Bad Romeo (Starcrossed #1)(61)
Author: Leisa Rayven

My face must give away how much I hate thinking about him with other women, because she quickly adds, “There wasn’t ever anything serious.”

“Not even Olivia?” I ask.

Elissa scrunches up her face. “Yeah, they had a thing. But honestly, Ethan treated her so badly it was doomed from the start. And she was a nice girl, too. Nothing like Vanessa. I never thought my brother could be cruel, until I saw him with Olivia. She would have done anything for him, and he destroyed her. He hasn’t dated since.”

I think about all the cruel things he’s said or done since I’ve known him, and I feel sorry for his previous Juliet.

“So that’s the story,” Elissa says as she stands and pulls me to my feet. “Now, can we please stop talking about my deadbeat brother and start having a good time? I doubt he’ll show tonight. He’s probably in a bar somewhere, scowling at the wall and causing paint to blister.”

We head back inside, and half an hour and two tequila shots later, Elissa and Ruby have convinced me to dance. I twirl and sway with them, but I can’t help thinking about Holt and what he’s been through.

When I hear a huge round of applause at the front of the room, I turn around to see Holt there, a nearly empty whiskey bottle in his outstretched arms as he yells, “Wassup, fellow thespians?! Romeo’s in da house! Let’s party!”

The whole room roars its approval, and beside me I hear Elissa say, “Oh, God. What the hell is he doing?”

I watch in disbelief as Holt hugs and high-fives everyone around him while making his way through the throng like a rock star with his fans.

When he reaches us he smiles sloppily and says, “Hello, ladies,” in a voice I’m guessing is supposed to be sexy.

“Ruby,” he says as he pulls her in for a hug. “You hate me, don’t you? A lot of people hate me. Even my own father. Don’t worry. I don’t hold it against you.”

Then he turns to his sister and wraps his arms around her. “Oh, Elissa. Sweet, ball-breaking Elissa. Why do you put up with me? I don’t understand. But I love you. I really, really do.”

“Uh … Ethan?” she says, wincing as he squeezes her. “Did you happen take a whole bunch of Ecstasy tonight?”

He kisses her cheek before turning to me. His smile immediately falters, but he takes another swig of liquor and then steps forward as he reaches out to cup my face.

“And Cassie. Beautiful, beautiful Cassie. Are you okay?”

“Yes. Are you?”

“I’m great! I don’t even care about what happened tonight with my father. And you wanna know why? Because I’ve decided not to care about anything. It’s such a simple concept, I don’t know why I didn’t come up with it years ago. Look at how happy I am!”

He throws his head back and laughs. It’s the saddest sight I’ve ever seen.

“Holt…” I begin, but he puts his fingers on my lips.

“No, don’t ‘Holt’ me.” He puts down his bottle. “It’s a party, and I want to dance. See ya.”

He pushes into the crowd, and they whoop around him as he starts to move, energetic and ungainly.

“Wow,” Elissa says. “I’ve never seen my brother dance before. There’s … God … there’s too much wrong for me to comprehend.”

“He’s a truly terrible dancer,” Ruby says. “It looks like he’s having a vertical seizure.”

He’s the life of the party. He talks to everyone—is polite to everyone. Heck, he even laughs at Jack’s jokes and doesn’t sneer when Zoe flirts with him.

He probably feels like raging and punching people in the face, but instead he’s being the Holt he thinks everyone wants him to be.

I grind my teeth in frustration.

I know Holt can be an ass, because he’s been one to me on more than one occasion, but at least he was being real. This new Holt? He’s as fake as Zoe’s boobs.

Now I know how he felt watching me be a people pleaser. It’s aggravating as hell.

When I can’t take anymore, I push through the crowd to get to him. He’s talking to Zoe, smiling and laughing. She’s making sexy eyes at him, and I have an urge to smash her face into the bowl of Doritos on the table beside her.

Holt looks up as I approach, and once again his smile falters for a second before it slams firmly back into place.

“Taylor!” he says warmly. “What’s up? Zoe here was just telling me that if she’d been my Juliet instead of you, she wouldn’t have been faking the sex scene. Isn’t that hilarious?”

“Totally hilarious,” I say with zero enthusiasm. “Zoe?” I pick up the bowl of Doritos. “Want some chips?”

Pow. Right in the kisser.

She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, right, Cassie. As if I’m going to eat carbs.”

I exhale and plaster a nonviolent expression on my face. “Holt, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Actually,” Zoe says as she links her arm through his possessively, “he’s talking to me right now. Maybe you could come back later.”

Woman, you’d best get your hands off him before I give you a hydrolyzed-cheese-starch facial.

I slam the chip bowl down on the table and force myself to smile. “I won’t keep him long. I’m sure he’ll be back listening to your amusing pornographic hypotheticals before you know it.”

I grab Holt’s arm and tug, and thankfully, he follows me to the kitchen.

I spin around to face him. “What are you doing?”

He shrugs. “Having a good time?”

“Really? Is that what you call it? Talking to Slut Girl. Pretending you like her.”

“‘Slut Girl’ is a very unkind nickname,” he says, his words slurred. “And maybe I actually enjoy her company.”

“Oh, what a crock.”

“You jealous, Taylor?”

“Yes. Very. Now would you please drop this stupid act and kiss me?”

That stops him dead in his tracks. He blinks three times. I don’t even flinch. Guess I’m getting pretty good at saying what I really think.

Jack walks in and heads to the keg in the corner, ignoring the staring match going on as he fills several cups with beer. “Hey, Holt, buddy. You’re not slowing down, are you? Come on, have one of these.”

Holt turns around just as Jack holds out one of the cups, and the entire beer splashes down the front of Ethan’s shirt.