Yeah, I Hate You Too, Sweetheart.

Chapter 20 - Justin

Justin

           It was well after midnight - at least three hours after the rather spectacular fireworks display - by the time the more than a hundred guests started to clear out and head home.

   And if I was being perfectly honest with myself, the rest of the party had seemed pretty inconsequential after I'd gotten up the gargantuan strength out of nowhere to go and kiss Laila.

    At first I thought she was going to slap me in the face and call me stupid. But to my surprise, she'd froze for half a second before she was kissing me back with nearly all the strength she could muster. The feeling of her smooth, soft lips against mine, her fingers tangled in my hair - that definitely wasn't a feeling I'd be forgetting any time soon.

  And now I was sprawled out on the leather cream couch in the living room with Laila sitting on the floor in front of me, leaning back against my legs.

  Emma was stretched out on the floor as well, although she wasn't nearly as conscious as the rest of us were.

    "'Bye, Justin!" one of my mother's aristocratically rich and snobbish colleagues called as she waltzed through the living room to the front door.

   I barely managed to wave my hand in a lazy wave before she was out in the driveway. You could say that I was pretty exhausted. 

    Laila wrinkled her nose, making a sour face. "I met some of your mom's friends earlier today. They think very highly of themselves, don't they?" 

    I snorted out a laugh, rubbing my eyes with the heels of my palms.

 "Just wait until you meet my dad's colleagues. That's sort of the way the wealthy and beautiful orient themselves, if you hadn't noticed by now."

   "Right," Laila agreed after a moment of thought. "I keep forgetting that you're apart of the wealthy, too."

   It was my turn to pull a horrific grimace. "I'm not wealthy. My parents are."

"Same difference," she concluded, waving a hand.

   "You two aren't fighting about stupid stuff again, are you?" 

 I glanced up and away from Laila in enough time to watch as Avery Rodriguez made her way through the back doors, into the living room. Her parents - Isabel and Alejandro - were behind her. You could definitely tell where Avery got her looks from.

   Jason, Avery's younger brother, was holding a passed out toddler in his arms that had the same dark hair as the rest of her family. Brynn Rodriguez could often be found sleeping in the same manner.

   "No," Laila reassured Avery quickly. "Just... having a creative discussion."

  I made a thoughtful noise. Well, I supposed she had a point there.

   Avery didn't look convinced. She just rolled her eyes in my direction.

   "Anyways," Avery said forcefully, changing the subject. "We're all heading out now, so I thought I'd say goodbye."

   Laila jumped to her feet and gave Avery a sisterly like hug, giggling at something she said in Spanish.

   "See you later, cachorro," Avery said, giving me a nudge with her foot as she passed by the couch. 

   I smirked in response, tipping a two fingered salute in Avery's direction. Isabel and Alejandro Rodriguez muttered goodbyes and exchanged smiles as they passed for the front door with Jason and Brynn.