Page 25 of Perfect Tragedy
“Want to dance with me?” Mario asks surprising me.
“Me?” I ask surprised.
West looks immediately annoyed and says, “Dude!”
Mario shrugs.
“No. She’s going to dance with me.”
My insides fall at the sound of his voice. I didn’t see or hear Blake approach too caught up in those around me. My head snaps in his direction. “What?” I ask in shock.
“Will you please dance with me, Si?”
As it always does when he’s near, everything else becomes inconsequential and I find myself nodding and he’s smiling as he pulls me onto the dance floor, but not before I capture him giving what appears to be a mocking smile to the guys at the table.
His arms wrap around my waist and he pulls me close. My heart stutters and for a moment I’m afraid I’m going to make a fool of myself and collapse - dramatic I know - but he makes me feel irrational at times.
“Won’t Hailey be mad?” I ask.
He shrugs, “You and I have been best friends forever. No way I wasn’t going to have at least one dance with you tonight. She can have a problem with it all she wants,” he says matter-of-fact.
Sometimes I hate that word.Friends.Yay, me.
Choosing to take advantage of the moment, I place my ear against his chest as we sway side-to-side and I could be mistaking, but I’m pretty sure his heart is pounding as fast as mine.
“Are you having fun?”
I can feel his chest rumble with his words and it makes my cheek tingle. “I am,” I admit. “I wasn’t sure I would, but I really am.”
“Good,” he murmurs. “That’s good.”
“Are you?” I ask in return.
He shrugs.
“So, when are you and Jack going to finally tell me where you’re going to college?” I ask. The two of them made a decision a few weeks ago, but have been quiet about their decision - not telling me a thing. No one knows where they’re going except our parents, and Blake’s family I’m guessing, but no one is surprised that whatever they’ve decided it’s clear they’re going together. There’s been a lot of hushed conversations at home, sometimes a feeling of tension which I find confusing, and it’s starting to drive me a little crazy.
“I actually want to talk to you about that. Can you spare some time for me this week? So we can talk?”
Is the sky blue? Are unicorns majestic? Does a unibrow need waxed? What does he think?
“Yeah, of course,” I nod keeping my cool.
“Good,” he says softly, tugging me closer as another slow song begins playing as soon as the last one ends.
“Can I cut in?” West asks.
“No,” Blake says sharply. Surprised at his tone, I remove my cheek from his chest to look up at him and find him glaring behind me to where West is clearly standing. “We’re talking.”
“That wasn’t very nice,” I tell him.
He shrugs at me, a small smile pulls up his mouth in the corner, a dimple winking at me.
“West is a tool. Cares about the hockey stick in his pants maybe as much as the one in his hands during a game if you get my drift.”
“He seems nice,” I reply
He makes a noise of disagreement.
