𝐂𝐎𝐖𝐁𝐎𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐌𝐄 || 𝐫. 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐱

HADLEY WAS AT SOME BARBECUE THAT WAS HAPPENING in the middle of the trailer park. She was not sure how she got invited, but it seemed like a lot of people were there. There were little kids running around, teenagers getting food, and adults socializing and gossiping. She had stayed for a while and talked to some people, but surprisingly, she had yet to run into someone she was more than acquaintances with. That was until a football came flying at her head.

"Think fast," a voice said, and she whipped around and caught the ball just in time before it caused some damage to her face. She froze when she saw Ray walking toward her. Usually, she would groan or roll her eyes at his presence, but ever since the night of the party, she had no clue how to act around him. He looked her up and down with a smirk. "Look at you, all dolled up."

She composed herself and tossed the ball back to him. "What do you want?"

"Aw, I missed you too," he joked, and she nodded and pushed past him to head to her car. A hand on her arm stopped her from moving, though, and she turned as he pulled her back to face him again. "Okay, hey, wait. I was gonna go out on my boat with Tyler and some of our friends, for a little cruise. You wanna join?"

"Look, Ray, the other night, I was really drunk, and I had no clue what I was doing. We did something dumb," she explained. As good as it had felt, she had been drunk, and she could not hook up with Ray Hall. It went against everything that she was led to believe about him up until that point. She could not be just another girl that fell under his spell. She and Kyle had made fun of those girls.

He just smiled smugly and dipped his head down so that his nose brushed against hers. He knew what he was doing to her. He felt her breath hitch in her throat. He knew that her heart was pounding faster. "You sure about that?"

"Yeah, but thanks for the invite," she responded after an excruciatingly long moment. It took her a while to get her mouth to say words, and she had no clue why. It was just Ray Hall. She had said plenty worse things to him before and had been perfectly fine. Why could she not talk to him then?

He backed away once again and just shrugged and nodded. "Just being friendly. The offer still stands, though, if you end up changing your mind." She offered a small smile before climbing into her car. He waved as she pulled out of the parking spot and drove home. However, it took about ten minutes of sitting alone at home before she got back up and in the car.