Bad Intentions: Chapter 2

The party was at Beckett Anderson’s house, a place high on a bluff overlooking the entire town. The area was as exclusive as you could get in Hade Harbor, and considering how wealthy the little Maine town was, that was saying something. Beckett’s father was a billionaire, and he let his son throw as many parties as he wanted while he traveled abroad on business. It seemed like Beckett’s father traveled more than he was in Hade Harbor, considering how many ragers had taken place this year at the big mansion at the edge of the ocean.

Tonight, the road leading to Beckett’s house was already packed with cars. Partygoers drifted up the road toward the building at the top, which shone like a beacon through the drizzly night. I parked where I could find a spot, at least a five-minute walk from the house.

“Damn, my hair is going to get wet,” Eve worried. She had waist-length, black tumbling curls that, wet or not, always looked perfect.

“I have an umbrella. You take it,” I offered, pulling it out from the backseat.

“Let’s share.”

We got out of the car, and I immediately felt ridiculous in my skin-tight outfit. I never dressed like this. I barely glanced in the mirror when I was getting in the shower. The dress showed way more of me than I was even familiar with. I was not a sexy person. It was something I’d slowly come to terms with. Other girls, my best friend included, had filled out in all the right places and become more and more magnetic to look at, while I felt like I’d gone the other way. I was awkward, with knobby elbows and continually scraped knees. I was all freckled limbs and red hair that had never darkened to auburn, and a smile that showed too many teeth. I’d made my peace with that as much as any seventeen-year-old girl, about to turn eighteen, could.

Still, I’d come this far, and I’d promised Eve. I gritted my teeth against the cool night air and the rain hitting my legs and wrapped my thin jacket around me. It was only a little wet from my fall earlier, and it was better than nothing. Nothing was going to save my hair, already working itself into red, limp strands snaking over my shoulders.

Eve looped her arm through mine and positioned the umbrella over our heads, making sure that we were both getting at most one shoulder wet. Together, we started up the road to the house. As we drew closer, music thumped in the still night air.

“Ah, I can’t believe we’re really here!” Eve grinned.

Nerves were growing thicker in my belly as we approached. “Remind me again who invited us?”

“Winter DeLaurie.”

“Winter? The cheerleader? Why would she invite us?”

Eve shrugged. “She’s nicer than she seems.”

“She seems like the anti-Christ, so that’s comforting to know.”

We walked through huge metal gates. They’d been left open so the crowd could drift through with ease. There was an enormous courtyard in front of the mansion. I craned my neck to look up at the house that Beckett Anderson called home. It seemed impossible that a student at my school lived in such luxury. Not only that, but he was also an Ice God. The Ice Gods were three of the best players for the Hade Harbor Hellions, the hockey team my father coached. Not only did they rule the team, but they ruled the school, too. They were beautiful and terrible. Callous, arrogant, and, at times, even cruel. No one wanted to get on their bad side. I seemed to have a pass, probably thanks to being the coach’s daughter. Eve also had a pass, since her brother was an Ice God.

“Okay, are you ready to do this?” Eve asked once we climbed the shiny white stone steps to the massive front doors.

“If I said no, could we go home?”

“Hilarious.” Eve pushed her shoulders back and smiled. “How do I look?”

“Perfect,” I murmured.

She really did. Eve and Asher had won the genetic lottery. They were dark and stunning, with caramel skin and black hair. Eve was easily the most beautiful girl in school, though she never acted like it. She’d have been popular for her appearance alone, if not for her overprotective brother warning everyone away from her and the stain that her address brought. While Asher was exempt from judgement, being an Ice God, Eve wasn’t so lucky. Hade Harbor students were snobby as hell, and my father’s attitude toward my friendship with Eve was a perfect example.

She’s a nice girl, but her family… I don’t want you hanging around that part of town with those kinds of people.

It infuriated me every time. I didn’t care what anyone said. Eve was my best friend, and I’d never let anyone keep me away from her. The pretentiousness of the student body and their wealthy parents drove me insane. It was so out of touch and ridiculous, yet I couldn’t see it changing anytime soon. My family wasn’t exactly wealthy, but my father’s position as coach put us in a special bracket.

Eve shook the umbrella and propped it beside the door to dry. She took my stiff hand in hers and gave me an excited smile. “Ready?”

“Not even remotely,” I muttered.

She laughed and tugged me into the house.

Inside was packed already. It was warm, with that steamy atmosphere that came from hundreds of damp, hormone-ridden bodies pressed too closely together.

“Let’s get a drink first. I want to have a couple before Asher gets here,” Eve yelled in my ear.

The music was loud as hell. Some rap song I didn’t know was blasting loud enough to vibrate the floor. Eve grabbed my hand and pushed through the crowd. No one moved as we shoved our way through. Voices were raised, excited or drunk, I couldn’t tell. Maybe it was a little of both. I’d already decided that I wouldn’t be drinking, seeing as I needed to drive us home in an hour.

It’s only an hour, Lillian. Calm down.

We made it through the entrance hall, an area nearly as big as the entire ground floor of my house. A huge staircase branched off in two directions, and students hung out on the upper floors, leaning on the railings and looking down at the mass assembled below. There had to be two hundred students here. It was crazy.

“I think it’s this way!” Eve shouted in my ear and took a left, heading through a corridor with black-and-white floor tiles and dark red walls.

Framed photographs dotted the wall, and I stared at them as we passed. Beckett and his father. I didn’t know the richest boy in school at all, but I couldn’t deny he was nice to look at.

We walked down the quieter hall, and then, right back into the din. The kitchen. It was huge, with high ceilings and marble counters. A wall of windows stared out at the dark night and the faraway lights of Hade Harbor. So, this was the side of the house that peered out over the bluff. I’d bet the view from here in the daylight was stunning, not that I’d have any reason to be at the Anderson house during the day.

“How do you know your way around so well?” I wondered as we pushed through the groups of people gathered in front of the counter, where the drinks seemed to be.

“My mom. She’s worked here for years. Sometimes, I have to come with her,” Eve said, her voice dimming.

Right. Eve and Asher’s mom was a cleaner, and she had a bunch of clients in town. I wondered how weird it was for Asher that his mom cleaned his best friend’s house.

We got to the counter, and I blinked at the array of bottles there. No expense had been spared, it seemed, for Beckett’s guests. There was all the liquor you could drink, punch, sodas and then, to top it off, at the very end of the counter, a bartender dressed in black, mixing cocktails with a theatrical flair.

“A bartender for a high school party? That’s crazy.”

Eve laughed. “They’re called mixologists these days, and relax. If Beckett freaking Anderson wants to waste his money, who cares?”

She was right, of course. I hated the judgmental voice that was always chirping in my head. The voice sounded like my parents. I could hear their words in my head without them even needing to speak them. I didn’t need my mother to see the opulent spread in the kitchen to hear her derision.

“Come on, have one drink and relax,” Eve was saying, grabbing a bottle of beer.

“No, none for me. I’m driving, remember?” I checked my watch. “In approximately fifty minutes from now.”

“Stop! You’re stressing me out,” Eve complained. “We’re here now. Let’s have a little fun.”

I sighed when she pouted at me. Goddamn it. I could never tell her no.

“Whatever. As soon as it gets too boring to stand or your brother makes a fuss, we’re out of here.” I grabbed a can of Coke and popped it opened.

Eve grinned victoriously and pulled me close for a hug. “Thank you, you’re amazing. Now, shall we go and explore more, or mingle or something?”

“Who would we mingle with?”

“I don’t know.” Eve chewed her lip for a moment. “Let’s just walk around a bit and see who’s here.”

That sounded terrible, but I nodded. It was bright in the kitchen, and I wanted to disappear into a crowd. A couple of hockey players had already looked in my direction. I could only hope they wouldn’t tell my dad that they’d seen me here. He’d be disappointed. That was always the worst outcome. I could take anger, raging, grounding, all of it. Anything but his disappointment.

We left the kitchen and headed deeper into the house.

“Let’s go out to the pool house. There’s a pool table and arcade games out there,” Eve said.

“Wow, you really do know your way around here.” It was kind of strange that she’d never mentioned it before, but I didn’t have time to think about it before we were stepping back out into the rain.

We ran toward the pool house, past the huge aqua pool on the way. Rain rippled the surface, and I could only imagine how freezing it was.

We got to the pool house just as the door opened. I fought a groan when I saw who was leaving.

Winter and her best friend Selena. Selena was queen bitch around Hade Harbor High and also head cheerleader for the football team. A tall, willowy bleached blonde, Selena was supremely confident in her power. Selena looked us both over before her catty smile clicked into place.

“Wow, Eve, I didn’t know you were coming,” she said with a fake friendly voice.

“Yeah, Winter mentioned it, so I just thought I’d come,” Eve said.

I knew how talking to Selena hurt her. She’d tried out for the cheerleading team a few years in a row and always been miles above everyone else, but she never got a spot. She’d finally asked Selena why she was never picked.

“Sweetie, it costs a lot to take care of our football players and travel to their games. I didn’t want you to feel stressed about it. It’s best this way.”

I could hear the words in my head, Eve had repeated them so often. It had really upset her, but eventually, she’d bounced back. She was too cool to be a cheerleader, anyway. With her black nail polish and dark red lipstick, Eve had an edgy, Goth style that didn’t mesh with Selena and Winter’s preppy polo shirts and denim cutoffs.

Selena tapped a pink talon to her lips. “And you thought you’d bring Bug with you? Brave choice.”

Bug. Irritation filled me, but I fought to keep it from my face. Selena was looking for a weakness, and I wasn’t going to give her one. I hated the nickname, though. I hated it. Give one presentation about why germs and bugs were cool and how you wanted to study epidemiology, and wind up with the most unglamorous nickname in the world. Lesson learned, a little too late, it seemed. Last time I checked, being terminally uncool wasn’t a crime, and yet I was still doing time for it.

“Whatever. I need a drink,” Winter interrupted from behind her friend, her beautiful blue eyes showing her boredom.

Winter was well named. She had an icy, aloof energy that never slipped. She really was made of ice. With her artic blue eyes, and white blonde hair, she was a snow queen made real. Her natural beauty was what Selena tried to imitate, but fell short. She was nearly as rich as Beckett, or so I’d heard, and seemed terminally bored with life. Selena rolled her eyes but let us past.

“Have fun at the party, Eve. You too, Bug.”

I took a long breath through my nose, channeling my inner Zen monk. Responding to Selena was a waste of time. Soon enough, I’d be across the country, making a fresh start at college in California, giving presentations about bugs to people who were actually interested. I couldn’t wait.

“Sorry,” Eve muttered to me as we entered the pool house.

“It’s not your fault Selena’s a bitch,” I reminded her. “Let’s just have fun and see what games they have here. Beating your ass at air hockey will cheer me up,” I teased.

She laughed, forgetting her bad mood. “Right, you couldn’t beat me even if Coach Williams was the ref.”

The main room was huge. It was insane to call it a pool house. It was really an annex of some kind. A small kitchen stood at one end, and several other rooms branched off the hall beyond the main room.

The music was quiet in here and the conversation low. The lights weren’t blaring, and there were plenty of soft, empty seats. I headed for one, just as the soft clink of balls at the pool table caught my attention. I glanced toward the table, wondering who else was hiding out in here, and froze.

Marcus Bailey, another one of the Ice Gods, was playing, along with someone else.

Someone new.

His silhouette was immediately familiar. He had dark hair, cut short, and his black hoodie was long gone, and beneath, a simple black T-shirt and jeans. His shoulders were just as broad as they’d promised to be when he’d towered over me in the parking lot. His ocean-blue eyes caught mine and held. He paused in the act of leaning down to take a shot. I froze in place while he abandoned his shot and slowly straightened up, his eyes boring into me. His mouth and angular, strong jaw were instantly recognizable, but nothing could have prepared me for the effect of his entire face. He was beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

He leaned on his pool cue, and those blue eyes narrowed. He knew I’d recognized him. He’d clearly recognized me, too. His gaze moved from mine, down to my throat, and then lower. He perused my body with a look so thorough, it was like a touch.

“Hot damn, who is that?” Eve whispered beside me.

I shook my head. “I have no idea.”

“I wonder if he’s the new ace. I heard that we’re getting a transfer student who’s going to win nationals for us,” Eve was saying, totally oblivious to the fact that I was caught in a staring contest with the guy across the room.

Her words took a moment to register. Wait, this guy was transferring to my school? No. Please, no.

School was awkward enough without adding another guy into the mix. Ugh, and a hockey player, too. He probably worshipped my father and couldn’t understand how cool Coach Williams had ended up with such a nerdy daughter.

A loud whistle cut through the tension. “Little Eve… the ultimate forbidden fruit. Does Asher know you’re here?” Marcus asked, smiling broadly at us. He leaned his fit body against the pool table and grinned. Marcus was the most approachable of the Ice Gods, which hardly made him less intimidating. He always seemed to be in on a secret joke, an ever-present smirk on his handsome face.

Eve flushed and folded her arms over her chest, tossing her black curls back. “He’s not my keeper. I’m a senior. He can’t tell me what to do.”

Marcus laughed. “Let’s see about that.”

“Leave her be. If she wants to party, let her party,” another deep voice cut in.

Beckett, the host, lounged in the corner, his feet up, phone in hand. He was the biggest of the Ice Gods, and his powerful body filled the chair. He had dark hair and gray eyes, which were usually filled with jaded distain. He was the kind of good-looking that made it hard to look right at him. He was just too much. He didn’t look at us, but I had the feeling that somehow, he was watching. It was an odd sensation. Regardless, despite the banter that ensued since we’d landed smack dab in the middle of the Ice Gods’ little hangout, the new guy held my attention completely.

“I-I forgot something in the kitchen,” I muttered to Eve and turned around.

Deep laughter rumbled behind us. Marcus. “Oh look, we scared Bug away.”

I left the pool house and headed around the pool. My face flamed and I wanted to take my jacket off but was self-conscious of my short dress. I went in the house and pushed through the crowd, heading for the kitchen. It seemed best to hide somewhere busy. As paranoid as it was, I had a horrible feeling that my parking lot stranger was going to follow me. He hadn’t seemed like he was messing around when he’d followed me to my car.

I burrowed into a busy group by the refrigerator and peeked around. So far, there was no sign of him.

“Wow, Lillian, I’ve never seen you at one of Beck’s parties before,” a voice said just beside me.

I blinked up at another player, my mind blanking on his name for a long moment.

“Hi, Josh, yeah, it’s my first time. Don’t tell Coach, okay?”

Josh Samuels was okay. He was kind of a suck-up to my dad and had gone through a phase where he’d tried to butter me up to impress him. It hadn’t worked.

“I won’t, don’t worry. Isn’t it his birthday in a few weeks? The team is going to get him a gift or something. I’m organizing it.” Josh gave me his golden retriever smile. My dad’s birthday, right. It was a little after mine and I already had his gift picked out.

“Nice. He’ll like that.”

“Who’ll like what?”

The deep voice behind me registered at the same time a hard chest pressed against my back.

Josh turned and looked up, and up again. “Cayden, man. How are you enjoying your first Hade Harbor party?”

I froze, my front squished against the counter. Cayden. That was his name? He was standing so close, I couldn’t turn without rubbing my entire body against his. It was busy in the kitchen, and Josh didn’t seem to notice that the new guy had pinned me to the counter with his hips.

“Beckett wanted you. He’s out in the pool house.” Cayden’s voice was rough, rasping over my nerves and sending my tension higher.

Josh immediately brightened, setting down his beer. “Really? Cool. Be right back.”

“Wait—” I started, but Josh was already gone.

“What’s wrong, Bug. You don’t want to be left alone with me?” His hands landed on my hips, and his fingers pressed in, sinking into my flesh. He was so tall, my head fit into the space underneath his chin.

“I-I don’t know what to say.” Stating the obvious was about all my overheated brain could handle.

“But you had so much to say before… what was it you called me again?” His voice dipped low, grim amusement coloring his tone.

“I don’t remember.”

He chuckled. “I think you do.”

One of his hands slid around my belly, and my insides trembled. What was he up to? Nobody touched me like this, especially not a hockey player. The new guy was breaking all my father’s rules.

“Lily! There you are,” Eve’s voice washed over me.

Thank God.

“What are you doing?”

Eve appeared beside me, just as Cayden released me and stepped back. I twisted around immediately, trying to put some distance between us. My gaze landed on his collarbones. His T-shirt was thin, it even had the odd hole in places. I couldn’t tell if it was strategic and designer or just worn. Either way, he looked hot.

“Eyes up here, Bug.” Cayden’s voice was just as hot as the rest of him.

“Don’t call me Bug,” I muttered instinctively, raising my eyes to take him in.

“So, you’re Cayden West? Big-shot ace, the one who’s going to take us to Nationals?” Eve smiled up at him without seeming to realize anything weird had been going on.

“So they say,” Cayden said shortly. “I saw Asher around. He just passed through.” He cast a look over his shoulder.

Damn. This guy caught on quick. He’d already managed to get rid of Josh and Eve with little effort.

Eve tensed. “Shit. I’ll be right back.” She looked predictably freaked out that her brother might appear.

She turned on her heel and disappeared before I could stop her. I was hot on her heels. Eve disappeared down the hall and into a bathroom. I made it to the hall before a hard hand closed around my wrist. Cayden tugged me to a stop.

“We weren’t done talking,” he snapped at me. His tone was far from friendly.

“What do you want?” The hallway was quiet, and no one else was waiting in line for the bathroom. We were alone. Heat crawled across my face as Cayden backed me into the wall and caged me against it.

“I want to finish our conversation from earlier, before you so rudely ran off.”

“Fine, whatever. I called you a parasitoid – it’s not that deep. A kind of insect that eventually kills the host it feeds off. It was a biology joke. It was lame. Let it go. Why are you so angry about nothing?” My voice rang in the air between us.

Cayden stared down at me, a deep frown creasing his forehead. He wasn’t smiling. His face looked hewn from granite.

“When someone crosses me, I don’t get angry-I get even. I’m not the kind of guy who lets things go, you’d do well to remember that. Don’t get on my bad side. I’ll be your worst nightmare, Bug.”

“Don’t call me Bug,” I ground out. My cheeks must be beet red, and I felt squirmy all over. I hated this. I hated the way he was staring at me, giving me no space to avoid his inspection.

“Why not? It suits you… little, scurrying bug, so easy to crush.”

He still wasn’t smiling, and his cruel words hit something soft and vulnerable inside me. Ouch. My lips parted, but nothing came out. I had no words to match his cruelty. His hand cupped my jaw, and the touch jolted me from my shocked reverie. I tried to shove him, but he only stepped closer. So close I could barely breathe. His hand on my chin tightened so much that he was probably leaving fingerprints on my skin.

“Now, let’s get something straight, since it looks like we’re going to be classmates. Stay out of my way, unless you want to be crushed. I won’t hesitate. Don’t test me. You’ll regret it.” He moved his hand in an up-and-down motion, taking my head with him, a horrible parody of nodding. “Say you understand.”

“Fuck you, asshole,” I managed, anger colliding with anxiety in my chest.

“Be careful what you’re asking for, Bug.” Cold mocking was back in his eyes.

I pushed harder at his chest. I couldn’t move him a damn inch. Fucking hockey players.

“Don’t forget what I said, and don’t ignore it either…” He dropped his grip.

I stared at him as he stepped back. He was so huge, his shoulders dwarfed me. I wasn’t even remotely short, and I still felt tiny in front of him.

He smirked coldly. “If you do–it’ll only be more fun for me.”

“You’re insane,” I muttered, cupping my chin. The skin throbbed.

He nodded. “You have no idea, and believe me, you don’t want to find out.”

With that, he turned on his heel and sauntered away, leaving me reeling.

Had that really just happened?

The lock on the bathroom door slid open, and Eve peered out. “Have you seen Asher?”

I shook my head. I dismissed telling my best friend that the new guy had just threatened me. She’d feel compelled to rush in and defend me, and I didn’t want her putting herself in the line of fire either.

She let out a sigh of relief. “I guess we should go. Our hour is up.”

“You don’t mind?”

She shook her head and grinned, linking her arm through mine.

I’d never been so grateful to leave a place in my life. Now, if only I didn’t have to see Cayden West at school on Monday, everything would be great.