Page 33 of Bliss: Part 1
“Whose bed were you in?”
That question would’ve sounded strange in other people’s ears. But in ours, it didn’t.
“Dash’s.”
He gave another nod before turning his head toward the TV again. I kept my eyes on him, letting them fall to his bare chest. The TV cast shadows across his throat and collarbone, and the lines of his muscles made my body tingle. I tried not to stare but failed.
“You went out earlier,” he said after a while.
“Yeah. I went to the gas station to grab a snack.”
He didn’t question it. Just wanted to make sure I didn’t do anything stupid.
“I saw Emily.”
His lips twitched. “Bet that was fun. Did you talk to her?”
I nodded. “She invited me to Tyler’s party.”
His brow lifted. “Yeah? And are you coming?”
“I wasn’t going to. But then I found out that all of you are going.”
Tripp chuckled and reached over with his hand, patting my knee before resting it on my thigh. “We were going to tell you.”
“I’m not sure you were.”
“Come on, Lissy. It’s not like you enjoy those kind of parties with those type of people.”
“If you’re there, I always want to go,” I stated, crossing my arms loosely across my chest. “I’m coming tomorrow.”
“That’s fine.”
I tensed my jaw and waited a moment before adding something more. “Emily said she wants you guys there because you’re hot.”
He laughed. “Well. Lucky for us, that’s a given.”
I rolled my eyes, smiling despite myself. “She basically said I was only invited because of you.”
“She’s still a bitch, huh?”
“Maybe a little worse now,” I said. “Like she doubled down on it.”
“Some people never grow up. They just get louder.”
I picked at the edge of the blanket, letting his words linger between us. “She’s always made me feel this way. Like I only belong places when you guys are around. Or others who laughed at whatever she said when making fun of me.”
“Don’t let her get to you. You know people like Emily have nothing but shit to say, and all for a little attention. One day, everyone around her will push her away because they realize how empty her words are. She’s drama and noise, and it will someday backfire.”
I just nodded. As much as I liked listening to Tripp say all these wise things, I didn’t want to spend this moment talking about a person I disliked.
Therefore, I changed the subject. “Do you have any plans for the next six weeks?”
He traced his fingertips along my thigh and knee, doing it so absentmindedly that he couldn’t be thinking anything sexual by doing so. This was normal. This was us.
“No. Other than celebrating Rhys and Ashby’s birthday, not really,” he said, his fingers still drifting lightly against my skin. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” I said quietly. “Just wondering if you’re gonna be around a lot. You’ve been a bit more distant than the others lately.”
