500 Days (37 page)

“
Holy crap. Didn’t know
there was gonna be a Bob Marley tribute,” Alex joked, waving the
smoke out of her face.

“
Sorry, I didn’t know they
were going to be down here doing this. They’re not supposed to in
the house. We can leave?”

“
Man, I think I’m getting
a contact high just standing here.”

“
Come on, let’s go.” I
tugged on her hand but she didn’t budge.

“
Did you hear that?” she
asked, cupping her ear.

“
Hear what?” I asked,
afraid maybe she inhaled a little too much.

“
Laughter.”

“
It’s just my idiot
brothers. Let’s go.”

“
No, not your brothers.
Mine,” she growled, charging into the room.

“
Alex, wait.” She took off
around the corner and down the last few steps.

The laughter we heard stopped. “Jaxson!
Jacob!” Alex yelled. They both stood frozen. Jacob was caught red
handed with a joint in his hand. “What the hell are you doing?”

“
I was just holding it for
a friend,” Jacob stuttered.

“
Do I look like a fucking
idiot?”

“
Alex,” I stepped
in.

“
Don’t,” she held up a
hand. “Give me that. Now.” He handed over the joint to Alex.
“You’re not even doing it right,” Alex said, taking a hit. I stood
there a little shell shocked.

“
Are you serious with this
shit right now?” Jaxson said as surprised as I was. “You’re cool
with this?”

“
No, I am not. This will
be the last of your experimenting. Got it.” She smacked them both
on the back of the head and then took another hit before passing it
off to one of my brothers. “Ready to play some darts?”

“
Uh…yeah.”

She tapped me on the face. “Oh, Cas, don’t
act so surprised.”

“
I didn’t say anything.”
She gave me a teasing smile as I walked her over to the dart board.
We invited Jaxson and Jacob to play darts with us. I think Alex
asked them to play so she could keep an eye on them. I thought for
a second she was going to have an aneurism when she saw her
brothers smoking pot, but she just keeps on surprising
me.

After an hour of playing darts and one minor
incident – Alex accidently hit one of the guys in the shoulder with
a dart – we decided to head back up stairs. I practically had to
help carry Alex up the steps. She swung the door open and fell
forward. I caught her before she did a face plant on the floor. She
was hysterically laughing and it was contagious. Alex stopped
laughing abruptly and I looked up to see a very irritated Declan.
“What did you do to her?” she said to me.

“
Oh, Declan, unclench a
little, will ya,” Alex said. I couldn’t help it. I started busting
up laughing and soon Alex and her brothers joined in.

“
Jax? Jake?” Declan looked
at Alex. “Really Alex. Way to set an example,” she
reprimanded.

“
Hey, I was.” She stood
up. “I taught them how to share.” Declan rolled her eyes while Alex
straightened out her dress. She took a step forward but her heel
buckled and she fell on her butt, laughing. Declan walked away
having had enough. I picked her up and carried her into the
kitchen.

“
How about we get you some
water?” I suggested. I sat her up on the kitchen counter and dug a
bottle of water out of the fridge.

“
You okay?” Jaxson asked.
He witnessed Alex’s tumble.

She waved him off like it was nothing.
“Where’s Jacob?”

“
He was right behind me
just a second ago,” Jaxson looked over his shoulder. “Oh, there he
is. Talking to that blonde.”

“
Who is that?” Alex asked
me.

“
Hailey Bates.”

“
The town whore!” Alex
said a little too loudly. She tried to jump off the counter but I
stopped her.

“
I’m on it,” Jaxson said,
taking off. I tried to calm her down, but she was stubborn. Jaxson
pulled Jacob over to Alex.

“
You stay away from that
tramp. You hear me,” she lectured.

Jacob rolled his eyes, but agreed to appease
Alex. “Oh, shots.” Alex reached over my shoulder to grab one of the
green minty shots we had earlier.

“
Alex, I think maybe –”
Too late. The shot was gone.

“
Come on. I want to
dance.” Alex dragged all three of us out to the living room to
dance. I didn’t care. I was just glad she was here with me and
having fun. We danced like crazy, not caring who was watching.
Alex’s hands were all over my body and sweat was dripping from my
forehead and chest causing my shirt to stick to me. She slipped her
hands up my shirt, sliding over the slick surface. I pulled her
sweaty body closer to mine. I wanted so badly to kiss her, but I
knew I couldn’t. She pressed herself against me, rubbing herself up
and down my thighs. She was making it hard to keep a clear head.
She lifted up her damp hair exposing the skin on her shoulders. I
couldn’t resist. I pressed my lips into her neck. She shivered,
making me want to throw her over my shoulder and carry her straight
to my room.

“
Cas,” she whispered.
“Cas, stop.” I couldn’t. Once I got a taste of her I wanted more.
She pulled away from me. “Cas, don’t.”

“
Alex,” I reached out for
her, but she pulled away again. I dropped my hand.

“
I think I should go
home.” She suddenly looked so small, fragile. I was afraid if I
tried to touch her I would break her.

“
I’ll go find Declan.” I
gestured for Jaxson and Jacob to keep an eye on her while I
searched the party for Declan and Colton. I searched the whole
house but I couldn’t find them anywhere. I took out my phone and
text Colton.

Where the hell r
u?

@home

Fuck.

Declan says if u hurt Alex
she’ll kill u.

Yeah. Yeah. This coming from the friend who
left her with me.

What am I supposed 2do?
She wants to go home but I don’t want to leave her
alone.

There was a slight pause. Clearly he was
talking to Declan on what to do.

Bring her here

I stuffed
my phone back in my pocket and headed into the
living room for Alex. She was sitting on the couch between Jaxson
and Jacob, her head lolling back and forth. “Alex,” I said, shaking
her gently. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled when she saw me.
“Declan wants me to take you back to my place.”

“
Ha! Nice try Mr. but I’m
on to you,” she said, wagging her finger at me. “I may be drunk,
but I know when you’re trying to be sneaky and it’s not going to
work.” She put both palms on the couch and tried to stand up, but
was unsuccessful.

“
Alex, I am not trying to
trick you. Declan is there with Colton. You can call her if you
want?”

She put her finger on her chin, tapping it,
and thinking. “Wait! What about Lucky?” I looked at her confused.
“We can’t leave him all alone. He’s just a tiny little thing.” She
cupped her hands to show how small he was. “And I want my bed.”

“
Alex, why don’t you come
stay with us at Jas’s,” Jaxson offered.

“
I told you I want my bed
and I need to be with Lucky.”

I rolled my eyes and picked her up, throwing
her over my shoulder. “There are designated drivers outside waiting
to take you where you need to go. I’m going to put Alex in one of
the cars and go with her to make sure she gets inside okay, but I’m
worried about leaving her alone.”

“
Jacob and I will go with
her and stay. Come on Jake.”

“
What, we’re leaving?” he
said disappointed.

“
Yes, dick. Let’s
go.”

They followed me out and I carefully slipped
Alex in to one of the waiting cars. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow
Alex,” I said, giving her kiss on her temple.

“
No, don’t leave me.” Her
sudden 180 let me know just how drunk she was. My master plan had
failed. I meant to loosen her up not incapacitate her.

“
Alex, Jacob and Jaxson
are going to be with you. You will be fine. I promise.”

“
No Casper. I want you.
Please, come home with me.”

I stood up and scrubbed a
hand down my face. F.U.C.K.
She’s hammered
Cas. Don’t do this. She’ll regret it in the morning and so will
you.
I was just about to do the right
thing and tell her I couldn’t when she yanked on my arm so hard I
slammed my cheek on the roof of the car. That was gonna fucking
hurt tomorrow.

“
Oops,” she giggled. “I’m
sorry.”

I leaned down into the car. “That.
Hurt.”

She bit her bottom lip. “I was just trying
to get you in the car so we can leave.”

“
Alex, I –” I was shoved
in the back by Jaxson and sandwiched in the middle. Jacob climbed
in on the other side of Alex and gave the driver directions to
Alex’s house. “No guys, wait.”

“
Relax man. Alex won’t
care if you crash at her house.”

This was not good.

Alex passed out again on the way back. She
rested her head on my shoulder and I resisted the urge to touch
her. We pulled up to her place and I was about to tell the driver
to take me back to the frat house when Alex woke up. “Hey,” she
said, smiling lazily. “You stayed.”

Her brothers got out of
the car leaving me to deal with her.
Just
great
. I slid out of the car and then
helped Alex out. Then I ducked my head back in. “Stay here. I’ll be
right back.” I picked Alex up and carried her upstairs to her room.
I laid her down on the bed and then helped her take off her boots.
I pulled the covers over her and kissed her cheek. “Goodnight
Alex.”

“
Where are you going?” she
mumbled.

“
I have to go.”

“
No, don’t go. Just lie
with me for a little.” I ran my hands through my hair debating on
what to do. My phone beeped in my pocket. I took it out and read
the text from Declan.

Where the hell r
u?

She wanted 2go
home

Casper I swear if u try
anything

Jacob and Jaxson r here
w/her

I got no response. Then I heard Jaxson in
the other room. “Yeah, we’re here. She’s fine. Chill Declan. We
won’t let anything happen.”

I stifled a groan when my phone beeped
again.

We will b talking
tom.

I looked back down at Alex. I would be crazy
to leave her now. I made a decision and called down to the waiting
driver. I told him he could take off. I put my phone away and
walked out to the kitchen where Jaxson and Jacob were raiding the
fridge. “I’m going to keep an eye on Alex.”

“
Sure thing, man,” Jacob
said in between bites, spraying food as he talked.
“Whatever.”

“
I call Declan’s room,”
Jaxson said, grabbing his sandwich and making a run for
it.

“
Dude!” Jacob yelled,
taking off after him. They wrestled a bit in the hallway but Jaxson
managed to make it to the room before Jacob, closing and locking
the door behind him. “Dick!” Jacob whined, kicking the door. He
sulked all the way to the couch, pulling the blanket down off the
top and crashing.

I made my way back in to Alex’s room where
she was trying to get out of her dress. She had it pulled up
halfway. She tugged, but it wouldn’t budge. I walked over to help
her. “I’m stuck.”

“
So I noticed. Let me help
you.” I pulled the dress back down and turned her around so I could
unzip it. Then I slid the dress off and tossed it on the hamper.
Without looking at her, I searched for a t-shirt and pants. I found
some on the floor. Not caring if they were clean or not, I handed
them to her. She slipped on the shirt but left the pants. I helped
her into bed and was ready to crash in the recliner she had in the
corner when she quickly sat up.

“
Where’s Lucky?” I looked
around the room. I didn’t see him when I came in.

“
I’ll find him.” I went
back out into the living room. Jacob was already passed out and
snoring. I quietly tried to call for Lucky. I found him on the
kitchen counter eating the lunch meat the boys had left out. I
picked him up and carried him back with me.

“
There he is,” she
clapped, wiggling her fingers with her arms stretched out. I placed
him in her lap. She cooed to him as she scratched his ears and
chin. He purred like crazy, rubbing up against her. Alex laid back
down, content. Lucky spun in circles before he finally made himself
comfortable. I started making my way back to the recliner. "What
are you doing?” She pulled the covers back and patted the spot next
to her. “Come lay
with me.”

One look at her face and I couldn’t say no.
I kicked off my boots and slipped under the covers. “You going to
sleep in your clothes?”

“
I think it’s safer this
way.” She looked at me funny, but didn’t say anything else. I laid
on my back with my arms behind my head. Alex rolled over, resting
her head on my chest and swinging her arm over my torso. I
stiffened for a moment until she relaxed and I could hear her soft
snoring. I let out a breath and wrapped my arm around
her.