spooner

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

Even though the DJ was not really pumping out the Music that Archer usually would listen to he appreciated that he did a good job of getting people pumped and out on the dancefloor. Even someone like him with two left feet enjoyed himself flopping around with his date. At least he could make April laugh with his movements. After a few dances, he realized that as much as he was enjoying dancing with April, there was one person he would like to this with the whole evening. Kavan.

When the song finished he grabbed April by the hand and lead her back to the table where Stella, Santiago, and now Carter stood. “I’ll let you take the next few dances.” he said patting the devil on the shoulder in an attempt at male bonding, which he regretted immediately. His face probably showing it. “I’m going to find my better half… see you guys later” he gave a small wave to the group as he made his way through the crowd in search of his boyfriend.

It didn’t really take that much time to spot the tall, dark, and handsome teenager standing and talking to some of their classmates. When Archer got closer he recognized the blond one as Jasper and the other one as… wait, what? Was that his cousin?! Why the hell was she here? He wracked his brain as he drew closer. He seemed to remember that his mother had mentioned that Dani and her family might be moving back. But seeing her at the dance was came as a shock.

When he arrived he snaked an arm around Kavan planting a kiss on his cheek. “Hey, Van… missed you!” he whispered to him before turning to the others. “Jasper… nice to see you.” His green eyes flicked to his cousin, confusion swimming in them. “Dani… surprised to see you here.” he began “I didn’t know you had moved already… also who brough-” then it hit him. Of course, his aunts had set up an old fashion cousin date for her and Max. Again he thanked the stars and the moon for April. If not for her maybe he was the one who had to commit social suicide and come to a dance with his cousin.

“Well… Welcome to King’s I guess!” he chuckled awkwardly. It wasn’t that he and his cousin didn’t get along. It was just that they had very little in common. And their father’s had always lumped Dani together with Warren as they both were athletic and Archer… was not. But before they could exchange more than pleasantries. The music got cut off and the room became silent and a familiar voice echoed through the speakers.

Archer’s eyes widened as Ryland spoke. What was happening? It sounded like the boy had had the realization of a lifetime. When he finished a lot happened at once, first Ryland stood awaiting Red’s response, then Torvie stood up in a huff and marched right over to Marisol and started talking very intensely.

His knee jerk reaction was to step in and defuse the situation but for the third time that evening, he had to convince himself: This is not your problem… stay out of it. Instead, he tightened his grip around his boyfriend and gave him a worried look.

“Happy Valentine…” he gave him a weak smile.

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

When Ariana’s eyes almost bulged out of her head when he had asked her to be his and all she could do was giggle nervously, it made Max worried. It sent a chill down the burly teen’s spine and gave him a pang in his stomach he just couldn’t shake off, though he tried with one of his huge smiles. He pushed himself off the wall again just keeping eye contact with Ariana as he stood silent.

While she was mulling his question over. Max looked around at the nature that surrounded them. It was weirdly calming as he watched the trees sway in the wind. Maybe he had made a mistake of asking Ariana this. He had gotten the feeling that she wanted to be with him, but maybe he was wrong.

Max turned his attention back to the bombshell in white that was standing in front of him. Raising his eyebrows indicating he was expecting an answer from her this century, his smile still intact.

“I- ” she bagan and paused. “You do know what you’re asking for, right?” she asked.

She was stalling.

“If I say yes, it means you don’t get to mess around with anyone else either. So, are you sure you can give up the playboy life? Because you know I don’t like sharing either.”

Max just stared at her when she finished talking, he couldn’t get himself to speak. Had he not just clarified that he was ready to be with her and only her? He was known to be slow to catch on, but Ariana had always been someone he would deem as smart. “Wha…?” he began still looking at her trying to figure out what her deal was. Then it hit him… she didn’t think he was the best option for her. Yet.

He scrunched his eyebrows together “You know Ariana…” he shifted on the spot where he stood. “If you think that about me... “ he began as he started to back away from her. “You think I asked you to be with me and only me and then not follow the same rules?” he crossed his arms in front of him his large smile now replaced with a frown, a rare sight for the lacrosse captain’s face. She wasn’t unsure if he could be with only her… she was unsure if she wanted to give up on her other options. “A simple no would have been better…” he stated. This whole interaction had not gone as he had anticipated and it had taken a toll on his ego. He was starting to get frustrated and frankly… done with the whole situation.

“You know what?” he asked Ariana trying to put on his usual smile “It’s fine.” he turned on his heel and began to walk back inside. “Let me know when you figured out what you really want…” he looked back at her with a smile before going back into the valentine’s dance.

Not really knowing where to go, he decided the best way to deal with this was to go sit down with his lacrosse team and their dates. Their loud shouting and laughter would drown out whatever thoughts he had. As he sat down Max was greeted loudly with fist bumps and pats on the back. He gave minimal efforts to reciprocate, all he could do was stare at the door he had just come through.

Cancelled - until next time family. Thank you for understanding.

The near five-hour drive to Vegas hadn’t been nearly as awkward as Nathan had thought it was going to be. It had turned out to be only him and Valeria in the Van, Leon had probably gotten stuck in the RV’s shower, knowing him. Val was in no mood talking about what had happened at the BHHS parking lot and Nate had no interest to ask about it either. He was still reeling from his decision to mend his relationship with Josie… which had turned into… something?

So they both spent the ride listening to music separately, Val with her earbuds in with a scowl on her face and Nate with his phone plugged into the van’s sound system turned down low. It was probably good for both of them to digest the morning on their own terms. Trailing after the huge vehicle, Nate could only imagine the shenanigans going on in it.

As they arrived at the flashy Bellagio Hotel Nate was almost embarrassed to leave the van with the valet as it definitely did not fit in with the luxury cars that it would sit amongst. But at least he knew that it would be safe there. Soon enough he realized that the Van was going to be the least of his troubles as he entered the lobby. He had left the group for just about 10 minutes and there was already a heated argument going on, so heated that the staff had to intervene.

“Really?” he groaned sitting in one of the plush blue sofas leaning his head back to stare at the colorful glass flowers covering the ceiling. Whatever they were arguing about he didn’t want to be a part of it. It was probably not important in any shape or form. When it came to his attention it was about who was going in which room he just rolled his eyes “Who cares?” he sighed, it’s not like they were going to be hanging out in the room all day anyway.

When leaving it up to draw came up he gladly swiped a mint from the bowl and just accepted the room he was going to be in. He smiled tightlipped waving his blue mint signaling that he was over the whole ordeal grabbing his bag and marching towards the elevators. He had volunteered to be the keykeeper, mostly so that he didn’t have to wait to get into the room. He was exhausted from the drive and all he wanted to do was to take a shower and have a nap.

He was quiet the whole elevator ride up not paying attention to whatever his friends were talking about. Nate almost ran out as the doors to the elevator opened on the 35th floor. The Grand Lakeview Suite was not hard to find and as soon as the door to it opened Nathan’s jaw dropped to the floor. It was like something he had never seen before and he was pretty sure he had audibly gasped as he took in his surroundings.

When the group had all entered he turned to his friends “I don’t really care where I sleep so I’m just going to grab one of the beds and whoever is next to me after I shower… hope you like being the small spoon.” he grinned sheepishly before searching for one of the bedrooms. When he finally found it, he quickly threw his bag on the bed and grabbed what he needed for his shower, and locked himself in one of the bathrooms for his longed after shower.

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

As time went on, Archer was getting more and more pleased with his choice to ask April to the dance. They spent time just enjoying each other’s company bopping along to the music. Not that it was either of their tastes in music it was fun to people watch from their table. Like how Chanel riled up some poor dude on the dance floor only to leave him wanting a cold shower in the middle of it, or how Ariel and Kavi were standing 6 feet apart staring daggers at each other but with fake smiles plastered on their faces. Archer had to remind himself that it was not his business…do not get involved.

But before he had the chance to decide if he wanted to intervene or not he was interrupted by King’s Academy’s resident ball of sunshine Stella Lambert. “Oh hey Stella!” the boy greeted, trying to match her enthusiasm. “We’re having a grand old time aren’t we mama April?” he grinned at his date patting her hand. “Not much going on... yet,” he said turning his head, craning his neck to see if Mari and Rye were still getting nasty on the floor. They seemed to have left to do something else, something PG he hoped.

As Santiago arrived Archer instinctively pulled his hand off April’s. It was stupid, he was pretty sure the devil knew he was gay as fuck. His goonies had made that abundantly clear over the years. But still being near the man, made Archer nervous. Santiago had never done anything against him, but that was probably because he was best friends with Max. But when he saw how he treated April the lanky teen couldn’t help but think that he might have misjudged the devil.

When the two sharp slaps hit Archer on his back he choked on his water that he had been sipping. “Uh... No… We’ve just been sitting here observing.” he spluttered wiping the water from his shirt with a napkin.

A huge grin spread across Archer’s face as April offered him her hand. “Well… I’m not much of a dancer. My boyfriend can attest to that!” he laughed. His green eyes quickly shifted to Santiago’s face to look for some kind of reaction to his words. Paranoid he looked away before he could find anything out. “But lets to this!” he said as they stood up and made their way to the dancefloor.

Project Untamed

---

Quinn had almost thrown her phone with the fright she got from a familiar blonde head appearing on her lap seemingly out of nowhere - yanking her out of the deep sea of thought she had been immersed in. It only took a second for her to recover from her shock, however, as she grinned down at her friend, pulling the earbuds from her ears to ensure she could hear everything Frankie was saying. Her eyebrows quirked at her correct guess, and she absent-mindedly ran a hand through her best friend’s hair which was currently splayed across her leg.

"You know me so well." She smirked. Normally, she wouldn't be this comfortable being so touchy with another person, but - as always - Francesca Allensworth was an exception for Quinn. She always found herself far more relaxed than her usual self when in her counterpart's presence, and ultimately in a better mood. She let her guard down while around Frankie - a rare feat in itself.

"Had another run-in with a tub of paint, hmm?" She gestured down at the girl's colorful fingers.

The blonde girl held up her hands to so the sunlight streamed through her fingers. The shades of blue and green that stained her fingers more noticeable now that she was outside. “I can’t start my mornings any other way, you know that!” she giggled.

"Any nude models hiding in your room?" She tutted.

"And so early on a Monday morning, Francesca."

Frankie just smiled dreamily up at her friend. “Well, not this morning…” she stretched her tired body across Quinn’s lap. “But some visitors have come and gone over the weekend.” she stuck out her tongue cheekily. She shifted her eyes to the side when she thought about how she had spent Friday night with Nicholas having their special kind of fun where they roast each other for hours and then make up in the best way possible. And then there was Saturday with Leo which was dedicated to pure animalistic lust.

“But you know me Quinnie… I never want them to stay.” she giggled as she sat up straight finishing her coffee. She put her back against the same wall as her friend looking at all of the students milling about.

Quinn did know - perhaps a little too well given her good friendship with one of Frankie’s conquests, Nicholas. She was not a stranger to chatting with him about his feelings towards her friend, and sometimes another girl, too; so she was well aware of their relationship. She had also heard more than enough when it came to Frankie and Leo - the pair’s similarities had not gone unnoticed by the brunette.

“What about you Quinn… you got yourself out there yet?” Frankie asked nudging her shoulder with her own.

Quinn laughed at that, shaking her head and trying her best to ignore the face that automatically popped into her head as soon as Frankie asked her. She had yet to honestly admit the feelings she felt when it came to said face to herself, so, for now, she had no intention of making any moves on that front.

“Nah, I’m all work and no play. The usual.” She smiled sideways at the girl next to her and went quiet for a second before forcing her stiff muscles to comply with getting up out of the position she had been sat in for perhaps a little too long.

“Oh well, another day awaits us.” Quinn announced dramatically, holding out a hand for Frankie to take to help her up.

Frankie sighed and took Quinn’s hand and stood up with a groan “You really should look into changing that… I have it on good authority that a lot of boys around here are lusting after you!” she laughed as she brushed off her denim overalls.

“And to tackle such a day, we need sustenance!” And so the pair made their way to the cafeteria, arm in arm. Rolling her eyes at Quinn ignoring her, Frankie gladly followed her best friend.

Quinn found herself surprised at how many familiar faces she recognized as they entered the cafeteria, slowing slightly as they went to collect their breakfast. She had tried many times to request that she skipped the morning meal - personally detesting the way eating so early made her feel - however her requests had time and time again been denied, so she had long-since decided to just suck it up. The food they were given was never too bad, anyway; it always seemed to be exactly what she had been craving at the time. And this time was no different. She grinned as a bowl of fresh berries was handed to her.

Quinn used the time Frankie took to get her own breakfast to sweep her gaze over who else was in the cafeteria. She made a mental note to herself to avoid where Sol, Sam, and Leo had settled themselves, knowing the tumultuous nature of Soleil and Frankie’s relationship. She personally didn’t have any problems with the girl, but nor was she particularly interested in a confrontation transpiring so early on a Monday morning.

As they walked through the cafeteria Frankie watched as her friend studied the route she believed to be the best way to avoid any drama. But Frankie never being the one to care headed straight towards the table where the ‘alpha’ trio sat. But she wasn’t stupid she didn’t want to start something this early in the morning, so quietly just passed the table. But as soon as she was behind Leo she shifted her tray to her one hand so that she could stroke the broad back of her boy toy with her free hand. Without saying a thing she squeezed his shoulder and looked back at him giving a flirtatious wink at him as she caught up with Quinn.

Quinn’s eyes traveled further across the room, offering a small smile to anyone who happened to meet her gaze, before it halted on a sight she was certainly not expecting to see. Theo. Shirtless. She gulped at the sight - hands momentarily tightening on her tray before she forced her eyes away from his torso, fearing that she had already been staring too long.

“You heard about the assembly tonight?” Quinn asked over her shoulder, a slight tremor to her voice, as she fell into step beside Frankie as they made their way to a table.

Frankie raised an eyebrow as she scooted her chair closer to the table. “Yeah, I read something about it… I’ll probably skip it!” she smirked “I can’t sit still for that long!”.

Quinn rolled her eyes at her best friend’s words. Typical. Always the conscientious student, she spoke up. “Well I’ll be there taking notes for you. As per usual.” The statement was paired with a smirk and a wink so that Frankie would know she had no problems with that, however the ever-so-slightly tense tone to her words had still not left as she was well aware of who was sitting at the table behind them. God, she needed to get a grip.

Frankie looked at her friend’s nervous face studying it to see if she could locate the reason for that small quiver in her voice. When she couldn’t find it her eyes traveled over Quinn’s shoulder and there she spotted the big oaf of a man that was Theodore Wallstrom. “Ah… there it is!” a sparkle could be seen in Frankie’s eyes.

“So… when you say all work and no play… does that mean even in your dreams… in the shower?” Frankie asked pointing her fork toward hunkulese’s table throwing her head back, her singsongy laughter ringing through the cafeteria.

Quinn almost choked on the strawberry she was currently chewing on, knowing exactly who Frankie was referring to without having to look to where she was pointing to. Damn her and her keen eye.

“What, Theo? We’re just friends.” She laughed off her friend’s suspicions for a second before her face became serious, leaning in across the table and towards Frankie to make sure no one else would hear.

Frankie stifled a small laugh “I didn’t say anything about ol’ Teddybear, that was all you” she feigned shock clutching her chest. “I mean I don’t blame you… look at him!” she tilted her head to get a better look.“But be careful cause I’ve heard that him and So-” she began before Quinn cut her off.

“Seriously, Frankie. Just friends. And I don’t wanna ruin that.” The finality of Quinn’s tone suggested that she didn’t want to talk about it anymore - at least, not right now. She would perhaps be a little less apprehensive if there were less prying ears surrounding them.

Another eye-roll was sent Quinn’s way “Fine… whatever.” she sighed and turned her focus back to her fruit platter.

“Besides, we have more important matters to attend to.” The seriousness in Quinn’s expression melted into one of excitement. “If I’ve heard correctly, there’s gonna be a party Friday night. And I’m pretty sure we’re invited.”

“A party?” she perked her head up. “Where? With who?” she asked quickly as she turned around to spot the group of girls all deep in conversation about what she guessed was this alleged party. Quinn must’ve heard the planning as they made their way over to the table. “Well we need to at least make an appearance!” she said as she popped the last grape in her mouth.

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

Max smirked when Ariana agreed to come with him. He placed his hand on the small of her back as he guided her out of the room and into the small back garden of the country club. When they were alone outside Max took his time looking at her. Which to his great pleasure mad Ariana look a little nervous even though she tried to hide it well. He cracked a smile almost as if to calm her down.

He leaned into her when she kissed him. He returned the kiss as passionately as ever pushing her against the wall. When he pulled away from her he placed a hand on the wall over her head and stared down at Ariana, his blue eyes sparkling in the fairy lights that had been hung up in the trees behind him.

“Well, it is now…” Max murmured, lowering his head to give her another kiss. “But there has been one thing that has been bothering me.” he continued pushing himself off the wall and turning around pacing a little in front of the dark-haired beauty.

“You and me both know that we are good together…” he stated looking back at her. “But I also… do not like to share!” he said with a jovial tone. He had seen Ariana and Jasper being close over the weeks, and of course, the King’s rumor mill (his cousin Archer) had also churned out news of her and date swapping kisses. Which had made Max irritated beyond compare. But he couldn’t blame her, they were not official… yet.

He stepped closer to her again almost enveloping her with his presence “So, what I am getting at is-” he paused again cupping her face in his hand before running it through her glossy hair. “If we want to do this…” he pointed between himself and Ariana. “I want to do it correctly. Meaning you are mine… and I am yours.” he bent down to give her another kiss. “So what do you say?” he pulled away to look around him “And I think we should try this public display of affection another try… finish what we started in the locker room” he grinned winking at her.

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

Julie Macmillan would be lying if she said she wasn’t having fun. Dancing around with Sonny without a care in the world proved to be just what she needed. The time she had spent on their outfits really showed as they spun around amongst their peers. Snickers could be heard all around them but in regular Macmillan fashion, the girl didn’t care one bit. As soon as the song ended the pair also stopped their dancing and Sonny offered to get them something to drink.

As she watched her date walk through the dancing crowd of students Julie spun around to see if something interesting could hold her over until Sonny came back. She was in luck because her blue eyes fell on her best friend Chanel as she was dancing with a random dude. Julie smiled widely as she made her way over to them. As she got close to them she spun graciously around them locking eyes with Chanel as she did. Julie backed up as she was dancing so that her back was against her best friend’s. “Coco you look wonderful! This C.M original fits you like a glove of course.” she gushed. She cast an eye towards the guy Chanel had caught in her claws. “Don’t worry… I won’t block you anymore.” the redhead laughed and winked at her best friend walking to the edge of the dance floor to wait for Sonny.

As she stood there waiting the song changed from the upbeat song that had been playing to a much slower song abruptly. Julie raised an eyebrow in confusion, the music had been very dance-friendly up until now. But this song was more suited for grinding than anything else. She turned around to see what was going on on the dancefloor, and it turned out that her opinion of the song was shared with most. Julie shook her head in amusement as she watched Chanel command the poor boy she was dancing with. When she continued scanning the floor she eventually landed on Marisol in a red dress being wrapped up in Ryland’s arms. She looked on for longer than she’d like to admit, it made her feel some sort of way but she couldn’t place what that was.

When Sonny arrived back Julie felt relieved, but the fact that he came back without the drinks he left to get and that his gaze was directed over her shoulder at his girlfriend dancing(or grinding) with someone she thought was one of his best friends made the girl a bit uncomfortable.

“I suppose we don’t have to stop dancing and I always wanted to try slow dancing, so how about it?”

Sonny smiled, taking ahold of her hand. Julie quickly glanced over her shoulder at Marisol and Ryland before slowly slipping her hand out of Sonny’s. Slow dancing was one thing, this song was made for something else. Not something that was suited for friends.

“Uhm… Why don’t we take a little break?” She smiled sweetly. “I’m actually kind of thirsty, are they out of drinks?” she asked looking down at his empty hands. She grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the big fountain of punch pouring out of it. Again she poured them both cups of the crimson liquid. Julie took a huge gulp and almost spit it back out again. Someone had definitely spiked the fountain.

“Ah… here we go! Someone finally made things a bit interesting” She giggled as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.

Meadow University

A low chuckle escaped Bastíen as Cassian lamented about what a brat Lola was. “I don’t know buddy, the word around the quad is that she’s ‘craaaazy’ in bed.”. The tall young man gestured wildly with his hands mocking his fraternity brothers who often ranked the hottest girls on campus and shared anecdotes about said, girls. Bas never really participated, he liked to sit in the back playing the grand piano softly in listening in and noting anything of worth.

When Cass revealed that it had been Lola that had sent out one of the videos to not only the faculty but the star swimmers coach Bas couldn’t help but laugh right out. “So, just plain crazy then?” he said turning to face his burly friend. He saw the fury simmering behind his stony facade, he had seen it in his brother many times, so he let out a sigh. “Don’t worry my friend… your coach is probably barging into the headmistress office right now.” he smirked at his friend. “The sports department is the biggest cash flow this place has and if they bench you that’ll drop sponsors faster than you kicked Theodore of you. I heard Coach Murphy is going ballistic as we speak!” he gave Cassian a knowing look

Bastíen tapped his lips with a slender finger as he thought about an answer. He really wasn’t the best to ask for relationship advice, mostly because he didn’t care about it enough. Sure he had urges like anyone else. But that’s what one night stands are for, he would usually grab the closest person who tickled his fancy and then be done with it.

“I guess it would be easier if I knew who you were referring to…” Bas began as they walked along the hallway. After a while he remembered seeing Cassian making eyes at a raven-haired girl on a skateboard. “Oh! Are you talking about that brash Asian girl?” He snapped his fingers like he had found out the answer to a particular hard math problem. “I don’t know man… she doesn’t really seem like the girl you would go for. Don’t you like girls who do whatever you say? So you can stare down at them and say ‘good girl’ or some freaky alpha shit like that?” He grinned widely and shoved his friend as Cass tried to read a message from his phone.

Bastíen shrugged “You know me, the chapter president of the ant-social social club.” He thought back to Friday night’s disappointingly (for him) uneventful bash. “Although I did manage to piss of a rather cute looking guy. He cursed me out several times… quite enthralling actually. But alas he ran off before I could do any real damage. I don’t even remember his name… Eric maybe… or Elias.” he mused for a while before shaking the image of the blushing bespectacled brunette out of his mind.

“Well, my friend! This is where I leave you! I got to finish this piece I’ve been working on for ages… it’s been bothering me. See you around Cassieboy.” and with that Basténn thew open the heavy oak door that leads into the art building and disappeared behind it as it closed.

Meadow University

“Fucking freshmen…” MacKenna grumbled as she continues chewing with a frown on her scrolling through er phone. “No… no the there is not only one video.” she said the annoyance growing in her voice. “See!” she exclaimed shoving her phone under Connor’s nose scrolling through the few videos under the #bashbrawl tag all with different angles. “And they’re all posted to anonymous meadow gossip accounts.” Mac almost growled.

She put down her wrap and crossed her arms in front of her still thinking. “You and I both know that the vegetables running this school wouldn’t have found this video on their own. Which means someone ratted!” she exclaimed slamming her palm down on the table. “But what little bitch would do something like that?!” she asked loudly.

“Pfft…” she exhaled an irritated breath crumpling her wrapper and tossing it back on her tray. “About as good as my neurotic dad could’ve taken it I guess.” she lamented still scrolling through her phone “I’m not that worried about it though my uncle is like the highest-ranked DA in the country, and if I know my cousin right she has already made him take action.” she said flicking her eyes up to Connor when he asked about some text message.

“Who? What?” she looked in her inbox as she asked the question. There it was a new text message from someone she had saved in her phone as ‘Int Com project partner’. _{“Hey...blabla..sorry for... groping… it was an accident”} Mac mumbled as she read the message that was clearly not meant to be sent to her. “Mmhmm ‘accident’...” she said in a none believer voice. “Well fuck... keep me out of it!”

The small Asian girl held up a hand as Connor started to talk about what had transpired at the bash. “Stop. You don’t have to apologize for those dickbrains.” she smirked. “I’m the one who should say sorry for blowing up on you…” Mac smiled at the blond. “Just let Theo know that he is an idiot… though I think he already knows this.” she laughed standing up and grabbing her the remnants of her lunch, throwing it away, and placing the tray on the pickup trolley. “Thanks for letting me vent Conner, see you around yeah?” Mac said flicking her hair over her shoulder as she made her way towards her next class.

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

Max’s smile stayed as wide as ever when his uncle opened the door. His signature booming laugh emanating from him as Theodore complimented him. “Thank you! You don’t look too bad for an old man yourself” he exclaimed opting to give his uncle a big bear hug even though his cousin looked like she wanted to die standing behind her father. “Glad to have you guys back” Max finished beaming at his aunt.

He just stood listening to his aunt as she cradled his cousin’s face. Trying to keep a straight face as she told them both they had a curfew. Maybe Dani had to be home by midnight… he sure as hell was not planning on being back by then.

“For sure Hayley, don’t worry I’ll see to it that Dani here will make it back by twelve.” he said in his best good boy voice shooting his cousin a quick wink.

Another laugh escaped him at Dani’s comment “Well we’re going to have to make it work… our mothers saw too that!” he continued laughing throwing his car keys in the air and catching them before pressing the unlock button making his truck emit a loud honk.

The cousins spent the car ride catching up, laughing, and jamming out to Max’s ‘get pumped’ playlist. Soon enough they were both stepping into the main ballroom at the Crown Height’s country club.

It didn’t take long before Max spotted what he was looking for, Ariana. Only she could wear so little and still look so damn sexy. He smirked at the sight of her standing there taking selfies with her date. He turned to Dani “So uh yeah… Sorry to leave you like this but… I have something I need to… finish. Think of this as an opportunity to make new friends!” he grinned patting her on the shoulder.

As he made his way through the crowd he stopped to bump fists with some of his teammates. Wink at a few of the cheerleaders before he made it to the other side of the room where Ariana and Jasper stood posing.

“Sorry dude… is it ok if I steal her away for a couple of minutes?” He asked putting a friendly hand on the lanky guy’s shoulder.