Unwanted (bxb)

Chapter 11

"Honestly, I had no idea," I said.

"Still and all, it's for the best," she said, looking at my shorts and my shirt. "Not just anyone can come here, and no offense, but you're dressed a little more modestly than most people here."

Modest! The guys there could have been rapists if they'd just taken off their sagging' pants.

"I don't know if you know the deal here, but there are gangs. Your brother is the leader of one, and it's important he beats Aggie," Xana said when we were close to the cars that would be racing.

Cole was a gang leader? That was unexpected, but I shouldn't have been surprised. From what little I knew of him, it made sense he'd be involved in something like that. He was violent, frightening, and a hard-ass, and he hid it with amazing talent whenever he was hanging out with the people he'd grown up around. But he was a rich kid! This kind of thing didn't happen in his world. What was a dude whose father was one of the most important lawyers in the country doing running a gang like the one I was looking at right now?

Xana stopped next to a couple of girls who could have given me the kiss I needed to make Dylan and Maddie jealous. The girls were dressed provocatively, but that was nothing compared to the ones near where we'd parked.

Xana hugged the girls like they'd been friends all their lives, and they started laughing with each other. It was strange to see such warm camaraderie. All the girls had fluorescent yellow bands around their forearms or wrists or in their hair. I realized all of them were members of the same gang. Cole's gang.

"Who's the hot guy?" one asked, and they all laughed as they looked over at me. People kept showing up and walking back and forth. But not them. They stayed where they were. I didn't like the comment, but my only reaction was a scowl. Xana came to my aid.

"Y'all aren't going to believe it, but he's Cole's stepbrother," she said. I was disappointed; I didn't want anyone to know. I wanted to go unnoticed that night or at least have a good time without getting labeled as the stepbrother of Cole.

If it was even possible, they laughed harder, and the guys looked at me with full hatred, thinking I was gonna steal their girlfriends.

"Bring our new friend something to drink!" a black guy said. He was holding a red cup and had his arm around the waist of a hot girl. She turned around, poured something into a cup, and passed it to me while the others went on talking and listening to their shrill music.

"So you're our friend's new guy?" she asked, eyeing me up. I did the same. If she wasn't going to respect me, why should I respect her? She was black, tall, and very thin. Her hair was in thin braids that descended to her waist. She was wearing white shorts and a dark blue T-shirt.

"Stepbrother," I corrected her, grabbing my cup and looking at it with suspicion. "You didn't put anything in it, did you?" I asked. I didn't trust these people. I'd already been drugged once. I didn't need it to happen again.

"What kind of person do you think I am?" she asked, offended. "It's beer, and if you want anything weaker, you're in the wrong place." She turned so fast her braids hit me and walked away swaying her hips sexily, causing many men there to stop and stare.

"You've only been here half an hour, and people are already placing bets on you," Xana said.

"What kind of bets?" I asked, flustered.

"How soon you're going to need to throw away your beer and take off running back home." Her face was expectant.

So that was how it was?

I glared at her and all the guys looking at me like I was a joke and drank the entire contents of that oversize cup. As I did, they started shouting louder and louder, and when I finished, a little woozy and with an urge to cough, all present clapped and whistled.