Playing for keeps

21. A thousand butterflies

E A S T O N

The banging drums of hell pound against my brain, making me want to throw the covers over my head and never resurface.

I'm thankful to find water and aspirin when I slowly blink my eyes open and happily gulp them down, groaning at the recurring pain in my head.

"Oakley," I croak, looking towards the other side of the bed, but Oakley is nowhere to be found. Which is odd because he doesn't get out of bed if he has a hangover, which I'm sure he does since he drank more than me.

Oakley's parents travel a lot for work and are practically never home, which is why we always go to his house after a party because it lacks the overbearing brothers at mine and the lectures for underage drinking.

I scan the room, confused at the bland colours and lack of décor, which Oakley's room is filled with.

At the party I remember drinking a lot, but everything after the fifth or sixth shot of tequila is blurred. Actually, I don't remember leaving the party...

"Oh, shit," I curse at myself, bits and pieces from last night filtering into my groggy brain. "Way to go, East." Kaleb, me throwing up in front of him, Kaleb having to carry me. 

The room around me starts to become familiar, my body drowned in the soft cotton of Kaleb's shirt and his bed sheets that smell just like him.

If my brothers knew where I was right now, in a Viper's bed, with said Viper's clothes on, I wouldn't see civilisation again.

I throw the covers off and groan, the room spinning like a tornado. Creeping over to the closed door, careful not to make any noise, I listen to see if anyone, that being Kaleb, is out there.

Oakley is going to have a fit when I tell him about this. That is, if I make it out of this apartment alive.

The hallway is deserted when I peek my head out of the door, every other door shut and so silent that you could hear a pin drop. 

My bare feet are cold as I slowly pad down the hallway, creeping quietly into the lounge/kitchen area.

My steps are cut short at the sight before me, my stomach swirling with a thousand butterflies.

Not having noticed me yet, Kaleb takes up the majority of the living room area, effortlessly doing press ups. 

Shirtless.

His back muscles ripple with each thrust up and down, his tan skin gleaming with sweat. His body is like something carved by God himself - No, Kaleb radiates a God complex, his body a weapon alone.

As if sensing my stares, or gawking, his head snaps up mid press up, his gaze penetrating mine. That look he's giving me is enough for me to clench my thighs together.

He's looking at me the way a predator would look at their next meal.

"See something you like?" A sinister smirk covers his face and sends tingles all the way over my body.

"Not at all." My voice comes out a whisper, giving myself away.

Shaking his head with a smile, Kaleb stands up and I hate that he's taller than me because it gives him an advantage.

I choose to ignore whatever just happened and cross my arms over my chest. "Why am I here? How did I get here?" I cut him a glare.

Of course, he ignores my questions. "You look good in my clothes," he says, purposefully dragging his eyes over the entirety of my body. From head to toe in that same predatory look.