“Traitor,” Oakley hisses under his breath before I leave him with what I’m guessing is his soon to be ex-girlfriend.

In all honesty, I’m doing him a favor. The sooner they put an end to it, the better. Why keep holding on to someone you need to let go of?

I’m making my way to the kitchen when my phone vibrates.

Irritation crawls up my spine when I see Tommy’s name light up the screen. It’s the second time he’s called me since I told him I had to cancel.

And if I don’t answer, he’ll just keep calling.

“Hey.” Cradling the phone between my ear and shoulder, I open the fridge. “What’s up?”

“Just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Yup,” I tell him as I rummage through various brands of beer on the shelf. “Nothing’s changed since the last time we spoke.”

A whole forty minutes ago.

“You said you had to be with family tonight, so I was wor—where are you? It sounds like a party.”

“I told you, my cousin needed me to come with him so he could do this thing—”

“A party thing,” he says tersely.

Lord. Does anybody drink water in this house?

“Yup. A party thing,” I repeat, closing the fridge door.

“Interesting.”

I walk over to the sink. Tap water it is. “What is?”

“I think it’s a little messed up that I invite you to parties with my friends, but you never invite me to parties with yours.”

He has a point. “You’re right.”

I locate a glass in the cabinet and fill it with tap water. I chug half a cup before I come clean. “I didn’t invite you because I figured the space might do us some good. Plus, it’s Jace’s birthday party tonight—”

“Jace’s birthday party,” he bites out. “Yup. It all makes sense now.”

I finish what’s in my glass and refill it, trying to decide how to answer.

On one hand, I can understand his concern. According to Tommy, he lost me to Jace once, and he doesn’t want it to happen again.

But on the other? I’ve made it perfectly clear there are no strings in our relationship for the time being. Jace or no Jace, I should be free to do what I want.

Like go to a party with my cousin without being made to feel like I did something wrong.

“Look, I haven’t even seen Jace tonight if that’s what you’re worried about.” Bringing the cup to my lips, I take another sip of water. Evidently, confrontation makes me thirsty. “But I’m not your girlfriend, Tommy. We’re taking things slow and getting to know each other again, remember?”

“Dylan, I’m not five. I know what the deal is. I also know if the shoe was on the other foot and I canceled our date to go to a birthday party for some chick you didn’t get along with, you’d have every right to be upset.”

Well, when he puts it like that.

“Yeah,” I whisper. “You have a point.”

“I’m glad you finally realize it.” He clears his throat. “What do you say I swing by and pick—”

“I think we should cool it for a bit.”

I hate doing this to him, but I need to clear my head.

I’m not the kind of girl to lead someone on, and right now I’m not sure about my feelings for Tommy.

They exist, so I know I’m into him…but not nearly as much as he’s into me.

“Dylan, come on. I thought we were having fun?”

“We are. But I think you should do your thing and I’ll do mine. I’m not ready to be locked down and right now it feels like I am.”

There. I did it.

“You said you had feelings for me too,” he grits out.

“I do. I just need time to sort them out.”

“So what—a few days, a few weeks?”

“I’m not sure,” I answer honestly. “But I’ll let you know when I do.”

“Right.”

With that, he hangs up.

“Trouble in paradise?”

Turning my head, I find Cole watching me with a bemused expression.

“I plead the fifth. I already know anything I say can and will be used against me by you and your brother.”

That gets a laugh out of him. “Fair enough.”

Walking over to the fridge, he takes out two beers. He offers one to me, but I decline.

“I’m Oakley’s designated driver.”

Nodding, he leans against the counter. “Where’s Sawyer?”

“She didn’t want to come because of the strippers.”

Smirking, he pops the tab of his beer open. “God, I get a kick out of that girl.”

By the twinkle in his eye, I’d say it’s a little more than a kick.

“She’s not exactly your biggest fan, but if you’re serious and promise not to hurt her, I can put in a good word for you.”

He gives me a boyish grin. “You’d do that for me?”

Holy shit. Cole already looks like a movie star, but throw in that smile with those wolfish green eyes, and he’s practically a nuclear bomb.

But as beautiful as he is, it hurts like hell to stare for too long. Liam’s looks were toned down by his air of innocence and purity. However, I can’t help but wonder if older Liam would have looked and acted like Cole if he were still alive.

It’s a terrible thought to have, because Cole and Liam were different people, but…

“What else would you be willing to do for me?”

I was so lost in my head, I failed to notice Cole’s moved over several inches, intentionally invading my personal bubble.

“What do you mean?”

He skims a fingertip down my arm. “Come on, gorgeous. Don’t be such a prude.”

“I’m not…what the hell is wrong with you?” I assess the beer in his hand. “How many of those have you had?”

Leaning in, he whispers, “Enough to know I want to drag you upstairs and fuck you ‘til you can’t stand.”

My mouth drops open, but I have to close it because bile surges upwards. “That will never happen.” My hand twitches with the need to slap him, but I move out of his grasp instead. “Stay the hell away from me.”

If he feels rejected by me turning him down, he doesn’t show it. If anything, he looks pleased. “Why?”

“Because I’m not interested.”

He takes a step forward. “Why?”

“What do you mean why? You know why.”

No matter how much Jace pisses me off, I’d never sleep with his brother.

I start to walk away, but his hand wraps around my forearm. “I think you should leave.”

“What?” Disgust ripples through me. “Why? Because I won’t have sex with you?”

“No.” His expression darkens and he tightens his grip. “Because you’ve already hurt Jace enough. And if you came back here to do it again, I swear to God I will fucking kill you.”

The resolve behind his threat tells me it’s not idle, but I’m more disturbed by him believing I would come back to hurt Jace.

“Despite what you think, I would never hurt your brother. Ever.”

“Why?”