Clash (4 page)

As we pulled up to the older three-story white house, I could almost feel the disgusting vibes spilling through the windows. I had been here only twice, but on both occasions I heard and saw things I will never be able to wash out of my mind. I swear—the girls who walked willingly through those doors had no morals. They would do just about anything with anyone to be invited. It was vile.

“Come on. I’m sure most of them are still in bed sleeping off last night’s blast.” Casey motioned for me to follow, but I remained seated in the car.

“I think I’ll just wait here,” I told her as I waved her off.

“Uh no you won’t,” she said as she slammed her door before walking around and jerking mine open. “You are not going to make me go in there alone.”

She took my hand in hers and dragged me out of the car. I thought about screaming for help, but I was sure no one was awake to hear me. So I followed with an unhappy scowl on my face. It only made her laugh.

I knew the moment we entered and Seth came out of the kitchen wearing only a pair of sweats hanging very low on his hips that I had lost her. She became all gooey and sauntered off toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Hey, baby,” he said just before her lips covered his. His hands gripped her ass and pulled her closer as she moaned. I turned my head, feeling as if I was some pervert watching.

“Hey, Payton, take these to Dylan.” I turned around to find her once again occupied as Seth shoved his tongue down her throat. If I wanted to get out of here, I had to get things done myself; she was a lost cause. I grabbed the mail from her hand and climbed the stairs to the second floor, hurrying to Dylan’s room. I thought it would be simple to just open his door, toss the mail onto the nearest surface, and be done with it.

His room was easy to identify—the door had a huge D plate mounted on the outside, along with a dry eraser board with all kinds of obscenities other guys added to it. A few phone numbers were jotted down in the lower left corner; I assumed they were probably numbers for girls he had hooked up with. I knew Dylan was not innocent in any way. The last time we gave him a surprise visit I found him with a girl straddling his lap in the game room.

The image flashed in my head and I decided knocking on his door was the way to go. The last thing I needed was to see him in bed with another girl.

“Fuck off,” he said in an irritated tone. I knocked again, only louder this time. “Damn assholes.” I heard something fall to the floor, followed by a few choice cuss words before the door flew open and my mouth hit the floor.

Dylan stood in the doorway stark naked. He rubbed at his eyes and squinted; I guess that’s when I came into view. His eyes grew wide, and he reached for a t-shirt on the floor at his feet.

“Payton,” he said as he shielded his dick. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

My mouth felt dry, and I knew words were pointless at the moment because I was still shocked by what I had seen. Dylan was glorious naked. Mouthwatering, thigh quivering perfection that I wanted to run my tongue over. Instead of speaking, I just held up the handful of mail I brought.

He let go of the door and reached out for the envelopes. He tossed them to the dresser and said, “Thanks.”

“Dude, is it my birthday?” a guy’s voice said from my left, just before he placed his arm over my shoulders. “Dylan—you sure know how to spoil a guy.”

I looked back to Dylan when it sounded like a growl escaped him. “Get your hands off her, Guy.”

I arched an eyebrow and looked back. “Your name is Guy?”

“The one and only guy for you, beautiful,” he said with a wink, and I couldn’t help but smile. Honestly, that was fucking cheesy, but amusing.

“I said remove your arm from her shoulders and step back,” Dylan said, this time with more authority.

Guy stepped back, holding his hands up in surrender. “Fuck, dude, I didn’t know she was your girl.”

I was just about to correct him when Dylan’s voice cut me off. “Well, now you know, douchebag.” I gave Dylan a confused look, and he grabbed my hand, yanking me toward his room before shutting the door behind him. He still held the t-shirt against himself as he looked around for something to put on.

“What was that all about?” I asked.

“What?” he said as he turned his back to me, grabbed a pair of shorts from the chair in the corner, and flashed me his ass in the process. I bit my lip to keep from making any noise as I watched his back muscles flex enticingly as he placed one leg at a time into his shorts. He turned around quickly before I had a chance to look away, and those abs I had seen so many times before seemed to call out to me.

“Payton?” Dylan said, and I looked up to see a smirk on his face. He knew I was looking. The heated blush that filled my cheeks caused me to shift on my feet as I looked down at the floor.

Suddenly I remembered a question hanging between us which had not been answered.

“Why did you tell Guy I was your girl?” I asked, still looking down at my feet.

“Because I don’t want him hitting on you,” he said without hesitation. “Telling him means he’ll share it with the rest of the guys, and then when you’re here I know they’ll leave you alone.”

His comment irritated me. Looking up at him, completely ignoring his half-dressed state, I crossed my arms over my chest. “What if I didn’t want him to stay away?”

His eyes narrowed as he took a step closer. “You don’t need to get wrapped up with some guy who only wants one thing from you before he moves on to the next willing party. You deserve more than that. I’m not gonna stand around and let that shit happen.”

“I never asked you to protect me, Dylan. I don’t need you scaring off any guy that shows interest in me.” He was playing that damn protective brother card again. I was so sick of being placed in the “little sister” category. “I don’t need you interfering in my life. If I want to date some random guy you don’t approve of, that is my business. If I want to go to some party and hook up with someone I just met, that too is my business. You don’t see me cock blocking you every time you pick up your newest skank.”

I turned around and reached for the door handle just as Dylan stepped up behind me and wrapped his arm around my waist. His body pressed close to mine. “Don’t leave mad,” he whispered next to my ear, and goosebumps rose on my neck.

“I’m not mad,” I replied with a shaky voice. I was angry and aroused by his closeness at the same time. His hand was spread out over my lower stomach, and his breath fanned out over my neck and shoulder. It was causing my mind to race and making it hard to remember why I was mad at him.

“You are mad, and I don’t like when you’re mad at me, Twig,” he said in a low tone.

“Don’t call me that,” I said defiantly.

There was a long pause, and I looked back over my shoulder, wondering why he was so quiet. His face was only inches from mine, and my heart began to race. There was a look of longing in his eyes I had never seen before. “You’re right,” he whispered as he leaned back to scan my body. I felt as if the temperature in the room was rising. “You’re not a twig.” The tip of his nose brushed along the side of my neck and chills ran through me.

“Dylan?” I said as I leaned back against his body. I could feel him through my jeans, pressing firmly against my hip. Excitement coursed through my veins as I shifted enough to rub against his hardness.

A groan escaped him as he said my name. His hand tightened on my stomach as he pressed himself tighter against my body.

I had no idea what was happening, but I had no desire to stop it.

With our lips only inches apart, I silently pleaded for him to kiss me. I just wanted to feel his lips against mine. But a loud knock on his door separated us, shaking us out of our lust-filled state.

“We’re gonna be late, Payton,” Casey said as she barged into to the room. Dylan now sat on the end of his bed, his hands clenching into fists as he looked down at his feet. “What the hell is going on?” she asked.

Before Dylan could say anything, I stepped forward and grabbed Casey’s elbow. “Nothing. Dylan was just letting me hide out in here after Guy started laying out his cheesy pickup lines. Come on, let’s go.”

She looked like she still had questions, but I gave her no time to think them through. I dragged her from the room and took one last opportunity to look back over my shoulder at Dylan. He was still looking down, and it only made what just happened harder to analyze. Maybe he regretted getting that close.

Chapter Seven

Dylan

What the hell was I thinking? It was Payton, for Christ’s sake. The thoughts rolling through my mind as her body pressed tightly against my own should not be things I think about her.

Casey would kill me and hang my balls from the tree in the front yard if she caught wind of the images in my mind.

More than that, Payton did not need me lusting after her, not from someone she trusted. But the moment I stepped up behind her and the sweet aroma of her perfume filled my nose, I lost all sense of control. She fit perfectly against me, and that ass of hers was delectable. Fuck, I was rubbing up on her before I knew what hit me, and she accepted it. She even reciprocated and used her hip to stroke me through my sweats.

I was only seconds away from spinning her around and pushing her up against the door when Casey knocked on the door and broke the trance I was in.

Now I couldn’t get Payton out of my head—that needy purr she made when I ground my cock against her, the lustful look she gave as if she was taunting me to go further.

“What the fuck, Andrews?” Seth said as he stepped up to my side and grabbed the jug of milk from my hand. “Save some for me, dickhead,” he complained.

I looked down at my cup and realized it was almost to the rim. I had been so focused on the images of Payton I lost sense of where I was.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, leaning over to slurp at the milk. Drinking it down enough to lift it without spilling, I tipped it up and began to chug.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Seth asked as he observed me with curiosity.

He should not be the guy I talked to about this, but hell—I had to talk to someone. He and I had grown closer after he moved into the house. It didn’t matter that I was in my senior year and he was a sophomore; we still bonded. After Payton had been attacked I went a little crazy. Drowning out the images of what happened to her was easier than facing them. I couldn’t even look at her without feeling the need to track down the worthless fuck who hurt her and kill him with my bare hands.

“I think I fucked up,” I confessed as I lowered the now empty glass to the counter.

“This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with Payton being alone in your room earlier, would it?” Shit got around this house fast. They acted like a bunch of gossip girls.

He wore a smirk that told me all I needed to know. “Guy?”

“Yep. He came straight downstairs talking about the hot girl in your room. Casey shut him down pretty quickly when he started gesturing what he would do if he was the one alone in a room with her.”

That knowledge made me want to find Guy and put my fist through his smug face.

“So how did you fuck up?” he asked.

“I may have dry fucked her against my door just before Casey interrupted us.” I groaned when his face lit up with excitement. “Don’t look so happy about it. Casey is gonna kick my ass.”

“You know, for a smart guy, you’re pretty fucking stupid.” He chuckled, shaking his head, and I was instantly confused. “Payton has had a thing for you for years, man.”

“What?”

“They talk, and I listen. Besides, your sister can’t keep a secret for the life of her. Apparently Payton has adored you from afar since she was about twelve. And frankly, anyone could pick up on that. Don’t you notice the way she is around you?” He couldn’t be serious.

“It’s not like that,” I assured him, but I wasn’t fully convinced myself. “She never said anything.”

“And why would she? She has seen you parade a variety of different girls around, and with her low self-esteem she was always comparing herself to them. She never thought she was good enough.” His words pissed me off but I knew they were true.

Payton has always been hard on herself, but she had a piece of shit father to blame for that. He put that shit in her head.

“I am an idiot,” I mumbled.

His deep chuckle told me he agreed.

“So what do I do? I can’t tell her you told me. Even if I did say anything, Casey would give me hell.” It was a dead end from both angles.

“Don’t be so sure about that. Maybe you’ve misjudged Casey,” Seth said before turning around and walking out of the kitchen, leaving me wondering what the fuck he was thinking.

Chapter Eight

Payton

It had been a few days since Dylan and I had our little…moment. I truly had no idea what to call it. Maybe I imagined it all. Who knows?

But I couldn’t stop thinking about the way his body felt against mine, or the way his breath heated my skin before turning to a cool chill that ran through me. It was a feeling I now longed for, one I wanted to repeat as often as I could.

The sound of my bedroom door flying open caught me off guard, and I jack-knifed off my bed to find Carter standing in the doorway, chuckling. “Damn, Twig, did you break something?”

“Smartass,” I huffed as I lay back down and placed the book I had not been reading in front of me, blocking him from my view. “Ever hear of knocking?”

“Yeah, but surprising you is much more fun. Besides, one of these days I may catch you naked.” I moved the book out of the way and cocked an eyebrow at him. “What? A guy has to have dreams, Payton.”

“You are hopeless.” I rolled my eyes just as he tossed an envelope onto the bed at my feet. “What’s that?”

He shrugged as he turned around and began walking from the room. “Came for you,” he tossed over his shoulder just before disappearing down the hallway.

Laying my book on the mattress at my side, I sat up and grabbed the envelope, turning it over in my hand. And in that moment my heart sank.

It was a letter addressed to me, with a return address for the prison where my father had been for the last two years. Not only did he go to prison for the years of abuse he inflicted on me, but also for attacking the officer who had shown up only to question him after the night of my attack.

My hands began trembling as I held the letter so tight it began to crinkle. I knew whatever it contained, it would be nothing but a reminder of the years of hell I lived under my father’s hands. He was a hateful, heartless man.

I had finally found a sense of peace and safety, and I refused to allow him or anyone else to take that from me.

Instead of reading the letter, I crawled from my bed and opened my dresser drawer. Tucking it beneath a pile of shirts, I closed the drawer quickly and turned my back to it. Standing there in a daze in the center of my room, staring forward at the window only five-feet away, is exactly how Casey found me when she came in my room.

“Earth to Payton, come in Payton,” she said as she sat on the end of the bed. When I shifted my eyes to meet hers, she arched her eyebrow. “You sorta checked out for a while. You okay?”

“Yeah,” I assured her as I put on my happy face. “Just daydreaming. What are you doing here? I thought for sure you would be with Seth tonight.”

“I’m heading over there now, but I came to say you are going with me,” she said nonchalantly as she picked at a piece of lint on her skirt. Of course she refused to look up at me. She was up to something.

“Why would I go with you to the fraternity house so I can be subjected to the two of you eating each other’s faces? Doesn’t sound like much fun to me.” I crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for her to explain. I knew I would get the quick version.

“Seth said they are having a party and that I should bring you.” I remained standing in the same place, my arms still crossed waiting for her to continue, but she ignored my questioning stare.

“Since when do I give a shit about what Seth suggests? Last time you two dragged me along I spent the night with a pillow over my head while you two kept moaning out for more. I wanted to smack myself in the head with a hammer to drown out your noise. What the hell makes you think I want to repeat that again tonight?”

“Please, Payton, I think you’ll have fun. You rarely go out, and this is a party at the house. If you get tired you can just crash in Dylan’s room on the couch or something,” she said in a whiney voice.

At the mention of Dylan I felt my cheeks heat. Casey picked that moment to look up.

“Why are you blushing?” she asked as she stood up from the bed and took a step closer. “There’s something you’re hiding from me.”

I rolled my eyes. “You are so annoying. I’m not hiding anything, you spaz.”

“Whatever, Payton. You are all defiant at first, and then the moment I mention my brother, you clam up and get all winded. What happened that you aren’t telling me? And before you decide to feed me a line of ‘nothing’ bullshit, I already know you are lying so don’t waste my time.” Casey was the biggest pain in my ass. She never let me hold anything in.

“Nothing really happened,” I began and she shot daggers at me. “No, seriously, it was more of a feeling. Dylan has never touched me other than to offer a friendly, comforting hug. That day we stopped by to deliver his mail, he stood behind me with his hand on my hip. That day it just felt different. I’m sure I imagined the whole thing.”

“Is that why the two of you looked like you were caught doing something when I came in the room?” Casey was smiling, which surprised me a little. She spent years listening to me drool over her brother, and most of the time grew irritated that I would brush off my feelings. I guess now that I opened up about Dylan’s advance, she found a thrill out of the situation.

“So did he kiss you?”

She should not be this eager to know details of her brother’s moves.

“No, actually, I think it was a fluke. He looked like he regretted it the moment you walked in and he had a little more time to think about what almost happened.” I believed my words. It was the only explanation.

“Coming to the party tonight would be the perfect way to find out.”

To me, the idea of seeing Dylan and finding out he did in fact regret his actions made my stomach ache. I had no idea how I would react to him confirming my suspicions.

***

“Hey, you’re Payton, right?” A tall guy with dark brown hair stepped to my side and leaned back against the wall. “I’m Todd. I just joined the fraternity and I’ve seen you come in with Casey a few times.”

“Yeah, that’s me.” The guy was cute enough. Okay, so he was more than cute; he had that bad boy look that gave him a little bit of an edge.

We talked about school, our majors, and kept the conversation in the safe zone. He was either a genuinely sweet guy, or he was doing some serious ground work to later attempt to get in my pants. Who knows? But a little conversation helped me avoid Dylan who was across the room with three girls. They were playing some drinking game when we arrived, and by then he looked like he was already feeling pretty good. I don’t think he even noticed I was there.

To hide my disappointment I would gladly accept Todd’s company.

A couple hours passed, and by then I was also feeling a little more free. Casey had dragged me off to the dance floor and I gladly lost myself in the music. I stopped focusing so much of my attention on Dylan and where he was, and just let go and had fun.

Between Seth and Todd, they each attempted to mimic Casey’s and my movements only to fail miserably. It was the funniest thing. They looked like two baby pigs fighting as they bounced off one another and moved their hips in jerky motions. I think I spent so much time laughing so hard I had dull ache in my ribs.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to face whoever was responsible for the interruption…and froze. “Can I talk to you?” Dylan’s voice slurred and he wobbled on his feet.

“Okay…” I said as I shot Casey a concerned look. Dylan drank to have fun, never to get so wasted he could barely stand. It just wasn’t like him to get this drunk.

He led me to a room just off the kitchen and braced himself on the shelf to his left. “Are you okay?” I asked as I reached out and touched his arm.

“I’m good.” He shrugged me off and the rejection stung. “So, uh, I wanted to talk to you about the other day. I’m sorry I acted like that. It was wrong of me.”

I held up my hand to stop him because I was still feeling like an idiot for the first brush off; I didn’t need another one. “Dylan, seriously? Don’t worry about it. It was no big deal.”

I just wanted this little
talk
to be over.

Since he was already unstable, it didn’t take much to push past him and leave.

Once I joined Casey, Seth, and Todd on the dance floor, Casey instantly picked up on my mood change. She gave me that “what the fuck” look, but I only shook my head. I didn’t want to talk about it.

I knew I would have to tell her eventually, but standing in the center of a living room full of people was not the place. Besides, Dylan was in no condition to defend himself, and turning Casey loose on him right now would just be wrong.