I slipped past the table of her friends. Once outside, I saw half the veranda was empty and instantly relaxed. I only hoped those girls wouldn’t come out.
“You okay?” Caden eyed me.
I slid his drink to him, putting Diego’s in front of the empty chair. “You have friends inside.”
“I do?”
“That girl from my dorm, the one you were talking to while I changed for flamingo night.”
He frowned. “Who?”
He didn’t remember. I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling. “I don’t know. There was a guy too.”
“Oh, yeah.” Understanding dawned. “Jeremy something. He’s friends with Marcus, not me.”
“You were talking to them.”
He shrugged, glancing at the door. “They said hello. I needed to pass the time. Figured polite conversation wouldn’t hurt. Diego’s not coming?”
“He had to fill some drinks first.”
“Wait.” He stilled, his eyes darting to mine. “They aren’t coming out here, are they?”
The last knot in my stomach unraveled. I shook my head, unable to hide my grin now. “I hope not.”
He grinned back. “It’s awkward enough with Diego, much less some chicks Marcus knows. Word would get out that we were hanging out here.”
My grin fell flat.
People knew we were friends already. Caden had been in my dorm, for goodness sakes, but the way he said that—it was like he didn’t want anyone to know we were hanging out here together. Like I was a secret.
I tried to tell myself that was Kevin baggage, nothing to do with Caden, but the knot in my stomach tightened back up.
“You okay?”
“Huh?”
“You got quiet all the sudden. That’s not normal for you.”
I forced a smile. “I’m good. Just…maybe tired is all.”
“You sure?”
He cared about me. I tried to remind myself of that. “I’m good.”
“My friends!”
Diego made his entrance, his arms stretched out once again. Everyone on the veranda looked up, saw it was Diego, and went back to their conversations. A few offered greetings as he made his way to our table, but once he dropped into his seat, it was like the last time we had been here. There was no awkwardness after that.
Diego filled the air with stories, and if he was quiet for a moment, Caden would start a new one. Diego would quickly join in, taking over. I laughed the entire time.
A couple hours passed before trouble started. I felt it coming more than anything else.
I didn’t hear the girls approach. The veranda had filled while we were out there. But Diego’s gaze trailed past my shoulders, and his smile vanished. His eyes lost their warmth, and a beat later, I heard that same drunken voice, but this time she wasn’t slurring.
The air cooled dramatically, and it wasn’t the temperature.
“Caden! What are you doing here?” she asked.
Caden didn’t turn hostile, but his smile vanished. “I’m here with friends.”
She waited, standing there.
He didn’t say anything more.
Then her eyes fell on me and lit up. A fake warmth oozed from her. “Oh my gosh, you’re Kevin Matthews’ stepsister, aren’t you? I thought I recognized you.” She dragged an empty chair from two tables over to ours, plopping down. She scooted up right next to me, pressing her arm against Caden. “I live in your dorm.”
She paused again, looking around the table. When she saw Diego, her head cocked to the side, like she didn’t recognize him. “You’re the bartender, aren’t you?”
Caden started laughing.
Diego cleared his throat. “Yes. I’m the help.”
“Oh.” Her head bobbed up and down, the smile still plastered on her face.
She looked back to Caden with a calculating gleam in her eyes, then switched it to me.
Something was going to happen. Something shitty.
“Is it true what everyone is saying? You didn’t really come to school thinking you’d be with your stepbrother? I thought that was hilarious when I heard it. I mean, that’s kinda sick too, isn’t it? He’s not your blood, but still. His parent is fucking your parent. That’s gotta be up there on the ick factor.”
Yes. She went there.
She waited for a response from me, but it came from Caden.
“Fuck you.”
He said it low, quiet, but the words sent a chill down my back.
Her eyes widened. “Excuse me?”
“You came over to our table to insult my friend?” He didn’t move. Not a bit, and that made his words even colder. “Get the fuck away from this table.”
Her mouth opened.
He cut her off. “I don’t care who your friends are. If you don’t walk away from this table in five seconds, I will make my opinion known about you. I can’t guarantee you’ll still have friends after that.”
Diego’s eyebrows lifted. He muttered under his breath, “Damn.”
Caden ignored him. “I don’t like being an asshole, but when it comes to certain friends, I’ll be the worst asshole I can be.”
He’d laid it out for her, but she didn’t move.
Diego got up and put his hands on her shoulders. “You should go. Caden doesn’t make threats lightly. When he does, he follows through. Don’t test him.”
He herded her away from our table.