Page 93 of How to Get Revenge on a Cheating Ex
“Sorry,” Bailey says, not sounding the least bit sorry as we turn to face her friend. “It had to be done.”
“Uh huh.” Toni rolls her eyes, but she’s grinning. I think Toni’s getting off on this whole stick-it-to-the-cool-kids game we’ve got going on. She’s eyeing the crowd before us with a wary expression. “I’m glad you guys showed. I keep waiting for someone to toss me out.”
She’s exaggerating, obviously. But not by much. I take a look around at this crowd of football players and cheerleaders. Toni doesn’t fit in any more than I do. But I’d never let that stop me before, and tonight I’m proud as hell that I don’t fit in with Grayson’s friends.
I catch one of Macy’s besties sneering at me and I give her a wink that has her turning away so quickly she nearly topples into the basketball bro standing next to her.
“You could’ve driven here with us, Toni,” Bailey says. “You didn’t have to show up alone.”
“And risk ruining your grand entrance?” Toni arches a brow. “Never.”
Bailey laughs. Of the three of us, Bailey seems the least uncomfortable right now. Which is alarming considering she’d normally be votedgirl most likely to freak.
I mean, she’s not exactly reveling in the glares, but she’s not a ball of nerves like I’d thought she’d be either. And whatever anxiety she’s feeling, she’s hiding it well.
I’m probably the only one who sees that her smile is strained, and I know I’m the only one aware that her hand is gripping mine like she’s trying to crush some bones.
Meanwhile, Toni’s staring at the crowded pool area like she’s facing a firing squad, and all I can do is count the seconds until this is over.
I get why this is important to Bailey, but these people mean nothing to me. This party holds no appeal. Especially when the alternative is being at home alone with Bailey. Or at the movies alone with Bailey. Or at a restaurant alone with Bailey.
The clock is ticking on our pseudo relationship, and I resent the hell out of the fact that I have to share my time with her tonight.
I can admit it. I’m hooked on the girl. If Bailey were a drug, I’d have a major problem. I don’t know when it started, or how it got to this point, but I crave her touch like a fiend. The sound of her laugh alone is enough to make my heart start pounding.
This past week I found myself seeking her out just to talk. Totalk. And if that’s not a sign that I’ve lost my shit over this girl, I don’t know what is.
“Well?” Bailey says. Her smile is in full force now for the sake of these onlookers, and even though it’s strained, it’s the most gorgeous sight I’ve ever seen. “You ready to do this?”
How many times have I watched her smile up at Grayson just like this? And now, it’s mine. It’s for me.
“Grayson alert, six o’clock,” Toni mutters.
Okay, fine, maybe the smile is for Grayson’s benefit. But it’s still aimed at me. And I’ll take it. I’ll take whatever I can get for however long I can get it.
How pathetic is that? I’m like a freakin’ stray dog begging for crumbs and I can’t even bring myself to care.
This isn’t going to last forever. I know that, and I’ll deal with it when the time comes. But until it ends…she’s mine.
I ease my hand out of her death grip so I can wrap an arm around her and hold her close. I kiss the side of her head just above her temple and linger so I can talk directly into her ear without anyone overhearing. “You sure you don’t want to turn around and head out of here?”
I want her to say yes. I want her to say yes so badly it hurts.
She laughs a little too loudly like I’ve just said something funny. Apparently, we’re still being watched.
“We don’t have to do this, you know.” I’m serious. I’m deadly serious, and I think she knows it. “We can still leave.”
Her head tilts back so she can look at me.
Say screw it to this party, I silently urge.Say you don’t care what they think. Tell me you don’t give a crap what Grayson says about us.
“I want to do this,” she says through her forced smile. “Please, Zack.”
I let out a long exhale and see Toni arching her brows at me behind Bailey’s back. I think maybe she knows. About me, I mean. About how I feel. Toni’s perceptive like that, and right now I can’t quite meet her eyes because I’m afraid of what I’ll see.
If there’s even a hint of pity there, I’ll lose it.
Bailey’s gaze has gone all soft and pleading, and—what am I supposed to do, right? I can’t drag her away from here, not after I promised I’d do this.
