Trying Not to Love You
Page 5

Jackson looked over at Chloe, and she nodded, "Alright, I guess we can do that."
"Chloe, there are some clothes upstairs you can put on to sleep in."
Chloe stood on her tiptoes, and kissed Jackson. He placed his large hands on each side of her belly. "All right, all right, get a room already you two." Glued to each other ever since they met, it was no wonder she was pregnant.
I walked away from them to search for Hailey. Passing the stairs, I saw Alexis standing with her back to me, holding Hunter's hand. "That's just great!" I mumbled to myself. I looked past her and saw her two friends standing there, beside her. Angel was holding on to Mason's arm, and Jessica had her hands around Cooper's waist. I didn't say anything to them as I walked by. Out on the back deck, Jaylinn and Jackson were playing beer pong with Chloe's friend Sarah, and some other girl.
"Hey Kenzie, did Hailey find you?" Jackson said.
"No, that's who I was looking for." I said, looking around at all the people swimming in the pool, and sitting around the fire pit.
"Have you seen Mase, Coop and Hunter? I haven't seen them since we got here." Jackson said.
"They were over by the stairs last time I saw them." I said, watching as his ping-pong ball lands in the cup on the opposite side of the table.
"Here, take over; I'm going to go get them." As Jackson handed me the ping-pong ball, Hailey came running up the deck steps and grabbed my arm. "Fuck Kenz!"
"Hails, what the…" I spotted Hailey's ex-boyfriend Matt as he walked in with some trashy looking girl with crazy red hair. "Shit!"
"What's going on?" Jaylinn asked, looking around.
"Kenzie, what the f**k is he doing here?" Hailey was practically screaming at me. She had every right to be hysterical after the shit that ass**le put her through.
"I have no idea. You know I wouldn't invite him here after what he did to you." After senior prom, about thirty of us came to party here at my parent's shore house. Alcohol flowed freely, and everyone became more and more trashed as the night passed. Matt cheated on Hailey with some skank who had come with one of our friends. They broke up that night, and Mason nearly beat the shit out of Matt.
I raised my chin in Matt's direction, "Matt is here." Jaylinn looked over at Matt, anger shooting from her eyes.
Hailey was in tears and near panic. "Why did he show up here? He knows whose house this is."
"Look, let's just hang out here, and finish the game. Try to act like he isn't even here. Chloe, can you text Jackson, and ask him to handle Matt?"
"Yeah, I sure can." She reached for her phone on the table, and I saw her tap out a text. A second later, her phone beeped. "He'll take care of it."
While Jaylinn and I finished our game, Hailey grabbed a bottle of Vodka off the outside bar, and started chugging it.
"You better slow down. I'm not being the only one responsible if this party goes to shit." I knew she would ignore me, and be plastered by the end of the night. After Matt's stunt, I seriously did not blame her.
"Just let her be Kenzie. She's a blast when she's drunk." Jaylinn said, as the ping-pong ball she threw hit the rim of one of the cups.
"Fine, but when she is puking her guts up, she is all yours." I threw my ping-pong ball in the cup and turned to look at Jaylinn with my eyebrows raised, gloating that I made my shot.
Finally, my brothers and Hunter came over, but Mason looked pissed. He was watching Hailey as she drank straight from the vodka bottle. "Kenzie, how much has she had to drink?"
I rolled my eyes at his over protective ass. "She drank the whole bottle of vodka over there,"–pointing to the empty bottle on the bar– "and just started on the second one." I scowled in Hunter's direction. "Where'd your girlfriend go, Hunter?"
Hunter had dated Alexis briefly a few summers ago, and she had dated Dominic right before he and I started dating. She still was not over either one of them, and would do anything to get their attention. She had started rumors that Dominic was going to leave me, and go back to her. She even tried to break us up by telling people that she and Dominic made out after a few of his football games that I had not attended. Dominic always denied it; I didn't think he would do something like that to me, since he was the one that broke up with her.
"She left. Where's Dominic?" Mason said, with a smug look on his face as he answered for Hunter.
"Low blow, Mase. I'm going upstairs." I threw my ping-pong ball at Mason, and turned towards Hailey, "I'm going up to my room; are you coming?"
Hailey giggled at nothing in particular, and shook her head, "No, I'm good out here. I don't think I can move at this point, since I can't feel my legs."
I glared at Mason. "You think you can keep her out of trouble, ass**le?"
"Why are you going upstairs? Just stay down here with us. I'm sure Dom will be here soon, CC." Hunter spoke up, as I was getting up out of my seat.
"Kenzie, you're not going upstairs! It's my birthday, and you haven't even had a shot with me yet." Cooper said. He threw his arm over my shoulder and pulled me into a hug, trapping me.
Rolling my eyes, I said, "Fine, but if I have to stay down here, and deal with this bullshit, I'm going to need more than one shot." I got up, and stormed away from them.
In the kitchen, I was about ready to down my shot when I felt a pair of hands grip my hips. I hoped it was Dominic finally getting here, but when I turned around, I was staring at Hunter chest.
Seething through my teeth, I pushed back on him. "Hunter, don't okay, just don't. I can't believe you, of all people, would invite Alexis here."
He crossed his arms across his chest, looked down at the floor, then back up to me. "CC, let's just go out front, and talk for a sec."
"No." I was not going anywhere with him. He knew I hated the drama that bitch brought with her. I had wanted to have a good time tonight, but seeing her had ruined it for me.
"No?" He was challenging me. He knew I had a problem telling him no to pretty much anything.
God damn it!
Why did he have to be so damn hot? Even after that summer, knowing nothing could happen, I still had feelings for him. I had Dominic now, but no matter what my brain said, my heart wanted Hunter. I looked up, and he smirked at me. I rolled my eyes. "Fine, but we can't be gone long; I need to go check on Hailey."
Hunter and I made our way out to the front of the house, and I heard someone call my name. I turned around, and noticed it was Ricky, one of the football players from high school.