Ethan’s eyes widened as we pulled up in his car and saw Tanner’s house. There were plenty of people who were well-off in our town, but Tanner’s family put them all to shame. He lived in a sprawling mansion that was at least five times the size of my house. It was constantly being renovated and had all the latest gadgets. It never looked quite so pristine once Tanner’s party guests were through with it though.
“It’s something else, isn’t it?” I said.
Ethan nodded. “I didn’t know places like this even existed in Lincoln.”
“Yeah, Tanner’s grandpa was some media mogul, and I think he had this place built just because he could.”
Ethan had pulled the car to a stop, but neither of us moved to get out. There was something so calming about just sitting here with him, and it was completely at odds with the heavy bass I could hear thumping from inside the house.
“You look gorgeous tonight,” Ethan said.
My cheeks warmed, and I fought back a smile. “You’re my fake boyfriend. You have to say that.”
He looked me deep in the eyes and gave a slight shake of his head. “I really don’t have to,” he replied. “I want to.”
My mouth felt suddenly dry. Ethan might have thought I looked gorgeous tonight, but he was the one who was beautiful. His glasses were slightly askew, and his hair was all rumpled, but I couldn’t imagine him being any more perfect than he was right now. I had to capture the moment in my mind because I knew that tonight would be our last time pretending we were more than friends.
As I stared into his eyes, I felt like I was falling. Like I was tumbling out of control and being pulled downward by the inescapable force of gravity. It wasn’t the ground I felt I was hurtling toward though. It was Ethan.
I sucked in a deep breath and quickly looked away. The feelings for Ethan I’d been trying to snuff out had roared toward the surface and were refusing to be ignored. They didn’t want tonight to be our last tonight together, and there was one thing they were making abundantly clear: I wasn’t just starting to like Ethan; I already did.
“Hayley?” Ethan’s voice was soft, and he sounded a little nervous, like perhaps he could see all of the emotions he’d awakened inside of me.
I cleared my throat. “We should probably get inside.” I jumped out of the car before he could object and breathed in the cool night air, hoping the chilly breeze would help displace the heady fog clouding my mind. I wasn’t supposed to like Ethan. But not even the fresh air did anything to change the way my heart only wanted to beat for him.
Ethan gave me a smile as he took my hand. From the way he was looking at me, he was completely clueless about how much I liked him. It was at times like these I was relieved mind reading wasn’t a thing because I wasn’t sure what to do with these feelings. I couldn’t act on them, not when Ethan was in love with another girl. My stupid heart was being quite forgetful though, and it began to race as his thumb lightly drew circles across the back of my hand.
We entered the party, and Ethan hesitated just inside the door. The place was packed, and a few girls were already stumbling unsteadily in their heels. The music was so much louder inside, and I could understand why Ethan might be overwhelmed by it all.
“Should we go get a drink?” he asked.
I glanced in the direction of the kitchen and immediately shook my head. A bunch of cheerleaders were hanging by the doorway, and I didn’t want him anywhere near them. The sight of them had awoken an envious green-eyed monster in my belly, and I was no longer sure if I could handle helping Ethan get together with one of those girls. I really needed to get myself together.
“So, drink?” he prompted.
“No.” And not just because of the cheerleaders. Drinking would be a terrible idea right now because I tended to be a one-drink wonder. I didn’t want to risk getting drunk and pouring my feelings out to him.
“Want to dance instead?” I blurted out the first alternative that came to mind.
Ethan’s eyes flicked nervously toward the teeming group of kids dancing in Tanner’s living room. “Uh…”
He clearly wasn’t a fan of the idea, but I didn’t give him a chance to object. “Come on, it’ll be fun.” I gave him a reassuring smile and led him by the hand into the crowd. He cautiously followed after me. The dance floor was chaotic, but I managed to locate a gap in the corner of the room that wasn’t too crammed.
The song that was playing had a slow, easy melody, and Ethan wrapped his arms around my waist as he started to move. I lightly placed my hands on his chest and almost immediately regretted the decision to dance. Being this close to Ethan was not helping my confused heart at all. It especially didn’t help when he kept smiling down at me.
Ethan had one of those smiles that made you feel like you were the only person in the room. They didn’t come out often, but when they did, it was a little like watching the sun peek out from behind a cloud and having it bathe you in its warm glow.
He leaned down so his lips came close to my ear, the scruff of his stubble brushing against my cheek as he leaned in. “I’m not much of a dancer,” he admitted.
“You seem to be doing just fine.” According to the tingling sensation running across my skin, he was doing more than fine. He was wrecking every ounce of resistance I had. I tried to look anywhere but at his face as we danced. Knowing I liked Ethan as more than a friend was like discovering I had an itch I couldn’t scratch. The more I tried to ignore it, the more it seemed to make its presence known until I was painfully and constantly aware of the feelings inside me.
We danced together for the duration of the song. Being so close to Ethan but knowing we could never be together for real was the cruelest torment. He seemed blissfully unaware of the turmoil I was experiencing, and I wished I could go back to being unaware too.
When the next song came on, I spotted Isla and Colin across the room and practically jumped out of Ethan’s embrace. He looked a little shocked and confused by my reaction until I pointed them out to him.
“Let’s go say hi.” I didn’t wait for his response as I raced across the dance floor. I couldn’t seem to get away from Ethan quickly enough. His presence had been intoxicating as we danced, and I needed to sober up before I did something stupid—like admit I wanted the fake part of fake boyfriend to disappear.
Isla grinned when she caught sight of me. She was wearing a sheer sequin dress that was far racier than her usual style. I was beginning to realize you needed to expect the unexpected when it came to Isla’s dress sense. She seemed to love pushing boundaries with her clothes, and nothing appeared to be off-limits.
I gave both Isla and Colin a hug in greeting. “Hey, guys, I’m glad you could make it.” Isla returned my embrace firmly, but Colin seemed to seize up under my touch. He gave me a smile when we stepped apart though, so it seemed his robotic hug was just down to his general awkwardness.
Ethan greeted his friends too, but I was quick to grab Isla by the hand and drag her away. “You guys have fun. We need to go do girl things,” I called over my shoulder to the boys. They looked at each other and shrugged but were happy enough to let us leave.
“Girl things?” Isla asked, once we were out of earshot of the guys.
“Yeah, I’m having a crisis, and you’re my friend now, so you need to come hold my hand while I take a few deep breaths.”
Worry clouded Isla’s eyes, but she nodded and proceeded to follow me outside. The party had spilled into Tanner’s backyard, and it was just as busy out here as it was inside. Isla and I wandered through the yard until we reached a set of swings. They were hung off the limb of an old tree that looked one storm away from keeling over. They were probably an accident waiting to happen, but the swings were exactly the kind of escape I needed right now. I sat and slowly started to move back and forth as I caught my breath. Ever since I’d arrived at the party with Ethan, I’d been struggling to get oxygen into my lungs.
“So, what’s the crisis?” Isla asked when we’d been silently
swinging for several minutes.
I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. “I’m not sure I can tell you.” I knew Ethan wouldn’t be happy with me if I spilled the beans about our fake relationship to his friend, and I didn’t want to betray him that way.
“Is there someone here you want me to find who you can talk with?” she asked, concern touching her gaze.
I shook my head. Madi had a family dinner and wouldn’t be at the party until later, while Evan and Teagan had gone to see a movie. They were the only three people who I would have dared tell the truth about Ethan to. I almost felt relieved they weren’t here though. I wasn’t sure I was ready to voice my confusion.
“Well, we can just swing until you’re feeling better,” Isla said. She didn’t push me for an answer, and I only liked her more for respecting that I couldn’t talk about my situation. I found myself wanting her opinion more than anything though. Isla was one of Ethan’s best friends, and she’d know if my feelings for him were as hopeless as they felt.
A part of me simply wished my feelings weren’t real. That perhaps they’d just appeared because Ethan was a nice guy pretending to be my boyfriend. Maybe, they’d disappear as soon as our relationship was over. It would certainly make my life a whole lot simpler if this pesky, one-sided crush went away. How did you even begin to figure out how real your feelings were though?
I looked to Isla, wondering if she might have the answer I was looking for. “Have you had many boyfriends?” I asked her.
“A few.” She shrugged.
“But they didn’t work out?”
“Nah, those guys were total dweebs.”
“So, how did you know Dex was the guy for you?”
A soft smile lit her lips at the mention of her boyfriend. “Everything just feels better when he’s around,” she said. “There are so many things I love about him, of course, but you know it’s right when it’s not just personality traits that matter. It’s that feeling that being together is as easy as breathing.”
I frowned as I considered my time with Ethan. That was exactly the thing that had surprised me: just how easy it was to be with him. How everything felt better when he was around and how I seemed to notice his absence like there was a small shadow covering my heart when he wasn’t near.
Isla tilted her head as she looked at me. “Are you reconsidering being with Ethan?”
I quickly shook my head. “If anything, it’s the opposite,” I muttered, making Isla grin.
“So, you really like him, huh?”
I exhaled a long breath as I nodded. “I think I do.”
Isla started clapping her hands together and bouncing on her swing. “I knew it. You guys are perfect together. You know that, right?”
“I’m just worried he doesn’t feel the same way. I mean, you say we’re perfect, but we’re both so different.”
Isla snorted. “Don’t be silly. Of course, he feels the same way. And sometimes, being different is exactly why the relationship is perfect.”
I felt like she was just being kind though. If Ethan had told her he had strong feelings for me, it would only have been because he was playing his part well.
“If this is why you’re out here fretting, then you’re just getting in your own head,” Isla continued. “Ethan’s crazy about you. You don’t need to worry.”
“Thanks, Isla.” I gave her a tight smile before looking back toward the house. I wished her words were true, but she didn’t know about the other girl he liked.
“Should we go find the guys again? I think I’m feeling a little better,” I said.
“Sounds good.” She jumped from the swing, and I followed her back toward the house. I was still confused about my feelings toward Ethan, but I felt a little more in control of them after getting some fresh air.
When we returned to the house, I was surprised to find Colin was waiting in the kitchen for us alone.
“Where’s Ethan?” Isla asked.
“He went to find the bathroom,” Colin replied. “He’s been gone for ages though, so he’s probably lost.”
“Maybe, I’ll see if I can find him,” I said. The whole point of tonight was for us to be seen together after all.
I wandered in the direction of the bathrooms. There were several in the house, but most people used the one near the living room. I turned down the corridor that led to it but came to a sudden halt. Ethan was standing at the far end of the hallway, and he wasn’t alone.
He was talking to Laurie, and seeing the two of them together threw me off guard. Laurie would never normally notice that Ethan even existed, and she didn’t seem like the kind of girl he’d strike up a conversation with either. But they were standing so close to each other as they talked, and from the way she was leaning toward him, their conversation looked intimate
My stomach dropped as she placed a hand against his chest and trailed her fingers across his torso. She was smiling up at him seductively, and he wasn’t pushing her away. Why wasn’t he pushing her away? Slowly, she moved even closer to him, her lips nearing his as she wrapped an arm around his neck. A wave of nausea hit me. I couldn’t watch what happened next.
I turned to rush away, but as I went to flee to the living room, I found Owen standing in the doorway smiling at me. “Hey, Hayley. I was hoping I’d run into you tonight.”
I nodded, barely able to look him in the eye. I was struggling to stop myself from crying right now, and Owen Beck was absolutely the last person I wanted to talk to.
“Can we talk?” he continued.
“Actually, I can’t.” I pushed past him and hurried back into the crowded living room, but I didn’t stop there. Instead, I pressed my way through the crowd and rushed out the front door. I couldn’t escape this stupid party quickly enough, and all I wanted to do was go home.
It was only once I was standing out on Tanner’s front porch that I realized my ride home was currently entwined with the most loathsome cheerleader at Lincoln High. My stomach twisted as I realized the bitter truth: Laurie was the girl he’d wanted all along.
“Hayley?” A tentative voice called my name.
I turned to see Owen standing on the porch behind me. He looked surprisingly nervous, and while I hadn’t wanted to talk to him inside, I wasn’t annoyed he’d come after me. If anything, it was nice not to be alone.
“I saw what made you run out here,” he said. “My brother’s an ass for doing that to you.”
I shook my head. Ethan wasn’t an ass. He’d never been anything but honest with me, and I was the stupid one for developing feelings for the guy.
“Kissing another girl when you’ve got a girlfriend just isn’t cool,” he added.
My stomach sunk to the floor. “So, they really kissed?”
Owen winced. “Shit, you didn’t see that? I assumed you had.”
I shook my head. “No, I didn’t see that.” It had looked like it was going to happen, but I hadn’t been able to watch. I swallowed and glanced into the front yard. There were so many cars parked outside the house, and I wished desperately one of them was mine. Was it bad I was tempted to try to steal one? I mean, I had no idea how to hotwire a car, so calling an Uber was probably the more logical and legal option.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Owen asked.
“No. I just want to go home, but my ride is currently preoccupied.”
Owen stepped toward me. “I drove tonight. I can take you home if you like?”
I slowly looked up and into his eyes. The shade of blue was so close to Ethan’s, and they were wide and filled with concern. He looked so much like his brother at the moment, and it felt like I was finally seeing the guy who had written that poem all those years ago. This was the version of Owen I’d started this whole plan for, but my stomach wasn’t filling with butterflies as I looked at him. It was still clenching with pain over losing the boy I never had.
“Hayley?” he prompted
I gave him a grateful smile. “That would be nice.” I slowly followe
d him over to his Mom’s car. Each step I took was hard, but it came with a little relief because I knew I was going home.
Owen didn’t talk much as he drove us, and I was grateful for his silence. I didn’t want to discuss what I’d seen or the disappointment I was feeling. Why did Ethan have to like Laurie? She wasn’t a good person, and he deserved so much better than her. I didn’t think he was the kind of guy who’d go for a girl just because she was hot, but perhaps, I was wrong.
When Owen parked in his driveway, I gave him a tight smile. “Thanks for driving me.”
“No need to thank me,” he said. “I wanted to do it.”
I nodded and went to open the door to leave, but Owen placed a hand on my arm. “This is probably really bad timing, but I’ve wanted to ask you out for the longest time.”
I turned to him. “What?”
He gave me a small, timid smile. “I always had the biggest crush on you, but then, I came back to Lincoln and you were already dating my brother.”
“You did?” His words left me speechless, and I almost wanted to laugh at the irony of it all. I’d finally gotten Owen’s attention, but it was now his brother who I wished was saying those things to me.
“I did,” he replied. “I never wanted you to get hurt, but I was secretly hoping Ethan would mess things up so I could have a chance with you.”
I could do nothing but stare at him. None of this seemed right.
“And now I guess he has…” His words hung in the air between us, and he stared deeply into my eyes. We were sitting so close to each other in his car, but his proximity did nothing to excite me. No sparks were flying, and my heart was hardly at risk of beating out of control. But from the way he was looking at me, he felt completely different. There was a hunger in his gaze, and I felt a little like a piece of meat he wanted to sink his teeth into.
He leaned closer to me and took my hand in his. “I would have liked to wait to ask you this,” he said, moving closer still. “But we don’t have much time left…”
Given the direction of our conversation, I wasn’t sure I wanted Owen to finish his sentence. I was stuck in the car with him though, and my hand was firmly in his grasp. I could hardly open the door and do a barrel roll out onto the pavement to escape.
The Wrong Prom Date Page 18
