“Bring it,” I tease.

  He shakes his head and I know he’s not moving a muscle while I’ve still got Jesse right beside me. He doesn’t stand a chance.

  Movement out of the corner of my eye has me glancing across the field to see Brooke commando crawling through the dirt with her paintball gun already held out. I follow her gaze to see her sneaking up on Maxen and grin.

  This is the moment she’s been waiting for and I don’t doubt she’s aiming for the crown jewels. Let’s just hope he’s wearing some sort of protection.

  Not a moment later, Maxen’s howl of pain is echoed throughout the whole field.

  I’d dare say she got him.

  I look over and watch as Brooke pulls herself off the ground, dusts off the dirt, shoots herself in the foot, and drops her gun. “I’m done,” she announces to everyone before walking away with her gun held proudly over her shoulder.

  With Brooke out of the way. I focus on my target. If something doesn’t happen soon, we’re going to be stuck here all day and night. Nate is just as stubborn as me and Jess. “We need to draw him out,” I tell Jess.

  “I know, but how?”

  “Don’t you recall me saying you were a human shield?”

  He shakes his head like one of those little bobble head toys you find on the dash board in people’s cars. “No way.”

  “Yep, you have to. I need to get him. Pleeeeease?”

  Jess scrunches up his face and cringes. “Fine, but only because it’s your birthday.”

  “Yes,” I cheer.

  I crawl in behind Jesse and the second Nate turns back around, we make a break for it. I glue myself to Jesse’s back and just as I suspected, the boys can’t resist. Puck and Nate both appear from their hiding spots and let loose on Jesse while I shrink behind him.

  Jess and I keep moving forward as he groans with every hit he takes. We’re dead center in the middle of the field when Jesse gives in. He’s probably been hit at least twenty times, all to Nate and Puck’s enjoyment of course, but the second he gives in, he crumples to the ground, leaving me as exposed as possible.

  The paintballs instantly stop and it’s clear neither one of them are willing to shoot me. Either that or Puck’s scared Nate would kick his ass for shooting at me.

  I smirk at the two of them, both out in the open. This will be like taking candy from a baby.

  Decisions, decisions. If I go for Puck first, that would give Nate a chance to run, if I go for Nate, then I’ll lose Puck… Hmm, definitely Nate first.

  I go to raise my gun and within the blink of an eye, Nate aims his gun and shoots. A green paintball splatters across my stomach and I look down in shock. My mouth drops open. Did he just…? No. A second later, the pain hits.

  I look back up at Nate, still in a world of shock. I mean, I can’t believe he just did that. I expected a million other things to happen here today, but getting shot by Nate Ryder was not one of them. “You shot me,” I yell across the field. “What the hell was that?”

  He throws his gun over his shoulder and looks at me with a proud smirk as he begins walking forward. Fuck, he looks hot. If I wasn’t in so much shock, I’d probably jump him right now. “You said I didn’t have the balls,” he reminds me. “I couldn’t have my girl thinking I’m a fucking pussy now, can I?”

  My stomach starts to sting like a bitch, but I don’t let it show. The closer he gets, the clearer his intentions become. He’s coming to apologize and make sure I’m not in any pain, but I’m not having it. “I’m not your girl, Nathaniel Ryder.”

  His eyes sparkle. “Bullshit.”

  Before he even realizes what’s going on, I raise my gun and fire off three shots.

  Three pink paintballs land in a perfect triangle across his chest and we both stand for a moment in shock. My eyes widen as I realize what the hell I just did. He looks down at his chest then back up at me.

  Shit, did I just do that?

  I’m in trouble.

  A grin lifts the corner of his perfect lips. “Fuck, you better run,” he warns me.

  A laugh bubbles up my throat and not a second later, I run for my life with Nate hot on my heels.

  Chapter 10

  I walk out the back of the Ryder home to find a fairy light canopy taking over their whole backyard. Everywhere I look, from the left to the right, is fairy lights twinkling above me. A beautiful contrast to the dark sky above.

  “Oh, my god,” I whisper as I take it all in. I turn in Nate’s arms and look up at him. “Did you do all this?”

  “Well,” he says, “I had a little help.”

  “You’re amazing,” I tell him. “Thank you. It’s beautiful.”

  “I told you, Tora. Whether you accept that you’re my girl or not, I’m sticking to my word. I’m giving you the fucking world.”

  I take in his words and think about what he said while we were paintballing. His girl. I take it for what it is. He’s either ready or nearly ready to accept the inevitable. We’re meant to be together whether he wants to admit it or not. We need to be. We’re like opposite ends of magnets drawing together.

  Like I said. It’s inevitable.

  “You know,” I tell him with a smirk as I revel in the feel of his arms around my waist. “I’ve just dated the baddest boy in Broken Hill, so if you want all this, you’re going to have to step up your game.”

  His eyes sparkle as he looks down at me. “Really?” he questions. “You don’t think I’ve got game?”

  “I don’t know,” I grin. “All I see is a guy who’s willing to shoot the woman he loves. I mean, even Puck had the decency to lower his gun. Maybe I should be trying to steal him away from Court.”

  “Watch it,” he warns. “Play with fire and you’re bound to get burned.”

  I can’t help but tease him. “Are you saying Puck is as hot as fire?”

  He shakes his head as he leans down and kisses me. “I’m going to sweep you off your feet so good that whenever another man even looks at you, you’ll come running right into my arms,” he murmurs, his lips brushing over mine.

  “Hmm,” I smile. “Confident.”

  “Damn straight, babe,” he tells me. “Now, quit standing your ground and help me get this place ready. People will start pouring through the door soon and when they do, I want them to say this is the best damn party they’ve ever been to.”

  “You read my mind.”

  An hour later, I sit out by the pool with a drink in my hand, watching as Courtney and Bry dance a little too close to the edge. They wouldn’t want to fall in. I know we’re in spring now but it’s not exactly a warm night. That pool is going to be freezing. But then… it could be extremely entertaining if one of them were to fall in. Watching the other dive in to be the hero would be pretty entertaining too.

  “What the hell is going on over there?” Brooke grunts as she falls into the sunbed beside me.

  I look up and scan through the crowed bodies trying to figure out what or who she’s talking about. I follow her gaze to find Jackson grinding against Elle as she dances upon him. “Ugh, that’s not a sight I’ll ever get used to,” I laugh. “Jackson told me he has the hots for her.”

  “Really?” Brooke laughs. “That’s going to be… entertaining.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” I tell her. “Them together would be like…”

  “Like you and Nate on steroids,” she supplies. “God, can you imagine what their break up would look like? There’d be shit flying everywhere.”

  “Oh, my god,” I laugh. “They’ll start a riot and the school will be burned down.”

  “Shit,” Brooke grunts. “The school? I’m more concerned about a third world war.”

  “But, on the other hand,” I say, studying them as Jackson wraps his hand around her waist and draws her in. “They’d be a pretty cute couple. He looks like the kind who’d love her with everything he’s got.”

  “True,” she murmurs as she also watches them. “Damn it. Why couldn’t I get a guy like that? I just had to go and get stuck with Maxen. I still can’t believe you invited him here.”

  “First off, I had to invite him after you shot him in the nuts with a paintball, and seco-”

  “His thigh,” she cuts me off. “I shot his thigh, not his balls. I just grazed the side of it. But I really wish I’d gotten his damn balls, maybe then he wouldn’t be able to keep slutting around with Holly.”

  I roll my eyes and continue, “Secondly,” I say, ignoring her comments. “He’s Nate and Jesse’s cousin and this is their house.”

  “So?” she grunts. “It’s your party.”

  “Exactly,” I grin. “So, shut up and have a good time.”

  Brooke rolls her eyes and collapses back into the sunbed while bringing her drink to her lips. “Fine,” she groans. “But just so you know, when my super sexy boyfriend and his marshmallow brother throw me an awesome party, I’m inviting Todd Hyde.”

  “What?” I shriek. “No way, that loser played me in front of all his friends.”

  “Damn straight, he did. I’ll even give him a VIP pass.”

  I roll my eyes. “You know, even if this hypothetical party actually happened, Nate would beat the shit out of him before he even got out of his douchebag car.”

  She shakes her head. “Who said Nate’s invited?”

  “Oh,” I gasp. “You wouldn’t?”

  “I would.”

  I shake my head and laugh. “You’re trouble, Brookey Chookey.”

  “Ugh,” she groans, getting up and pulling me up behind her. “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?”

  “Try a million times,” I sing as we walk around the end of the pool and collect Bry and Courtney before they face their doom in the bottom of the freezing pool. We walk by Jackson and Elle and steal her away, all to Jackson’s disappointment of course, but that doesn’t stop him from tagging along like a lost puppy.

  Next up, we make our way over to the outdoor table which has been covered from top to bottom in bottle upon bottle of alcohol and mixers. “Birthday shots,” Brooke cheers as the girls cheer right along with her. Brooke looks to me. “What are you having?”

  “Ahhhh,” I say, looking down at all the pretty choices. “I don’t know. Surprise me.”

  Brooke grins. “Ok, you asked for it.”

  I wait patiently as Brooke starts mixing something that I’ve never seen or heard of before in my life. A moment later, she hands us all a teeny weeny shot glass. “Bottoms up, ladies.”

  “Wait, wait, wait,” Courtney says. “We need to toast.”

  “To what?” I grunt.

  “Yale,” Brylee cheers, throwing her hands up in the air and spilling most of her shot over her shoulder in her excitement. I mean, we’re all excited for her to be going to Yale in a few months, but at the same time, it’s a bit of a sore spot that she’ll be moving away.

  “Hell no,” a deep voice says behind me as an arm shoots beside me and picks up a filled shot glass. Nate’s other hand curls around my waist as he holds his glass up. “To Tora.”

  A grin rips across my face. “To me,” I cheer as the girls follow along.

  I bring the glass to my lips and tip the shot back. The strange pink liquid burns my throat and makes me cough and sputter like an idiot. “What the hell did you put in that?”

  “It’s called a pink pussy shot.”

  “No, it wasn’t,” I grunt. “I’ve had one of those before and that was not it.”

  “Oh,” she sighs, looking down at the concoction of bottles before her. “I could have sworn I got it right.”

  “Who cares?” Elle laughs. “Let’s do another one.”

  Brooke shrugs as a brilliant smile takes over her face. She takes all the glasses back and gets busy getting us all trashed.

  “Come on,” Nate says when he’s decided I’ve drunk way too much for his liking. He tugs on my arm and drags me away towards the people dancing by the fire pit.

  “You’re going to dance?” I gasp as a giggle comes up and lets me know how good my happy buzz is.

  “No,” he laughs, rubbing his thumbs across the top of my knuckles. “You’re going to dance and grind that sexy body of yours all over me while I watch you move.”

  “You’re such a perve.”

  “You fucking love it.”

  He’s right. I do.

  I melt into him as he takes my waist and spins me around. I press my back up against his chest and feel nothing but pure muscle behind me. I start moving my body and his hands begin roaming all over me, turning this dance into something else entirely. I mean, if I don’t get a hold of myself, I’ll be climbing him like a tree and begging him to take me right here in the middle of the dance floor.

  Nate leans over me and presses his lips to my neck. “I fucking love you,” he tells me.

  My hand runs down his arm until I clasp my fingers between his. I squeeze his hand and turn in his arms, keeping our joined hands between our bodies. My head tilts up and he instantly catches my lips in his. “I love you, too,” I tell him, bearing my soul to him so he sees just how deeply I mean it.

  He smiles against my lips and I know he feels it, just like I do. I know there are hundreds of bodies around us, half of which I’ve never met before in my life, but right now, it’s just me and Nate. He’s the only person who exists in my world. He always will be.

  “Is this party over?” he questions. “I’m ready to take you to bed.”

  I grin up at him. The party has been going for maybe two hours and I plan on partying well into the night. “Good things come to those who wait.”

  “They better,” he groans, pressing his hips into me and showing me just how bad he wants my body.

  I groan at the touch. I mean, if we disappeared, would anyone really miss us?

  “Come on,” I tell him, taking his hand and leading him away from the dance floor. “I need to cool down before I strip off and jump you right here.”

  Nate adjusts himself so the other partiers don’t get a glimpse of what he’s working with and I have to smother a grin. “You know,” he says, “usually, I’d hate the idea of anyone seeing your body, but right now, I really wouldn’t mind.”

  I shake my head at him as he falls down into a chair and pulls me down on top of him. I feel him through his jeans, still hard and ready to go which makes me wonder how damn uncomfortable it would be for him having me squished down on top of him. But then he goes and grinds himself against my ass and I reconsider. He’s not uncomfortable in the least.

  As we sit and people watch, I can’t help but notice Jesse off in the distance with a particular blonde wrapped in his arms. “Look,” I tell Nate, indicating with a nod of my head to his brother.

  Nate looks up and watches Jess for a moment. We both take in how gentle he is with her. How he runs his fingers down the side of her face as though she were so precious, he could die without her. Usually at parties when Jess is with a girl, he’s dominating. He makes it clear what his intentions are and he always gets what he wants, but this is a different side of Jesse I’ve never seen before. He truly cares about Kaylah and it’s written all over his face.

  “Fuck,” Nate grunts. “He actually likes her.”

  “What was your first clue?” I grunt.

  “I don’t know,” he murmurs. “I just assumed he was fucking around to get under Jackson’s skin.”

  “Come on,” I laugh. “He actually asked her out. It took him over a week to build up the nerve to do it. He was a nervous wreck, I had to compare him to you to so he’d find the balls to go through with it.”

  Nate shakes his head and grins. “So, I’ve got you to blame for all this?”

  “Shut up,” I laugh.

  He lets out a low sigh. “I guess I have to start being nice to the girl.”

  “Well, Jesse hated me to start with and now he’s one of my closest friends.”

  “He was only nice because I threatened to beat the living shit out of him.”

  “Just like I’ll beat the shit out of you if you’re not nice to Kaylah.”

  He rolls his eyes. “Fine,” he groans, wrapping his big hand around the back of my neck and pulling me in. “I’ll give her a chance, but if she fucks around on him, I’m not holding back.”

  “Neither will I,” I whisper before my lips come down on his.

  A large body falls in beside us and we reluctantly pull apart to see Puck, collapsed down onto the chair with red, exhausted cheeks and his chest rising and falling quickly. “Holy shit, man,” he grunts before lifting his drink to his lips. “I love Courtney, but fuck, she has way too much energy.”

  I laugh as I readjust myself on Nate’s lap to see Puck better. “You knew that before you started dating her.”

  “I know, that was one of the things that made me ask her out. Can you imagine energy like that in bed?”

  “Ewwwww,” I groan. “I don’t want to know.”

  Puck winks and looks back out towards the partiers. I see the exact moment he finds Court. His whole face lights up and I’ve never been so happy for them. I’m glad some people around here are able to pull their shit together and make it work.

  “Puck?” I say, gaining his attention when he starts to look like a love sick puppy, longing after Courtney. He turns to look at me and raises an eyebrow, wondering what I could possibly want. “How’d you get the name Puck?”

  Nate scoffs and starts laughing beneath me as Puck’s face scrunches up. He shakes his head. “It’s nothing.”

  “Nah, man,” Nate laughs. “She’s not going to stop bugging you now. You may as well tell her.”

  Puck studies me for a moment and realizes Nate is right. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving without knowing the full story. He lets out a deep sigh. “When I was a kid, I was really into playing ice hockey and to be honest, I was fucking good,” he tells me.

  “You’re not anymore?” I question.

  He shrugs his shoulders. “Wouldn’t know,” he says. “I haven’t been back on the ice since the day I got smacked in the face with a hockey puck when I was thirteen.”

  “What?” I gasp.

  He nods his head. “Mmhmm. Knocked out my two front teeth,” he murmurs. “The kids at school were brutal and called me all sorts of shit until Nate had something to do with it. He started calling me Puck and it just kinda… caught on.”