Page 13 of The One
I glanced across the front seat and studied her eyes. I didn’t know if it was a twin thing or if I just knew her so well, but I didn’t have to ask what she was talking about.
I shook my head. “No. He doesn’t know.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
I chewed my lip, tasting the gloss. “I don’t know.”
“Tell him, Lain.” Her fingers bit into my arm. “It’ll matter to him.”
“Or it’ll make me look completely pathetic.”
She nodded toward my door. “There’s only one way we’ll know the answer to that. Now, get out and go see your boy.”
I drew in a deep breath, securing my bag across my body, and I stepped onto the pavement. Looping our arms, we made our way down the sidewalk toward Alyssa’s house—a place I’d never been before.
This party wasn’t a secret, nor did it have a limited guest list.
During Trig, Alyssa had invited the entire class, and word spread throughout the school. By the time I got to lunch, the whole cafeteria was talking about it. I didn’t think much about it until Rhett said he was going and he wanted me to come too.
That was when I knew I couldn’t miss it.
And I didn’t have to convince Penelope to come. By the time we’d gotten to our car after school, she had already told me we were going.
We headed up the walkway and climbed the front steps.
“Should we ring the bell?”
“Hell no.” She opened the door.
My ears filled with music, and there were people everywhere, crowding the foyer and living room—the only two rooms I could see from the doorway.
“Come on.” She squeezed my arm as we went inside. “Let’s go get a drink.”
“You mean, let’s go get you a drink. I’m driving.”
“Whatever,” she groaned.
We weren’t more than a few paces past the living room when I connected eyes with Rhett. He was standing at the back of the house with a red plastic cup in his hand and a backward baseball hat on his head. He had on a short-sleeved button-down, the first few buttons undone, and the sleeves were tight around the top of his arms, showing off his muscles. I couldn’t see what he had on below his waist—my eyes wouldn’t go that far.
They didn’t want to leave his.
My stare was as frozen as my feet.
“Lain, come on,” Pen said.
I heard her talking, and I felt the tug of her arm. I just wasn’t going anywhere.
“Oh, I see. He’s here, and he’s got his eyes on you, girl,” she said. “All right, I’m going to go hunt for the keg. You and lover boy go find a nest somewhere. Come find me when it’s time to make our curfew.”
As soon as she was gone, a half smile came across Rhett’s face, like he was satisfied with what he saw, but there was a hint of mystery mixed into his expression. He lifted the cup to his lips, watching me as he swallowed, his throat bobbing after he pulled the plastic away from his mouth.
What is he thinking about?
Even from all the way over here, I could see the color of his eyes. The icy blue glowed, no matter what kind of light he was in. Pieces of his thick black hair stuck out of the back hole of his hat, and the same color scruff was dusted across parts of his cheeks—things I noticed because I had been so overwhelmed by his gaze that I needed to focus on something besides his eyes.
Why can’t I breathe?
Why is the most foreign feeling running through my whole body?
