by Sherri Renee
Chapter 17
I took my time on my hair and makeup. I ended up coaxing my hair into a “messy” bun that took much longer than it should have considering the name. I dug around through my clothes searching for my long sapphire blue sweater and bright red leggings. It was an odd combination, but the colors really worked together.
I added some glittering blue eye shadow to my normal makeup for a festive touch. I wasn’t getting extra fixed up for Jace. Or so I told myself. But I did wonder if I’d see him. Then I wondered if he’d talk to me if I did.
Nerves pricked at my skin, and I started to think I might be better off just staying home tonight. I pulled a handful of empty hangers out of the closet and hung up some clothes to give myself time to decide if I really wanted to go or not. I ended up clearing away a big pile.
With a look around, I had to admit my room looked better. I vowed to work harder to stay on top of my laundry mountain. And maybe even tame the dust bunnies under the bed. But not tonight. I didn’t feel like being alone. Even if I didn’t get much Kristen time I could still catch up with my other friends.
After sending a quick text to Mom to let her know where I’d be, I grabbed a warm coat and I headed to Bobby’s house. He’d hosted plenty of parties over the years so I had no trouble finding his sprawling ranch style home.
Cars were parked up and down the street. Bobby lived in a nice but dated residential neighborhood. Most of the houses were one-story brick. Mature trees and landscaping spoke to the age of the homes.
I was actually surprised no one had ever called the police on one of Bobby’s parties. The music was always loud, lasting into the early hours of the morning, and more often than not the party spilled into his gorgeous backyard.
He either had very tolerant neighbors or maybe they were all so much older they simply turned off their hearing aids before bed and never had a clue what they’d missed.
I ended up having to park two blocks down. I tucked my purse under the seat and got out of the car to lock it. I’d considered leaving my coat behind too so I wouldn’t have to keep up with it all night, but since most of these parties did end up outdoors I figured it would be best if I held onto it.
I slid my keys into the inner pocket on my leggings, stuffed my hands in my coat pockets, and I hurried to the house. I ducked my head down into my coat, thankful I’d decided to wear it as the wind whipped cold air against me.
Matt’s black Challenger was there so I knew he and Kristen were already inside. I kept my eye out for a dark blue truck. There was no particular reason I was looking for a blue truck I lied to myself as I walked down the middle of the street since there wasn’t a sidewalk. The fact that Jace drove a blue pickup had absolutely nothing to do with anything.
I rolled my eyes. Wow, I was a terrible liar. I walked up the path to the front door and knocked lightly before pushing it open. I always felt weird just walking into someone’s house without knocking. Even at a party. I poked my head inside, recognizing lots of kids from my class right away.
I went on in and closed the door. The foyer opened directly into the living room where it looked like the majority of the people were hanging out so I headed that way. The music wasn’t as loud as I expected. Not that it wasn’t loud, but I could actually make out words as people yelled to each other across the room.
Someone lobbed a giant blow-up Christmas ornament across the room like a beach ball. It came right to me, and I swatted it back in the direction it had come.
“Michelle!” Kara spotted me and turned sideways to work her way through the crowd to hurry over to me.
She looked festive in a tight green top and gold pants. She’d worked her naturally curly red hair into long, loose rings. I gave one a gentle tug.
“Love your hair,” I said.
“Thanks! You look amazing.” She looked me up and down. “No wonder you have guys fighting over you.”
She grinned at me, but my smile froze and iciness quickly spread through my veins. There was no way she could have heard about Jace and Danny already. I couldn’t begin to guess what else she’d be talking about though.
“What?” I asked, giving her a scared look.
She either didn’t notice my distress or it didn’t bother her because she just laughed. “Oh, yeah. Danny and Bobby still talk all the time. Danny came straight here after he and Jace got into it this morning.”
“He’s here?” I pressed a hand to my stomach which was filling with nerves and jerked my gaze from Kara to search the crowded room for his familiar face.
“No, he left hours ago. He was so mad he ended up not even going to Bobby’s birthday lunch with us and that was the reason he came down to start with.”
The blood drained from my head as I tried to process her words. “Danny planned to go to lunch with you and Bobby?”
Kara nodded, and her curls bobbed. “And a couple of guys from the football team and some other old friends. It was fine though.” she flicked a hand through the air. “Bobby still had a great time.”
I blinked at her and tried to smile while my mind raced. I’d been so upset, thinking Danny had driven all this way to see me, and here I was just a pit stop on his trip. Considering how things had turned out, I wasn’t sure if this new bit of knowledge made me feel better or worse.
Kara touched my arm, and I jumped.
“Are you okay, Michelle? You look kind of funny.”
She studied me with a slight gleam in her eyes, and it suddenly hit me that she was baiting me. I liked Kara, but like I said before, she was the biggest gossip in our class. She’d dumped all this news about Danny on me right away so she could get my initial reaction before I had a chance to hear it from someone else.
Well, it wasn’t going to get back to Danny that he’d hurt me yet again. Not even if I had to do some Oscar-worthy acting to cover up the truth. I forced a bright smile to my lips and nodded. “I’m fine. I love this song though. Why’s everyone just standing around?” I grabbed her arm and pulled her with me to a relatively empty spot in the living room and started to dance.
It wasn’t that I particularly wanted to be with Kara at the moment since I was pretty angry at her. I just didn’t want to give her a reason to think anything she’d said upset me.
I knew she’d already told everyone about the fight. There wasn’t anything I could do to keep that hushed up now, but she was not going to start a rumor that Danny’d hurt me. Although it would probably be one of the most honest rumors she’d ever spread.
I kept a smile on my face, and as Kara and I danced people around us started to join in. It was all I could do to keep from running out of the house and going back home. I wanted to have a little fit in the privacy of my own room, but that would have to wait. If I left now Kara would rightfully assume I was upset and that would be all the fuel she needed to get her rumor started.
Kara watched me closely for a couple of minutes, and I pretended not to notice. Pretty soon she yelled. “So it doesn’t bother you at all that Danny came to see his bro-friend instead of you?”
I clenched my teeth. Why couldn’t she drop it? “Of course not,” I added a laugh for good measure. “You didn’t really think we were going to try to make a long distance relationship work, did you? You know your sister and her husband are probably like the only couple to ever survive that.”
Kara ran her tongue over her teeth considering my words. I could see her eyes narrow as she tried to decide if I was telling the truth. One of my guy friends, Andy, danced his way over to me. “Hey, good looking,” he said.
“Hi!” I turned away from Kara to dance with him, hoping to escape her appraisal. Andy was a good dancer, and I actually had fun with him, but my main purpose in dancing with him was so Kara would get bored and go away. There had to be some other juicy gossip floating around a party this big. I needed her to focus her attention on something besides me.
Chapter 18
After a few minutes of energetic dancing, Andy leaned close to my ear
. “She’s gone,” he whispered. I shot a glance over my shoulder, thankful to see he was right. I spotted her across the room with Bobby’s arm around her shoulders.
“How’d you know?” I asked, not even denying I’d been trying to ditch her.
Andy worked his arms and his hips to the music, giving me a pitying smile. “She’s been jumping everyone as soon as they walk in the door to tell them about the big fight.” He air quoted the last two words with his fingers.
“When I saw her spring on you I knew she’d be digging for the real dirt so I came to rescue you.”
I gave him a real smile. “You’re a good friend, you know it?”
He pretended to pout. “Did you really just friend me?”
I grinned at him. “Were you hoping to join in the boxing matches with Danny and Jace?”
“You know I love you,” he teased. “But I don’t think Shelia would approve.”
The fact that Andy’s girlfriend was a powerlifter and extremely jealous gave me a moment’s pause. I drew down my lips in an exaggerated frown. “Actually I’ve seen enough fighting today,” I said. “Exactly how jealous is Shelia?”
Andy threw back his head and laughed. “She’s not as bad as you’ve probably heard. As long as you’re able to control yourself around me and not act on any physical urges you’ll be safe.”
It was my turn to laugh. “It’ll be hard, but I guess I’ll just have to force myself to resist you.” I spotted Kristen and Matt on the couch. “I’m going to go talk to Kristen. Thanks again for the rescue. I owe you!”
I was about to hug him but spotted Shelia a few steps away keeping an eye on us. I stepped back and shook his hand, giving Shelia a little wave while I made my second escape of the night.
I didn’t know if Shelia would actually get upset if I hugged her boyfriend or not, but I had no intention of finding out. I pushed my way over to the couch and sat on the arm beside Kristen. She looked up with a worried expression, and I knew she’d heard the rumors. I sighed. Everyone had heard the rumors.
“How are you doing?” she asked right away.
Matt saw me and scooted over, pulling Kristen with him so there was room for me on the couch. He gave me a sympathetic smile but turned back to Chris Tucker and some of the other guys from the basketball team.
Seeing all the guys together made me wonder if Jace would show up since most of his teammates were here. I hoped he wasn’t trying to avoid me. It hit me that he might be hurt. His nose could be broken or something.
“Have you or Matt heard from Jace?” I asked Kristen. “He’s okay, isn’t he?”
Kristen nodded. “I saw him a little bit ago.” She stretched her neck to look around for him.
“He’s here?” Oh, this wasn’t good. I’d kind-of-sorta hoped to “accidentally” run into him tonight so I’d have a chance to talk to him. But knowing that he was the subject of tonight’s gossip because of me made me feel worse than ever.
“I don’t see him now.” She stopped looking for him. “A little word of advice. When you do talk to him, don’t make it sound like you’re worried Danny hurt him.”
I gave her a funny look, trying to figure out what that meant.
She tipped her head towards Matt. “I learned from this guy that male pride is a very real and very delicate thing. I told Matt once that I was worried George might try to hurt him if he saw us together. You would have thought I’d said I was afraid he’d get hurt by a cotton ball.” She rolled her eyes.
I laughed. “That’s actually a good tip. The first thing I probably would have asked Jace was if he was okay. I guess if he’s at a party he can’t be hurt too bad.”
“There you go.” Kristen drummed her fingers to the music against her knee. She glanced at Matt deep in conversation, rehashing the last basketball game with his friends. With an exasperated look, she said, “Do you want to dance?”
“I just got off the dance floor,” I told her. I knew she was bored, but I just wanted to escape the noise for a few minutes and think about what Kara had said. “I’m going out back for a little bit. I’ll probably see you later.”
She nodded, and I worked my way towards the back door, squeezing through the groups of people clustered together talking. I knew it would be freezing out, but I still had my coat on so figured I’d be okay for a little while.
I slipped outside and slowly looked around. The backyard glittered with Christmas lights and instead of the pop music that blasted inside, Christmas carols floated from the outdoor speakers. It was a winter wonderland.
Bobby’s yard was laid out with gardens and paths and fountains and even a small pond on one side. In the summer it was full of flowers and greenery. I’d decided I wanted a yard just like it when I had my own house. For now, the flowers slept, but the Christmas lights in the trees and shrubs twinkled with life.
I followed a path towards the pond, walking slowly and enjoying the peace after the noise from inside. I didn’t really want to think about what Kara had told me about Danny, but I couldn’t keep her words from running through my head.
I couldn’t be upset that he’d only come to town for his friend’s birthday and not specifically to see me. He’d never said anything different. It was me, once again, making assumptions. I saw he was dressed nice and assumed he’d missed me so much he’d come to surprise me.
It didn’t make it hurt any less, though. I knew things were over between us. I mean if they weren’t already headed that way, this morning clinched it.
And I decided I was glad they were. It was more of a relief than anything. I just wished we could have ended on friendly terms.
I’d never been in a relationship that had ended badly. I kicked at a pile of leaves. I was friendly with all of my exes, and I liked it that way. Danny and I needed to talk. We could officially end our relationship, and maybe I could smooth things over with him. I didn’t want him back, but I didn’t want to have bad feelings between us.
I heard footsteps coming towards me and stopped walking, peering down the leaf-littered path. I figured I’d be alone out here since it was so cold but apparently not. Without really thinking about what I was doing, I stepped off the path and through some bushes, easing myself behind a large tree.
I wasn’t hiding exactly. I just didn’t feel like putting on a fake smile and making small talk while my heart throbbed painfully. I pressed my back against the tree and closed my eyes, waiting for whoever it was to pass.
As the footsteps got closer, I peeked around the tree to see who was out besides me. A glimpse of thick wavy hair and a strong shadowed jaw made my heart skip a beat. It was Jace! I ducked back against the tree and bit my lip.
Now was my chance. I could tell him I was going to end things with Danny, in case he hadn’t figured that out for himself. My heart thrummed eagerly. It was time to stop playing games.
I wasn’t sure how I’d do it exactly, but somehow I was going to let Jace know I was interested in him. And hope I wasn’t wrong about his feelings for me.
I took a step to the side, bracing myself to face him and heard a twittering laugh that wasn’t coming from Jace. Oh my gosh! He wasn’t alone. I jerked back behind the tree, making sure I was completely hidden and realized I knew that laugh. It was Jules.
I froze, eavesdropping without meaning to as their footsteps neared my hiding place. What were they doing out here? Together!
“So,” Jules said, sounding flirtatious. “What’d you think?”
“It was perfect,” Jace said in a low intimate voice that made me frown. “Just what I needed.”
They walked past me, and I heard Jules laugh again.
I drew in a deep breath of biting air, thankful for the stinging pain it caused in my throat, momentarily distracting me from the hurt of finding Jace with another girl. I blinked at the night sky. Did I really misinterpret Jace’s feelings for me as much as I had Danny’s?
I squeezed my eyes shut. Jace had been so nice to me. He’d even punched Danny when he said someth
ing mean about me. Didn’t that mean he liked me at least a little bit?
My eyes flew open. I didn’t know he and Jules were together. They could be talking about anything. Just because it sounded like they were beyond the “just friends stage” didn’t mean a thing.
I needed to see what they were doing. How they were acting. Were they holding hands? Rubbing shoulders as they walked so close not even air could squeeze between them?
Or were they walking with a foot between them like the casual friends I hoped they were? It wasn’t any of my business. Jace could rub shoulders with any girl he wanted, and yet I was burning with curiosity.
I sucked in my lips and held my breath, trying not to make a sound. Clutching at the rough bark of the tree, I leaned around it trying to see what they were doing. The chunk of bark that I rested all my weight on as I leaned out entirely too far broke off in my fingers, leaving me grasping at thin air and finding nothing to hold onto.
Chapter 19
“Whoa!” I let out a squeal and flew towards the path out of control. My arms flailed like a windmill, and I scampered down the sloping ground, trying to keep from falling. Before I could regain control of my feet I tripped over a string of Christmas lights running through the shrubs and tumbled out into the path.
And smack dab into Jace’s broad back.
I pushed Jace a full step forward before slowing. Jules let out a little yelp of surprise and they both spun to face me with wide eyes. I jumped back a foot. My cheeks flamed, and I felt like my heart was going to burst from my chest. I covered my mouth with both hands.
That did not just happen.
Please let this be one of those terrible nightmares that feels so real, but all of a sudden you wake up and everything is just fine. I waited for just a second, but I didn’t wake up.
