Everything: A Singed Wings Novel by Erin Noelle Page B

way, just like his dad.”
    I scoffed, shoving a fry in my mouth. “Yeah, and his dad’s known for being a conniving, deviant, slimeball attorney. He’s the biggest fucking tool I’ve ever met.”
    Billy considered me for a minute then went back to inhaling his two pieces of pizza. “Yeah, I guess. It’s just the only other times I’ve seen you that pissed is when Ashlynn’s involved, so I didn’t know if something had happened with her to set you off.”
    Shaking my head, I paused briefly when I thought I saw Belle across the room, but it turned out to be a false alarm. “Nah, I’m just ready to graduate and get the fuck out of here. Tired of all the immature crap and self-absorbed assholes.”
    “Dude, you’re gonna be in the music business. You’ll be surrounded with a bunch of self-absorbed assholes,” he contended with a snort. “The only difference will be they’ve got years of practice at it and the money in their bank account to support their behavior.”
    “Is my dad one?” I argued, raising my eyebrows.
    “Is your dad a what?” Jayla purred, as she slid onto the chair next to me, kissing me on the cheek in the process. “A hot-ass piece of man-meat? Abso-fucking-lutely.”
    Billy rolled his eyes and stood up with his already-empty tray. “No, he’s not, but your dad’s a rare cat. He gave it all up because he loved his family more than he loved himself,” he answered my original question, then quickly glanced over at Jayla before pinning me with his icy blue stare. “And you need to take care of that shit before it gets out of hand. Don’t spend your last semester of high school always pissed off over something you can control.”
    I pondered his words as he walked away, especially the part about what I could control. And as if on cue, Jayla scooted her chair closer to mine and wrapped her arms around my neck as she laid her head on my shoulder.
    “I told Ashlynn this morning I wanted to come over and hang out tonight,” she whispered in my ear. “You’re gonna be home, right? I’ve missed you, babe.”
    Time to control this shit, Everett.
    Ducking my head to slip out of her grasp, I pushed up to standing and shook my head resolutely. “I’m not your babe or your baby or anything else, Jayla,” I ground out in a low, menacing voice, careful not to make a scene. “Stop acting like we’re in some kind of relationship and stop using my sister to get to me. If I’d been interested in pursuing anything with you, it would’ve happened a long time ago. I wasn’t fucking joking with you when I told you it wasn’t gonna happen. You and me will never be a we . Not ever.”
    Her glossy red lips opened and closed several times as her beady black eyes narrowed on me. “B-b-but what about all those nights I snuck in your room?” she asked, finally finding her voice. “And what about this whole time I’ve been faithful to you, waiting for you to be ready? That doesn’t mean anything to you?”
    “I never asked you to be faithful or to wait for me,” I retorted, my irritation building rapidly. “I told you flat out where I stood from the very beginning, yet you continued to show up in my room. What, did you think if you made me come enough, I’d change my mind?”
    “Well, yeah!” she exclaimed, as she leapt to her feet, garnering the attention of people at the tables close by. “You didn’t seem to mind when you had your cock shoved down my throat and I rode your face every night last summer and each weekend since then. Sorry, I don’t read mixed signals very well!”
    Groaning, I scrubbed my hands over my face. I could not fucking believe she was doing this. Actually, scratch that; I could totally believe she was doing this. Which was exactly why I had to put a stop to it. Now .
    “Jayla,” I spit out her name like a bad taste in my mouth, “you’re embarrassing yourself. Whatever happened between us in the past is the past. It’s over and I’m not interested. Go find