Ex-Factor (Diamond Girls) (26 page)

Bodie stepped forward and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. “I promised you earlier I wouldn’t lay a hand on Eli, and I won’t. But Nev, if he comes at me I’m not gonna hold back.”

I nodded grimly. I hoped for Eli’s sake he had the sense to keep his hands to himself. I’d hate to be on the receiving end of a beating from Bodie.

Meg’s backyard held the same type of opulent grandeur as the rest of her house. Thousands of tiny white lights lay scattered across the plethora of trees and bushes surrounding the back patio, which was lined with individually cut stone tiles. I immediately pictured an old guy with a hammer and chisel, sweating in the sun as he whacked away at the beautifully carved stones.

A large fountain sat directly in the middle of the patio, the soothing sound of running water echoing throughout the large space. Directly behind the fountain lay a narrow pathway, which I assumed led to the garden portion of the yard.

“Asshole! I can’t believe you did this to me!”

I stiffened at the sound of the familiar voice and spun around, trying to gauge the direction it had come from.

Bodie’s eyes narrowed. “Was that—”

“Erin,” I said, panic riddling my voice. I rounded the enormous fountain and took off down the narrow path into the garden. Large draping Willow trees blocked out the already dark night sky, and I rammed my toe into the corner of one of the many metal benches spaced throughout the garden. Wincing in pain, I hobbled around a large topiary with Bodie hot on my tail, and skidded to a halt.

The full moon shone down on the open area, revealing a very angry, very animated, and very drunk Erin ripping into a very flustered looking Eli. His shirt was bunched up, one side riding high on his chest, and his pants were undone, the prominent bulge beneath his boxers jutting out for the world to see. A petite blond sat on the bench behind him, frantically tugging at the hem of her dress.

Oh, holy hell in a hand basket.
My stomach dropped and the air in my lungs fizzled out in a slow whoosh. Erin had caught Eli with his pants down—literally.

Erin glanced over to me and barked out a laugh. “Perfect!” She focused on Eli once more and staggered forward a step. “Just perfect.” Dark liquid sloshed out the sides of the plastic cup she held, splattering onto the ground below as she waved her arm back and forth in a frantic motion. “First I find you sticking it to some random beezy, and now Nev,” she glanced over her shoulder and beamed me with hatred, “my so-called friend, has decided to join in the fun.”

I stepped forward and raised my hand. “Erin. It’s not—”

“Shut up,” she shouted. “Just shut up, Nev. I don’t want to listen to any more crappy stories about your past. I’m not interested in any more of your lies. I know all about you and Eli. Your text messages to one another. Your conversation at the homecoming game.” Her voice broke, and she paused for a minute, downing a huge gulp of whatever was in her cup.

She raised her opposite hand toward me and pointed. “I saw you two today. Talking. Kissing.” She whipped her head around and pegged Eli with an icy glare. “I heard what you told her, asshole. That she’s the only one for you.” She slammed her lids shut and bent forward, face twisted as if she was in pain. A loud sob blew past her lips, and she shook her head.

“I should have listened when my friends told me to stay away from you. Should have listened to the tiny voice in the back of my head that kept warning me you would use me up and spit me out.”

The desperation in her voice tore at my gut, and I took another step forward, wanting nothing more than to get her away from Eli and away from the party. She’d come unhinged, and I was damn sure the stuff she was tossing back wasn’t just plain ol’ soda. Erin was hammered.

Eyes wild, she threw up her hand to ward me off. “No! Just stay back, Nev.”

She flashed a set of eye daggers in Eli’s direction and sneered. “Don’t you have anything to say?” She raised her empty hand and began counting on her fingers. “One, two, three… four girls, Eli. You’ve slept with four different girls in the past week. What do you have to say about that?” She craned her neck and glared at the girl on the bench. “How does that make you feel? You’re booty call number four.”

The girl jumped to her feet with a quiet sob and raced out of the garden with her hand over her mouth.

Eli, on the other hand, refused to utter a word and silently stuffed his junk back into his pants before righting his shirt.

My stomach rolled and I exhaled a shaky breath.
Four. Four.
Why did that number send nausea whirling inside my gut?

And then I knew. My gaze snapped to Erin’s, a breathy “God, no” escaping my mouth. I knew why that number seemed off. I knew the reason she’d fallen apart at practice the other night and why she was drinking herself into oblivion now. Erin had lied to me about having sex with Eli. She’d been conquest number one, followed by Callie, and the nameless girl who’d fled just moments ago. It was obvious she’d lost faith in me as a friend, because she’d lumped me into the mix, mistakenly believing I’d betrayed her as well.

I blinked back tears.

Bodie placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Take care of your girl.” He brushed past me with a growl, Barrel Neck and some other senior guy I didn’t know flanking him on either side. Things were about to get ugly.

I rushed Erin, ignoring her shouts of protest, and snagged the plastic cup from her hands.

Angling my body away so she couldn’t grab it out of my hands, I held it up to my nose and cringed at the caustic smell of cola mixed with hard alcohol. “What did you do, pour an entire cup full of Jack Daniels and add a splash of soda?” I tossed the remaining liquid into a nearby bush and chucked the cup, too worried about Erin to care about littering Meg’s back yard.

Erin sneered and tried to dart past me, but I cut her off. “We need to talk, Erin. You’ve got it all wrong. Please believe me when I tell you there’s nothing going on between me and Eli. I’m with Bodie.”

Her eyes trailed over to the boys. Faces taut with strain and chests puffed up and full of adrenaline, they were hurling expletives at one another at an alarming rate, but thankfully keeping their fists to themselves.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” she said, shaking her head.

Every part of me wanted to gather her into my arms and hug her. I knew the pain of betrayal, and wished I could take it from her. But, given her anger and her grossly inebriated state, I wasn’t sure how she’d react, so I settled for placing a hand on her arm. “Why’d you lie to me about having sex with Eli?”

She exploded. “Why’d you lie about him flirting with you? Why did you keep his texts a secret? Don’t expect me to answer your questions or share with you when you’ve done nothing but lie to me.” She slapped my hand away with a growl and lunged forward, knocking me to the ground. Body shaking with anger, she hovered over me for a brief moment, then took off, shouting, “Stay away from me, Nev” over her shoulder.

I peeled myself off the ground in time to see Bodie and his friends surrounding Eli. Bodie had his arm pulled back, his fist ready to fly. “Stay the fuck away from Nev!” he seethed through clenched teeth. “And stay away from her friends. Or I swear to fucking God, I’ll rip your arms off and shove ‘em down your throat. You got me?”

Eli openly cowered beneath Bodie and his muscled-up friends, making no effort to save face. He swallowed hard and nodded once, at which point Bodie stepped back, allowing him to flee the garden.

Bodie had done an excellent job making his point, because Eli didn’t so much as peek in my direction as he ran.

I slammed into Bodie’s chest the moment Barrel Neck and his friend left the scene. His powerful arms snaked around me, and he buried his face in my hair. “It’s over, baby. All taken care of. Just like I promised.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and peered down at me with a relieved smile. “And I kept my word. I didn’t lay a finger on him.” He chuckled. “Let’s just say, after tonight, I’m pretty sure Eli won’t be able to look in your direction without pissing himself.”

I wanted to return Bodie’s smile. I longed to feel the same relief he did, but the fracture in my relationship with Erin kept me from feeling anything but sorrow and regret. My eyes misted and my lower lip wobbled. “She hates me, Bodie. Erin hates me now. She won’t even look at me, much less listen to what I have to say. I blew it with her. I ruined everything.”

Tenderness and warmth radiated from behind Bodie’s eyes as he cupped the sides of my face. He leaned down so our eyes were level. “Real friends forgive each other, Nev. Erin’s hurting right now, but she’ll get past it and see the truth for what it really is. You two will work it out. I’m sure of it.”

I placed a hand on top of his and sniffled, secretly hoping he was right.

A cool breeze swept over us and I shivered. The shirt Bodie had given me sported a giant wet spot thanks to my soaked shirt underneath. All I wanted to do was go home, peel myself out of my wet clothing, put on some jammies, and go to sleep. Well, and maybe do some snuggling with Bodie.

Bodie inclined his head toward the house. “C’mon,” he said. “Let’s get you out of that wet shirt. Then we’ll find Erin and get the hell out of here. I’m over this scene.” Fingers laced with mine, Bodie led me into the house and into the first bathroom we could find.

The room was trashed. The hand towel was soaked through and lying in a heap alongside the toilet near the garbage can. An empty toilet paper roll lay crumpled on the back of the tank, and the mirror was spattered with an opaque white liquid that looked like… I narrowed my eyes and fought back a gag.
Okay, changed my mind. Don’t want to think about what that is.

Bodie shut the door behind us, the click of the lock echoing off the walls as I lowered the lid and took a seat on the toilet.

I wasn’t sure when it happened, but the mood between us had definitely shifted. The aura of support and care we’d clung to throughout the evening had morphed into a thick cloud of overwhelming need.

Kneeling so that he was eye-level with me, Bodie slipped his fingers beneath the edge of the shirt he’d given me. “First order of business, let’s get these wet shirts off you. Arms up.”

I stared at him in silence for a moment, mind racing, lungs burning for air.
Holy hell.
My boyfriend was about to see me in nothing but my bra. In a trashed bathroom in the middle of a raging party. The timing was off, and completely inappropriate considering everything that had happened, but in that moment I couldn’t be bothered to care. I needed a distraction to take my mind off all the yuck, even if only for a few minutes. I needed something warm, and real, and good. And Bodie, well, he was all those things and more.

Completely mesmerized by the growing heat in his eyes, I did as he asked, my heart hammering against my ribs as the wet cotton fabric pulled away from my body.

A chill swept across my exposed flesh, but I was far from cold. The warmth radiating from Bodie’s eyes, the way he looked at me, at my body, as though he’d just found buried treasure—it did things to me. Made my skin tingle. Made me warm and achy in places I’d been sure I’d never ache again. The air in the room felt sparse, thin. The heat and the electricity between us were impossible to ignore. I didn’t want to ignore it.

Reaching behind him, Bodie ripped one of the fancy, black decorator towels from the iron rack it hung from. He held his hand out toward me and paused, the towel centimeters from my skin.

My breath caught.

Eyes locked with mine, he drew the plush terry fabric down the center of my chest in a slow, gentle swipe.

My eyelids fluttered to a close, and every part of me wished his hands were touching me instead of the towel.

“There,” he said after several more passes. “I think you’re dry now.”

Lids heavy, pulse hammering in my ears, I opened my eyes, dizzy and entirely drunk off Bodie’s presence. He’d barely touched me, hadn’t even kissed me, and I was a heaving mass of wanton flesh. The high I got from being around Bodie was a million times better than booze or drugs. And a hell of a lot safer.

Apparently satisfied with his work, he chucked the towel onto the counter and sat back on his heels. In one swift motion, he pulled his white tank over his head and dropped it to the floor.

Oh.

Dear.

God.

Half-naked. Bodie was sitting inches from me, half-naked, and hungry—for me.

Life so
did not suck at that moment.

“So beautiful,” he whispered, rocking forward onto his knees. His strong hands latched onto my waist and pulled me forward until our chests were flush.

I couldn’t breathe.

I didn’t care.

My skin burned where he ghosted his fingers up the length of my back. With a groan, he buried them into my hair. “Nev… I… God, baby. I know this isn’t the time or place, but I really need to,” his gaze dipped low, then back to mine, his dark eyes burning with want, “kiss you.” A low groan rumbled from deep inside his chest and then his lips were on mine.

He buried his hands in my hair, fisting large pieces and tugging gently when I groaned in pleasure.

Dizzy, I slid my hands up his stomach and chest, trailing my fingers gently over every smooth, chiseled nook and cranny, until my hands finally came to rest on either side of his neck. I moaned when he pulled my hips closer to him and ground against me, the fire in my stomach a raging inferno I had no desire to squelch. “Bodie, I—”

Bam!

Bam!

Bam!

I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“Nev! Bodie!”

Livvie?
Breathless, I glanced at the door, then to Bodie.

The pounding continued. “Nevaeh Evans. I know you’re in there. J.P. saw you walk in. Open the door. Hurry! It’s Erin. She’s in trouble!”

Oh no…

I didn’t have to say a word. Bodie had his tank off the floor and over my head the next moment. He pulled his wet shirt on and snatched my soaked tee off the ground while I opened the bathroom door. Shame burned beneath my skin. I couldn’t believe I’d let myself get so carried away. Especially when I knew Erin was hurting. Once again, I’d taken the selfish route and worried about myself and what made me feel good before thinking about anyone else. What was wrong with me? Why did I continually make one bad decision after another?