2. Travis

TWO

Present Day

THE SECOND I stepped off the elevator and felt the bass pounding beneath my Alexander McQueen punk boots, I had a feeling tonight would be epic.

Epically good? Epically bad? It was too soon to tell, but the throng of sexy twentysomethings outside my friends' condo was promising.

"Jesus, they really should've moved this thing to a bigger venue," Preston, my roommate and fellow Park Avenue Prince, said as we moved through the crowd like a hot knife through butter.

"And deny us the opportunity to get up close and personal with a few hundred willing bodies?" I winked at an attractive blond as I slid past, and he started to smile before the taller one behind him wrapped an arm around his waist and glared in my direction. I smirked and leaned in toward Preston. "Fifty bucks says that guy loses his bodyguard by the end of the night."

Preston glanced back at them and shook his head. "And ends up in your bed instead? I'm not taking that bet."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not an idiot, that's why."

"You're no fun." I pretended to pout as we reached the door, where I caught the eye of a lean, shorter freshman type. "What about that one?"

"Too easy."

"That's the point."

Preston rolled his eyes and walked his preppy ass inside, where the blare of the music ensured there'd be a lot of lip reading tonight.

Exactly what I was hoping for.

East and West's place was the same layout as the one I shared with Preston, but they'd had the staff at the Waldorf Towers remove all their furniture to squeeze in as many people in as possible. That was something I'd never complain about, especially with more than half of them bumping and grinding as we made our way to the bar. The energy in the room was intoxicating, sexual, and the high of admiring eyes watching me was better than any drug.

At least, it was tonight.

"There he is." West slung his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. "Told you he'd come."

My eyes caught on West's boyfriend JT.

"I'm sorry? Was that in doubt? Don't you know by now, JT, I always come." I winked. "Especially at a party."

JT shrugged as he took West's hand. "You're late, which is unlike you, and I wasn't sure, considering I invited Caleb?—"

"The bar's open, right? Why am I standing here empty-handed?"

JT shook his head at my obvious interruption, but like the smart guy he was, he let it go as I moved away from the two lovebirds, eager to get this party started. Something that wouldn't happen if I had to stand there and hear about a certain someone who'd been invited tonight against my wishes.

I wasn't a total asshole. I got that it hardly seemed fair to invite the entire student body of Astor minus one. However, he would've understood his exclusion from the list, and if he didn't, that was his problem.

Caleb Reeves was the bane of my existence, and from the moment he'd stepped into my orbit, fate had decided to turn on me. It hated me. I was sure of it. It constantly messed with my life. Something that had been crystal clear when West's boyfriend went and befriended my arch-nemesis, the same person he'd gone and invited tonight despite my many protests.

Alcohol was a must. Especially if I was going to be in the same vicinity as Caleb. East better have tracked down some?—

"Your special ‘green juice,' my friend." A tumbler full of bright green liquid was dangled in front of my face as East stepped into my path. "Not one leaf of kale or stem of celery in sight."

"Thank God for you."

"Many have, and will continue to. You look like someone who needs a drink."

"Really? I was hoping I looked like someone who needs a fuck."

East arched a haughty brow, running his critical eye over my outfit. "You never look like you need one. You know that. More like someone who would give a good one."

"That a request?"

"No. I don't stick my dick in friends, sorry."

"And here I thought I was the one giving."

East waved me away with a flick of his hand. "Go work that tongue on someone receptive. You have a whole smorgasbord to choose from tonight."

I scanned the crowd that filled the living room, searching out someone to pass the time with, and my eyes skidded to a stop on a hot guy shaking his ass on the dance floor in tight leather pants and a cropped shirt. He was having a good time, that was for sure, but when his gaze locked on mine, I knew I could make it a great fucking time.

Another sip of my drink and I made my way through the crowd as West wolf-whistled behind me. He was always the quickest to encourage my wicked ways—one of the reasons I kept him around.

Colored lights flashed throughout the darkened room, lighting bodies up in shades of blues, purples, reds. With the Manhattan skyline as the backdrop, the whole scene was decadent and just the right side of sinful.

And what do you know, I didn't have to search out that hot body on the dance floor, because he found me first.

"Looking for me?" he said, hooking his fingers in my waistband without bothering with introductions.

That was fine by me. I didn't need to know his name. I only needed the lust for me in his eyes.

I rolled my hips, nice and slow, and he licked his lips. Then he wrapped an arm around my neck and joined in, matching my pace as I sipped on the absinthe East had special-ordered for me. I could already feel its effects making their way through my veins, giving me that intense buzz I craved.

This was what I'd been after—a distraction. A sexy body to fill my mind and hands with. A quick and easy way to forget that somewhere in this apartment was the reason I chose a drink that had hallucinogenic effects. Too bad it hadn't set in yet, as my eyes latched on to a familiar figure through the gyrating masses.

Caleb stood off to the side of the dancers, no doubt trying to melt into the shadows. But dressed in his run-of-the-mill jeans and button-up shirt, he stood out like a sore thumb amongst this crowd. Not to mention the head of casually messy strands that he somehow made hot just by running his fingers through it. He looked like he belonged in some arty jazz café over in Soho—his side of town—not standing in a fancy-ass penthouse that overlooked Park Avenue.

Why was he even here? Why had he said yes to JT's invite? He'd done the same thing last year, but I'd figured it was to keep an eye on the "new kid." He had no goddamn excuse this time around, unless…

Caleb's gaze shifted to the eager guy rubbing against me, and my pulse began to pound a little faster until his lips twisted in disdain.

How fucking predictable. If there was one thing I could always count on when it came to Caleb, it was a healthy dose of judgment. Well, might as well give him something to really get up his ass.

As my dance partner ground up against me, I ran my hand down his back and over the curve of his ass before giving it a squeeze. Then I winked at Caleb.

His reaction was what I expected—he rolled his eyes and shook his head before turning away from me.

This was what I did. Provoked a response any time he was around.

You'd think by now I'd stop caring enough to bother, but I could admit to myself I was petty enough to want a reaction any way I could get it, as fucked as that was.

I took another long swallow of absinthe and turned my partner around so that my cock nestled in between his ass cheeks. It wasn't because I didn't want him to see the way I looked around the room to see where Caleb had gone.

I definitely didn't notice the way Caleb had attracted a group of eager women. Or that he zeroed in on the only blonde in the group, giving her all his attention.

I wasn't feeling anything at all about that.

As I downed the rest of my drink, I saw East in my periphery hopping onto the bar. He let out a piercing whistle, and the DJ cut the music, causing many in the crowd to groan, including my dance partner. Without the pulsating beats that had sent me into the crowd, I found myself backing away and moving toward the bar.

"Quiet, fuckers, I'm speaking," East said, towering over everyone from where he stood on the bar. The martini he held in one hand threatened to spill with every small movement, and a couple standing under him got the hell out of the way. "Congratulations on being invited to our annual ‘Welcome back to Astor' party. We don't let just any of the riffraff enter our sacred space, do we, West?"

West shook his head by the bar, his arm thrown around JT's shoulders. Usually he would've joined East up there, but apparently his hip was glued to his boyfriend's.

It made me want to gag. Everyone was hooking up, being monogamous, keeping secrets… What the hell ever happened to having a good time? At least East wasn't the type to settle down. Like he'd ever find anyone he didn't think was beneath him.

My eyes caught on Caleb leaning in close to the blonde, and I couldn't tell if he was whispering sweet nothings or kissing his way up her neck.

Seriously? He came to this party just to find someone to fuck?

My jaw clenched so tight I could've spit molars, and I shoved my empty glass at West.

"Excuse me," he said, holding it away from him. "I'm not your maid— Wait, what are you doing?"

I moved a couple of liquor bottles out of my way, planted my hands on the bar, and pushed myself up on top of it with relative ease, considering I was feeling a little tipsy already. East definitely hadn't diluted that absinthe enough, but I didn't care.

East smirked as I joined him. "It's not time for the stripper portion of the night."

Normally, that comment would entice me to do just that—take off my clothes, give a little show. But I couldn't shove my irritation aside enough to play like that.

Instead, I tried and failed not to stare in Caleb's direction as I took my place beside East. "You mind?"

East's lips curled as though he could see inside my brain and was aware of the shitstorm brewing there, and like the instigator he was, he gestured for me to take the floor.

I cleared my throat, making a big to-do about it, and when Caleb didn't even look up—rude—I decided to get his attention another way.

"Okay, here goes. Cheers to you, cheers to me." I leveled my gaze on the back of Caleb's head. "And cheers to Caleb, or whoever he's pretending to be."

As Caleb's back stiffened, a rush of satisfaction flooded my body. He slowly turned in my direction, and whatever he'd been feeling seconds ago had turned to pure rage.

There, now I've got your attention.

"Travis, cut it out," JT hissed from in front of the bar, reaching for my hand, but East batted it away with his foot.

"Leave him alone, Golden Boy. He clearly has something to say."

Yeah, that's right. I did have something to say. If I could just remember what it was…

I swayed a little on the bar top, trying to think of where I'd been going with this, when Caleb's blonde ran a hand down his chest in an effort to regain his attention.

Would you look at that? It was all on me. Now, where was I?

Oh yeah…

"Cheers to you and cheers to me, and cheers to Caleb, or whoever he's pretending to be. Because a gentleman who prefers blondes is the biggest fallacy?—"

"Did he seriously just say fallacy?" I heard someone say, but I was on a roll now.

"—when what he really wants is someone just like m?—"

Oompfh.

A hand on my ass shoved me, and I stumbled down into the crowd before I could complete my final thought. One look at Caleb told me he'd caught the message, because his head looked like it was about to explode, and he flipped me off and stormed toward the door.

I mean, I couldn't blame him, even if this was what I'd considered my best work to date.

But that didn't mean I was going to let him run away. I wasn't done with him yet.