Courtney's birthday was bound to be the party of the year. The entire grade was invited. While I had no desire to see Tyler, my friends would be there. As would Jax.

So I now had three options. I could not go, which I felt was not a real option. I didn't want to miss her birthday. Who am I kidding though, I wanted to go to a party. I wanted freedom for a night. I could lie to my parents about where I'm going, which my dad finds out everything and again I would be grounded. Or I could ask nicely and pray for the best.

Honestly, option two was sounding pretty good right now because at least then I for sure was going to party.

In the end, I figured I was walking a fine line with the parents as of late, I needed to gain their trust back.

I find my dad in the garage, dressed as casually as he gets while he changed the oil on his car.

When I was younger I used to love sitting out here watching him work on his car. Basically it was like a member of the family. We called it his 'First Born'. Sydney was the baby, then me, then Felix, the eldest was a 1987 Buick Grand National. Pretty sure that bitch was his favorite child too. So when I was little I would sit in an old yellow chair that he had set in the corner of the garage just for me. I would take a book and wrap myself up in a blanket as he would restore it.

I smile as I see the chair still sitting there. I sit in it, bringing my legs up to a pretzel and watch him.

"Been a long time since I've seen you in that chair" he smiles. He removes the rag from his back pocket and begins wiping the oil from his hands.

"Still comfy!" I giggle and do a little hop on it. "Before you guys kick it I need you to put in writing that I get this chair, I'm sure Syd and Felix will fight me for it..."

"I think your chair is safe Gabs. The car however... you'll have to fight your brother for it."

"Can you put in writing that we literally have to fight for it? Rock, paper, scissors gets the car! Best two out of three!"

He points to me and laughs. "I like the way you think. I wish I could be here to see it."

He gets back down on the hard cement floor of the garage to see how his draining of oil is coming along as I begin to stir in my seat.

"Dad?" I ask reluctantly.

"Yeah Gabs?" He's grunting as he scoots himself back under the car.

"I have to ask you something and I don't want you to freak. Just hear me out..."

I can't see his face but I can see his entire body sigh.

"Okay...?"

I hesitate. This is probably making it worse than it is. The whole situation is stupid. I should be able to go to my friend's house on her birthday.

"Courtney's birthday is today. She's having a party" I pause. "...at her house."

"No."

"Dad please? It's not a school night. Her parents are there. My friends will be there. It's just a normal sleepover. We aren't even going to drink, I promise!"

He shimmies his body out from under the car and doesn't even look me in the eye as he stands.

"Gabs I said no." He takes his hands and dusts off his dirty jeans.

"Dad! I have been on house arrest for almost four weeks. All because I had half a beer and played a game of pool. Felix did way worse when he was a senior! I don't even know if Jax will be there! I don't even care if he is. I want to hang out with my friends. I'll keep my phone on, you are right across the street!"

"Oh he will be there. He isn't allowed to sleep anywhere but that house." He points to it.

"I don't care where he sleeps. I want to have a sleepover with my friends."

"Gabby..." he sighs and to me. I know I'm giving him more gray hairs but I need a night out.

"Please dad? Just a sleepover. Scary movies, popcorn, talking about the boys we actually like..." I plead. "Please?"

By now I'm standing and holding up prayer hands.

He lets out a breath and shakes his head. "Don't talk about boys tonight, they are all trouble and think with their dicks."

I squeal as I throw my arms around him.

"Thank you!"

"Gabs just keep away from Jackson okay?"

"I highly doubt he wants to talk about boys with us dad. Unless prison changed him..."

He laughs and releases me from our hug. "I want you home by ten tomorrow. Got it?"

"Sure thing Officer."

I run into the house to pack my bag before he changes his mind.

<><><>

So I may have fibbed a little about the type of party I was attending. Her parents were not home, we had beer and tequila, and it was coed. I mean obviously Cole was going to be there. But she had invited the whole class. It was still a sleepover for the girls and I'm sure at some point there would be popcorn. If there wasn't I was going to haul ass back to my place and get some. You can't watch a movie without it.

"Red top?" Courtney holds up a red tank over her chest. "Or blue?" she holds up a T-shirt.

I get the impression this is not actually about color.

"Are you actually asking me if you should dress skanky or not tonight? I look up from my book.

"Perhaps..." she glances at me through he mirror.

"Skanky. It's your eighteenth birthday" I give an approving nod and go back to my book.

"Actually I'm nineteen. I took a year off..." she frowns at me. I get the impression that I shouldn't ask questions about this.

"Okay, nineteen and skanky then." I shrug with a smile. Her face turns happy again. There's something about her that I can't put my finger on. It's like their entire family has secrets.

She holds the blue top up again. "It's not like I'm trying to impress anyone tonight..."

"Is that because the boy you like is currently sitting in his college dorm?" I glance up to her again.

Her eyes get huge and she presses her lips together. This eventually turns into a wide giddy smile.

"Is it weird if I say I like your brother?"

Nailed it. Need to remember to tell Kane that next time I see him.

"No" I laugh. "He was giving those googly eyes right back."

She smiles bigger and puts on the blue shirt.

"What about you and Kane?" she asks. "Anything there? His arm was around you and you were cuddling back..."

I shut my book. I have no idea what Kane and I are. Right now... a mess. "I don't think it will ever happen. It's one of those 'never the right time' things. He's mad at me about Tyler. And honestly, right now he's pissing me off so I'm thinking it's a no. Maybe someday."

The look on her face changes. She looks me in the eye and very seriously asks "and Jax?"

I laugh. "No. He is hot, but my dad would murder me."

"Watch yourself Gabby. You're on his radar." She shakes her head in disproval. She puts on a pair of white shorts and looks back in the mirror at her choice in birthday attire.

"Court what did he do?" I ask her again. "He seems... fine. I mean don't get me wrong, he's forward, but he's not scary."

"He..." she pauses. She thinks hard about what to say next. "Gabby I can't. If he wants you to know he will tell you. He's not as bad as everyone thinks. He just... reacted poorly to a situation. Two of them. He can be scary when he wants to be. The part you need to worry about is that he wants you."

"What's so bad about being wanted? Especially by that?" I motion to the door as if the beautiful tattooed man were standing there. "It's flattering but that's it. My dad would blow. So he can want me..."

"He gets what he wants Gabby" she stops me.

Her comment makes my stomach ache. The way she said it, was creepy.

I lift my eyebrow to her. "Did he rape someone?"

She immediately gives an awkward laugh and shakes her head. "No. He would never do that."

"Then how does he get what he wants?"

He wants sex... he told me that's what he wants. How does he get it if the girl says no?

I am so confused by this cryptic family. I wish someone would just tell me what the hell he did.

She sighs as she looks to me again. She tosses me the red tank top to wear.

"He's going to make you want it too."

<><><>

"Holy shit Gabby, you look like a girl" Cole's eyes pop from his head.

I look down at the outfit that Courtney put on me. Jean skirt with rips, the red tank top, and a white jacket.

"Are you just saying that because my hair is down and you can see my tits?"

"Yes" he agrees honestly. Morgan smacks him upside the head as he laughs.

He walks around the counter and looks down at my feet.

"Never mind her chucks are still on, it's still Gabby."

Even Morgan can't help but to laugh with that. Chucks are my life.

"Whoa... Gabby what do we have here?"

Fuck why is he here?! I cringe at the sound of the voice entering the kitchen.

Tyler and his friends approach. He grabs my hand and spins me as I hold my other hand up to flip him off.

"I've done that princess. Remember?"

"Actually I don't remember. That's how amazing you were. I mean small flashbacks come back to me..." I hold up my point finger about a half inch away from my thumb. "And when I say small... I mean small..."

"Books, you dirty girl."

I turn my body and see Jax leaning up against the counter. There's about twenty five people in this house right now and he seemed to just blend in. His tattooed arms are crossed against his chest. At the sight of him I find myself catching my breath. Dark jeans and a gray t-shirt, he's always dressed simple but in the hottest way. He's exactly where I stood the night he pressed me up against the counter.

I smile at him and turn back to Tyler. His eyes are fixed on the red tank top in front of him.

"She's not interested, bud," Jax grabs my hand. "She took it for a test drive and decided the earlier model was more reliable. The kinks are already worked out."

He leads me to the living room as I laugh and Tyler's friends begin to mock him.

Music is blasting and now we find ourselves next to the stereo. The place is loud. I mentally remind myself to turn it down before nine when my dad will be back patrolling town.

"So Books..." I turn back to Jax, giving him my full attention. "How did you get Daddy Dan to let you come over here? You told him right? I'd prefer not to piss him off again..."

"He knows exactly where I am. I begged. I may have told him this was a sleepover where we sit in our jammies, braiding hair and talking about boys."

"Oh? And I wasn't brought up?" His eye brows lift and he smirks in his playful way.

I laugh and roll my eyes. "Of course you were. I'm supposed to stay away from you, remember? Better keep your distance tonight Jackson Parker."

"Well yeah we established that when he threatened me" he laughs.

Wow. My dad was a hard ass but I honestly didn't think he threatened people. I wonder what he said...

"Jax I'm going to ask you one question..."

His eyes roll and he looks away from me towards the group of underage kids drinking in his kitchen.

"I'm not going to ask what you did."

His attention shifts back to me, appearing stern. "No promises that I'll answer..."

"If you had a daughter, would you let her near someone like you?"

"If it's in regards to what I did...then yes. I am exactly who I would want my daughter to be around," he answers without hesitation.

"Okay." That settles it. I'm not afraid of him. Wary, yes—there is still a reason why he was in trouble. I believe he answered my question truthfully though.

"Daddy Dan does not care. He sees trouble and you are his baby. The baby that sleeps with morons like that..." he motions to Tyler, who is currently attempting to do a shot while performing a handstand.

All I can do is sigh. Tyler wasn't my first choice, but there's no going back now.

"I was very drunk. I will never drink anything cherry flavored again."

"And what about bar-boy? Ever sleep with him? You two seemed... close the other night."

I stare down at my shoes, now feeling awkward about this discussion. He's referring to Kane, obviously. I still feel ill knowing how much I messed up with him. I'm not sure a relationship would ever be possible now, not that it really was before. Maybe he was telling the truth and did like me too, keeping it inside out of respect for Felix, but there is no doubt that he looks at me and treats me like his little sister. Perhaps I missed some minor flirting over the years, who knows?

"Nope. Slept with his brother."

He looks back to the moron in the kitchen and back to me, clearly putting two and two together. "Ouch. He has a thing for you and you chose the younger brother. He looked like he wanted to jump me when I picked up Court."

"I get the feeling most guys want to jump you. You tend to turn girls' heads around here. They're used to getting all of the attention."

With a cheeky grin, Jax takes one step closer to me, launching my stomach into the space where my lungs typically occupy.

"Oh? You sound like you just might be one of those girls. Are you saying that I'm attractive, Books?"

Understatement.

"Jax, you know you are attractive."

The moment the confession leaves my lips, I feel as though I've let him win. I definitely just confessed to finding him hot as fuck and the way he cocks his head and smirks tells me he likes that he's getting to me.

Jax eyes me up and down in a purposeful way, wanting me to see that he's looking at my body. There's something about having his attention on me that I like. This room is filled with girls, girls that would do just about anything for his attention and yet all of it is focused on me. His wandering eyes only stop when he sees my feet.

"Gabby Brooks rocks chucks," he gives me a small laugh and looks back up to me with a nod of approval. "That's hot, Books."

Rolling my eyes only for the sake of our playful conversation, I mentally accept his compliment, feeling my face blush with heat. Funny, because I thought the same thing when I first met him.

"You have a nice night, Jax," I nod to him and proceed back to my friends.

I'd much rather hang out with him than Tyler and his group of popular friends, but know by the look on Courtney's face that I'm currently closer to her brother than she cares for. It's not that she's upset that I'm speaking to him, more like she's worried that I am.

"See you around, Books."

I don't turn around because I know it's going to turn into a smile and I will walk back to him. I'm hoping that's a promise, because the most fun I've had tonight was standing with him.

Instead, I select a beer from the counter of red cups, pressing it to my smile and finishing its contents quickly. When we were in the bar, Jax mentioned that there were two types of girls, those that hated tattoos and those that got turned on by them. The way Jax looked at my shoes—that boy has a hard-on for girls in chucks.

He called me hot.

I confessed that I find him attractive.

Once again lost in a sea of school friends that are already showing signs of being way too intoxicated to make rational decisions tonight, I feel the confidence to look back to where I left Jackson Parker. With his back pressed into back of their entertainment center, I watch him take a sip from his bottle of water, cap it, and slowly lift piercing green eyes to meet mine. There is complete chaos around me, booming laughter from my friends, music that is way too loud, and yet I can't hear any of it over the pounding in my chest.

I feel like I'm a target for him, a goal of sorts. He watches me like he's hunter and I am prey, biding his time before he finally makes his move to claim me.

Maybe I should be scared of him, but I'm not. Maybe I should fear his little game that he wants to play, the one that Courtney mentioned would destroy me, but again, I'm not. In fact, I find myself wanting to play. A game means competition, right? He can't always win. I like a friendly game of competition, which he already knows firsthand from our pool match. He doesn't understand just how much I like winning.

Perhaps I am prey, but he seems too cocky to win a game with me.

When he does break our connection, his green eyes move swiftly to his sister and I know why. She's warning him with a glare. I don't even have to see her to know by the look on his face.

I sink back into our group, telling myself that I had a brief lapse in judgement. That there's no way I will be playing his dumb game, reminding myself that he's a criminal for some unknown crime who enjoys 'destroying girls' with his sex appeal. My dad would kill me if I went anywhere near him anyways.

Hating myself a little more, I look back up to see he's vanished from the room, and feeling the sense of gloom without his presence.

Now I have a problem.

I have a serious crush on Jackson Parker.

***

"I have never... received a blow job at school..."

I watch as three guys tip their cups laughing.

I'm over this game already.

I feel my eyes roll and I look to Morgan. She was not enthused at all when Cole drank from his cup. The girl is seeing red. She was not involved in this blow job. Cole is an idiot, lie and don't drink. No one would know the difference.

"I have never..." I hear Tyler's voice boom. "Lost my virginity in the back of a car at a Lake Lux party."

I shoot him the nastiest look I can muster and take a drink from my red solo cup as his friends give him high fives. The guy has now given up on trying to get into my pants and has moved on to torturing me for sport. He's trying to get me drunk faster than everyone else. I'm already on my third beer.

I stand from the circle to fill my beer again as Jax watches the game unfold.

"He's trying to get a rise out of you," Jax nods towards Tyler, clearly observing what is occurring and judging by the look on his face—enjoying it as much as me.

"Yep," I agree, sipping my beer and watching the circle of questions continue.

"That beer smells good," he sighs, watching my cup with lust.

I can't imagine that this party is in anyway fun for him. A bunch of 18-year-olds drinking under his watch. He's a 23-year-old on probation. He could get into major trouble for this even though he didn't supply the alcohol.

"How much longer until you can drink?" I glance up to him.

"Three years." He licks his lips and takes a drawn out sip from the water bottle in his hand.

"I have never puked up cherry McGillicuddy's after losing my V-card!"

I fucking hate Tyler for this. My friends knowing is one thing. Now the entire senior class knows. Plus Jax.

I shoot Tyler an angry glare and sip from my cup again as the entire group laughs. Tyler appears too intoxicated to realize how much this is assuring me he will never get any from me again. Not that I had planned to ever do him again. I am convinced that the days of us even being friends are over.

I fucking hate this game.

"Hey, Gabby, do me a favor," Jax announces so loudly that the entire room turns to hear what this favor could possibly be.