Resist Me

Chapter 20

West

For the hundredth time, I stared down at the message from Lincoln. Why did he invite me to the party yesterday? He personally extended an invitation. Then, he paid for me to get a ride to the field just to throw the ball and talk. That was weird as hell and, frankly, it was uncalled for. He had some ulterior motive. In my mind, I pictured a Carrie situation. I’d probably look dangerously sexy covered in blood, but it sounded disgusting.

And, like the dumbass I am, I told Willow we could go. What was wrong with me?

I stared at myself in the mirror, questioning the dark gray shirt I’d chosen. Stripping out of it, I decided black would be better. It contrasted drastically with my eyes, which were arguably my best feature. Some people said I had those creepy blue eyes, but screw them. How many people did you see with alabaster skin, hair as black as a starless night, and blue eyes that rivaled Caribbean waters?

Of course, none of that really mattered. It was something to cling to when I felt particularly hateful about myself, though. My dad said I was worthless and clearly, I would never stop disappointing him. But hey, at least I was pretty. If all else failed, I could suck dick for money. I wondered if I’d be good at it.

Uh… I looked down at my tented jeans. Well, that was an interesting thing to get hard over. Don’t get me wrong, I’d watched gay porn before and got off to it. Sex was sex and there was something beautiful about it in every manner, but this right here was new.

I probably needed to get laid. The idea of having another Jessi situation made me shudder. Sex was supposed to be easy and uncomplicated, but I was the master at complicating the simplest things.

“Hey, stop staring at yourself!” Willow shouted.

After making sure my uncharacteristic boner had disappeared, I threw the door open and leveled her with my sternest look. Her nose wrinkled.

“Ew. Put on a shirt. Nobody wants to see that.”

“Tell that to the cheerleading squad.” I smirked as I moved past her.

“I want nothing to do with them, but you have to introduce me to your teammates.”

All thoughts of having a mediocre time tonight fled my mind. It had already crossed my mind that she’d go on a flirtatious streak, but I really hoped I wouldn’t have to babysit her tonight. Now that she was actually here, I was beginning to worry that taking care of her would take over my entire life. Granted, it always had in a way, but I’d been doing my own thing here for six months. I was surprised by the resistance I felt when I thought about putting everything else aside.

Shaking my head, I grabbed a black t-shirt. After I glanced outside, I pulled a hoodie from the closet and threw it over my arm. Rain, rain, and more rain. It was a never ending cycle.

As if she could hear my thoughts- I was pretty sure she could- Willow sashayed into my room. “Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day.”

“Little Willow wants to play,” I chimed in before laughing. “You’re an idiot.”

“You know what they say about apples and trees,” Kai said from the doorway.

“They’re pivotal in uncovering the law of gravity?”

“Sure, that’s it. ”

“I don’t need an apple to tell me about gravity when I’m carrying around this massive-”

Willow made a disgusted sound, covering her ears as she raced out of the room. Kai snorted a laugh and shook his head. With a wink, I gestured for him to lead the way out of the apartment. Since Sen was off today, we all had the pleasure of going to this thing together. At least I wouldn’t be alone. I didn’t even have to say anything to Kai to know that he’d keep an eye on Willow too.

We piled into his car and headed toward the frat house. It was pretty close to campus, but on the opposite side from where we lived. We’d barely pulled onto their street when the music became audible. A hum of excitement awoke in my veins. It was hard not to feel like that as a first-year college student going to a party, especially one like this.

I didn’t revel in it all that much, but we were the people others talked about. As soon as we walked in the door, heads turned. Some of the football players waved in our direction, so we made our way to them.

Always prepared, they thrust drinks into our hands. They easily could’ve been half-drank, but it didn’t matter. Willow held hers up and I mentally said ‘fuck it’ before I tapped my cup against it, then drained it.

“What the hell is that?” I groaned.

Rick shrugged. “It came from the tank.”

“Oh, you asshole.”

“What’s the tank?” Willow asked.

I nodded toward the fishtank behind Rick. It was full of a cloudy liquid that looked greenish, but it was hard to tell with the colorful lighting in here. There were floating gummies in it, along with a tequila bottle at the bottom.

“It starts out as juice and vodka,” I explained. “People add to it throughout the night, making it a deadly concoction. Don’t drink too much of it. You’ll probably die.”

“You’ll definitely black out,” Rick laughed.

The way his eyes traveled over Willow made me want to submerge his head in the tank, but I refrained. If she didn’t want his attention, she’d make it very known, likely at the expense of his dick. She’d been taking self-defense classes ever since I gave her no choice in the matter at twelve. If she’d let me, I would get her a gun, but she thought it was overkill. I knew she could take care of herself. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t be there if she needed me.

“Alright, listen up,” I said loudly enough for the other players around us to hear. They turned and gave me their full attention. “I’m doing one introduction here. This is Willow, my sister. She’s very capable of fending you off, but if I hear that she has to, you’ll have a very bad season next time around.”

“You’ll piss me off too,” Kai chimed in. A couple of the guys shifted on their feet. He was arguably the kindest person in existence, but that was only if he liked you. Kai could put a man on his ass and he made it look easy. Hell, I’d taken some punches from the guy and I was convinced he had some super Saiyan mode he summoned.

Everyone went back to their previous conversations. I felt pretty good about the whole thing. Except Rick had taken a step closer and was complimenting her hair. It was fine.

“Let’s dance,” Kai said. He grabbed both mine and Sen’s hands, pulling us into the throng of bodies.

I was shit at dancing, but it wasn’t about being good. Singing wasn’t my forte either, but I’d give it my all no matter where I was.

As It Was by Harry Styles came on and I grinned. I backtracked quickly to grab Willow and yanked her into our group. She tried to protest, then rolled her eyes and joined in. She started singing, just as badly as me, and I did the same. Sen was less exuberant, but he let Kai drag him into the madness. As long as he was with him, he started to let go. I loved watching that guy come into himself and become comfortable in his skin. I liked to give myself some credit for it since I’d taken a couple punches from his dad and dragged him out of that toxic place.

Sweat beaded on my brow, dripping down my temple. With the lights, music, and the crowd pressing in on all sides, it was easy to get lost in this scene.

Rick reappeared, coming up behind Willow. She reached back to thread her arm around his neck, so apparently, she didn’t mind. I met his eyes and he raised a brow. It might’ve been a taunt or a challenge, but I’d let it simmer for now.

Kai pulled Sen close and since it was getting a little suggestive over there, I decided to get another drink. I whirled around, only to run straight into Lincoln. He caught my biceps and leaned close to my ear so that I could hear him above the music.

“You came. I’m surprised.”

I was overwhelmed by the scent of him. It was floral and woody. Rosewood, maybe. It was something really nice that most people didn’t wear.

Swallowing hard, I shrugged away his hands. “You invited me.”

He smiled, revealing only the tips of his canines. “Is that why you’re here? For me.”

“No,” I snapped, fighting the urge to say something snarky. “Willow wanted to come and I’m bad at saying no.”

“In that case, do you want to come get a drink with me?”

It was an effort not to show my surprise. He stared at me, patient and calculating. I took a moment to survey him. He had a hipster vibe going on tonight- black, ripped jeans, white vans, a white t-shirt that made his colorful tattoos stand out, and a slouchy beanie. A fucking beanie. His hair peaked out of it and again, I had the urge to touch it.

I tried to remind myself that I hated him. Why did I hate him? For one, his buddy wrecked my shit at the football game. Aside from that, though, I wasn’t sure if I ever had a good reason besides wanting his spot. I had that now, so… Right, the football game. That was a big deal.

“What do you say, West?”

Oh, yeah. I’d just been staring at him. Was I checking him out?

“Sure,” I replied. Clenching my jaw, I headed toward the kitchen.

I spotted Brooks talking to a blonde guy. He flashed me a smile before he went back to his conversation. I could squeeze in there as a way to escape. He’d probably let me.

“This is better than what we’re giving everyone else,” Lincoln said as he passed me a bottled beer.

When I took a drink, I decided he was full of shit. It was definitely different than the cheap stuff. Maybe it was better to someone who drank beer more often than I did, but to me, it was bitter.

“What’d I do to earn one of your special beers?” I asked.

He leaned back against the island, holding his beer loosely between two fingers. “Call it a peace offering.”

“Maybe I don’t want peace.”

“Then you’re an idiot. ”

My eyes narrowed. Before I could storm off, he brought the bottle to his lips. The way he smiled around it froze me in place. My mouth was drier than normal, so I took a long drink.

“Black looks good on you,” he noted.

“I know.”

“I don’t get a compliment today?”

Pulling my lip between my teeth, I considered just straight up calling him ugly. “Why would I compliment you?”

“You called me hot before.”

“It was just a fact, not a compliment, and mostly to get under your skin.”

He looked contemplative. “That’s too bad.”

Was he flirting with me? He was probably trying to throw me off the way I had back at my apartment. The look on his face had been priceless. It didn’t matter that he really did look good tonight. I was sure that he already knew it and I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.

A loud laugh erupted behind me just before arms came around my neck. I recognized Willow’s voice, so I relaxed a little.

“You ditched me,” she scolded.

“You seemed perfectly fine.”

“Oh, I see.” She came around my side and regarded Lincoln. “You look delicious, Linc. Doesn’t he?”

I scowled. “As delicious as roadkill on a hundred degree day.”

“Dance with us,” she pleaded, completely ignoring me.

Lincoln’s nose wrinkled. “I’m not much of a dancer.”

“You’re a musician, so I know you have a good sense of rhythm. Come on.”

A musician? That was news to me. I’d seen a piano in his apartment, but I hadn’t really thought about it as more than a simple hobby. How did she know that? I sighed. She’d probably been gathering information from the moment she arrived.

Without waiting for him to respond, she latched onto his hand. She grabbed mine too, then tugged us into the living room. Settling her hands on his shoulders, she whispered something in his ear before she turned around and backed up against him. He put his hands on her hips, apparently recognizing that it was pointless to argue. He said he didn’t dance, but clearly that didn’t mean he couldn’t. His body moved with a fluidity that didn’t match his massive body.

His eyes met mine and my skin heated. I wanted to blame the alcohol, but I wasn’t even buzzed.

When Rick showed up again, Willow abandoned Lincoln. She sidled up to Rick and looked at me.

“You guys should dance.”

“No thanks.”

“You’d do it with Kai.”

This was annoying. She was up to something, but I couldn’t imagine what it was. When she winked, I narrowed my eyes.

“I don’t bite,” Linc said.

“Too bad. I enjoy biting.”

The corner of his lips pulled up. He wasn’t supposed to find that funny. I was annoying and a pest to him. Like before, he leaned in close to my ear. I found my eyes fluttering closed.

“What if I said I want to dance with you?”

“I’d have to vomit on your shoes. And no, I wouldn’t apologize.”

He was so close that when I shifted my weight, his fingers brushed my arm. For some reason, I met his eyes. I thought I might actually agree to dance with him. One couldn’t hurt, right?

His hand flattened against my chest and I worried that he would feel how fast my heart was beating. I was on the verge of spiraling into oblivion and I hadn’t the faintest idea what that meant.

“You do look like you might throw up,” he noted. “Do I make you nervous, West?”

Thankfully, a couple of my teammates came over, so I took a step back. They were obviously past the point of tipsy considering the way they swayed. Matt eyed Willow hungrily and licked his lips.

“Hey,” I said, snapping my fingers. “Don’t be gross.”

“Rick said you guys are twins,” Matt noted. “So, are you the Game of Thrones type of twins?”

I reared back. Did he really just ask me that?

Lincoln stepped closer. “Don’t be a dick, man.”

Matt held his hands up in surrender, but he was laughing. “Just a question. Might be kinda hot, though.”

Matt hit the ground and someone shouted in alarm. It took me a moment to catch up to what had happened. Lincoln stood over him, his fist clenched at his side. When Matt looked up, there was blood coming from his nose.

“What the hell, Linc?” he shouted.

Lincoln’s lips parted. His chest rose and fell rapidly, but he just shook his head. I watched him stalk toward the stairs without a backward glance.

“That was wild,” Willow said beside me.

“It was unnecessary. He doesn’t need to defend your honor.”

“I don’t think it was about me.”

My brow furrowed. I stared at the place he’d disappeared. My heart was galloping and I didn’t think it was because of the excitement from the fight.

“I’m gonna find Kai,” Willow informed me before prancing away.

I wanted to follow, but I continued to look at the stairs. At the very least, I should probably make sure that Lincoln was okay. He’d obviously been upset.