Perfect Regret (Bad Rep #2)(19)
Author: A. Meredith Walters

“Come on, just for a little while,” Gracie begged, turning to Mitch who lit up at her attention. Huh, how had I not seen that before? Mitch stepped toward Gracie but then his face fell when she turned back to Garrett, who had yet to look away from me.

I refused to acknowledge Garrett and instead noticed the way Mitch looked like a boy who had just heard that Christmas had been cancelled. He realized I was watching him and shrugged as if Gracie’s rejection didn’t matter.

“No, we’ve got to get Cole home. He’s ready to pass out already,” Jordan said, kissing Maysie again.

“I think Cole’s found his second wind,” I commented, pointing across the room to where Vivian and Cole were making out in the corner. Cole’s hand was up her dress and she was pushing against him, leaving very little doubt as to what Cole was doing inside her panties.

“God, they’re ridiculous,” Maysie breathed out in annoyance and I nodded.

“I don’t know, they look like they’re having a good time,” Garrett drawled, giving me a wicked grin that I resolutely, 100% ignored. Yeah, I caught the innuendo; I just refused to acknowledge it.

“I want to dance! Come on everyone!” Gracie squealed, grabbing Maysie’s hand as she ran passed, heading toward the staircase. Jordan and Mitch followed them but I stayed behind. I leaned over the railing and smirked as I watched my friends bump and grind to the horrible music. Gracie draped her arms around some guy’s neck while Mitch tried not to look bothered by it. Jordan and Maysie were practically screwing on the dance floor.

My eyes drifted over the dancers until they stopped on something I’d rather not see. Damien, in all of his preppy glory, standing against the wall. But he wasn’t alone. Hell no. The jerk was with Jaz, who was pressed against him as if she could crawl up inside him like a gerbil.

From this distance I couldn’t see his expression, but Jaz’s writhing on his thigh left little to the imagination. I thought I’d feel devastated. Horrified. Wrecked.

But in truth I just felt angry. Humiliated and disappointed. And those feelings had more to do with my own pride than watching my ex clearly hooking up with a girl I couldn’t stand.

“Is that your ex?”

I jumped, forgetting that Garrett still stood beside me.

I turned around and leaned against the metal railing, resting my elbows beside me. “That’s him in the ‘I’m a Jackass’ outfit down there,” I answered, sounding a little annoyed but nothing else.

Garrett leaned beside me, his shirt unbuttoned and billowed open to reveal his chest. Seriously had this guy never been taught how to wear his clothing properly?

“He’s an idiot,” he said shortly and with zero emotion.

I frowned at him, not understanding him at all. “Huh?” I asked, confused.

Garrett tilted his head toward me, dipping his lips toward my ear. “If he could let you go, he’s a f**king moron. Not worth the mud on your shoes. You are so much more than that.”

His words had me tingling inside, filling me with something indescribable. My mouth fell open but nothing came out. I was speechless. Garrett Bellows had rendered me completely mute.

Garrett pulled his keys out of his pocket and inclined his head towards the stairs. This guy could say more with his head movements than anyone I had ever seen. It was like a new form of stoner language; grunt and nod instead of talking.

“Are you asking me something?” I asked him snottily.

Garrett smiled at my attitude. He really did seem to get off on it. “You wanna get out of here? I get the feeling you’re crawling out of your skin,” he observed.

Did I want to leave with him? Would he expect me to have sex with him again? Because I was damn sure not going there. Been there, screwed that.

“We can just go and hang out. That’s it,” Garrett said, as though reading my mind.

Well…that did sound appealing. Because the last thing I wanted was to stand around and watch my friends get wasted and Damien mack on Jaz. I’d rather tear my fingernails off one at a time…slowly.

And being with Garrett right now seemed the lesser of two evils.

I looked back down at Maysie and the others. Gracie was now on top of a speaker, flashing the world her rainbow panties. I shook my head at her obliviousness.

“What about the others? Didn’t you drive them here?” I asked, not wanting to leave everyone without a ride even if I wanted to take off so badly I was willing to sacrifice a night with Garrett to make it happen. This place seriously sucked balls.

“I already warned them they’d have to cab it back. This place pretty much sucks balls,” Garrett stated and I let out a loud snort at his choice of words. Though it terrified me that our minds were operating on the same wavelength. That should have been a sign of the impending apocalypse.

“True that,” I agreed, snickering.

Garrett gave me a lopsided grin and motioned for me to head down the stairs. “Then let’s get the hell out of here,” he said.

I sent a quick text to my friends letting them know I had found a ride and would be home later. Then I promptly turned off my phone, not wanting the barrage of calls that would most likely ensue once they realized I had left.

Garrett unlocked the passenger side door of his van and held it open for me. I refused to feel all girlie about him playing the part of the gentleman. No tingles in my nether regions as he closed the door behind me after I had gotten inside.

Nope, no girlieness here.

“You mind coming over to my place for a while? I’d really like to chill out before the guys get back,” Garrett said and I swallowed around the lump that formed in my throat at the suggestion.

He wanted to go to his house. Where we had sex. And we’d be alone. Uh…

“Sure,” I found myself saying, surprising us both.

“Cool,” Garrett said and turned on the radio. There was no further conversation and I found that the silence wasn’t uncomfortable like I thought it would be.

Fifteen minutes later, Garrett was pulling off the main road and driving down the narrow, graveled path that led to his house. Parking in his driveway, he cut off the van. His house was set in the middle of the woods and the only light came from the moon overhead.

I looked around at the over grown trees and realized they’d be a great spot to bury my disemboweled body if Garrett turned out to be a serial killer.

“You coming?” Garrett asked from the front porch. A tree branch snapped off to my left, making me jump and I practically ran up to meet him.