Page 45 of The Perfect Hit

There would always be things to miss from Buffalo, but I think Seth overshadowed most of those.

We made it to dinner at Serena’s house, and I was impressed by her and Ben working side by side in the kitchen, laughing and talking about something. Was that what Colt was doing right then with Marcy?

Ugh, I needed to get over it and not worry about him. It wasn’t like a dance could change a whole lot, or could it?

Dinner went well, and Adam and I made small talk here and there, mostly listening to the conversations of the other couples.Yeah, not awkward my foot, Brynn.The other couples were cozy and cuddly, and I just hoped to make it through the dance without falling apart.

Arriving at the dance, my heart raced a bit, knowing I would have to dance with Adam and that the person I really wanted to be in front of was Colt.Why hadn’t this revelation come to me a couple of weeks ago?

We walked into the gym where everything had been set up to look like a beach. Decorations of palm trees and tons of balloons were hung up all over. On the table were little pineapple and watermelon decorations, and they were so cute. At least that was keeping me from thinking about the few dances I’d gone to with Seth. I didn’t need those memories to surface now.

The group got onto the middle of the floor and danced to a faster song, one of the popular ones by ColdStar. It was a group Colt had introduced me to and was about the only one I knew of outside of Broadway show tunes.

Poor kid.

Why would he like me when I tortured him with things that no other guy listened to? No wonder Seth broke up with me.

A slow song came on, and my gaze darted everywhere but at my date.

“Do you want to dance?” he finally said, holding out his hand.

“Uh, sure,” I said, holding on to his biceps loosely since he was too tall for me to put my arms around his neck. We swayed back and forth, my stomach all tied up in knots.

“You look like you’re worried about something.”

I glanced up and saw Adam looking down at me. “Yeah, I’ve got a lot going on. I’m directing the school play, and, yeah, it’s been taking up all my brain power lately.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure that’s the only thing? I mean, you keep glancing over at the doors every few seconds. Are you waiting on someone?”

Man, this guy was observant. “I have a best friend and wanted to make sure I said hey when he gets here.”

Adam nodded and gave me a small smile. “That’s cool. I’ve never been in one place long enough to have a best friend.”

That thought hit me, and I tried to keep the wave of tears back. “Well, hopefully, you won’t have to move this time and can get to know some of us. We’re not all crazy.”

We both laughed at that, and even though things were easing up in my stomach, I was still relieved when the song changed to a faster, upbeat tempo again.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Marcy walking in dressed like a tropical bird. I turned to see fully, and Colt walked in dressed as a palm tree. Well, that was a first. I didn’t know if I was going to cry or laugh at what he was wearing, and that he wasn’t there with me, being his milkshake to my brownie sundae.

Breathe in, breathe out.

He must’ve spotted me because he waved, but I couldn’t read the expression on his face. I thought I’d figured out all his expressions in the months since we’d become best friends.

And what did I do? I glanced away and pretended like I hadn’t seen him.

Adam brought us drinks from the table, and we sipped at them a few times before he said, “So, about your best friend. Do you have feelings for him?”

I glanced up at him in shock. What was I supposed to say to this guy?

“He’s a good guy. I just messed up.” Yeah, by taking him for granted.

Adam shrugged. “Take it from me. There’s always time to fix things, unless you’re moving the next day.”

A slow song turned on, and I absentmindedly took my place next to Adam while watching as Marcy sidled up next to Colt. It should’ve been me who was dancing with him.

I had to use my acting experience for this one. The focus was to cover up the hurt and not show Colt how much I wanted to be with him and tear him away from Marcy.

I glanced up at Adam, trying to think of something we could talk about and hopefully make this less awkward for him.

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