Next round, Garrett lost.[]

His punishment? Pick any girl bin /bthe room and give her a hickey on her chest.

Something about this whole party felt dirty as hell.]

I’d just texted him–he’d obviously seen it but was pretending he hadn’t.]

Now he was reaching for his drink, probably nning to take the penalty shot instead.]

But Tiana beat him to it, plopping right down in hisp and wrapping her arms around his neck.[]

What’s wrong with you?” she yelled. “Got yourself a girlfriend and forgot about daddy?“[]

“It’s just a damn hickey!“[]

“Come on, daddy’s got you covered!“]]

The whole room cracked up again.]]

Garrett’s buddies started half–heartedly trying to intervene.]

“Come on, Tiana, give the guy a break. His girlfriend’s right here.”

“Yeah, knock it off.” Another friend reached over to pull her away.

But Tiana’s eyes were ssy, her lips in a pout as she whined, “It’s just for fun! What’s the big deal?“|||

She turned back to Garrett, pushing her chest out: “Garrett, you want this hickey or not?”

And just like that, she pressed those D–cups right up against his face.]]

Garrett’s ears immediately turned red, and then–I shit you not–hetched onto that soft flesh like his life depended on it.]

Tiana threw her head back, making these little “mmm” sounds like she was having the time of her life.]

When Garrett finally pulled away, there was this angry red mark on her pale skin.[]

Everyone started snickering with that gross, knowing vibe.

The only bawkward /bthing in the room was me being there.]

I felt like I was gonna explode, but I kept telling myself to hold it together until we could talk privately.[]

But then Tiana did something thatpletely blindsided me []

She actually reached down and grabbed Garrett’s crotch–just a little squeeze, like it was nothing.]

Then she giggled and said, “Damnb, /bboy, you’re still growing, huh?“]]

Garrett’s face went tomato–red, and when he looked at me, he couldn’t meet my eyes.]]

Tiana acted like nothing happened, bouncing over to me with this fake–sweet smile.[]

“Hey girl, you’re not madb, /bare you?“]]

I started to get up. I needed air.]

This was too much!]

?????

And honestly, I was starting to wonder if Garrett and I were evenpatible.]]

My parents had already expressed some doubts about him.[]

T

The whole ckwell family business was tanking, and they needed a serious cash injection to stay afloat.]]

Mom had mentioned it in passing, but I’d brushed it off for three reasons:[]

One, our families went way back–our parents had even joked about arranging our marriage when we were kids.[]

Two, Garrett was gorgeous. Like, stupidly hot in exactly the way that got to me.

Three, I’d always thought he was this sweet, gentle, stand–up guy.[]

Today was shattering that illusion real quick.

“Listen, girl,” Tiana was saying, “Garrett and I basically grew up in the same crib. We’ve got

history.“]

“Back in the day, he used to spread his legs and ask me to touch him, wanted to know if he was getting bigger.“]]

I kept my face nk, just brushing her hand off my shoulder.[]

She looked annoyed and pressed onb: /b“What’s your name again? Sutton?“]

“So I heard you’re mixed race? What kind of mutt are we dealing with here?“[]

At the words, the whole room exploded withughter.[]

“Leave it to our girl Tiana to keep it real! Mixed race–that’s just a fancy way of saying mutt, right?“[]

I looked straight at Garrett.[]

He wasughing too!]

Was this shit actually funny to him?!]

Tiana was eating up the attention, waving her beer bottle around like she was giving a toast.[]

“These days, when animals get all mixed up, they ain’t worth shit anymore!“[]

Another round of obnoxiousughter.[]

SMACKI

I pped her so hard the sound echoed through the whole room.[]

Tiana stumbled backward, clutching her cheek as it swelled up red.]

“You… you fucking hit me?!“)]

“Damn right I hit you, you purebred bitch,” I shot back. “So what’s your worth? How much for the whole night?“]

Before she could answer. I grabbed a fistful of her hair and pped her other cheek just as hard.[]

I’d never been disrespected like this in my entire life!]]