Lowering myself to my knees just outside the doors, I pushed them open farther and found Chloe passed out with her head tilted toward the side. A string of drool ran from the corner of her mouth, and a pillow was secured before her, gripped in her fisted hands. Her phone lay on the floor beside her, and the soft sounds of her snores filled the quiet space.
“Kitten.” Sliding in closer, I ran my finger along her cheek and saw the way even in her sleep-filled state she responded to my touch. “Chloe, I’m here.”
“Mm.” She smacked her lips together, and even through the irritation I felt, I couldn’t stop the smile that tugged. She was passed out drunk, her hair sticking out in every direction, drool and dark circles under her eyes, yet beautiful.
“I like this dream.” She peeked at me and sighed. “But you’re always there, in my dreams. Always kissing me and touching me. I like my dreams.”
I chuckled, moving forward to kiss the corner of her mouth. “Not a dream, baby, I’m here.”
Slowly, and it seemed with tremendous effort, Chloe opened her eyes and tried to focus. Little by little she grew more alert, and the second she focused enough to see me clearly, I saw a panic wash over her. “Oh shit.” She swallowed hard, and that’s when I heard Rhett’s voice echo through the suite.
“You’re nineteen, and you…” Something slammed loudly. “A fucking night out with the girls. Not a night in with two half-naked men that at any second could have overpowered every last one of you. How fucking dumb can you be?”
“They’re gonna kill me,” Chloe mumbled. “I wasn’t supposed to call.”
“But I’m glad you did.” It didn’t seem to make the situation any better. “He’s right, Chloe. Those guys, none of you knew them. They could have been some really bad guys.”
“Raven knew them.” As if that were enough of a character reference. “She goes to the club they work at.”
I waited for it all to fall into place in her mind.
“Which isn’t exactly helping this at all.” Raven was a rare breed. To each their own, but the girl enjoyed sex clubs and the backrooms of strip clubs. She was a wild child, and her being the one to gather tonight’s entertainment didn’t change the fact that this was a very bad idea.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chloe
Things had been a little weird since our epic fail of a bachelorette party. Word got around fast in our family, and though we were all technically adults, it didn’t stop our fathers from voicing their opinions.
I spent an hour on the phone with my father hearing about how I was smarter than that. When I heard a few things booming through the other end of the line, I was thankful that there was a few miles in between us. The man was on a warpath.
And from what I heard from AJ, so was Reed. Grace was suffering, too, and I felt horrible for it. It was a war zone at the Jacksons’ home. So much so that Grace was now sleeping beside AJ and Rhett was on the couch. All because I opened my mouth and caved.
I was a terrible drunk, and I vowed at that moment never to drink again.
It had been two days since I’d talked to Landon. I knew he was mad, but he did his best to hide it.
I knew if Maddison wasn’t pregnant and Mike wasn’t so terrified of causing her any amount of stress, she too would be living in hell. The idea that he too was sleeping on the couch made it evident that he was fighting his own rage.
It was all my fault. Raven was the only one in the group that came out smiling, and it was all her idea. In fact, she planned the entire weekend.
My doorbell buzzer sounded, and I didn’t move from my space on the couch. I half expected it to be my father on the other side of the door coming over to go at me with another round of how irresponsible can you be.
Tucking myself farther beneath my soft blue blanket, I curled it around and closed my eyes. Again the buzzer sounded.
“Chloe, I know you’re home.” Landon’s deep, manly voice filtered in through the wooden door. “Let me in.”
I wasn’t sure I was ready for another round of disappointed lecturing.
“Do you really plan on ignoring me and pretending that you aren’t home?” Sounds good to me. “I can wait all day out here if that’s what it takes.” I heard the sound of something sliding against my door and waited for him to say more, only he didn’t. Instead, a light thud, following by a continuous tapping sound, was what I heard.
Pushing back the blanket, I set my bottle of water onto the table and stood, tugging up my tall fluffy socks to cover my cold feet. It could be the middle of the summer, hot as Hades out, and my feet would still feel cold.
Moving slowly toward the door, I peeked through the peephole and saw nothing. But the continued tapping noise assured me he was still there.
With a deep breath in, I twisted the lock and pulled open the door, only to have Landon fall backward into my apartment. He had sat down, his back resting against the frame.
He lay half in and half out of my apartment, looking up at me from below. “Hi.” A smile crept over his lips.
“Are you just gonna lay there?”
I didn’t wait for his answer but instead found my way back to the couch and tucked
