I wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or if I was really losing myself after being torn apart the last few weeks, but something gave me a brave streak. A guy I didn’t know came up to me and started dancing behind me and I let him. I was a little disgusted by him, but I knew Zeke was watching so I got into it like I was really enjoying myself.

After that, I flirted openly with three different guys. I was totally bored with it, but there was a lot of smiling and looking up through my lashes. I pretty much just mimicked every girl in the room. I knew my cleavage was out too much and I was aware that every time I lifted my arms most of my stomach was exposed, but I didn’t care. I made sure all those parts were available for his eyes. I brought my arms over my head and then ran them down over my breasts and abs.

I looked up at him and he glared down at me. I couldn’t tell if I was pissing him off or turning him on. I was fine with either. I picked up my bottle, looked up at him, and licked my lips before placing the bottle against my mouth. Still, his expression didn’t change.

“Girl! You are so bad!” Megan shouted next to me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I grinned.

“Oh, you know what you’re doing. I just hope you can handle the wrath of Zeke when he lets loose on your ass.” She laughed.

“Please, he better hope he can handle me.”

I was definitely drunk. There was no doubt about that.

The after party was at Finn’s house and I went along with Megan. Once I was there, someone handed me a red cup of beer. Instead of going to the corner and sipping my drink like I usually would, I was in the middle of everything. I talked to people and flirted with guys. I could feel someone watching me the entire time and I knew it was him.

A guy I’d never seen before started talking to me and I was sure to smile back at him and flirt with my eyes. He was shorter than Zeke and much smaller. With light hair and light eyes, he openly checked me out and licked his lips, and I played right along.

“What’s your name?” he asked as he looked down my shirt.

“Patience.”

“Pretty name for a pretty girl.” He grinned.

“Thank you.”

It wasn’t long until I’d moved on and was talking to someone else. Originally, it started out as a way to get under Zeke’s skin the way he’d gotten under mine, but after getting a lot of attention, I was starting to enjoy it.

I looked around the room for Megan, and she was nowhere to be found. I walked through the garage, checking every corner and still she was nowhere. I walked inside and headed toward the bathroom. When a girl goes missing, that’s usually the best place to look. I was halfway down the hallway when I felt someone against my back. I turned around and Zeke was there looking down at me with an angry red face and pinched lips.

“Come with me,” he said as he opened a door and pulled me inside.

It was a simple guy’s room, but the décor let me know I was standing in Finn’s bedroom. A queen-sized bed covered in red bedding was in the middle of the room. A single dresser with a mirror was pushed up against the wall and covered in junk. There were clothes everywhere; the floor was barely visible.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” he asked as he stalked closer to me.

I could hear the anger in his voice.

I liked that he was pissed off. That’s no less than what he deserved. Maybe it was because I was drunk or maybe it was because I was beyond repair and as sick and twisted as the man who raised me, but I relished in his anger. If he hated me flirting with other men, then he was getting just a taste of what I’d felt when I walked in on him and his redhead. We weren’t together, so technically he hadn’t done anything wrong, but damn, it hurt like a bitch. I wasn’t usually a revengeful person, but I wanted him to understand my pain.

“Very much,” I slurred.

“Are you getting off on making me jealous, snowflake?”

“What if I am?” I matched his stare.

“You’re playing with fire. You do realize that, right?” He moved closer.

He towered over me and I had to arch my neck to continue to look him in the eye.

“Oh, boy. I better be careful or I might get burned,” I said sarcastically.

He was backing me up and I hadn’t even realized it. When I felt the edge of Finn’s dresser against my lower back, I put my palms out and pressed against his chest. He pressed harder. Cologne bottles shook and made clinking noises as the dresser shifted.

“If I see one more fucker touch you, I’m going to lose it. You want me to go to jail again?”