“Exactly. She went to our enemies and asked them to keep me away from her. How the fuck do I forgive something like that? Would you?” I angrily chugged back the rest of my drink, tossing the cup on the yellowed grass.
“Honestly, I would probably find a way to make her sorry she’d ever tried such a thing.” Rebel’s gaze drifted across the graveyard to where Storm hung out with her friends. “I probably would’ve done something fucking insane. But I would make sure she knew who she belonged to, and I would never let her go.”
I hated how his words only encouraged me to go after Codie. Walking away from her had been the hardest thing I’d ever done. Already I wanted to seek her out. To find her and make her regret what she’d done while also making her come all over my cock.
Toxic didn’t even begin to cover the strange relationship Codie and I had formed. We were probably both better off without each other. But would we be happier?
“Dude, don’t do this shit to me. You’re making me second-guess everything.” I followed Rebel’s stare. Codie wasn’t over there with the rest of the girls. Where the hell was she?
“Am I?” Rebel asked. “Or have you been second-guessing it all along? Find her.”
I gave the dimly lit party a visual once over. I didn’t see her anywhere. “I’m not sure if she’s still here. Let’s go ask Storm.”
“Sounds good to me. I was starting to have withdrawal anyway.” Rebel launched into motion. He was all too happy to rejoin his girl.
I couldn’t shake the envy that gripped me. Not that I was in a rush to get married or anything. Having with Codie what Rebel had with Storm would be nice though. It hadn’t been on my radar at all in the beginning, when everything started with Codie. Somewhere along the way that had changed.
As we approached the group of ladies, I hung back while Rebel flirted with his fiancée. He seemed to remember why I was there after several minutes of teasing and kissing.
“Stray is looking for Codie,” he explained. “Have you seen her?”
Storm’s forehead wrinkled in confusion as she met my gaze. “I thought she went to talk to you. You didn’t see her?”
“We talked,” I confirmed. “It didn’t really go well. I wanted to find her. Do you think she left?”
“She didn’t say anything to us about leaving,” Athena added, checking her phone. “No text messages either.”
A sinking sensation in my gut made me ill. Why would Codie disappear without a word to her friends? Maybe she’d been too upset and just wanted to leave.
Storm disentangled herself from Rebel, nodding for me to join her as she moved a few paces away where we could talk privately. I appreciated that she didn’t want to put me on display in front of her friends.
“Look, Stray, I know it’s none of my business, but you should know that Codie has been a total wreck since the night of the accident. I don’t think she’ll ever forgive herself for what happened to you. For what it’s worth, she immediately regretted talking to Noah and did everything she could to take it back.” Storm’s expression morphed into the wide-eyed look someone would give an injured puppy.
Jesus, I must have been pathetic to have earned that expression. I hated hearing that Codie had been in such distress. At the same time, I enjoyed it. Why should I have been the only one to suffer? I didn’t do this to us.
“Yeah I know. I get that. I haven’t made it easy for her to talk to me lately. I wanted a chance to discuss this properly. To hear her out without being a dick. If you see her, can you let her know that I’m looking for her?”
“Of course I will. I hope she’s all right. It’s not like her to disappear without telling anyone.” The worry that flashed across Storm’s face did nothing to make me feel any better.
Leaving Rebel with Storm, I did a lap around the party. Would Codie have snuck off with some asshole to get back at me? She could be dramatic, though I didn’t suspect she would take it that far.
I strongly considered heading over to her apartment. When I was intercepted by one of the girls who ran the campussorority, my growing impatience skyrocketed. A petite brunette with wide blue eyes batted her lashes at me. I really wasn’t in the mood for this shit right now, which was really saying something. Before Codie that’s all it would’ve taken for me to bring this girl into the forest and fuck her senseless.
“How are you doing, Stray?” she asked, gently touching my forearm. “I heard about your accident. That’s so scary.”
“I’ve been better. I’m alive, so I can’t complain.” I tried to concoct an excuse to get away from her.
Most of the campus girls knew about my antics. She didn’t beat around the bush much, instead getting right to the point. “I would be happy to help you feel better. Maybe a full body massage or a hot sponge bath.”
She smiled like she knew I was a sure thing. I didn’t love that at one time I had been. Getting a few minutes of pussy to get my rocks off had once been my goal at parties like this. Now all I wanted was to find my strawberry.
“I appreciate the offer. I’ll have to pass though.” Not wanting her to touch me, I pulled away. Nothing mattered more to me right then than finding Codie.
“Are you sure? We can go to my place. My roommates are out for the night.” This nameless girl was not giving up. She gave her hair a toss, angling toward me so I could clearly see down her shirt.
There was no filter to stop me when I blurted, “Thanks but no thanks. I have a girlfriend.”
The brunette gaped at me like she couldn’t believe the words that had come out of my mouth. I couldn’t believe them either. They weren’t entirely true. If I had my way, they soon would be.
