My eyes fixed on Adonis and his companion, who was a beautiful star struck redhead girl. Every time she touched his arm and laughed at something he said, I felt pure furious jealousy rise in me.

I wanted to stalk over to her and rip her hand off his arm. I seethed as I watched, unable to do anything about it.

"Here," Reece said, and I pulled my gaze away from the object of my affection and the girl that was chatting him up. It was one thing seeing him pictured with beautiful girls in magazines, but watching it unfold in front of me was so much worse.

Reece handed me a drink, and I took a sip. I savored the alcohol that would numb some pain. I didn't want to get drunk, but having a couple of drinks would help ease my pain. The entire purpose of the evening had been to go out and have fun, not watch Adonis flirt with some pretty girl.

There were more girls around the room that had their eyes fixed on him. I took a bigger gulp of my drink.

"I didn't know Joey was going to invite your brother and Gray," Reece said beside me.

"Neither did I. I just can't seem to escape him, can I?" I turned to face my best friend. She gave me a sympathetic smile.

"How am I supposed to get over him if he keeps turning up all the time?" I whispered feeling helpless that no matter what I did I would always watch him from the sidelines unable to get over him.

Reece pulled me into a hug in the middle of the dancing crowd before releasing me.

"Come on." She pulled me by the hand to in the direction away from the dance floor and Adonis.

"Where are we going?" I followed behind her.

"You came to have fun and I'm determined that you are going to." She led me through the kitchen, through the back door and into the garden.

There were groups of people everywhere. Reece stopped and turned to face me.

"Forget about him, it's time to have fun." She knocked her drink against mine. I smiled. She always knew just how to handle me when I was feeling down.

"No more Gray." I took another sip of my drink. The alcohol eased the tension in my shoulders and I was feeling a little better. It helped that I didn't have to watch Adonis hitting on some girl.

Reece and I stood at the edge garden overlooking the vast green lawn where some people were talking and drinking.

A group of guys nearby caught the eye of Reece and she gave them an inviting smile. She could flirt with anyone. I could use some lessons from her. Two of the guys from the group broke away and came over to talk to us.

"It's not right that two pretty girls are standing alone at a party," the one with a confident smile said. He was attractive, but he wasn't my type. Reece's smile widened as she looked him up and down.

"Then it's a good thing you showed," she shot back confidently. The chemistry between the two was instant, and they seemed to only have eyes for each other.

It took me by surprise because he didn't look like Reece's usual type. First, he didn't have any tattoos. His friend gave me a smile, and I smiled back nervously, holding onto my drink. I was inexperienced and not sure what to say to the guy on the first encounter.

"Hi," he said. He was attractive with midnight black hair that reached his ears, and his eyes were a deep green color.

"Hi," I said. I felt so awkward.

We did introductions, and I found out that the one Reece seemed to be interested in was Max and his friend was Aiden.

We found a spot on the grass and sat down. Reece sat beside Max and I sat down beside Aiden. Even with some alcohol in my system, I felt nervous and unsure of what to say.

"I think my friend likes yours," Aiden whispered to me and nodded his head toward Reece and Max.

"I think you're right." I nodded in agreement.

"Do you go to college?" he asked, trying to start up a conversation.

I shook my head as I looked down to my drink. "No, I wanted to take some time off before college to decide what I wanted to do," I explained.

"And your parents let you?" he asked, sounding surprised.

I got that a lot. Most parents wouldn't have allowed their children to take time off after high school to figure out what they wanted to do next.

"Yes," I said.

"I want your parents." He took a swig of his beer and I shrugged my shoulders.

"Do you go to college?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Yeah," he said.

The conversation flowed before long I realized I was enjoying myself. For the first time that evening, my mind wasn't on Adonis.

After a while of talking, I looked to discover Reece and Max gone and I was alone with Aiden.

"So do you have a boyfriend?" he asked out of the blue and my eyes shot to his.

"No," I said. He held my gaze as his mouth widened into a smile.

"Why not?" he asked, and I felt myself blush under his direct attention.

How did I tell him I was in love with a guy that was out of my league?

"I don't know." I gave him a dismissive shrug.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked before he took the last swig of his beer.

"Sure," I said. He stood up and reached for my hand to pull me to my feet.

I liked him. He was nice to look at and he seemed to be a friendly person, but so had Evan. Still wary, I followed him into the house and into the living room where the party was still going strong. I refused to let my eyes wander to the corner of the room where Adonis had been earlier. I forced myself to look at Aiden and smile as we danced together in amongst the sea of moving bodies.

He smiled at me and I returned it as he stepped forward and set his hands on my hips, pulling me closer to him. I looked up to him, trying to hide my nervousness.

"Can I cut in?" Someone asked, and it took me a few moments to realize it was an angry-looking Adonis. He reached for my wrist and pulled me to him. Aiden released me.

"What are you doing?" I said, trying to pull my wrist out of his grip.

"I want to talk to you." He spoke through gritted teeth. I could see his anger simmering just below the surface.

"Is he causing trouble?" Aiden asked me with concern.

Not wanting to make a scene, I shook my head. "No. It's fine. I just need to talk to him," I said in a calm voice even though I could feel my anger building up.

Adonis led me through the dance floor to the stairs and up the stairs. I pulled my wrist from his grip as we got to the top of the stairs and followed him into the closest bedroom that was empty.

I entered and turned to face him as he closed the door and leaned against it, his stormy blue eyes fixed on me.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked, struggling to keep my temper under control. I'd just been enjoying my evening for the first time and he'd ruined it.

His expression was unreadable and his eyes held mine as he pushed off the door and walked to me. I waited for him to answer me, but he came to a stop in front of me. His eyes searched my face as his hands lifted and cradled my face.

I couldn't think with him so near.

"You," he whispered. He lowered his eyes to my lips.

My breath hitched as he leaned close, softly touched my lips with his.