I shrugged. “I probably should have kept my cool a little better, but I’m tired of everyone trying to push me around. She picked the wrong day to mess with me.”
I swayed a little bit in my display of bravado, and Abby giggled as she handed me my drink.
“Let’s toast to the baddest bitch here!”
I tapped glasses with her, but only took a small sip of the drink. I didn’t want to get to the point where I was embarrassingly drunk and falling down.
Kingston trotted over to me and held out a towel. “Good job, little badass. You earned your keep today.”
I scowled up at him as I wrapped the towel around my body.
He just grinned and patted me on the head. “Mav’s going to get rid of them, but try to give me a heads up next time you feel the urge to attack someone. I want to make sure I see the whole thing next time.”
“That’s not what happened,” I grumbled.
My adrenaline was wearing off, and Kingston’s words made me regret my impulsive actions – but just a little. Getting drunk and tackling popular girls at a pool party probably wasn’t the best introduction I could get to Bedford. However, they shouldn’t have been talking about my best friend like that.
Kingston just chuckled as he walked back to his friends. Elena, Dawn, and Carey had already disappeared, and I didn’t see Maverik anywhere either. Oh, well. I didn’t hesitate to take another sip of my drink, because I was quickly learning that alcohol could give me that numb feeling that I craved so badly.
Chapter 23
Katya
I stayed away from everyone else as the party-goers multiplied. Abby had gone back to flirting with Trent, but I’d had enough of socializing for today. Everyone gave me a wide berth after the incident with Elena and her crew, but that was fine with me.
I looked over at Kingston in confusion when he plopped down beside me with a couple of beers in his hands. Maverik sat across from me, he but didn’t look in my direction. So I guess we were back to being enemies? Good to know.
“Why are you slumming it in the loser corner?” I asked.
“What are you talking about? You’re the current holder of the lightweight championship belt,” Kingston teased. “But what’s with the modesty? Your fight would have been a lot better if you were wearing a skimpy bikini.”
He gestured to my swimsuit, and I shrugged. “I’m not here to entertain you.”
“Why are you still here?” Maverik asked with a brief glance at me.
“I’m getting tired of you being so rude to me all the time,” I said bluntly. “If you don’t want to see me, stop following me around.”
Kingston almost fell to the ground laughing, and Maverik gave me a startled look.
“What? Not used to people telling you like it is?” I asked him.
“How many drinks have you had?” Maverik asked with what might have been the tiniest amount of concern.
“Not enough to deal with your bullshit,” I answered snarkily.
Kingston laughed. “I like you, Kitty Kat.”
He popped the top off of one of his bottles and held it out to me.
“Only when you’re drunk,” I pointed out before accepting the beer.
“Drunk?” Kingston laughed. “I’m just getting started.” He popped open the second beer and took a long swig of it. “Day drinking is an art. You gotta pace yourself so you can last all night. It’s the amateurs who pass out before eight.”
I took a sip of mine and made a face. Beer was terrible, and it definitely wasn’t worth the calories. I set it down on the ground next to me in favor of the SkinnyGirl cocktail Abby made for me.
I glanced over at Maverik, but his eyes were on the rest of the party. His body language said he didn’t care about our conversation, but I knew better. Maverik was listening to every word and filing it away for later use.
I sighed. Where was the guy who fished me out of the pool? The one whose smile almost stopped my heart? It was like every time he got close to me, he just shut down completely.
“What’s the deal with you and your mom?” Kingston asked before taking another swig.
I shrugged. “She hates me. I hate her. She’s forced to be nice to me when your dad is around, which makes her hate me even more.”
Kingston laughed out loud. “You’re nothing like her.”
“What about you and your dad?” I asked softly.
It was Kingston’s turn to give a casual shrug. “He avoids us,” he answered. “We avoid him. He’s forced to pretend we’re family when other people are around.”
“I don’t think he avoids you,” I said thoughtfully. “I think he’s just busy with work. Why don’t you try to get involved with his company?”
Kingston snorted. “He doesn’t want us involved.”
I wasn’t sure when things started changing between us, but lately, Kingston’s tone when he called me sis was less mocking and almost close to affectionate. Not quite there, but definitely free of malice.
I hated I cared this much - I should just tell them both to fuck off. But there was a vulnerability in Kingston’s eyes today that I’d never thought he had the capacity for. Maybe Kingston’s party-boy persona was something he used to cover up whatever else he had going on inside?
“I think he might,” I said in encouragement. “He invited me to go in with him on Friday.”
I realized I had made a terrible mistake when Kingston froze, betrayal in his eyes. “To Awake headquarters?”
“Yeah,” I said nervously. “Why is that so surprising?”
“Because no one gets in there,” Maverik said coldly. “Do you know how many people would kill to step foot in Dad’s office?”
“Um…” My gaze flicked
