A year ago
Mount Valley

I watched Parker, my boyfriend – now fucking ex-boyfriend – suck faces with another girl on the sofa, his chocolate brown hands roaming down her body until they disappeared under her dress.

I tried to see if I was hurt. He was my first boyfriend, after all. I should even feel sick and disgusted at the sight I was seeing right now. But all I could feel was the hit to my fucking ego. The dick made a fool out of me.

The kicker? It was my birthday.

I could go over there and drag the bitch's hair before breaking his horny balls, but I didn't want to ruin my night. They were not worth the drama.

Deciding I was gonna get wasted as fuck in this party thrown for me by the crew, I headed to the kitchen. I was almost there when I ran into my manwhore best friend, Alfie. I couldn't blame him. Being a talented quarterback gave him easy access to as much pussy as he wanted. It helped that he was good-looking too, with his dark hair and panty-dropping smile.

When he saw my face, his expression instantly grew serious. I was about to go around him but he caught my arm to stop me.

"Hey, what's up?"

I looked away. I wasn't in the mood for his shit. If he kept pushing me, I might punch his gorgeous face.

"What'd he do?"

My eyes snapped up to his. He wasn't gonna let this go, was he? I hated how he immediately knew what my problem was by just looking at my face.

"It's my problem," I said firmly, pulling my arm away from his grip.

I continued walking but he grabbed my waist to hold me still.

"What the fuck did he do, Connie?" he growled.

"Just mind your own fucking business."

He ignored me. "Did he hurt you?" he demanded, eyeing me from head to toe.

"No!" I snapped. "God, stop it with the third degree!"

"Then, tell me what the fucker did!"

"I can take care of myself! Don't treat me like a child!"

"I will if you stop acting like one!"

I scoffed, pulling back. "Oh, that's just fucking rich."

Before I knew it, he had me backed me up against the wall, caging me in. He placed his fist on the space beside my head and leaned down closer to me. He looked ready to murder someone.

"What did he do?" he asked, through gritted teeth. "I won't ask again."

I knew he was serious. I also knew that he wouldn't give. He was as unbreakable as Captain America's shield when it came to his stubbornness.

"Alright, fine," I breathed out, giving up. "I saw him practically fingering a bang bunny in the living room. They're probably fucking right about now."

Anger glazed over Alfie's dark green eyes. His jaw clenched, and I caught his arms flexing as if he was pushing his fist into the wall.

"That motherfucking son of a bitch."

Oh, shit. I knew where this was going.

"You know what, I don't even care," I said, trying to cool him down. "He can go sleep his way to the city if he wants."

He glared at me. "Why the fuck shouldn't you care? He swiped your goddamn V-card. He should –"

"Hold up, what?" I asked incredulously. "No, he didn't."

"What?"

"He didn't – We didn't..." I shook my head. "We didn't do it."

Alfie blinked, looking stunned. "Oh."

"Yeah," I muttered, shrugging. "Still a virgin."

We didn't speak for a few moments. People passed us by, but we were hidden in the corridor to the basement. During parties like this, the basement was off-limits – that place was only for the crew. That was why nobody came by this way.

Alfie pulled his hand off the wall and stepped back, giving me space. His tall figure hovered over me. I wasn't even that small, just a little above the average height.

"Want a beer?" he asked, appearing to have calmed down a bit.

I shook my head, and replied, "I want a shot of Tequila." Not waiting for him, I headed to the kitchen. "Lots of 'em."

I was drunk.

I couldn't remember the last time I was this drunk. I missed the feeling of being elated, not giving a shit to the world and laughing at absolutely nothing.

Yeah, I think I ate one of Kurt's happy brownies.

Granted, I wasn't so wasted to the point of puking my guts out like I originally planned. But this was more than enough.

I caught sight of Alfie watching me from across the kitchen. He was leaning on the counter with his arms crossed over his chest. He didn't have a disapproving look on his face. He was just... watching me, with those dark green eyes that seemed to see through me every single time they meet mine.

I couldn't deny that him looking at me like this made me feel things. It made my heart beat faster. It made me excited. And... it made some parts of my body tingle.

Why the hell did he have to be so damn gorgeous?

Out of all my friends, he was the only one I had to watch myself from staring at too long – because he was the only one I've had a crush on for as long as I could remember. I covered it by being a bitch to him all the time, and it had been working so far. But that was because I had self-control.

Right now? Not so much.

That was why when Alfie walked over to my side of the room and grabbed the Tequila bottle from my hand to take a swig, I didn't stop staring. I watched his adam's apple bob up and down as he chugged what was left of the bottle.

When it was empty, he placed it down on the counter behind me, bringing his face so close to mine that I could practically smell the faint cologne on him. His eyes then traveled to me, before his tongue darted out and licked his bottom lip.

I gulped.

"Stop," he whispered huskily.

"Stop what?"

"Stop looking at me like you want to fuck me."

My eyes snapped up to meet his. "So what if I do?"

Arousal flashed in his eyes. "You're drunk."

"I'm not that drunk," I admitted.

He studied me, trying to see if I was lying. But with the number of times we got wasted together over the years, he knew I was telling the truth.

"You'll regret it in the morning."

"I won't," I assured him.

Tonight made me realize that I'd rather have my first time with my best friend than give it away to someone temporary. I didn't doubt that our friendship was solid enough not to be ruined by a one-night-stand.

We stared at each other for a while. He was trying to see if I was bluffing. Tough luck, dude. I was serious as hell. Realizing that, he squeezed his eyes shut and sighed.

What, did he think he was doing me a favor by being a gentleman with me? Was he seriously passing up sex?

"I don't know, Con," he said, confirming my suspicion. "You're drunk –"

Fuck it.

I closed the gap between us and kissed him. God, his lips were just as soft as they looked. For a couple of seconds, he didn't move from being caught off guard. When I opened my mouth and licked his bottom lip, he suddenly came alive.

Cupping the back of my neck, he slanted my head to deepen the kiss while his other hand went to my waist. He inched under my shirt and I gasped at his touch. He took advantage of my open mouth and the moment his tongue touched mine, a moan came out. My hands flew to his hair, grabbing onto this high.

The sound of a bottle crashing made me pull away.

I opened my eyes and I wasn't prepared for what I saw. Alfie's gaze on me was so heated that I felt like I was surrounded by lava.

"I told you," I managed to say, though with a hoarse voice. "I'm not that drunk."

His jaw clenched, and he looked determined. He eyed my mouth and was about to lean forward when someone banged on the kitchen door.

It was Kurt.

"Got your text, man," he said, nodding to Alfie. When his eyes wandered to me, he gave me a lazy salute. "Game time. We need mops, though."

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you need the mops for?"

Our big friend only shrugged. "Cleanin' up messes and shit."

On normal circumstances, I would've pushed for more details. But since I was still enjoying the buzz brought on by that awesome alcohol, I loosened the reins and let them do stupid shit. Not like they didn't already.

"You check the garage," ordered Alfie. "I'll check upstairs."

"Gotcha." With that, Kurt dashed out.

Alfie gave me a look that said he would be back for me, before leaving the room without another word. What the hell was that? Out the window, I caught a bunch of guys from the football team heading to the pool house. They all looked like they just finished hunting and were about to devour their meal.

Holy shit.

I followed Alfie out the hallway and up the stairs. I had to run in order to catch up to him, and I finally did when he entered a supply closet.

"Whatever it is you're planning with Kurt, let it go."

So much for loosening my reins.

He snickered. "Yeah, no."

Turning his back to me, he continued to search for the mops. With all the crazy shit these dicks have pulled, I could only imagine what they came up with now.

"Call it off, Alfie," I deadpanned. "I'll deal with Parker on my own."

He looked angry when his eyes landed on me. "I'm not letting you be alone with that cocksucker after what he's done."

This was beginning to frustrate me, and I was losing the happy buzz that I was quite enjoying just a few minutes ago. Dammit, Alfie.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" I demanded, throwing my hands in the air. "I – don't – fucking – care!"

He snapped. "Yeah? Well, I do!" He stalked over to me and got in my face. "No one fucking treats you like that."

I wasn't sure who made the first move. One second, we were breathing hard and glaring at each other. The next second, he had me pinned on the nearby table with my arms and legs wrapped around him, while our mouths were molding together in sync.

I moaned when I felt the bulge in his pants hit my core through the clothing. Fuck, I wanted our clothes off.

It was Alfie's turn to groan when I shivered in delight the moment his fingertips brushed the sensitive parts of my chest through my bra.

"Hey, you sure about this?" he whispered against my lips.

I pulled away and looked him in the eye so he could see how serious I was. I just hoped he didn't also see how deep my feelings ran for him.

"Yes, I'm sure," I said softly, nodding. "Now take off your shirt."

"Still bossy even when you're horny, huh?" He chuckled, but took off his shirt all the same. "That's okay, you'll be begging me soon enough."

"You wish." I scoffed, though that skeptical sound quickly turned into a satisfied sigh when his mouth started trailing kisses on my neck.

"Is that a challenge?" He sounded amused.

"I'll never beg."

"We'll see about that."

As if to seal the deal, he brought his head up and placed his lips back on mine. I felt like I was on fire and it was electrifying whenever his skin made contact with mine – which was fucking everywhere.

But then, the door suddenly opened. When Alfie and I turned our heads to the interruption, I had an intake of breath. Standing there, looking lost and dumbfounded, was our other best friend.

Oz.

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SURPRISE! This is my little birthday treat for you dudes! Hope you enjoyed :D

Well, this is a sizzling little introduction to Alfie and Connie's history, isn't it? Don't worry, we'll be back to the present in the next chapter ;)

If you didn't read Cruel Me (first book) and you want to read what happens next, check out Cruel Me in my works and go to Chapter 31: No Diggity.

Next update: Sunday (May 12th)

Coming up next... Chapter 18: The Black and White