The Next Contestant (35 page)

I see a white envelope in his hand and I know it contains the winner’s name. My brother stands there stupefied as I march down the aisle toward him. My hand automatically reaches for the envelope but my brother is quick and snatches it back.

“What the fuck are you doing?” He screams at me.

“Give me the damn envelope, Kolby.” I attempt to snatch it from him but he’s quicker and tucks it behind his back.

“This is none of your concern. You need to leave. Now.” He attempts to turn me around but I’m not having it.

“I don’t give a shit what you say, Kolby! I’m not leaving. Give me the damn scores or brother or not, I’m narking your asses off!” There. I said it!

“Give her the damn scores for fucks sake. Stop treating her like a goddamn baby, Kolby,” Xavier says and shoves out of his chair.

“Fuck you.”

Xavier flings his chair back, the room echoes when it clatters to the ground. Double shit! He’s storming toward Kolby.

“Let me, Kolby! Think about it. You two get in a fight, there’s going to be cops, and shit’s going to go down. And he’s right. I’m a fucking grown woman so stop treating me like a goddamn baby.” I snatch the envelope. He tries to snatch it back. Too late! Ha.

Kolby rakes his fingers through his hair and sighs. “Fucking fine. I know why you’re doing this. Don’t come crying to me when your little heart is all broken up over him. You’re on your own.”

“Cool. Love you, Bro.” I stand on my tiptoes and plant a kiss on his cheek. He smirks and gives me a hug. All is good.

I want to open the envelope so bad. I know, I know, I’m probably going to regret this. If Jax is the winner, that means he’s… well, I saw the footage so I know he didn’t fuck any of them, but I still feel sick at the thought of him being with them.

THE GUYS ARE
at Muze in a private room awaiting the scores. The thing is I know I’ve lost, but I don’t care. So why the hell am I here? Fuck it. I push through the door and nearly double back when I see Kimber pointing an angry finger at Kolby. I stare at her, unable to move, wondering why the hell she is here yelling at Kolby. I shake my head and refocus. Stepping back, I turn to leave.

“Hey, man, where you going? Don’t you want the scores?” Nick grabs my arm and drags me toward the tables where all the guys are sitting. It takes all my willpower not to punch that smug smile off his face. Prick knows I was out of the game, hung up on said someone.

Doesn’t matter.

“Don’t care.” That’s all I say and turn to walk away after Nick releases me.

“Ahem. I’ve got the name of the top gun right here in my hot little hands,” her sweet, familiar voice announces and I stop dead in my tracts. Before I even turn to look at her, sarcasm drips from her voice when she continues. “Hold up there, Jax. What’s the rush? Don’t you want to know if
you’re
the
biiiig
winner?”

Un-freaking believable. I turn slightly to catch the you’re-so-fucking-dead glare Kolby’s giving me, but why? What the… and then I turn full on into Kimber. The look in her eyes: rage, hurt, and something else—betrayal. I rake my hands through my hair. “It’s not what you think,” I mutter.

“What? Oh!” she announces. “Oh, I think it is. In fact, I know it’s exactly what I think.” The sound of metal grating against the wooden floor has me turning toward it and I see Kolby shoving out of his chair. He’s coming straight at me, until Xavier and Duggar pull him back. I brave a look at Kimber and that’s when it clicks.

“You? You’re… you’re part of the game, you, and Kolby—” She grabs my hair and yanks my head down, her lips warm against my ear. “Might have… earned you some points, but good thing I didn’t. You know, since I was supposedly the game changer,” she spits. “I doubt you stopped on my account.”

“You—”

“Congratu-fucking-lations! Everyone, put your hands together and give a big applause for…” she looks at the ticket, shock evident by her rigid stance. “Kolby,” she says, but it comes out more like a question. She glances up at me and then turns toward the guys. “The winner of this sick and fucked up game is… Kolby.” She turns, walks over to her brother, and shoves the envelope at him.

I turn and walk out.

I should have known. Kolby’s sister was a decoy. He set me the fuck up by throwing her in the mix, telling her to pass herself off as his ex, knowing she might be the one chick I’d dig my claws into and not want to let go. And I’d believe her reasons for not wanting to show her face at the frat house. Well fuck me. But then the real bitch showed up. I can’t explain that.

I lean against the wall outside of Muze. I can hear her yelling, but not for me or at me, but it’s definitely meant for all of us.

“All of you, especially you, Kolby, are a bunch of sick assholes. How disgusting of you to play such a… such a… god! So bad I can’t even compare it to anything.” Then the sound of her heels clacking on the wood, the swish of the door opening, the slam of it closing, and then it’s quiet.

In her haste to leave, she doesn’t see me leaning against the wall. I want to follow her, and tell her… yeah, I push off the wall. Several steps later, my fists shoved in my front pockets, I’m following her down the hall of Blaze. Kimber glances over her shoulder, sees that it’s me, and purses her lips.

“You!”

“Me? No, Kimber. YOU. You and Kolby set me up. Don’t go pointing your prissy little finger at me.”

“You mother—”

“I call Bullshit! Don’t want to hear it. Yeah, it was a game and you fucking played me too, Kimber, or is it Timber?! Congratu-fucking-lations yourself!”

Kimber storms toward me as Kolby shoves through the doors.

I grab her by the wrist and drag her out front and around to the side of the building.

“Your ex… who is my brother’s ex… How can you feel good about yourself? Yet you totally lied and told me I was the one you wanted but couldn’t have.” She tries to push me away but I refuse to let her go and wrap my arms around her waist to contain her.

“Your last video, you were with her! You probably had her, the slut that she is, was all too willing, and ready. For you. You’re evil, sick, and I hate you, Jax. I hate you.”

I smirk and it angers her further. I can’t help it. She’s fucking hot when she’s pissed. I provoke her further by running my hand down her side and press into her suggestively.

“She isn’t the one I wanted. But she was a willing participant, and it would have been so easy—”

“You fuck-face,” she bristles and tries to smack me, but I duck my head into her neck. Kimber grabs hold of my hair and practically rips it out.

“If I would have fucked her, I would have pretended she was you.” I drag my tongue along her neck. Her chest rises and falls faster as she pants breathlessly into my ear. I push against her harder.

I hear the guys exiting Blaze and turn briefly away from Kimber. She escapes from me and storms off toward the front parking lot. I sink down the brick wall and sit on my ass.

After I’m certain everyone has left, I push off the ground and get the hell outta here.

I DREAD COMING
back to the frat house. Stepping into my room, I’m nearly knocked to the ground when someone shoves me from behind.

Kolby slams my door and locks it. “You little fucker. Calling shit out like that. My sister being a decoy to throw you out of the game? I don’t fucking work like that, dipshit.”

He’s breathing down my neck, and the asshole shoved me. I ram into him, press my forearm against his neck, locking him against my door. “Motherfucker, don’t ever come at me from behind again. I’ll take your ass down.” The dick has the nerve to smirk at me.

I release him and watch as he rubs his throat. “You got something to say, Kolby, then say it or get the fuck out.”

“Calm the fuck down. Kimber was not a decoy. I’d never let my sister know what was going down. She’d never go for that. Shit. You saw her reaction. Now I’m a fucking pig, disgusting big brother that she no longer thinks highly of. I came in here to let you know that, and also to inform you that Kimber also told me what she did. I can’t remove you from the fraternity knowing she led you to believe she was my ex. That said the oath is no longer in place. None of the brothers want to see you go and could care less about said oath.”

I’m stumped by his confession, that she actually told her brother the truth. But then how the hell did she find out about the videos, the sick game we’d bet on?
Fuck! She was the one who stole Jaden’s laptop!

I was obviously wrong about Kimber being a decoy. So my original view of her, other than her little white lie, still holds. She’s perfect, beautiful, sweet with a dash of fire, and I want her as much as I did the first time I laid eyes on her.

JAX INFURIATES ME.
How dare he hold me like that! As if we have a chance. How dare he… how dare he give me hope. That’s what infuriates me most. I want him. I’ve never stopped wanting him when I should totally not want him. I want him to want me more.

There’s this huge party, one where several of the colleges get together. I’ve heard it’s the wildest, craziest party of the year. I’ve never been to it previously and I wasn’t planning on going, but I’ve changed my mind.

I’m hyped up and dressed to the nines. Okay, so maybe I look a little slutty, and maybe that’s my intention. I’ve got on the shortest, sexiest skirt with black sequins, and my black bling shirt that buttons down, but I don’t bother with the top ones. I want my cleavage to show. My boobs look perfect in this see through mesh bra. Okay, so that part is covered, but not the cleft between my breasts. I have the bottom of the shirt tied above my navel. So yeah, I’m showing skin, plenty of it. I slide on my trashy, shiny black slut boots. They go up to my knees and look fan-fucking-tastic with my outfit.

I ride with Tiffany and I’m both nervous and excited. We’re carded at the front door. Thank you good old fake ID’s!

We find all the girls, including Sandy and Darcy, sitting at a table and we join them after doing shots of liquid gold. We chug beer and I’m about to down the rest of mine when I notice Jax. There is a girl, one I know I’ve seen before, tailing him. I smile internally when he ignores her attempts to get him to listen to her. He stops dead in his tracks and she runs into his back. He turns around to face her. He’s yelling something at her while one of his hands waves in the air. She storms off, obviously pissed. He swipes his hand through his hair and he’s suddenly locking eyes with me.

Shit!
I lift my nose to snub him and turn to face the girls. When I turn back, Jax’s is gone. Well, yes, my heart sinks, like an anchor weighing down a ship, so I just chug more beer.

Later, I see the same girl Jax was brushing off earlier and I realize who she is. It’s his ex, the one who was at that party forever ago.

Ellery is here. Great.

I’ve avoided Jax for a while now, but then I see him again and turn away.

“He’s staring at you,” Darcy says.

“Good. Let him watch me. I hope he loves what he sees and hates that his little fraternity fucks mean more to him.”

Music is playing and then the lights dim. There are chicks dancing on the stage. It’s like an X-rated bar with stripper poles and ho’s to go.