Unethical Read Free

chest.
    Okay, way too long.
    Only one other person sent shivers coursing through my body the way Andrew did. But that was forever and a day ago. Before my dad screwed up my life. The only person I’d given everything I had to offer was—
    In a devil costume. Here. At this party.
    Shit . I did a double-take, staring at the devil grinding against some girl in a white bra, tiny skirt, and a halo attached to her head. It couldn’t be. He went away to Texas for college, right? The devil’s mouth curved into a panty-dropping smile. Well, I couldn’t vouch for other girls’ panties, but mine definitely had dropped back in the day.
    Double shit. It was him . This couldn’t be happening. I threw out my past on the I5 corridor when I moved to Florida.
    He looked up from Miss Naughty Angel. Our gazes connected, and a strange charge filled the air. The hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention, like I had put my hand on one of those electricity balls at the science museum, and at any moment my ponytail would be sticking straight up in the air. I quickly diverted my attention toward Andrew. For the second time today, overly caffeinated jitters had my hands shaking. My brain clouded as I tried to hatch a plan. I must have inhaled too much of the Axe haze that still loomed over the party like it had its own weather system.
    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him break away from the girl and stride toward Andrew and me.
    Do or die time. Think. So I did the only thing that seemed like a passable idea in my Axe-induced high.
    “What school did you—”
    In one swift movement, I wrapped my arms around Andrew’s neck and pressed my lips against his. At first, his stiff lips didn’t move, awkwardly pushed against mine, from what I assumed to be shock. Yep, I just landed myself in the bat-shit crazy category.
    Apparently, he didn’t mind, because his lips finally relaxed and fell into motion, kissing me back. His tongue slid past my teeth, searching and exploring my mouth more aggressively than I liked, especially for a first kiss. I immediately regretted rejecting Jules’s drink offer as Andrew’s stale-beer breath soured my mouth.
    Chancing a peek, I opened my eyes and spotted him about ten feet away, still walking in my direction.
    Please just keep walking. Please, oh party gods, if you are out there, I promise to lay my social life down as sacrifice and study in my room for the rest of eternity if you just let him pass by me without noticing.
    I must have really pissed off the party gods, because the only guy I never wanted to see again cleared his throat and tapped Andrew’s shoulder.

Chapter Two
    Blake
    I cracked my knuckles and waited for Andrew to take his tongue out of my ex’s mouth.
    He wiped his lips with the back of his hand, and a wide grin spread across his pretty-boy face.
    Fucker.
    “Hey, Blake! Have you met Payton Daniels?” Andrew motioned to the girl who left me broken and forgotten.
    Yes. I knew her all too well. I chuckled at the irony of the halo perched atop her auburn hair, the soft curls cascading over her shoulder. How could I forget her? When I flew to Mexico for my graduation trip, she was my loving girlfriend. And when I got back… Well, I came back to nothing.
    Her green eyes opened so wide they looked like they might pop out of her head. Yeah, I’m surprised to see you, too, little Miss Runaway.
    Wait, Daniels? That was her mom’s last name, not her dad’s. Interesting. Stretching my neck, I decided I needed to keep cool. I couldn’t freak out on her, not here. Her hand on Andrew’s abs was all the explanation I needed, making my time spent agonizing about what I could have done differently the past two years a complete waste.
    “No, I’ve never met Payton Daniels before.” Payton flinched when I emphasized her last name. Of course she did. To me, she would always be Payton Cooper. I’d go along with her charade for now. Her pleading look liquefied some of the ice that had hardened