Chapter Eighteen

Once we arrive the guys all wait downstairs while Chloe, Clarissa and I head up to Clarissa’s bedroom with her stylist.

He takes a few minutes to inspect Chloe's hair.

“Ok pretty girl, take this and wash your hair with hot water. This will help remove all that gunk. Once you’re done I have a couple of dresses that you can choose from and we’ll work magic and get you looking fabulous again.”

Chloe smiles and takes the bottle from him. She disappears into the bathroom.

“Did you know what they were doing?” I ask Clarissa quietly.

“Not at first. It wasn’t until they disappeared that I knew they were up to something. I cornered one of their dates and he spilled the beans when I crushed his nuts between my fingers. I couldn’t see you anywhere so I raced out the back to try and stop it but it was too late.”

“I feel terrible for her. That’s one of the reasons she steered clear of us.”

“Don’t feel bad for her, that girl has a fire in her eyes. You can’t walk through life avoiding everything that makes you feel uncomfortable. Yes, it sucked what happened but she’ll come out on top once I’m done with her.”

“Bruno, you’re a lifesaver.” Clarissa exclaims.

“I know,” he says with a laugh.

Ten minutes later Chloe comes out wrapped in a towel, her hair free of gunk and feathers. Bruno gets straight to work blow drying her hair straight, not a curl in sight. When he finishes her hair and makeup he pulls out the dress bags and unzips them with a flourish. Chloe picks a short pixie style dress with a skin-coloured top that has green designs that appears to cover all the naughty parts. It's an off the shoulder with one long sleeve and the skirt is green and super short.

She looks absolutely stunning with her smokey eyes and the new dress. Once she slips on her heels she is ready to join the party and just in time before everyone turns up. I text Mac a heads up so he can be ready for her entrance.

Chloe takes the stairs first reluctantly, you can tell she is nervous about all the people. Mac is the first to spot her and his mouth falls open. He slaps Echo in the chest, who turns to him and looks like he is about to murder him until he looks up and is instantly in awe. I smile as her guys watch her descend the stairs, even Chev sulking in the corner has his eyes on her.

Echo jumps up and races to the bottom of the stairs. “You are perfection,” he breathes. She looks down shyly as a blush tints her cheeks but he reaches out and lifts her chin. “You’re my queen, you hold your head high.”

He takes her hand and leads her towards Mac and Mossy who fawn all over her. I head over to my guys to check on Maximus, but he is oblivious to what is going on with his headphones on and playing a game on his phone.

He removes his headphones when he notices me standing in front of him. Clarissa joins us a second later and comes to stand beside me.

“Hey Maximus, my dickhead brother has a game room upstairs that you’re free to use. He moved out and never uses it anymore.”

Maximus smiles at her and I’m grateful that I mentioned this to her a few times in passing.

“That would be great,” Levi answers for him. I take Maximus’s hand and we follow Clarissa as she leads us to the room. She presses in a code and tells us she will text it to me so I can forward it on.

She leaves as we get Maximus set up, he looks super excited looking around the room. After a few minutes in thought he chooses an Xbox and gets comfortable on the massive couch.

“If you need me, just send me a text. I have my phone on me,” I say and he nods.

I go to walk away but he tackles my hand, and pulls me in closer and places a kiss on my lips. This time when I walk away, I have a massive smile on my face like a love struck fool.

Snoop Dogg blasts throughout the house, which if I had to guess, that means Echo has taken over control of the stereo. The house has started to fill up with kids from my school, it doesn’t look like Lydia has made an appearance but I spot Carter watching me. He winks at me and I shake my head as I walk away. We find Chloe and the guys on the outside deck, all sitting around an outdoor table with drinks in their hands. Chloe is sitting in Mac's lap and I wonder how he fought off Echo for her attention. I can see him trying to share but I also know it’s hard for him.

“It’s about time you fuckers came back down. We plan to start the night with a game of truth or drink.”

Clarissa puts a couple of full bottles of alcohol on the table. Vodka, something amber coloured and tequila. Oliver, who is extra close to her, dumps a bunch of plastic shot glasses on the table and a box of game cards.

“Who wants to start?” Clarissa asks and Rocky is the first to throw his hand in the air. He leans over and takes a card from the box. He looks around the table and smiles.

“JD, what would you wear if you are hoping to go home with someone?”

I rub my chin as if I’m thinking. “If I was planning in advance I particularly have a fondness for a red sexy thong and instead of a bra I would tie a red ribbon around…”

Mercer quickly slaps his hand over my mouth. “She’ll drink.” I laugh into his hand as he slides a shot my way and Rocky laughs.

I take a card from the pile next.

“Echo, how many sexual partners have you had?” I snicker as he narrows his eyes at me and I poke my tongue at him. He grabs the amber liquid, pouring himself a shot and throws it back.

We go around the table, the questions getting more sexual and hardcore as we go along. I’m not even sure they’re from the box any longer.

Levi pulls a card. “Chloe, how many people in this room would you be willing to kiss?”

She giggles at his question but Echo answers for her. “Three, otherwise I’ll have to kill some motherfuckers.” We all laugh at him but he shouts, “Anyone in here want to die tonight?”

We play a few more rounds when Rocky pulls me away to the makeshift dance floor. I know he likes to move and this is perfect for him.

“Yummy” by Justin Bieber starts to play and I know instinctively that Clarissa has taken back control of the music. Rocky starts to dance and I follow suit, our bodies move together. The longer the song goes for, the closer our bodies get, until he leans in and his lips press against mine. The song changes to another while Rocky and I continue to make out. His tongue presses against mine and my breasts push against his torso as his hands run up my waist. Butterflies pool in my stomach and tingles start to pool between my legs.

I start to get hot and bothered so I pull away. “Are you okay?” he asks panting.

“I need to stop before this goes any further. I don’t want our first time together to be in a stranger’s bathroom. And I think we need to have a conversation about rules.”

His forehead comes down to press against mine. “I agree. Let’s go get a drink.”

We make our way back to the table and everyone is laughing and having a great time. I take my seat and Rocky heads over to get us a cold drink.

“What’s so funny?” I ask Rory as he wheezes from laughing so hard.

“Just something Echo said, it wasn’t important.”

I nod and he grabs my hand, intertwining our fingers. After a few minutes Rocky comes back with my drink.

“You know,” Mac says. “Everyone should come to Maximus’s birthday.”

“No,” Both Levi and I say at the same time.

“You wound me B. Why can’t I come to your boyfriend's party?” Echo mock cries, holding a hand over his heart.

“Maximus doesn’t do well around people. So no offence but even Mac isn’t going to be invited.” Levi says. “We keep it small, just us.”

“How did you even know it was his birthday?” I ask Mac.

“I’m not an idiot like you all think I am,” he pouts.

“You’re still talking to Savannah,” Mercer accuses.

“So what if I am? We’re still friends, the only reason it’s not public is because of you douches.”

“How about we all call a truce?” I ask, looking at Mercer. I know how protective they are of Maximus’s sister but she’s old enough to decide who she wants to be friends with and they need to understand that.

“Fine,” Mercer grumbles.

Echo starts to convince everyone to play poker, I have no desire to play and excuse myself to go upstairs and check on Maximus. Rory kisses me and I make my way through the house and find the stairs that go up to the game room. When I reach the top of the stairs I see Carter walk out of one of the rooms.

“Sister,” he slurs as he tucks his shirt into his pants with red lipstick smeared on his face.

“You have a little something on your face.” I say, pointing to my chin which causes him to laugh. I quickly walk away and type in the code on the door. I push it open and slip inside before I have to continue a drunken talk with my brother just after he hooked up with someone.

Maximus turns at the sound of the door clicking shut and smiles at me. I join him on the couch and remove my heels, placing them on the floor.

“I needed a break from downstairs before I wound up passing out and waking up tomorrow with a hangover and a bunch of regrets.”

He pats his lap in invitation, so I lay my head down and watch as he plays some shooting game that I don’t understand.

Maximus has come a long way since we first met, especially allowing me to touch him. I would even go as far as to say that me being close grounds him just like it does when Levi does it. I need to have a talk with Levi to see how he is feeling about all of this. I know he has a hard time letting someone else do it, something that they have both come to rely on each other for. The last thing I want is for him to feel like he is being replaced. But I’m also happy for Maximus that he’s pushing past the obstacles that have weighed him down for so long.