Page 84 of How to Get Revenge on a Cheating Ex
Bailey tilts her head my way to give me a wicked grin. “So that was...”
“Proof,” I say.
“Still proving that we’re a couple?”
I shake my head and reach for her hand. “Proof that you’re no frigid bitch.”
She flinches slightly at the reminder of Macy’s parting barb, and I’d very much like to murder Macy right about now.
“She’s not totally wrong, though,” Bailey says.
My grip on her hand tightens. “Bailey, trust me when I say you’re not frigid. You’re freakin’ hot as hell.”
Her lips curve up slightly and a hint of pink creeps into her cheeks. “Thanks, but I meant she was right about me being a virgin.” She glances over, but her eyes don’t quite meet mine. “I guess you weren’t there for that part.”
“So, she called you a virgin.” I shrug. “So what?”
She pulls her knees in and wraps her arms around them. “Do you think she’s right? I mean, is that why Grayson cheated?—”
I put a finger over her lips because I honestly can’t stand to hear her even say it aloud. I definitely can’t take the uncertainty in her eyes right now. “Listen to me, Bailey, and listen good.”
Her gaze holds mine and everyone else seems to disappear. There’s just us, and the music, and the night sky. “If Graysoncouldn’t wait until you were ready, then he’s even more pathetic than I’d thought.”
Her eyes widen in surprise, and they’re suspiciously wet when she nods. I drop my finger from her lips.
“You’re right,” she murmurs. “I know you’re right.”
We sit and watch the musicians for a while in relative silence, but when she starts to shift, trying to find a comfortable way to sit in the grass, I tug her closer so she’s between my legs and resting against me, her back leaning against my chest. She turns her head and I catch a glimpse of her smile. “This is nice.”
“You’renice,” I shoot back.
She makes herself comfortable against my shoulder and I glance over to see that Grayson, Macy, and the others are heading out. To a party, I’d guess.
We don’t make any move to leave, and we pass another long, peaceful silence listening to the music. When the breeze kicks up and I see her shiver, I wrap my arms around her to keep her warm.
She sort of snuggles in against me and...yeah. She’s not wrong. This is nice.
Andnicemight be the understatement of the century.
“Still happy?” I ask when the last local band leaves the stage and the headliner’s roadies start to load their equipment.
“Very,” she says.
“You know that’s weird, right?” I whisper it right into her ear and she laughs, turning in my arms to face me.
“I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like…” She narrows her eyes and purses her lips, lost in thought.
I don’t push her because I am oddly desperate to hear what she has to say. Something’s changed in Bailey since she left my house in a panic last night and I want to know what.
Ineedto know.
“For so long I’ve been afraid,” she says slowly, her voice quiet but discernible amidst all the talking and laughter of the crowd around us. “I didn’t even realize how afraid I was until last night.”
I wait because I know she’s not done. I run a hand down her back as if I can somehow retroactively help with last night’s panic attack.
“I’ve been so terrified of messing up.” Her gaze meets mine. “Of saying or doing the wrong thing with Grayson. Of his friends not liking me, of not being...perfect, I guess. But then, last night, it was like...” She starts to laugh softly as she glances away. “It was like I realized all at once that all of my worst nightmares have come true, you know?”
I go to make a joke about how I fit into her worst nightmares, but I can’t get it out. I’m still hanging on her every word.
