Page 49 of Where Your Scars Meet Mine
Lacey laughs and rises easily, brushing imaginary lint from her skirt as if she expected this outcome. Silas stands as well, taking her hand without any hesitation. For a brief moment he turns back toward the circle, offering that slow, crooked smile.
It lands like a punch to the chest.
The realization hits me before I can stop it.
I’ve never seen him smile before.
Not like that.
And for some reason I can’t quite explain, the fact that he’s never looked at me that way sends an uncomfortable twist through my ribs.
Silas leads Lacey toward the hallway closet near the kitchen, the crowd whistling and laughing as they go, someone shoutinga countdown for the seven minutes. Just before he shuts the door behind them, he glances back toward the room and throws everyone a casual wink.
The door clicks closed.
For a few seconds, the group stays close, listening for any hint of what’s happening inside. The muffled sounds from the party make it hard to tell anything clearly, but the curiosity alone is enough to keep everyone hovering.
The warmth that had been lingering from my kiss with Kadin fades quietly, replaced by a strange heaviness that settles low in my chest. The longer the door stays closed, the more that feeling grows.
It’s ridiculous.
And yet it refuses to go away.
“You have a pool, right?” I say suddenly, breaking the quiet focus Kadin had directed toward the closet door.
He turns back to me, blinking once before a smile spreads across his face.
“I do,” he says easily. “Care to join me, ladies?” He smiles, gesturing toward the back doors where the glow of the pool lights spills across the yard.
Cheyenne raises both hands immediately in agreement as Maria laughs, hooking her arm through hers.
Before following them, my eyes drift back to the hallway one last time.
The closet door is still closed.
A small smile pulls at the corner of my mouth anyway.
“Absolutely.”
CHAPTER 9
Octavia
Cheyenne does not hesitate for even a second.
The moment Kadin leads us out through the sliding doors, she is already peeling off layers with the sort of reckless confidence only Cheyenne could make look effortless. Her shoes hit the patio first, then her shirt, then whatever flimsy excuse for a skirt she had decided counted as clothing tonight. Maria is right behind her, laughing so hard she nearly trips over herself while tugging her top over her head. The two of them look wild beneath the blue spill of the pool lights, all flushed cheeks, loose hair and alcohol-fueled boldness.
The backyard is louder than I expected. More people are beginning to spill outside from the house, drawn by the noise and the bright glow of the water. Colored lights from the pool ripple over the patio stones and fence, turning everyone into moving shadows edged in blue. The air is cold enough to bite, but the kind of drunk thrill hanging over the party seems to make no one care.
Kadin strips down more slowly, like he knows exactly what he is doing without needing to turn it into a performance. His shirt comes off in one smooth pull, my eyes catching on himbefore I can force them elsewhere. Broad shoulders, a chest and stomach carved in clean lines, skin catching the light in a way that makes him look almost unreal standing there beside the water. There is nothing hesitant about the way he carries himself. He looks comfortable in his body, comfortable being looked at.
That part stings more than it should.
Cheyenne lets out a shriek and cannonballs into the pool before anyone can stop her. Maria follows with a laugh, diving in after her, coming up slick with water and glowing with delight. They surface sputtering and grinning, hair plastered to their faces, already shouting for the rest of us to hurry up.
Kadin glances back at me, smiling in a way that is softer than the chaos around us.
“You coming in?”
