Dance music thumped from inside the warehouse as Nico and Eli led us past a long line of students waiting outside. They posted the cover charge as fifteen dollars per person, but once the bouncers saw Nico, they waved us in free of charge.

"I'm with him," A petite blond ran to Eli's side, wrapping herself around him. Her two friends followed, but didn't approach Eli, and seemed very uncomfortable. "Hey, sexy. I knew I'd see you here tonight. You want company? I'm down for whatever. We could do what we did last time."

I curled my lip in disgust because I could only imagine what kind of intimacy happened between them in the past.

"Like I told you before. I'm not interested." Eli peeled the girl's hands off him and pushed her back. The way Eli brushed her aside made me feel sorry for her.

The blond folded her arms as her eyes narrowed on me. "This is her, isn't it?"

With my arms still crossed, I shook my head. "We barely know each other."

Eli examined me with a hard expression and gave the blond a nod. I flinched slightly as Eli slipped an arm around my waist. "Yep."

The blond eyed me angrily.

"Is the blond pixie with you or not?" A large bouncer asked.

"Not." Eli tugged me toward the curtain.

Jessica grabbed my arm, trying to keep up.

"Call me, Eli! I'll make it worth your while. Hey, no! Can't we just stay? We're already inside." The blond argued with the bouncers. "Nico! Don't leave us. We still need to talk."

"What the hell?" Nico chuckled at Eli. "You still haven't shaken that ho?"

Eli pointed toward a group of girls waving at Nico. "Don't start, Bro."

Nico grinned knowingly as he swept the thick black curtain to the side.

Neon lights of every color bounced off the walls and shimmered over sweaty bodies. In front of the DJ booth, the huge dance floor wasn't full yet, but it was most certainly getting there. Some people were grinding on one another while others were dancing in groups. The crew had created a makeshift bar along the far wall where a bunch of people stood, waiting on drinks.

Once Nico was spotted, students started ushering toward us.

"I need a drink," Jessica yelled in irritation as she pulled on my arm.

I tried following her, but Eli's hold tightened around my waist.

"Where are you going?" Eli's voice was in my ear. Yeah, the music was blasting, and I could hardly hear him, but the way his lips skimmed over my earlobe sent goosebumps all over my body.

I spun to face him as his hand settled on the small of my back.

"You're not my handler, Jackass. I don't answer to you. We'll find you later to take us back to the dorms. I refuse to be part of this illegal shit all night." I pointed at Nico as he conducted yet another transaction.

When Eli glanced at Nico, I jerked away, successfully escaping from Eli's grasp. His heated gaze landed back on me as his lips pressed into a tight line.

"Bye." I wiggled my fingers at him and hurried to catch up with Jessica.

Jessica leaned over the bar, waiting on her order. "I can't believe I fell for his crap."

"Who's crap?" I yelled over the music.

"Nico's! He's hardly even looked at me. I think he just wants you."

My eyebrows shot up. "He doesn't want me, Jess."

"Yes," She nodded. "He does. Nico and Eli both do. You're so naïve, Lil. They always watch you."

I leaned into her shoulder. "Who cares? They're stupid, and I'm not interested at all, okay? We can leave if you want."

A bartender finally stopped in front of us, and I ordered water.

After the bartender handed me a bottled water, he set a cup of something pink in front of Jessica and winked at her.

Jessica giggled.

Surprised by her sudden change of mood, I took a long swig from my bottle.

Jessica's smile didn't falter. "Let's dance."

I didn't want to dance, but I had no choice. Jessica needed reassurance that life could still be fun without a guy.

We joined the massive crowd on the floor. My best friend was an incredible dancer while I just did my best to move my hips and let loose.

Over the next hour, the warehouse filled wall to wall with partygoers. It was suffocating, to say the least.

DJ Sparks finally made his grand entrance with explosions of confetti, glitter, and smoke. The crowd screamed in appreciation. His show was insane with multiple laser displays lighting up the venue.

"I'll be right back," Jessica fanned her face, giving me a weird smile.

I studied Jessica and noticed her pupils were huge. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah," She nodded a little too enthusiastically and walked away. Why the hell was she acting so strange?

There was no way I was letting her go alone. She was trying to get away from me, so without alerting her, I followed her to a quiet area near the back.

Jessica stopped to send a text. Then, she walked a little further to a remote area, leading us straight to Nico and Eli who were seated in overfilled beanbag chairs like kings of the party. There were other people around, but this was definitely VIP central.

Nico opened his arms wide and smiled. "Jess! How're you feeling?"

Jessica laughed and fell onto the enlarged beanbag with him.

"Oh my God! I feel so good. You were right. I feel like I could run a mile or dance all night. Or maybe I'll just stay here with you." Jessica ran her hand over Nico's chest.

Nico's smile grew larger as he pulled her close.

Jessica began combing her fingers through his hair.

My blood boiled as I glared at Nico. "What the hell?"

Eli refused to meet my glare as he adjusted his hat, pulling it lower.

Nico's mouth widened into a bright smile. "What? Jess told me she was having a hard time at home. I wanted to help her feel better, and now she is."

Jessica rolled around in an odd position and let her head fall upside down. "I feel so much better. You should try some, Lil. I feel so good."

"You assholes! You gave her something strong didn't you?" I wanted to slap the smug grin off Nico's face.

"Relax. There's no need to be jealous, Lilly. I brought plenty. Everyone deserves to have a good time. You should have a good time too. Party favors are always free for our dates. Just say the word." Nico's eyes darkened as they ran over my body. "And then we can all have some fun."

My hands fisted. I was going to kill this piece of shit.

Eli stood abruptly and grabbed Nico by his shirt, ripping him away from Jessica.

Bystanders yelped in surprise.

"Dude! What the fuck?" Nico's eyes widened in shock.

Eli wrapped his hand around Nico's throat and lifted him against the wall. "If you ever talk to Lilly like that again, I'll fucking kill you. Got that, Bro?"

Nico's face turned bright red from lack of oxygen as his hands shot up in surrender.

Eli let Nico fall to his knees. Nico coughed and rubbed his throat. "Dude, I was joking."

Eli knelt next to Nico. "Did I make myself clear?"

"Yeah," Nico's wild eyes shot to me.

"I mean it, Bro. Get her out of your head. It's never gonna happen." Eli waited until Nico nodded before he stalked toward me.

I didn't know if I should run away or say thank you. From all the stories rumored about Eli and Nico, violence never happened between them. So this was a first.

Eli's eyes smoldered with intensity as his jaw tightened. "Do you want to go back to the dorms?"

I nodded, but then glanced over at Jessica who was rubbing her cheek on the beanbag with an innocent smile plastered across her face. It was a little creepy.

Eli glanced at Jessica as the corner of his mouth lifted. "Or we can stay here until she starts to come down."

Like hell. I wanted to get out of here an hour ago. "Jessica. Let's go."

"I don't wanna go. I want some Nico time." Jessica rolled off the beanbag, rather awkwardly, and crawled over to a pissed off Nico. "Poor baby. I'll make you feel all better."

Nico's anger drained almost immediately as he studied Jessica's face. A sly smile came over him. "Promise?"

"Yep." Jessica's mouth found Nico's. He wrapped his arms around her as Jessica straddled him.

Ew.

Eli was thoroughly entertained with the Jess and Nico show until he turned to see me scowling. His grin fell flat.

"So, is this what you guys do?" I yelled.

Eli's eyebrow ring twitched when his gaze narrowed on me. "What?"

"Drug unsuspecting girls and take advantage of them. Nico obviously does it, and you did it to me last year."

"Hold up." Eli got right in my face. "You think I drugged you last year?"

I gave him a do I look like I was born yesterday look.

Eli winced. "What the hell, Lilly? You really think I'm just like your scumbag ex-boyfriend, don't you?"

"Scumbag? You don't know what you're talking about. I was the slut who supposedly cheated. He broke up with me the next day." I shouted. "Because of some guy I was hanging on all night. You were that guy, weren't you?"

Eli took off his hat, rubbed a hand through his hair, and slammed his hat back down.

He grabbed my hand, and I yanked it away. "Don't fucking touch me!"

Eli's eyes blazed with irritation. "Look. I don't know what you think happened that night, but you're wrong. I can barely hear myself think in here. Come outside with me so we can talk."

I glanced at Jessica and Nico. They were hardcore making out, but they still had their clothes on so I nodded. "Five minutes."

Eli let out an irritated grunt and gestured for me to follow him outside.

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