Page 34 of Fall Into You
“We went to high school together,” Liza says coldly, pressing herself closer into me, taking a sip from her beer.
“Yes, we did.” Kelly presses her lips together into a tight line. “So, you guys are dating now?” I can see the intent clear in her eyes. She wants to stir shit up.
I want to drag my hand down my face in frustration. Why are some people like this? Why do they like to stir up trouble? Jesus. They just want to see the world burn.
“Yup,” Liza says, her lips popping.
Kelly narrows her eyes at her but throws her a fake smile. “How nice,” she says. “So interesting, I thought you were single when you came over the other day to my place, Matt.”
Liza pushes off me.
Fucking. Kelly.
“That was before I met Liza,” I say, trying to keep my voice level, reaching for Liza’s hand again, but she casually pulls it away to reach for some more beer behind her.
“You know what, I’ll let you guys catch up,” she says as she starts to walk away.
“Liza!” I leave Kelly standing there and follow my date through the crowd. I catch her hand and pull her to me. “Hey, stop. Where are you going?”
“Did you sleep with her?” she asks, eyes wide with panic.
“Yes, but—”
“Oh my God!” She starts walking away.
“But this waswaybefore we started seeing each other,” I will her to understand, hoping she hears me over the music. I follow closely behind, weaving through the other guests. “Liza!”
She turns, her eyes watering. “You don’t get it. She’s theworsttype of person, Matt. She made my life a living hell in high school. And yousleptwith her. You’re the kind of guy who sleeps with the Kellys of the world. And—” She gasps. “Is she the girl who kicked you out of her house? Is she the one who was pissed you wouldn’t sleep with her again? Is that how you ended up at my house that day? Is that why you were in Sag Harbor?”
My stomach drops, and I try to swallow the knot in my throat. “Yes.” I nod.
“Oh, God.” She puts her head in her hands. “I need some space, Matt. Just give me a little space. I’ll find you in a bit.”
Liza turns and walks away, leaving me standing there surrounded by sweaty, drunk people dressed as famous New Yorkers. I will my feet to move, to follow, but they understand what Liza needs more than my brain does. They get that she needs a minute or two to process this. So I stay still, dumbfounded, staring after her as she disappears into the crowd of people.
I heave a sigh and walk back toward the bar. I need a fucking drink—a real one this time.
I dump some ice in a red Solo cup and pour myself some whiskey, impressed by Barbara’s selection of spirits. Girl’s got great taste.
“Hey.” I turn around to find Kelly standing behind me, looking apologetic.
I groan and roll my eyes at her. “What?”
“I know, I’m sorry.” She grimaces. “What I did was really petty.”
“Yeah,” I reply flatly and take a long sip of my drink, wincing. “Really fucking petty.”
She smiles sadly at me and places a hand on my shoulder, softly bringing her hand down my arm, staring up at me through her lashes. Oh no, where is she going with this? “I just saw you standing there and remembered how good it was,” she says with a lascivious smile. “Don’t you remember how good it was? I was hoping we could revisit the past for a night.”
I stare at her hand for a second in shock. Is she kidding me right now? I told her that sleeping together was a one-time thing, something I reminded her of two weeks ago, which caused her to promptly kick me out of her house, and now she sees me with another woman at a party, and she still wants to hook up? I think that kicking me out of her house was about her being embarrassed more than anything else, but I think that the come-on tonight is a competitive thing with Liza. Like she’s got to prove that she can get whomever she wants, that she’s better than the girl she used to bully in high school.
I push her hand off my arm as gently as possible and stare her down. “Kelly, I appreciate your interest, but it is not reciprocated. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find my date.”
I walk away, frustrated. How the hell am I supposed to find her in this fucking party? This was supposed to be an awesome night. We were going to play games. I was going to meet her friends. We were going to dance, make out, and then end up at her place. We didn’t even have to have sex yet. I just wanted to sleep over, wanted to wake up next to her again.
I walk around the party twice, checking every room, every bathroom, looking for her, but I come up short. Eventually, I find Barbara and ask her if she’s seen Liza.
“Hey,diiiiiiccckkkk,” she hisses at me. “She left because you’re adick. She saw you with Kelly, all cozy. You DICK.”
