One Night (Friends #0.5) Read Free Page A

close to me.
     
    Yet I keep them all at a distance.
    It makes them crazy. I make them crazy. And I don’t even mean to do it on purpose. It’s just the way I am.
    “Tuttle!” The screeching voice makes me wince and I brace myself as the drunken brunette stumbles up the steps, her fingers clutching the bannister so tight she’s white knuckling it. “Your house is so awesome!”
    “Thanks.” My voice is flat, my expression neutral. A ghost of a smile has them freaking out. If I know their name and say it out loud-and I do know this chick’s name, it’s Emily-they think that’s a declaration of true love and I can’t shake them for the rest of the night.
    Forget that. Love sucks. Girls suck too.
    “I mean, I’ve been here before but.” She stops directly in front of me, sounding breathless, blue eyes wide and almost unblinking. It’s kind of freaky, how she’s staring at me. “I’ve never been upstairs.”
    I raise a brow, remaining silent.
    “I’ve never seen your room either.” She smiles and reaches out, her fingers drifting across my forearm. I snatch my arm back like her touch scalded me, making her frown. “Aw, come on, Tuttle. We’ve known each other too long for you to act like this.”
    “What was your name again?” I tilt my head, examining her, my gaze roaming from the top of her head to the tips of her bright blue painted toes. Emily’s hot, there’s no denying it. But she’s also a complete wreck. She used to be sweet-kind of a goody goody, which I avoided even when I was younger. She hangs out with that girl who’s currently driving Dustin insane. They’re close friends, though it seems they’ve gone in different directions lately, at least from what I can tell.
    Not that I really pay attention.
    But hey, when a girl starts getting a reputation around school that she’ll drop to her knees without much encouragement, word gets around fast, and that’s exactly what happened with this Emily girl. I’ve heard her lips have been wrapped around plenty of dicks the last few months and honestly? I have no plans on letting her lips get anywhere near my dick.
    “Oh, give me a break. You know my name,” she murmurs, sending me a coy look. She touches me again, her fingers landing on my chest this time, and I let her. She takes this as a positive sign. A smile curls her lips and she grips the fabric of my shirt a little tighter, forcing me to back up a step. I rise above her, but she just follows, grim determination seeming to drive her on. “Where’s your room, Tuttle?”
    This chick isn’t gaining access to my room. No one does, not really. If I hook up with a girl during a party, it’s in one of the six bathrooms in this mausoleum of a house. Or in the giant screening room with the lights turned down low and the girl kneeling on the ground in front of me while a movie plays on the screen. The volume turned up so loud the ground vibrates and the girl groans while she’s got a mouthful. Where I can lose myself in the fantasy a little bit, forget my troubles, forget the bullshit and just concentrate on the sensation of her lips wrapped tight, her tongue working, her fingers, her moans…
    I shake my head once. Yeah. Not happening tonight. I’m not in the mood.
    My last resort hookup spot is outside by the pool, which is usually busy, but there’s always a girl willing to give me a hand job in the hot tub. Sometimes I don’t even ask for it…it just happens. Get a little alcohol in a girl and she’s as bold as hell, trying her best to get her hands on my junk.
    But I’ve never allowed a girl to touch my junk in my room.
    That’s my sanctuary.
    “Let’s go downstairs.” I grab hold of Emily’s arm, ready to guide her back down toward the kitchen. I’m not messing around with this one. I’m fairly certain she’s trouble, and I’m not interested in trouble. Not tonight.
    Emily goes along with me willingly, though she’s pouting, her dark hair falling in her face. She shakes