Love Me Crazy (25 page)
Authors: Camden Leigh
“You undid me. Permanently, this time.”
I pause on the buttons and switch my gaze to hers. “You said you’d leap.”
“That was the easy part.”
“What changed?” I brush a curl away from her eyes.
“I didn’t believe I’d survive until now.”
That’s a goddamn relief. I thought she was changing her mind.
“It’s just fast,” she says.
“What is?”
“You and I. People don’t really, you know, fall like this, right?”
“We aren’t
just
people.”
And you’re undeniably suited
just
for me
.
“Dinner? Dessert?” Ellie strangles the steering wheel as we race toward town, an hour late for her bachelorette party. “What
did
y’all do last night?”
“What did you do? Didn’t you go to a movie?”
“No, missy, we’re talking about you and Quinn. What happened?”
“Nothing.” I pick at the polish on my nails.
“Ha, wrong. What did you do in the dining room?” She slows for a red light. “Did you do it on the floor? The table? Oh my stars, you did, didn’t you?”
“Pleading the fifth.” I sink in the seat. Damn Quinn for putting me in this position.
“Ohmigod!” She slams on the brakes and I reach for the dashboard to avoid eating it. “Are you and Quinn messing around, or is this official? Because it sounds like it might be official.”
“
We’re
officially late.” I pointedly stare out the window, avoiding her gaze. “And this conversation is officially over.”
Her squeal nearly cracks the windshield. I screw up my face, hoping my ears don’t implode.
“Are y’all dating? An item? A couple?”
“A thing.”
“A thing? Oh, hell no.” All talking ceases until, “Hey, Quinn, are you bedding my wedding planner for fun or is she yours?”
I
swing around in the seat, battling for the phone. “Bedding?” I mouth. I can’t believe she called him. “Give me the phone, Ellie.”
She whacks my hand away and presses her back against the door. “Uh-huh. I asked her if y’all were official. Want to know her answer?
A thing
. She said y’all were ‘a thing.’” She spits out the words like they’re rotten.
I rap my head against the headrest.
“Momma’s going to crap her britches when she finds o—” Her eyes grow wide. “Holy Moses and a half. What did she say?” Ellie stares at me like I’m rolling in STDs. She holds the phone out. “He wants you.” I reach for the phone but she grabs it to her chest. “And FYI, y’all are a couple. ‘A thing’ doesn’t cover it, Yankee Girl. You and Quinn, you’re like, front-page news.” She nods like this is uber-important.
I snatch the phone from her and press it to my ear. A radio plays in the background and two guys discuss pigs and barbecue sauce.
“Hello?” I say as Ellie shifts the car into Drive.
“A thing?”
“An important thing?” I try.
“Uh-huh.”
My stomach turns flips.
“I told you what ignoring me does.”
Heat floods me. I fluff my top. “Yep.”
“What does it do?” he asks in a low, liquefying voice.
I peer at Ellie who keeps side glancing me. “Um . . .”
Silence fills the phone. My end. His end.
“
Am I on speaker?” I ask.
Two guys throw out, “What’s up?” and “Hey.”
“He’ll get what he wants,” Ellie singsongs.
“So?” he asks.
“We’re more than a thing. We’re a couple,” I mumble.
“And who do I belong to?”
“Me?”
“Conviction. Say it like you mean it, babe.” I can tell he’s smiling but I’m not.
“You belong to me,” I say.
“I’ve undoubtedly given you all of me, you’re right. And you?”
I squeeze my eyes shut, wrinkling my nose.
“What? Can’t hear you.”
I grind my teeth together and turn up the radio, drowning the silence with freaking banjos and whining guitars.
Ellie pulls up to the valet.
“We’re here. At the party,” I spit out. “We’ve got—”
“Tell me first.”
“Quinn, I don’t have time for this. We’re late because you sed—” Shit. I almost blurted out what we did. I close my eyes and stare at the back of my eyelids, needing to absorb how complex admitting publicly we’re an item makes everything and how letting him in changed me. Like I’ve packed up and moved to another country and don’t know where to put anything.
“We’re a couple, not just a thing, but
the
thing. The one plus one equals one. The fucking perfect disaster.” My heart clambers in my chest, as if I need evidence to believe I’ve fallen.
“
We’re not a disaster,” he says.
“We’re not perfect either.”
“We are.”
I shake my head. We’re about as perfect as a pair of mismatched socks.
The night drags. I don’t want to be at a bachelor party, least of all Dean’s. The guy talks about strippers and body shots every other minute, which means he’s losing points in my book. I suppose his curious glances toward Ellie’s party on the second floor earns half of them back. I stare up at the strobe lights leaking around the drawn curtains.
“Dude, she’s fine.” Wes slaps his hands on my shoulders.
“I know.” I shrug him off. “It’s who she’s with I don’t trust.”
“Kat has her back.” He hands me another beer, but I don’t feel like drinking.
I look at him. “The Wes I remember tormented Kat. Now you’re besties?”
“Yeah.” His face reddens. “Except payback’s a bitch. Now she torments me.”
“You’ve got my blessing if she ever . . . changes her mind.” I laugh.
Screams erupt and then chanting. Wes and I glance at the windows overlooking the dance floor. The girls rented the entire upstairs and counted us out. No guys allowed. Which really blows because they have a private dance floor, meaning I’ll never see Cassie shake her cute little ass on the main dance floor with the regulars.
“Let’s invite ourselves.” Dean pats me on the back. “I’m sure there’s a few willing girls up there for you, Covington?”
“Man, chill. Those are his sisters,” Wes says.
“
Not all of them. Game?” I hold out my hand and Wes slaps a high five before fisting it and pulling out of his seat.
We make our way up the steps, and a three-hundred-dollar tip later, the bouncer wearing nothing but pants and a black bow tie grants us entry. No guys, my ass. And where’s he going to stuff that cash? At least he’s restricted to the hallway.
The room vomits pink. And feathers. And something fruity. There’s glitter everywhere and fucking tiaras. It’s a guy’s worst nightmare, but easy to ignore with twenty-plus girls dancing around the room. Short dresses. High heels. And drunk.
Family and friends, all people from my old life, fill the room like we’re having some sort of reunion.
“Hey cuz.” My cousin Lucy grabs my hand and spins herself under my arm. Yep. Drunk all right. She’s not even legal yet. She lets go and disappears to the corner with a bottle of tequila.
“Hey, Kitty Kat, your catnip’s here.” Someone hollers across the room.
Meows and purrs follow.
I punch Wes on the arm. “Sounds like someone has their claws in you.”
“Real funny. I thought you’d have my back.” Wes walks backward into the crowd as the girls guide him toward the bar where more shirtless guys flex their guns and hold trays of drinks and food. Where the hell were our shirtless waitresses downstairs? And food?
I skim the room for Cassie’s red hair but don’t see her. Dean gestures to the corner where Lucy ventured and I follow him over. Sitting on the ground in a circle are two girls from the yacht club, my cousin, Annabeth, Cassie, and my sisters. I rub my hand down my chest. Gone are the sweet, innocent little brats sitting around the Christmas tree.
“
Cassidy’s turn.” Annabeth hands her the dice. “You should probably stop sucking at this game.”
Kat and Annabeth look up when some shirtless A-hole hands me a drink. Kat’s eyes expand, Annabeth’s get all demure. The rest don’t acknowledge us.
“How can I possibly be this bad?” Cassie shakes a dice in her hand, then tosses it down. “Six?”
“Now the other. Go on.” Annabeth gestures at her hand. “Roll the topic.”
Cassie closes her eyes and lets the dice roll down her palm and off her fingers. It summersaults several times before exposing a single word. Sex.
“Oh my God. Really?” Cassie whines.
“Take the shots,” Kat says. “It’s for your own good.” She looks up at me and shakes her head. “Help her,” she mouths.
“I can’t take six shots.” Cassie pushes the glass away. “I’ll take the questions.”
“But you haven’t drunk anything.” Ellie balances the shot on her palm. “Are you sure, sweetie? Because AnnaBee’s crushing you with these questions. And this times there’s six . . . about sex.”
“Yeah, I know, but I have to work tomorrow.” She plays with the strap on her shoe. “I can take whatever’s dished out.” Her voice cracks and her shoulders droop as she rests her chin in her hand.
I’ve only seen her this defeated one other time and that fiasco involved a turkey. I move forward, ready to rescue her.
“Last sex position and with who?” Annabeth blurts.
I
tense when she sends me the warning look she reserves for finagling money or the keys to the yacht from her parents.
“That’s two questions.” Ellie pinches Annabeth. Giggles and hiccups take over.
I glance around the circle. With my sisters probably choosing shots over questions to protect their dignity and the Covington name, my hands will be full come closing time. I couldn’t leave now if I wanted to. The stubble on my chin rubs my finger raw as I ponder a way to separate Cassie from the group.
“This game really sucks.” She kicks off her shoes and pulls her legs up until she’s nothing but a sexy mess of copper hair, freckles, and huge green eyes. Her knees hide her lips. What would she do if I tipped her chin up and drew my finger across them?
“Answer the questions,” Annabeth says.
“Take the shots,” Kat begs.
“On a table,” Cassie admits.
“Sake’s alive. I was right.” Ellie grabs Cassie’s hand. “How many times did you”—she cups her mouth—“orgasm?”
“Oh God. Can I take the shot?” Cassie reaches for the double but Lucy holds it up.
I grab it and tilt it back. “Rules are rules. Answer the question.”
Cassie’s head pops back. A pretty pink swarms in her cheeks. Her eyes dance, perfectly clear, unlike the others around her who look like they ODed on vodka and grenadine. She smiles and holds up two fingers.
“Damn, girl. Where can I find this guy?” One of Ellie’s friends asks. “That’s not my question. Don’t answer.”
“Did he?” Lucy asks.
“
Don’t waste questions. Of course he did.” Annabeth slaps our cousin’s arm. “He’s a guy, for Pete’s sake.”
“Yeah, he most definitely did.”
Cassie doesn’t take her eyes off me, and I give her a wink.
“Clothes on or off?” one of the girls asks.
“On-ish.” Cassie’s face reddens more. Then her chest.
“When?”
“Who?” The girls fire off.
Cassie shakes her head. “That’s two. I veto both.” She holds out the dice. “Ellie, you’re next.”
“No, you have one more question?” The girls lean in, waiting for Annabeth’s attack. “Are you, by chance, screwing the boss’s son? Because if you are, you’re so fired. She’ll hang you from the magnolia back behind the—”
“Game over.” I squat between Kat and Cassie. “Ready to go?”
She looks around the circle, but all eyes are on me because I’m the fucking boss’s son.
“She has to answer the question.” Annabeth grabs my wrist. “Hiding something, Quinn?”
“Wait.” Lucy’s eyes flit between me and Cassie. “Are you?”
Cassie shakes her head. “Nope.”
What? She’s denying a relationship with me, right here in front of people who already know the truth? I stand and stare at the top of her head. How could she say no after what she admitted? I’m not that fucking bad she can’t even admit she likes me a little.
“Are you sure?” I ask, stuffing my hands into my pockets to hide my fists.
Cassie
looks up and smiles. It’s a big fucking smile. An innocent smile. The kind she reserves for me. She rolls to her knees and pushes to her feet.
“Um, then who are you messing around with?” Kat stands up too and elbows me in the gut with a what-the-hell jab.
Ellie and I share silent glances while Annabeth sits on her fucking pedestal, gloating. I’m too dumbstruck to move.
Cassie winds her arms around mine and gives it a squeeze.
“Hey,” Annabeth says as she rises and moves in front of us. “Give us a name . . . if you aren’t fucking your boss’s son.”
Ellie bites her lip and Kat holds her breath to the point her cheeks expand into plums. I grab the tequila from Lucy and take a swig. Then another. Why did I come up here?
“Fuck’s a strong word, Annabeth.” Cassie steps forward.
I choke on the tequila and the burn trails into my nostrils like I lit a match and shoved it up my nose.
“Thought we already determined you like quickies with no-name guys.” Annabeth curls her fingers through her ponytail. “You have a thing for bad boys and tattoos? Right?”
“It’s time to go. Cass?” I tug on her arm and whisper to Kat to call off the attack.
“It’s okay. I’ll answer.” Cassie pushes my hand away. She slips on her shoes and grows taller than Annabeth. “You asked who I’m fucking? The answer is no one. I haven’t found anyone here worth a fuck, but I have found someone worth my heart.”
Holy shit. I freeze, hand halfway between me and Cassie. Kat nudges me forward. I waver on my toes, then settle back into my heels.
“He’s
my
Quinn?” Annabeth blurts.
“
He isn’t yours.” Cassie scoots to my side and wraps her arm around my waist. “Not anymore.”
I stare at Cassie. A warm glow settles in her eyes. A steady calm instead of the bright static chaos that first attracted me.
Calm looks fucking gorgeous on her.