3. Daisy

THREE

DAISY

A week after moving out and breaking up with Dean, I found myself walking up to the lake house, my nerves already fried. I kept trying to remind myself that I was still technically friends with a lot of these people, and the ones here who I wasn't friends with didn't matter.

The panic still welled up in my chest, though. The chronic need for everyone to like me was still trying to burrow under my skin until I did anything to be friends with all of them again.

It had to be an illness. I wanted all of them to like me, even when I knew I didn't like them.

It had been one week since I blew my life up by moving out of the sorority and breaking up with Dean. The domino effect that followed left me on the outskirts of everything. Even the girls who were still friendly to me started responding less and less until my phone sat by me, silent all the time. I knew it had to do with me being gone more. I was out of the sorority house and off campus. The out of sight, out of mind effect, was currently all too real.

I was now a social outcast, and I hated it.

It's not like they had all been the best of friends, but moving out of the sorority didn't mean I wanted them all to cut me out completely. A few of the girls had become close friends over the past few years, and they were taking me moving out personally. The other half were celebrating, taking Sydney's side in the entire mess and making me the villain.

So I came out tonight not only to get my friends back, but to figure out what they were all saying about me. I didn't exactly want to be back on top in the sorority hierarchy, but I wanted to be something to them.

It felt like an obsession now. I needed them to like me, to be happy with me, and the idea of them being mad at me and not knowing why was driving me out of my mind. It was either sitting at home hoping they liked and commented on my socials or texted me, or I was going to be here, trying to get attention to stay in the friend group. Sydney was having a party here at her parents' lake house and I knew if I missed it, I would never be relevant again.

I saw Dean sitting out front, and I tried to make a wide berth to stay out of sight and out of his grasp. As much as part of me missed the relationship we used to have, no part of me would be looking to rekindle it.

"Daisy, you came!" he yelled, reaching out for me. "Can we talk?"

I swerved out of his grasp. "Of course I came. And no, we can't."

"Did you come to the game tonight? What am I saying? You always come for me," Dean said with a laugh, his friends joining in. The insinuation was clear, and it made my skin crawl. It was just like Dean to share too many details, twisting our private moments into something gross. Every time I hung out with them, they treated me like I was easy, all because Dean couldn't keep his mouth shut, and told them every detail of our personal life.

"Just leave me alone, Dean. I don't want to talk to you tonight."

"Yes, you do," he growled, grabbing my arm and squeezing tight. "And you can't embarrass me after a win like that. Come on, let's hang out."

"Screw you. We broke up, remember? I'm dating someone else now anyway, so leave me alone." The lie fell out of my mouth so easily that I was grateful. I wasn't always the best liar, but I couldn't stand here alone and pathetic, because I knew he was already sleeping with my friends.

Or at least some people I had thought were my friends.

He laughed, the rest of his group still laughing along with him.

" Right , I'm sure. You could barely get me, Daisy. Is he even real or are you just making it up to not seem so pathetic?" he mocked.

The anger and embarrassment burned my cheeks, partly because it was rude and partly because it was true. I hadn't been with anyone since him. And it had only been a week, but I knew he had already slept with Sydney. Dean was so good at making me feel less than him, and even if I knew it wasn't always true, it was now. No guy had even attempted to hit on me in the last week, and the whole school knew I was single.

I felt even more pathetic than when I had walked up here.

I turned, searching for someone, anyone, who looked like they could help. There had to be one guy at this party who was single, hot, and desperate enough to kiss me right now.

This wasn't the night I planned to have, and there was no way I would let Dean laugh me off. I let him do it the entire time we dated. I felt free of that now, and the need to prove that burned through me.

I looked through the crowd and saw him.

Kye Baker, of all people, was walking down the sidewalk right towards me.

All messy blonde hair and tattoos. One ran up the side of his neck and another peeked out from the wrist of his jacket.

People stepped out of his way. The scowl on his face made him look pissed, and the tattoos and piercings didn't make him look any friendlier. He was hot—I didn't know if there could be any question about that — but the hot from afar type. The type of guy you stepped away from because he was unpredictable, ready to fight at a moment's notice, and there was no reason to become a target.

On any other day, I would have stepped out of his way, too.

I knew enough about Kye. We went to high school together, and I knew he and his friends were into…illegal things. I knew he didn't go to college here, so he was probably only at the party to make trouble. I knew his track record with my dad and getting arrested, and one look at him backed up everything I had come to believe. I didn't think my dad could even count the number of times he'd arrested Kye. One of the last times I actually saw him was when he was being arrested, and I happened to be in my dad's car.

Kye seemed to thrive on getting into trouble, doing everything he could to cause chaos, and it seemed to be true tonight.

I also knew that he knew who I was.

Right now, he was the only one paying even a bit of attention to what was happening to me. He also remained the one person here that Dean would not mess with or question further. Even if someone didn't know Kye, it was pretty easy to assume he wasn't scared of a fight.

Kye's eyes found mine, and he cocked an eyebrow at my sudden interest in him. Which was fair, considering every other time we'd run into each other, my face was probably more repulsion than interest.

It felt like enough for me. I hurried down the walkway, headed right towards him. He pulled to a hard stop, that eyebrow still raised as he glared down at me.

I wasn't sure if he felt more surprised that someone stepped in front of him instead of away, or that it was me.

"What are you doing?" he asked, the deep tone obvious that he wasn't happy with my sudden appearance. I was still speechless, taking him in.

He looked more dangerous up close, more wild. The tattoos, nose ring, and intense gaze made a shiver run down my spine. I wasn't someone who hung out with people like him, but there was always a good time to start, and right now I needed someone who would make Dean stop bothering me completely.

And I knew him being single was almost a guarantee.

I reached up, wrapping my hands around his neck and pulling him down to me. "Make this believable, and I'll give you whatever you want," I begged quietly. "Please, I'll do anything."

He didn't say anything but furrowed his brows further.

"Make what believable?" he grumbled. He was so stiff that I had to adjust my arms around him. It was like holding on to a board, and that wasn't going to help me sell this to Dean.

"So glad you made it, babe," I said loudly, moving onto my toes to kiss him. My lips were against his for a second before he reached up, grabbing my face. He squeezed hard, the force of his fingers hollowing out my cheeks, his lips still an inch from mine as he held me in place.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he asked, his words a whisper, but the snarl on his lips was clear.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but I need your help."

"And jumping me is going to help you?"

My heart raced, the panic bubbling up that he was going to reject me now.

This was bad.

This was really bad. Kye rejecting me in front of everyone would be so much worse than it only being Dean.

It seemed to click then as he glanced over at Dean and then back at me, a cruel and twisted smile coming over him. "That's your boyfriend?"

"Ex, and I will give you literally anything you want if you play along."

"Anything?"

I should have stopped right then and there. I shouldn't have promised literally anything to a guy like this, but I was already wrapped around him. The anger and embarrassment would only get worse if I backed down now.

" Please ." I begged again

His hand finally loosened its grip on my face. "Interesting that you are so desperate about something, you're coming to me," he said, the deep rumble of his voice making warmth spread over me.

"My ex-boyfriend is a dick, and I would like him to regret the things he has said to me. You are my best bet for that."

He leaned down into me, and I took the opportunity to bring my lips to his. He was frozen, a statue, as I kissed him, and I almost pulled away in embarrassment until he finally moved, kissing me back.

It was so soft, so gentle, that I couldn't believe it was Kye kissing me. I had assumed it would be rough, painful almost, but the hesitation to his lips shocked me.

I wound my hands into his hair, pulling him closer. He hesitated before his tongue ran along my lips. My body started to melt against him, but he didn't seem to mind as he pulled me in closer, nearly holding me up as my legs slowly gave out. I could feel every swipe of his tongue to my toes, the heat burning through me so fast, but I needed more. I was almost crawling up him now, clinging to his body like my life depended on it.

We stayed like that for another second until he pulled away. "Wait," I said on instinct, wanting more.

"Do you like an audience?" he asked with a quiet laugh.

Reality snapped back, and I glanced around. "Damn," I breathed. I had just made out with Kye in front of everyone.

Worse, I liked it. Judging by how turned on I was now, I really liked it.

Heat crept into my face, and he noticed. "Oh, come on. Don't shy away now. You meant to do this, now own up to it," he said. There wasn't warmth in his tone, and a new fear churned in my stomach that I had just pissed off the one guy that I should definitely not piss off.

He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket but stopped before he could light it. I followed his eyes, turning around to see Dean staring at us, mouth open, the shock on his face making me smile.

At least I got the satisfaction of seeing that.

"Hey, what's up?" Kye said, throwing an arm over me, each move so casual and comfortable, like this was completely normal for us. Like we really had been dating.

I leaned hard against him, my legs still not recovering. "Do you guys know Kye?"

Anger, or something more like hatred, flashed over Dean's face. I didn't actually know who knew Kye and who didn't. He came around the parties enough that I wouldn't be surprised if they knew him, but Dean hadn't gone to our high school, and Kye kept to himself so often that Dean could easily not know him from any other strange guy that comes around.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he seethed. "We take one small break and this is what you go find? Some bottom of the fucking barrel loser?"

"You said it didn't matter who I was with and the same for you. Haven't you slept with half my old house at this point?" I asked.

"Daisy, I didn't do anything like that."

"But you slept with Sydney," I said, already knowing it was true.

"I told you before we even broke up that it might happen."

Kye pulled away from me but stayed close. He fidgeted with the cigarette now, and I really hoped he wouldn't light it until I left.

"Hold on, you told her before you broke up that you were going to fuck her friends? And you're calling me a loser?" Kye asked, nearly laughing.

"Shut up. No, I told her it might happen." Dean turned back to me. "You know I couldn't promise anything."

"And neither could I, so you can't be mad that I'm with him now."

"Yes, I can. I know your dad wouldn't be happy about this either." Dean came closer now, his friends right behind him, but Kye didn't move.

"Aww, poor guy," Kye mocked. "Are you just mad she already found someone that fucks her better? Or that there's really no use for you now?"

I pinched at his side, knowing that if he pushed it more, Dean would start a fight.

Dean's face turned a deep red now.

"Daisy, do you know what your reputation will be after word gets out that you're with him? Especially after me? Everyone is going to think you're a slut."

"You better stop while you're ahead, Dean. We're going to the party. If you want to keep calling her that and start a fight, just let me know. I'm here whenever." He waved his hand around. "Until then, Daze and I are going to have some fun." He grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him. It wasn't kind or gentle. It definitely wasn't romantic, but I still smiled as he dragged me with him. "Then maybe head home early to have more fun. She can't seem to get enough," Kye added with a wink as we walked by. "Something about football players' dicks being as useless as their brains? Probably one too many concussions and kicks to the groin."

One of Dean's football friends stepped in front of us, and Kye stopped, pulling me a little more behind him and dropping his hand from me. I almost wrapped my arms around his waist but thought better of it. This entire interaction was going to my head as the hottest thing to happen to me in months, maybe years, while he was pissed off that I bothered him.

"Can I help you?" Kye asked.

"You can't say that shit to us," one of Dean's friends said.

"I can say whatever the fuck I want if he's going to threaten her or call her names. I really don't think anyone is going to stop me."

Dean and his friends looked back at each other, but Kye didn't move. The calm scowl across his face left an open invitation for them, but no one took it. I didn't know if I should back up or lean in.

My mouth had dropped open at some point, not knowing what to do. I expected Kye could scare them off, but he was going above and beyond what I planned. The easy way he dropped right into defending me wasn't helping me find this any less attractive.

He took us a few more steps past them, and then he spun me. I gasped as he made one fluid motion and I was up in his arms, my legs locking around him to gain some stabilization.

"Bye, Dean," he said, grinning as he stepped into the house. I leaned down, finding his lips again. I was too turned on to care if he was mad.

We made it to a bedroom, and excitement shot through me, until he literally threw me down onto a bed.

"I agreed to pissing off one boyfriend, not trying to convince an entire party that I'm here with the damn prom queen."

"I just thought —" I stumbled over my words, trying to get up and face him. "I thought that was enjoyable."

"For who? You? Didn't realize you got off on jumping—what was it that Dean said…" He grinned, but it wasn't friendly. "Oh, that's right, a bottom-of-the-barrel loser. I have to go," he said, pulling out the cigarette and lighting it this time. "I'm assuming you can get yourself out of here. Or do I have to be here for that, too?"

"No, I'll figure it out. Thank you."

He stopped at the door, the light flooding into the room and leaving him an outline of black.

"Did you really choose to jump me because I can scare Dean?"

I nodded before I could answer. As much as I wished it wasn't, my body was still on fire, aching for him to come closer again. "Yes," I said.

He nodded, taking a long drag of the cigarette before disappearing into the crowd.