Breaking The Rules

Chapter 19

I took a long drag of the blunt Mila was gracious enough to bring over. The burn settled in my chest as I leaned against the side of the house. The cool night air whisked away the smoke as soon as I exiled, helping keep our little hiding spot a secret. I wasn't in the mood to share.

Ever since Miller had benched me, I was turning to Mary Jane more than I would like to admit. In most cases it was the only thing that helped pass the time while the boys were at a game.

Mila bumped my elbow with hers, a non-verbal cue that I'd been doing more puffing than passing. I handed the skinny blunt back to her as she scrolled through her phone. We weren't saying much––something I appreciated about the raven hair girl standing next to me. The girl knew when I needed a minute.

Her stained lips parted as she exhaled, umber eyes tracking the images inching across her screen. "How much longer until you're back on the ice?" She asked, cutting into the silence I was coming to enjoy.

I shrugged my shoulders, taking the blunt back when her fingers extended towards me. "Shouldn't be too much longer now."

It better not be.

This was my senior year, and while I had offers on the table, I knew they could be taken faster as they came if I wasn't producing. Miller knew that too. Being benched not only hurt my standings, but the team's as well.

Sure, Fenton University had a Division 1 hockey team, but the community paid very close attention to the number of drafts picked up by the NHL. Having a D1 team meant nothing if they weren't producing prospects. Enrollment depended on it.

"Well, can you tell them to hurry up? People knowing that I fuck the bench warmer is getting embaressing," she said, the light from her phone illuminating her grin.

I rocked the side of my body into hers, causing her to giggle. "That says more about you than me," I mused, bringing the blunt to my lips and taking a pause. "Since when did your standards get so low?"

Mila's lips formed the perfect 'O', beckoning a myriad of dirty thoughts to filter through my mind. "Your ego is larger than life, do you know that?"

"There's a lot of things about me that are larger than life."

The sly wink I sent her caused her to roll her eyes.

"Debatable."

"I have a video of us two from the other night if you need a reminder."

Mila leaned her shoulder against the brick wall, tongue brushing across her lips. "My memory is working just fine, thanks. But maybe you can refresh my memory later?"

The blinding beam of headlights cut off my response. Who else had Booker invited to Celeste's little surprise party? When I mentioned what she and I had spoken about when she had come home with a bum ankle, the guy had taken full reign on party-planning. From what I was told, it would just be a few of the guys coming by to celebrate.

But when a second car of college students pulled in, something told me that he might have extended the invite list.

"This wasn't in the original plan" I muttered under my breath, flicking the end of the blunt away and standing up straighter. The sound of more voices floated over from the driveway.

Mila barely looked up from her phone. "Looks like your quiet little party's about to get a lot bigger."

"Great," I grumbled, snuffing the last piece of my peace and quiet under my boot and heading back inside to see what the hell was going on. Mila trailed behind me, completely uninterested.

As soon as I opened the door, the music emitting through the sound system in the living room hit me. The car-full of people had already made their way inside, crowding around the kitchen as Booker unsheathed the liquor we had hidden in the cabinets.