Not Even Close (A New Generation) by Elizabeth Reyes (books to read in a lifetime txt) 📗

up at him but then quickly turned to Joseph because she could hardly standto look in those hardened, yet infuriatingly sexy eyes for even another second.She was used to most guys towering over her, like Byron did but, in his case, hedidn’t just tower, he had a huge presence about him. One she’d been beyondattracted to before, only now she hated it.

“Joseph. Can you help me out here, sweetie?”

“We were just gonna go park my car somewhere legal,” Byron urged.

 Vannah scoffed at the irony. That he’d be thinking aboutlegalities when he’d been ready to take advantage of a young, obviously verydrunk girl was a joke.

“Listen, I don’t know what you think I was—”

Xochitl spewing out all her liquor suddenly as Byron jumped outof the way just in time interrupted whatever BS he’d begun to say. Even as Vannahheld Xochitl’s hair as she continued to throw up by the side of the car, she couldn’tunderstand why she felt almost hurt.

For a moment, when Xochitl had begun to giggle, Vannah hadstarted to feel hurt with her. If anyone knew how utterly infatuated Vannahwas with this guy it was Xochitl. But then she reminded herself the girl waswasted. Watching her friend hurl out her guts made Vannah feel guilty aboutwhat she’d begun to think.

Byron handed her a handful of napkins. The kind you get from fastfood places. “It’s all I have in my car.”

Ignoring her conflicting feelings, she took the napkins from him andhanded one to Xochitl. Her spewing had finally ceased, but she needed to cleanup. “Well, at least this happened here and not in an Uber on the way home.”

“You Ubered here?” Byron asked.

Vannah nodded as she smiled at her mortified looking friend.“Better?”

It was obvious Xochitl was still completely out of it, but atleast she wasn’t hurling anymore.

“I can give you a lift home.” Byron offered just as the wordsbegun to assault Vannah again.

It was obvious he wanted in her pants bad.

“No, way.”

“What? Wait—”

“I’ll take you home,” Joseph said interrupting Byron, thenglanced down at Xochitl. “Can you walk? I’m parked a few blocks away.”

Xochitl started to pull away from Byron’s car, but immediatelyclutched onto Vannah’s arm and leaned back against the car again. “Oh my God.I’m so dizzy.”

“That’s okay, I can go get my car.” Joseph reached into his pocketand pulled out his phone. “Will you be okay here without me?” He glanced atByron then back at Vannah. “I shouldn’t be too long.”

“That’s fine,” Vannah said again determined to not look intothose probing eyes. “We’ll wait for you.”

“Take my number down just in case.”

Tapping at her phone screen, Vannah added Joseph’s number intoher contacts. She hadn’t decided on whether she’d be giving him her number yet,but she had no choice now, when she’d call or text him later, he’d have it. Itwasn’t until Joseph was far enough away, that Byron spoke up again.

“You just met this guy?”

Glancing at him, Vannah refrained from breathing in deeply. Asmuch as she’d fantasied about him, she hated how much better looking he was upclose, damn it. She nodded but didn’t offer anything else.

“And you’re jumping in a car with him?”

With her jaw dropping open, Vannah shook her head. “As opposed tojumping in one with you? Someone who was about to take my drunk friendto park somewhere?”

“Yeah, so that we could—”

Byron jumped out of the way in time when Xochitl threw up again,but Vannah wasn’t so lucky this time. Xochitl got her right in the arm beforeshe started whimpering. “Oh, Vannah, I’m so sorry.”

Holding her arm away from herself and glancing around forsomething, anything she could wipe it down with, Vannah shook her head.“It’s okay, hon.”

Byron wore that same soured expression Vannah knew she was making,as he rushed to the back of his car and the trunk popped open. “Here,” he saidpulling out clothing and handing to her. Vannah took it and quickly startedcleaning her arm. “I have more if you need more. I forgot I had my gym bag backhere.”

Realizing she was cleaning up with his gym shorts, Vannah did herbest to stay composed. “Maybe one more,” she said reluctantly but Xochitl hadgotten her good.

This time he handed her a white tank like the one she’d seen himlooking so delectable in at the gym.

“There’s no way that guys getting back here anytime soon,” Byronsaid. “Look at that backup.”

Glancing up at the parking lot of a street, Vannah had to admithe had a point. She frowned pulling her own phone out of her pocket. “Maybe Ishould just call an Uber.”

“Because it’s gonna be able to get through this traffic soonerthan the other guy?”

“You can’t possibly expect me to be stupid enough to get in a carwith you, can you?”

“Fine,” he said slamming his trunk shut and stalking toward thedriver side door. “Suit yourself. My cars already here, but if you wanna waitan hour or more until you can get someone out here to pick you up, go rightahead.”

He got in his car as Vannah stood there struggling to pull Xochitlaway from it, wondering how long they’d really be out there waiting. Just asfast as he’d gotten in his car, he opened the door and popped out. “No. This isbullshit!” He started around the car again and toward Vannah, lookingjust as much as a daunting hard ass, as his brother did in all those photosonline. “I was trying to help your friend tonight.”

“Oh really? I heard you were all over her before you walked outof that party with her.”

“I was never in that party. I saw two guys trying to takeadvantage of her as I drove by.”

Vannah felt her bottom lip drop but recovered fast enough andturned to Xochitl. She was leaning against the car again looking like she mightpass out. “Is that true?”

Xochitl looked right through Vannah, like she hadn’t theslightest idea what they were discussing.

“Yeah, it’s true.” Byron sounded even more annoyed now. “Theywere about to take her back inside and upstairs at the request of those idiotsup there. You really think I could’ve just left the party, jumped in my car,and gotten back here