His words hit me like a slap of cold water to the face. I felt him pull back from me, all of the warmth and tenderness seeping right out of him. His face hardened, and I knew the nice Maverik was buried deep inside of the asshole standing in front of me. What was this guy’s problem?
I shrugged his hands off me. “That’s the third person you’ve accused me of sleeping with today,” I snapped. “I don’t know how I’d find the time to do anything else.”
“Kingston manages just fine,” Maverik said drily. “I’m confident you could learn to multitask.”
“No,” I said indignantly. “I am not sleeping with Kaine, I am not sleeping with Kingston, and I have no intention of ever sleeping with your father.”
“But the other two are a maybe?”
Maverik’s eyes searched mine as if the truth was written somewhere inside. If he was looking for something sordid, he was going to be very disappointed.
I narrowed my eyes at him and decided to take a page from his book. “Get out.”
I was done arguing, done trying to get on his good side, done playing nice. He had been a complete asshole to me since the second I met him, and he wasn’t going to change.
Maverik tilted his head and watched me for another moment before nodding. “Okay.”
What did that mean? He left my room, and I wanted to scream. This family was going to drive me insane.
Chapter 24
Katya
I had to go looking for Abby because I couldn’t sit upstairs by myself when I was so on edge. I stumbled a little bit when I got to the kitchen, but I otherwise made it there without incident.
“Abby?” I called out.
I frowned at the empty kitchen, but I brightened when Abby came through the sliding glass door that led outside.
“There you are,” I said with a sloppy grin. “Where did you go?”
Abby looked uncomfortable. “Sorry, I was talking to Trent and Kash for a minute. Kash just got back in Bedford.”
I immediately felt terrible. The only reason Abby had gone inside was because of me. If I hadn’t been here, she would have been happily flirting with her crush.
“Do you want to hang out with Trent?” I asked. “You don’t have to miss out on the party because of me.”
“Nah,” she said with a grin. “Let’s go up to your room. I want to see what clothes I’m going to be borrowing from you.”
I laughed but led the way upstairs and to my room. I flicked the switch to my closet light, and Abby’s eyes got big as it was illuminated in all of its glory.
“Have I mentioned recently just how much I love you?” she asked with the widest grin I’d ever seen.
I laughed uncomfortably. “Nina’s stylist filled the closet. I haven’t even looked at most of it.”
“Well, it’s time to change that,” Abby declared. She quickly started thumbing through my dresses. “This seems ballerina-ish,” she exclaimed as she pulled out a fluffy pink dress.
I grimaced. “I don’t want to be a pretty princess,” I told her. “I want to be more real.”
Abby cocked her head at me. “You are kind of hardcore in some ways, even though you’re way too nice most of the time. I mean, who thinks it’s no big deal when their toenails fall off?” She pulled on the fluffy dress and happily spun around.
“It happens to all dancers eventually,” I said with a shrug.
“I would have a fit,” Abby said before she went back to thumbing through the clothes and then let out a gasp. “Hand me your drink for a minute and try this one.”
I downed half my drink before handing it over and looked toward where she had gestured towards a full-length gown. “Why not?” I murmured almost to myself. This might be the only time in my life that I ever wore something like that.
I slipped into the dress and preened in front of the mirror, the alcohol making me feel giddy. The dress itself was gorgeous and made me look elegant and sophisticated. I spun around in it, but it tangled around my ankles, and I giggled as I grabbed onto the wall.
“Why don’t you ever post pics of yourself in these fabulous clothes on Instagram?” Abby asked as she continued to admire my selection of clothing.
“My Instagram is just for ballet,” I explained. “I want it to look professional.”
“You have some seriously inspirational pics on there,” Abby told me. “But nothing personal. We need to spice it up a little.”
I rolled my eyes. “Nope. Ballet only.”
Abby swirled my glass around in her hand and looked at it carefully before handing it back to me. “Drink up, and I’ll go back downstairs for round two.”
“Already?” I asked in surprise.
Abby cocked her head at me. “We need to build up your tolerance.”
“That drink had two shots in it!” I argued.
She rolled her eyes at me. “Exactly. Bottoms up!”
I looked down at the glass. Why not? It had been hours since the shots with Kingston, and I had been sipping on the same drink since then. It was just me and Abby here, and I’d never been drunk before today. Why not have my first time getting wasted be in a safe space with a friend that I trusted?
Once midnight came, my day of being normal would be over, and it would be back to all work and no play for me. I felt a flash of sadness, but I quickly pushed it away. That was why it was so dangerous to indulge – even for a day. It could be a slippery slide that led you all the way down a mountain, if you let it.
I tossed back
