With a dazed expression, I continue grinding my ass on Cruz's lap. I move in time to the music. Well, kinda. Not really. I'm losing my sense of rhythm. The room is swaying. Everyone's voices blend into one big blur around me.

Cruz watches me with concern.

Glancing down at him, I pout and ask, "What?"

"I think we're good on the dare," he urges in strained tones and casually grabs one of the couch cushions to cover his crotch. "You can stop whenever you want, Athena."

I toss a flippant look in Regina's direction. "Cruz wants me to stop. Am I good on your dare, now, Regina?"

She scowls. "I guess so."

I stop dancing and, like a tipsy idiot, manage to stumble over absolutely nothing. I yelp as my body tilts toward the floor at breakneck speeds. Cruz's hands shoot out to steady my waist, catching me before I fall.

Sheepishly, I smile at him. "Oops, almost ate it there. Thanks."

Cruz's hands linger on my waist. Worry glimmers from his eyes. "Take it easy tonight. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Regina's voice sounds shrill when she remarks sarcastically, "You're always so sweet to Athena, Cruz. Couple goals!"

"There's nothing going on between Cruz and me!" I insist with huff.

Jonathon remarks, "Sure about that, Athena?"

Cruz rolls his eyes. "Leave her alone, Jonathon. She's drunk. Athena doesn't know what the hell she's saying right now."

"He totally wants to rail her," Regina mutters in unpleasant tones.

My drunk ass almost spits out: And I'm gonna let him, bitch.

With her eyes darting between Cruz and me, Kiana simply sits back and sips her beer. She drawls, "Damn. I wish I had some popcorn."

"Anyway," I announce loudly, "it's my turn to dare or truth someone, right?"

"You mean," Carly interjects, "truth or dare?"

I wrinkle my nose at Carly. Nobody likes a know-it-all.

"Yeah," I grumble, "that's what I meant."

"Go for it," Jonathon says. "Who's gonna be the next victim, Athena?"

My eyes find him. "You, actually."

Jonathon's eyes widen. "Me?"

"Yep!" I nod quickly and ask, "So... truth or dare?"

I already know what I'm going to ask if he picks "truth." I also know what I'm going to make him do if he picks "dare." Man, I'm such a fucking genius when I'm drunk.

Jonathon frowns. "Uh... dare. I pick—dare."

Right away, I challenge him, "I dare you to join me in a closet. For seven minutes in heaven."

Cruz's expression immediately darkens as he protests, "Dude, I don't think that's a good id—"

I turn to him with pleading eyes. "I'm not gonna do anything stupid. I promise. Trust me, okay?"

"Seriously. Where's my fucking popcorn? I'm invested," Kiana drawls again with a conspiratorial look on her face.

I ignore her comment. Before anyone can say another word, I grab Jonathon's hand and pull the guy toward the walk-in coat closet by the front door. I shove him inside and shut the door behind us. I flip on the light switch inside the closet. Jonathon and I are squished together, feeling uncomfy as hell, in the cramped space of the closet.

Jonathon licks his lips nervously. "You sure you wanna do this, Athena? You look pretty wasted, and I don't wanna get on Cruz's bad side..."

Slurring only a little, I assure him, "Don't worry... Jonathon. I'm not here to make it with you. I mean, make out with you. I just wanted to talk to you about your sister."

Jonathon side-eyes me with suspicion. "Damn it, Athena! What's with your obsession with Suzie? You're not some kind of stalker, are you?"

Ignoring his sarcasm, I demand without hesitation, "Tell me everything you know about your sister and Brody."

He looks shocked. "What?"

"Don't play dumb. I know you must know something. You're her brother for fuck's sake!"

"I swear, I'm not playing dumb here. You're stirring shit up when there's no shit to stir."

"I'll keep bothering you until you tell me something. I can be a very annoying bitch when I put my mind to it."

Jonathon groans irritably. "I don't doubt it. You're already annoying me."

"Just spill what you know," I prompt.

"If I tell you the truth, will you promise to drop this weird fixation you have with my sister?"

My mouth parts slightly. I wasn't expecting him to fold so quickly. I hold back a smug grin.
Dang, I'm hella good at this negotiating shit when I'm drunk.

"I promise," I lie.

"Those rumors about Brody are only rumors," he grumbles. "Suzie told me herself that nothing happened between them. She had a crush on the guy for a while, but it didn't work out. She's moved on since then. That's it. That's the whole story."

"You're lying to me."

"Oh, my God, Athena! Believe what you want. I've already told you the truth," Jonathon growls as he reaches over to open the closet door. "If you won't drop it, then I'm leaving."

With a disgruntled expression, Jonathon brushes past me. I don't try to stop him. As I watch him go, doubt surfaces in my mind. I don't know whether to believe him or not. My mind wavers back and forth because Jonathon is right. In a way.

Rumors are usually packed with lies. I know this well from personal experience. Maybe the rumors about Suzie and Brody are simply warped versions of the truth.

Yet, I also know what Chrissa and Brody tried to do to me at Sam's party. I wouldn't be surprised if Brody tried to pull that shit on some other girl. Like Suzie.

I feel at a loss. The beer is starting to make me feel sleepy and sluggish, but it fuels my ballsiness. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I wander through the crowd and stumble through the hallways. I check all the rooms until I find the one I'm looking for: Suzie's bedroom.

I trespass inside. Her room looks fairly neat. It's surprisingly cute and girly, which feels at odds with her surly attitude. There are pink sheets and pillows and blankets on her bed. She has quite a collection of stuffed animals on her shelves. I slide over to her desk and pick up a spiral-bound notebook. After a moment of hesitation, I pull out my phone to set up a brand new email account. Then, I rip a clean sheet of paper from Suzie's notebook, grab a pen, and scribble a quick message to her: If no one else believes you, I believe you. He tried to do the same thing to me at a party. I'm here if you want to talk. [email protected].

I purposely left out my name and Brody's name in my message to Suzie. Just in case I'm wrong about Suzie and Brody. Just in case word gets back to Chrissa somehow. I set the note back on the desk in a very visible spot. Uncertainty washes over me.

Am I making a big mistake here?

What if Jonathon was right?

What if I'm making a mountain out of a molehill and projecting my own experience with Brody onto Suzie?

Either way, I don't think Suzie will email me when she finds my message. Knowing her, she'll probably toss it in the trash, but I don't want to walk away without doing anything in case Brody did assault Suzie. So, I choose to leave my note on her desk. The ball is in her court now.

As I turn to head out of the bedroom, the door suddenly swings open. When I see Cruz appear in the doorway, I freeze in my tracks like a criminal caught red-handed.

Cruz glares at me accusingly. "Jonathon came back to the living room without you. I freaked out! Please stop disappearing on me."

My gaze drops to the floor. "I'm sorry for making you worry again. Nothing happened in the closet with Jonathon, though. You don't have to be worried."

"I wasn't worried about that," he grunts.

I glance up.

A smug, knowing look sits on Cruz's handsome face. "I know I'm the only guy for you."

A smile curves on my lips despite my shitty mood. "How can you be so sure?"

"I just am," he teases, "unless you're planning to give someone else a lap dance?"

"Nope," I reply with a smirk. "I only shake my ass for you, Recker."

Grinning, Cruz takes a step toward me. His hand slips around my waist as he pulls me closer. "Maybe you can give me another show when we get home."

"One wasn't enough?"

"I want a real one. You got me a little worked up earlier."

His hand grazes the curves of my breasts. Heat warms my skin. I lean into his touch, pressing my body against his hard, solid form. We stare longingly into each other's eyes. I'm drawn to him. Helplessly so. Desire thickens the air as I fight to regain my sensibilities.

Unwillingly, I slip away from his grasp. "Let's save this for later, okay? Everyone already suspects there's something weird going on between us. We need to be more careful. What if someone walks in the room right now?"

He sighs and lets me go. "Yeah, you're right. Pretty sure everyone's gonna be talking about us at school on Monday."

I grumble, "I can already hear them coming for my throat."

Cruz gives me a small, sad smile. "I won't let anyone give you a hard time, okay?"

"I won't let anyone give you a hard time, either," I vow fiercely.

He leans over to kiss me.

My heart thumps happily in response to the sweetness of his lips against mine, but I shuffle away from him once more and protest, "Hey! What did I just say about being careful?"

"Sorry," Cruz mumbles, "you were being so cute and... protective. I couldn't resist."

"I miss you," I admit. "I've missed you all night, actually."

"Same," he returns in gruff tones. "You have no idea much I wanna tell everyone that you're mine."

We stare at each other for a few more yearning beats.

Cruz clears his throat and breaks the silence first, "So... how come you decided to drag Jonathon into that closet?"

I explain, "I needed to get him away from everyone else."

"Why?"

"To talk to him about his sister."

Cruz frowns in confusion. "You mean... Suzie?"

"Yeah."

"What did you guys talk about?"

Cruz's interrogation is forcing me to sober up, and I'm not ready to face the enormity of everything that has happened tonight without the help of alcohol.

I admit, "The same thing I wanted to talk to you about earlier, actually."

His brow furrows. "Okay? Why don't you tell me now? I'm listening."

But I don't tell him anything. Not yet. I simply show him the note on Suzie's desk. Shock crosses Cruz's face as he scans over what I wrote. Eventually, understanding clicks on his face. "Are you telling me that..."

Cruz's voice trails off in disbelief.

I whisper, "Yeah, I think it's possible Brody did the same thing to Suzie that he did to me. At Sam's party. Maybe Brody went even further with Suzie. I don't know."

The words fall out of me like a distressing deadweight. Cruz knows now. I feel like a burden has been lifted from me. Instead of feeling lighter, however, I begin to feel helpless. Foolish. Like a kid who tried and failed to solve grown-up problems. A tide of chaos from this fucked up night rises against my chest, threatening to spill over.

I think back to King's Cup. To my stupid lap dance. I shouldn't have let myself get so drunk. I acted like such a dumbass. Now all of Cruz's friends suspect there's something going on between us.

Irrationally, I also feel like I've failed Suzie in some way.

Cruz offers gently, "You wanna head home early?"

I look at him with a grateful expression. "Definitely. At this point, I just wanna get away from everyone and be with you..."

He takes my hand and pulls me toward the door. "Let's get outta here, then."

Once Cruz and I step outside Suzie's room, our hands instantly fall away from one another. We sneak out of Jonathon's party without saying goodbye to anyone and drive home. By the time we pull up to Cruz's driveway, it's close to midnight. Cruz and I walk inside the house, taking care to be quiet so we don't wake up Ron or my aunt.

As we head up the stairs, I feel a notification buzz in my pocket. I pull out my phone and check the screen. It's an email from [email protected]. I don't know this person, but the message reads: I found your note in my room. Who are you? What tf did Brody do to you?

I release an audible gasp.

Cruz's face whips toward me. "What's wrong?"

I stare back at him in awe. "I think Suzie just messaged me."

***

Yay, I'm finally back with Athena and Cruz! Thank you for your patience while I was holed up in my editing cave to publish Diavolo and Diavola. After many weeks of stress, tears, and headaches, I finally published both books on Amazon, and I'm ready to get back to my regular update schedule on Wattpad. Much lub to you all! <3