but frowns when they don’t move. Her fingers quickly unbutton the fly front and she pulls them down. I step backward toward the bed, but she stops me.

“No, ew. Who knows who has done what on that thing.” She makes a disgusted face. “Floor,” she demands.

“I guarantee that floor is much dirtier than the bed,” I say. “Here, let me put my shirt down.” I pull my shirt over my head and lay it on the floor, then sit down on top of it. Tessa joins me,
straddling me. Her mouth latches on to the skin on my neck, and she rolls her hips, pushing herself against me.

Fuck.
“Tess . . .” I breathe. “I’m going to finish before you start if you keep doing that.”

She removes her lips from my neck. “What do you want me to do, Hardin? Do you want to fuck me or do you want me to bl—”

I cut her off with a kiss. I’m not wasting any time with foreplay. I want her—I need her—now. Within seconds, her panties lie on the floor next to her and I’m reaching for my jeans to grab a condom. I need to remind her about getting on birth control—I can’t stand using a condom with her. I want to feel her, all of her.

“Hardin . . . hurry up,” she begs and lies back on the floor, using her elbows to prop herself up, long hair trailing onto the floor behind her.

I crawl over to her, separate her thighs even farther with my knees, and move to slide into her. She loses balance on her elbows and falls back to the floor, grabbing on to my arms for leverage.

“No . . . I want to do it,” she says, pushing me onto the floor and climbing on top of me. She whines as she lowers herself onto me, and it’s the most delicious sound. Her hips roll slowly, circling, bouncing, torturing me. She covers her mouth with her hand, and her eyes roll back. When she rakes her nails down my stomach, I nearly lose it. I wrap my arm around her back and flip us over. I’ve had enough of her being in control—I can’t handle it.

“What—” she begins.

“I’m the one in charge—the one with the control. Don’t forget that, baby,” I groan and slam into her roughly, moving in and out at a much faster pace than she was torturing me with.

She nods feverishly and covers her mouth again.

“When . . . we get home . . . I’ll fuck you again, and you won’t be covering your mouth . . .” I threaten, bringing her leg up to my
shoulder. “Everyone will be able to hear you. Hear what I’m doing to you, what only I can do to you.”

She moans again, and I place a kiss on her calf as she stiffens. I am close . . . too close, and I bury my head in her neck as I fill the condom. I rest my head on her chest until our breathing returns to normal.

“That was . . .” she breathes.

“Better than attacking Molly?” I laugh.

“I don’t know . . . at least a close second,” she teases and stands to get dressed.

H
ardin helps me zip, up and I rake my fingers through my hair while he buttons his jeans. “What time is it?” I ask as he slides his shoes back on.

“Two minutes till midnight,” he answers, after looking at the alarm clock on the small desk.

“Oh . . . well, we need to hurry and get downstairs,” I tell him. I’m still beyond intoxicated, but now I’m relaxed and calm, thanks to Hardin. Drunk or not, I can’t believe what happened with Molly.

“Let’s go.” He takes my hand, and we nearly make it to the staircase before everyone begins chanting.

“Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . .”

Hardin rolls his eyes.

“Seven . . . six . . .”

“This is stupid,” Hardin complains.

“Five . . . four . . . three . . .” I begin chanting. “Do it with me,” I say.

He tries not to smile, but is defeated as a huge grin spreads across his face. “Two . . . one . . .” I poke his cheek with my finger.

“Happy New Year!”
everyone screams, including me.

“Yay for the New Year,” Hardin says in a monotone voice, and I laugh as he presses his lips to mine. Part of me was worried that he wouldn’t kiss me here, in front of everyone, but he is now. As my hands travel to his waist he grabs them to stop me. When he pulls away, his emerald eyes are shining. He is so beautiful.

“Aren’t you worn out?” he jokes, and I shake my head.

“Don’t flatter yourself. I wasn’t coming onto you.” I smile. “I really need to pee.”

“Do you want me to come?”

“Nope. Be right back,” I say, giving him a small kiss before walking to the bathroom. I should have had him come along; this is much more difficult than it is when I’m sober. Tonight has been so fun, even with the Molly drama. Hardin has surprised me by being calm, even with Zed, and he’s remained in a good mood all night. After I wash my hands, I head back down the hall to find Hardin.

“Hardin!” a female voice calls.

I look over and see a familiar face: the girl with the black hair who bumped into me earlier. And she’s walking toward Hardin. Being the nosy girl that I am, I stay back a few feet.

“I have your phone, you left it in Logan’s room.” She smiles, pulling Hardin’s phone from her purse.

What?
It’s nothing, I’m sure. They were in Logan’s room, which means most likely they were not alone. I trust him.

“Thanks.” He grabs the phone from her, and she begins to walk away. Thank God.

“Hey!” he calls after her.

“Can you do me a favor and maybe not mention to anyone that we were in Logan’s room together?” he asks.

“I never kiss and tell.” She grins and walks off.

The hallway begins to spin. My chest immediately aches, and I quickly head for the stairs. Hardin notices me rushing by, and I watch as the color drains from his face, knowing he’s been caught.

I
notice a flicker of gold a few feet away. I look past Jamie and see Tessa, whose eyes are wide and whose bottom lip starts trembling. She goes from deer in headlights to angry girlfriend quickly and takes off down the stairs
fast
.