Chapter 23

Nikolai

As I walked in the door, moving my hand from Hannah’s waist to wrap around her hand, I looked around Cassidy’s house to see who was there. Connors would definitely be at a party like this, so he was either here or would be soon.
I took in the crowds of people drinking from red cups, indicating there was a keg here somewhere, probably the kitchen. I was familiar with most of the people, but there were some kids I didn’t recognize. I would admit, even though most parties around here were big, this one was bigger than usual. It was like all these people knew I was going to show up and act like I had a girlfriend tonight, so they wanted to be on hand to witness the big event.
I saw Nicole Jackson and Peter DeLuca, and various other couples, on the couch grinding against each other. Typically, I couldn’t have cared less what people did at these parties. People got drunk and acted crazy at these things all the time, though usually the more uninhibited behavior came out toward the end of the night when everyone was wasted. I’d seen people having sex in a room full of people, more than once, and had never batted an eyelash. However, I now had Hannah next to me. Hannah, who had never even been kissed until this afternoon. Hannah who had never “gotten high.” I didn’t want Hannah seeing this shit.
Did Nicole just take DeLuca’s dick out? Shit. I quickly pulled Hannah through the room before she saw any more of Peter than she needed to.
I heard Hannah’s shocked whisper behind me. “Did I just see Peter DeLuca’s—”
“Yes,” I gritted out.
We were stuck in a crowd of people making their way to the kitchen, where the keg obviously was. I glanced down to take in Hannah’s expression as she looked around and processed what she was seeing. She didn’t look disgusted. She looked…intrigued, curious, fascinated. “Does that stuff happen all the time at these parties?” she asked.
“Sometimes. Not always. It depends on how fucked up everybody is.”
She nodded and kept observing the party, absorbing a scene that must seem foreign to her, having lived the life of a virtual hermit, socially speaking.
I scanned the room myself, giving a head nod to the people in the crowd I hung with. While I was used to getting a certain amount of attention at parties, I wasn’t getting the looks I normally got. Normally, I had girls watching me with expressions ranging from coy to blatantly inviting.
I could only guess I was doing my part to make it look like I was with Hannah, because tonight every person in here who knew me—and my dating history—was looking at me in complete astonishment. This made them that much more curious about Hannah, and I soon noticed their attention shift from me to her as they checked her out, which I already hated. I found myself pulling her against my body and wrapping my arm around her back, so our chests were pressed together. This was the exact impulse I’d had outside when we were talking to that asshole, Caston. I’d felt the need to get Hannah as close to me as possible while that motherfucker looked her over.
“Um, Nikolai? You’re crushing me,” Hannah gasped, and I eased my grip on her.
I grunted an apology, reached for her hand and pulled us through to the kitchen so I could get a much-needed beer. The home was a typical farmhouse with big rooms, so once we finally got through the doorway, we found various groups of kids gathered together in a very spacious kitchen.
I noticed Jack standing near the keg with Jordan Matthews. God, if Shelby saw him hooking up with someone else, I didn’t want to be anywhere close. I know they aren’t dating, or even hooking up anymore, but Shelby has always been possessive of Jack. There would be bloodshed if Shelby saw Jordan moving in on Jack, even though Shelby has always known there were other girls Jack hooked up with.
Shelby was a good-looking girl, so I had no idea why she chased after Jack when he wouldn’t give her what she wanted. She threw jealous tantrums all the time, screamed at girls Jack had slept with, and then screamed at Jack himself. I suppose that hassle is why he kicked her to the curb.
Jack saw me and put his hand up, so we could bump fists. “Hey, Nik, what’s up?” he asked, as his gaze slid to Hannah. His eyebrows shot up appreciatively when he looked her over. I punched him in the shoulder, and gave him a warning frown, which only made his grin widen.
“Hey, Jack. This is Hannah,” I said, gesturing to her as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, again feeling like I had to mash her body as closely to mine as possible. I trusted Jack, and I knew he wouldn’t do anything with Hannah, but these protective instincts she provoked in me were relentless.
“Hello, Hannah,” he said as he reached for her hand with both of his and brought it to his lips. I rolled my eyes. Flirtatious asshole. “Nice to officially meet you.”
“Nice to meet you,” Hannah responded, a blush creeping up her throat. I couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed or charmed, but if Jack knew what was good for him, he’d better hope it was embarrassment. I was about to rip her hand away from his, when Hannah pulled away and moved out of his reach. Jack’s shocked expression illustrated how rarely that type of thing happened to him, and I swallowed a chuckle at his expense. Girls typically loved the bullshit Jack pulled, even if that charm was short-lived.
Jordan, the girl who’d been standing next to Jack, was frowning at Hannah and clearly trying to place her. Then she gasped in shocked recognition. “Hannah? Hannah Prescott?”