The video starts, and I see why. I chuckle. No way.
Katie Harris?
She smiles playfully, her short, black dress rising dangerously high up her thighs as she dances on the spot. I shake my head and smile. Wow. She was cute ten years ago, but now she’s fucking incredible. Her long, dark hair hangs loosely, in waves around her shoulders. But it’s that smile that gets me. That’s the reason I can’t look away… I swallow the lump forming in my throat and sit forward. There’s something so pure about her beauty. She’s not trying to be someone she’s not, she just …Katie.
“Beautiful,” I murmur.
“Stop pointing that thing at me.” Her eyes narrow as she smiles at the camera.
“Oh, shut up. You know you love it.”
I roar with laughter. Darcy Westin is someone I haven’t thought about since she kicked me in the balls back in junior year—no doubt after I said something offensive to her. She was good stock back then. Always ready with a witty retort and fiercely loyal to her friends, particularly Katie.
Katie eyes widen. She grabs Darcy’s arm, who frowns at her, but then her eyes spark with realization and she starts laughing.
“What’s wrong?” That’s Lily
Katie flushes. “This song …” She shakes her head. “It’s nothing.”
“What?” Lily asks, giggling. “Since when do you freak out over Maroon 5?”
“Oh God, this?” Darcy groans. “Kat played this song all the damn time when she was in love with Adam Jenkins. Hey, remember how you were saving your virginity for him?” She hunches forward, laughing her ass off. “I guess it’s not too late, huh?”
“Shut up,” Katie cries, laughing. “God, that was so tragic, huh? I really loved him.”
“You were head over heels.” Darcy giggles. “You worked him into every fucking conversation possible. I could be telling you about my dying grandma or my explosive diarrhea and you’d work Adam in there somehow.”
“We are talking about the same Adam Jenkins, right?” Lily asks in disbelief. “The one who tortured you?”
“Well, this was obviously way before that.” Katie replies as she rolls her eyes. “There’s no faster cure for a crush than the guy turning out to be an absolute asshole.”
“How come I never knew any of this?” Lily asks.
Katie and Darcy exchange a look.
“It wasn’t just you,” Katie assures her. “I didn’t want anyone knowing. Darcy only knew because she read my diary,” Katie adds, narrowing her eyes at her friend.
“Oh yeah. Your diary was a riot.” She snorts. “Love letters, poems, it was like a shrine to everything Adam.” Darcy starts laughing. “Oh God. Remember that song you wrote for him? I’ve never cringed more than when you sang that for me. I wanted to die for you.”
Katie buries her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she laughs.
“Yes,” she moans. “How embarrassing. Thank Christ it was you that I subjected it to and not him. Can you imagine how horrifying it would’ve been if I had the nerve to sing it to him?” She shudders.
She wrote me a song?
My lips twitch. That’s kind of adorable, in a stalkerish, is she going to murder me in my sleep, kind of way. I had no idea she even liked me like that.
Lily giggles. “Do you remember how it goes?”
“The song? It’s forever imprinted on my mind, but there’s no way in hell I’m singing it for you,” Katie declares. “Ever.”
“Because you’re too much of a pussy?” Darcy taunts, her eyes flashing.
“Katie’s scared of a lot of things,” Lily confirms. “She used to get her mom to check her bed every night for caterpillars.”
“Lily,” Katie hisses.
“Why the fuck would there be caterpillars in your bed?” Darcy snorts. “Though it does kind of explain your irrational fear of butterflies. I mean, what kind of seven-year-old goes around squashing butterflies?”
“One who’s been traumatized after her mother arranges a surprise birthday party in the butterfly enclosure, after her best friend insisted they were her favorite,” Katie growls.
“Oh God, that was perfect, wasn’t it?” Darcy giggles, shaking her head. “The way you screamed and jumped around, it was like you’d been put in a tank full of spiders.”
“I’d have preferred that.”
“Three of my friends needed counseling after watching you go all serial killer on those poor little butterflies.” Lily giggles.
Darcy roars with laughter. “Kat, you’re a childhood horror urban legend. Forget about the bogeyman. I present you with…Catterkiller!”
Catterkiller, Catterkiller,” Lily chants.
“Just don’t say it in front of the mirror,” Darcy warns her.
“I think I preferred you two hating each other.” Katie frowns. She rolls her eyes. “If it will shut you both up, I’ll sing the damn song.”
Darcy and Lily cheer as Katie stalks up onto the stage, then faces the crowd.
“This one’s for you, Adam Jenkins.”
“You could’ve had it all, I would’ve given it to you raw,
You’re all I thought about, I wanted you without a doubt,
You were where I wanted to be, you were where I most felt me,
I wanted you to love me, I wanted you above me,
I was so glad I found you, I wanted to surround you,
And feel you slide deep inside, there was no need for me to hide
Then my world turned upside down, and my smile became a frown
Because you broke my heart, you hurt me so muuuuuch …”
I sit forward, laughing so hard that I nearly drop the phone.
Holy shit.
The noble thing would’ve been to stop watching when the singing started, but I’m not known for my nobility. I shake my head, because I think I’m in shock. I feel awful about laughing, but what other reaction is there? And God, those lyrics … I close my eyes, cringing just thinking about them. God, she would die if she knew I’d seen this.
I clear my throat and look up at Andrew.
“That was …”
“Painful?” Andrew suggests, smirking.
“I was going to go with horrifying, but painful works too.” I shake my head and laugh.
What can I possibly say after seeing that?
“Julian doesn’t know?” I ask.
“Nope. He drank too much and passed out. I heard his phone beep at the same time mine did. When I saw this, I checked his phone and there it was.”
“Julian, I can understand.” I muse. “She probably clicked the wrong attachment, but why did she send it to you?”
“I’m not sure.” He frowns at me. “I thought you might have the answer to that one.”
I nod. “Hey, thanks for bringing this to me. I’m going to forward it to myself and then delete it off your phone, if that’s okay?” I ask. He nods, looking relieved.
After I’m done, I hand it back. He passes me Julian’s and sure enough, it’s the same message and same video. I stare at it thoughtfully, trying to work out what her motive is.
“I can put this back if you like?” I offer.
He looks relieved. “Would you mind?”
“Not at all,” I say. “Andrew? This stays between me and you, okay?”
He smiles. “It’s already forgotten.”
I watch the video again after he leaves, not only for my own amusement, but also to try and figure if I can work out where they’re staying. Okay, so it’s mostly for my own amusement, because I recognized the swipe key on the table in front of Lily the first time I watched it.
I chuckle as Katie somehow manages to miss every single note as she belts out her song. I feel bad for her, but right now, the amusement is outweighing the sympathy, because this is fucking hilarious. She bounces forward on the stage as she sings the last line, my gaze falling on how good her breasts look bursting out of that dress.
God, I hope she’s still wearing that later....
I grab the hotel phone and call reception. It’s a long shot they’ll give me what I want, but it’s worth a try.
“Hello, I’m staying in the hotel with a friend, but I’ve forgotten what room she’s in. Is there any chance you could tell me?”
“I’m sorry, sir. We can’t really give out that kind of information …”
“I completely understand. It’s just she left her phone in my room and her mom just called with an emergency.”
She hesitates. “Can I have her last name? And her cell number?”
“Saunders,” I say. I flick open the message again and relay her number.
“Lily Saunders. She’s in room two hundred and ten.”
“Great, thanks so much for that,” I murmur. “It will mean a lot to her.”
I grab my jacket and shrug it on as I walk out. I glance at my watch and shrug.
Maybe seven is a little too isn’t too early to bang on their door…
Nah.
I need to deal with this now, because aside from the obvious Julian-related issues, having those three on the loose could make things very complicated for me.
If they call me Adam and someone hears? I’m as good as fucked.
Chapter Five
Katie
I cringe.
Holy shit, I think I’m dead.
I crack open my eyes and look around, my throat burning from the bitter acid taste in my mouth. I’m in Lily’s room, sprawled out on one of the beds, but I’m so close to the edge, I’m in danger of falling out—
Thump.
“Ouch,” I cry as I crash to the floor.
I rub my back and turn around to glare at Darcy. Not that she’s awake enough to realize that she literally just kicked me out of the bed. Lily is, though. She sits cross legged on the other bed, grinning at me, while I scowl at her.
“Hey. You’re awake.”
“Awake?” I mutter. “That’s arguable.”
How the fuck is she so chirpy when I feel like a squirrel crawled into my mouth and died? Then I see the dark circles under her eyes. I smile, because that explains it. She’s delirious from lack of sleep.
I rub my head and stand up, but I lose my balance and end up falling back onto the bed. I groan into the mattress, pulling myself up into the fetal position, deciding it’s all too hard. I crack my head sideways and frown at Lily as she giggles not so discreetly into her hand.
“What time is it?” I mumble.
God, it hurts to talk.
It’s like the words are clinging to my throat with razorblades. I don’t drink very often, so when I do, it takes my body a while to recover.
“It’s just after seven.”
Seven? In the morning? Then why the hell am I awake?
I fumble for my phone, wanting confirmation, but the numbers are too blurred for me to make out. I blink but then I give up, tossing my phone on the floor. I cover myself with the blanket and groan. I don’t think I could possibly feel any worse than I do right now.
Oh God.
I was wrong.
I throw the covers back and hurl myself out of the bed, gasping for air.
“Fuck. Darcy!”
“Whoever smelt it, dealt it,” Darcy mumbles, not even opening her eyes.
I clutch my stomach and groan, almost dry heaving from the stench. I shudder, because I can still taste it. Lily hands me a bottle of water, her body shaking from laughing so hard. I take it and unscrew the cap, gulping it down. I get through more than half the bottle before I stop for a breath.
“I’m glad you find this so funny,” I mutter. “What the hell happened?”
“You don’t remember?” she asks, surprised. “You both passed out on me in that karaoke bar. I had to get Milo to help me carry you guys back up here.”
“Milo?” I frown. “We went to a bar?” I frown harder. “Karaoke?”
“Milo was the security guy at the bar.” She looks at me strangely, a laugh escaping her lips. “You really don’t remember anything, do you? I thought I was the one who was supposed to forget.”
I lie back down on the bed and close my eyes, concentrating as hard as I can on remembering something. Lily singing, flashes through my mind. I make a face. I thought she was joking about the karaoke. I must have been really drunk to agree to that. Which explains the hangover. I’m probably the only person in the world who is nonfunctional after only two drinks
This is what I get for drinking.
“Shit,” Lily gasps. “Fuck. Fuck.”
I sit back up and squint at her, the panic in her voice and three consecutive cuss words enough to worry me. My phone buzzes from its currently unknown location, but I ignore it, because I can barely focus on one thing at the moment without adding something else to the mix.
“Lily! What the hell?” I growl, flinching when her phone hits the wall right near my head. It bounces off into her suitcase. I glare at her, but she won’t meet my eyes. “You nearly knocked me out with your stupid phone.”
“I’m sorry,” she mumbles.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, impatience lacing my voice.
“It’s nothing. Forget it.”
I narrow my eyes suspiciously at her. Forget it? Unlikely. The red cheeks are a dead giveaway that she’s done something stupid., so is the fact that she’s about to cry. I sigh.
I bet she’s texted Julian.
“Lily—”
“I’m sorry,” she wails, cutting me off. “I clicked the wrong button and—”
She stops speaking when my phone buzzes again. Her eyes widen in horror as I reach into a stack of clothes for my phone. I raise my eyebrows when a message from her lights up my screen. I’m much more alert now—probably because I’m finding this whole thing the tiniest bit amusing. If she’s stupid enough to fail at sending him a text, then she deserves me rubbing it in her face.
Lily: This is what you’ve been missing: Attachment.
“Something you want to tell me?” I ask her, swallowing a giggle. “You can start with how much it’s going to scar me if I click on that attachment.”
“Delete it. Please, just delete it.”
Fuck, it must be bad.
“What’s going on?”
I glance over at Darcy and laugh as she sits up in the bed. She’s still half asleep, her hair pointing in all directions and her makeup all over her face. She frowns, looking from Lily, to me. “Will one of you answer me?”
I smirk and hold up my phone.
“Looks like Lily’s been busy.”
“What is it?”
“A crisis averted is what it is.” I grin. “I think she was trying to text Julian, but she sent it to me instead.”
“Jesus,” Darcy mutters. “Really, Lily? Are you fucking nuts? Why would you text him?” She glances at me expectantly. “Boobs?”
“Don’t think so,” I say with a frown. “It’s a video.”
“Are you sure you want to watch it? I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s into some kinky shit.” Darcy narrows her eyes at Lily. “There was a candy bar on that desk last night and I’m not seeing it there now. You know what that means.”
I stare at her. “Gross.”
“Katie, please wait,” Lily begs. “Let me explain—”
She stops talking when the video starts. Darcy crouches down next to me, so she can watch it too. The two of us giggle and joke about my crush on Adam. I glance at Darcy, my stomach churning.
Adam?
Fuck. There’s a blast from the past.
“I don’t even remember this,” I murmur.
“Really?” Darcy winces. “In that case, you might want to stop watching …”
But I can’t stop watching.
My heart pounds as I walk onto that stage. When I start singing the song I wrote for Adam when I was fourteen years old, it’s like all my nightmares are coming true. The fact that I wrote for him in the first place is bad enough, but I can’t sing for shit, so every note sounds like I’m being murdered.
“Oh Lord, Ka
t. I can’t believe she recorded this. Can I get a copy?” Darcy giggles. “Kidding,” she mutters when I glare at her.
I’m annoyed at Lily for recording it, but I’m more upset with myself. Nobody made me get up there and sing. My hands shake as I grip the phone. I bite down on my lip so hard that I taste blood, but the pain is welcome, because it’s taking the focus off how embarrassed I feel.
Thank God nobody else has seen this.
Darcy continues to choke back laughter, but when Lily joins in, I lose control. She doesn’t deserve to find this amusing. Accident or not, if this landed in Julian’s hands …
Or Adam’s.
God, I can’t even imagine how horrifying that would have been.
“I’m so sorry,” Lily whispers, her eyes wide.
“Delete it,” I growl. I get to my feet and lunge for her phone. “Delete it right now. I want to watch you press that button—”
I jump when someone pounds on the door, my heart thudding in my chest. Lily teeters forward, her eyes wide. She looks like she’s about to throw up.
“Lily? Katie?”
I freeze. Everything else stops, because I know that voice.
“Darcy, then?” He sighs. “Come on. I know you’re all in there.”
My first instinct is to hide, but I can only hide for so long. Then facing him will be a thousand times worse. I take a deep breath and stalk over to the door. I grasp hold of the handle but takes me a moment to work up the courage to twist it open.
My heart races when his face comes into view. His sexy, rugged, perfectly proportioned face and those full, soft lips …Adam Jenkins.
“Katie Harris.” His eyes twinkle as he looks me up and down, then he nods appreciatively. “Well, aren’t you all grown up?”
I glare at him, my face growing hot, the pounding in my heart getting faster and faster. All I can think about is how I stood on that stage and sang something so personal …
About him.
Don't Go There (Awkward Love Book 5) Page 4
