“That I do, Lex. That I do. But she didn’t really have to guilt me into making sure you guys got into the party. You know that I wasn’t letting you go to your first official college party without being there.” Jackson took a sip from his beer, glanced at the girls around us, and carried on the conversation like they weren’t there. “Where did my sis run off to?”
“Oh, she’s around here somewhere. She can’t get into too much trouble since everyone knows she’s your sister, right?”
“Ha! You know better than that. Aubrey doesn’t need to find trouble—it finds her. Lucky for me, I planned ahead and asked a few of the guys to keep an eye on her tonight. Figured I would need reinforcements to make sure we make it through the night without my having to beat the shit out of anyone.”
I couldn’t deny that there was a real possibility that Jackson might get into a fight tonight, even if it wasn’t because he was pulling Aubrey out of a situation she couldn’t handle. He had a very short fuse and was quick to jump down someone’s throat if he thought they’d fucked up. Over the years, Aubrey had certainly offered up several guys who got the shit kicked out of them by Jackson when they wouldn’t leave her alone after she’d dumped them. It wasn’t that she got into trouble often. It was just that her ex-boyfriends never seemed willing to let go.
“Aubrey doesn’t have any ex-boyfriends that go to school here yet, so she shouldn’t get into too much trouble,” I reminded Jackson.
“But I am sure she is working on meeting her next ex, right?”
“Well, there was a guy that she was flirting with over there. He seemed nice enough. He had an under-twenty-one stamp, too, so I would guess he’s a freshman or sophomore.” I pointed over to Aubrey so he could see where she was at across the room.
“Good. I don’t recognize him, and if he had a hand stamp then he isn’t one of my frat brothers. I’d hate to have to kick a brother’s ass later if things go south.” Jackson finished off his beer. “Want another one?” he asked as he tapped his empty cup against mine.
I nodded, so we headed over to the keg to grab another drink. As we walked away, I could hear one of the girls whining Jackson’s name. He just shook his head at her as he held on to my hand so he wouldn’t lose me in the crowd.
“So Aubrey isn’t the only one working on their next ex around here?” I asked Jackson.
“It wasn’t like that with her. You know how girls can be. Sometimes they think things are more serious than they really are.”
Aubrey wasn’t the only one in her family who’d left a trail of broken hearts in their wake. The big difference between the two was that Aubrey jumped into relationships and then bailed when she got bored. Jackson never let it get that serious. There were always girls around—he just never called them his girlfriends. It had always surprised me how he treated the girls he’d slept with when he would kill a guy if he treated Aubrey or me the same way, but Jackson always told me that the girls he was with had known the score and had nobody to blame but themselves if they thought he’d been willing to give them something more.
When we made it over to the keg to grab another beer, my attention was drawn to the kitchen door. Just outside, an argument was taking place between a screaming girl and a super hot guy who stood staring at her with his arms crossed in front of his chest. The girl was gorgeous and dressed to the hilt. Her platinum blond hair was perfectly straight and her makeup expertly applied while her outfit had clearly set her back big bucks. Too bad for her that the attitude didn’t appear to match the wrapping.
Holy crap. I could only see the guy she was yelling at from the side, but what I could see made me want more. There was something about him that pulled me like a magnet. He was a couple inches over six feet with dark brown hair that was spiked up a bit. His jeans clung to his tight ass and tapered down his long, muscular legs. He wore a bright blue polo shirt that stretched across his back each time he moved. He definitely worked out, but he was lean instead of bulky. Even with the girl yelling at him, he seemed so relaxed, like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Jackson turned to hand me my cup and noticed where my attention was focused. “Shit! Who told Sasha about the party? Hold on a second while I make sure Drake doesn’t need any help getting her to leave. Then we can check on Aubrey and head upstairs to my room to hang out. That way you can relax without pissing my sis off by heading back to the dorm this soon.”
“Okay, sounds like a plan to me,” I responded. It had been a long day between classes and my charter flight. I could use some extra rest. Besides, I didn’t need to ogle one of Jackson’s frat brothers who already had his hands full with women issues. That was just asking for trouble, even if he was smoking hot.