Oh, fuck. I'm trying to come up with something, anything, to say to Colton. How do I explain that I almost kissed Bryce?
Bryce doesn't make any moves ways from me. "Uh, I was just, um...," I trail off. Fuck, I have nothing.
"I thought I had something in my contact. Andy was trying to help me see if I did," Bryce says. I'm just glad he came up with something.
"You wear contacts?" Colton asks. Bryce rolls his eyes.
"You want me to take one out?" Bryce's arrogance is not going to help us out. Before Colton can do or say anything, Candace comes up and whisks him away. He goes without protest, shooting cold looks at me and Bryce.
I look at Bryce and he's smirking. I shake my head.
"So, where were we?" he asks.
"Fuck off, Bryce," I say. I walk out of the gym and try to find Ellie. I'm not having much luck. "Fuck," I mutter. I sit down against a wall. I drop my head into my hands. My mind's spinning. I can't stop thinking about what Bryce said, what we almost did.
Does Colton really flirt with other girls? Was he just trying to be friendly with that mom or was he flirting? Why did I want to kiss Bryce? Do I like Colton?
I'm so wrapped up in my thoughts that I don't hear soft footsteps.
"Uh, are you okay?" a tentative voice asks. I look up. I'm meet with wide blue eyes. Ian.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine," I say. "Where's Ellie?" I ask him.
"She went to the bathroom," he says. "Why are you upset?" He takes a seat against the wall across from me.
"I'm not upset," I tell him.
"Did my brother do something?" Ian asks. He seems to be observant.
"Uh, kind of. Don't worry about it," I say. Ian shrugs.
"Is Ellie okay?" he asks.
"What do you mean?" He shrugs again.
"She misses a lot of school and it seems like she gets sick a lot," Ian tells me.
"Ellie's all good," I tell him. "She's just been a bit unfortunate this year." Ian nods and I stand up, with him following. We walk back to the gym.
Ellie's standing by Colton. I look over at Bryce and he's leaning lazily against a wall. My gaze lingers for a couple seconds too long for it to be an innocent glance. I walk over to Colton and Ellie.
"Can we get out of here?" Ellie asks. "I'm starving." I look at my watch. It's 7:30. The dance ends in half an hour.
"I don't care," I say. Bryce walks over. Fucking perfect.
"What's going on?" Bryce asks.
"We're gonna go somewhere to eat," Ellie tells him. He nods. The five of us walk to my car. Somehow Bryce manages to get the passenger seat. I see Colton shake his head and mutter something.
As we drive it's beyond awkward. Eleanor and Ian are holding hands and smiling. Colton's sitting next to Ian and looking out the window. And then there's Bryce.
Bryce is sprawled arrogantly next to me. His gaze hasn't left me since we started driving. I make eye contact with him and then look back at the road. He turns the radio on and flips to a song that he sees satisfied with. It's filthy.
"Seriously, Bryce? Can we listen to something else?" I ask.
"What's wrong with this?" he asks.
"'Dip your tities in Koolaid and lick them off'. You don't see a problem with that?" I ask. He shrugs. "There's two fourth graders in the car, you think they should hear this?"
"Ian and I listen to this all the time. Right, bro?" Bryce asks, turning around.
"Yeah," Ian says. I shake my head and change the station. Bryce changes it back.
"I swear to God," I mutter. Thankfully we get to the restaurant before I can do anything to Bryce. The restaurant is on the nicer side of restaurants. It's not like Reynold's but it's similar.
We get seated in a corner booth. I'm in between Colton and Bryce. It's still awkward, but I think Ellie and Ian are too happy to notice anything. Colton's watching Bryce like a hawk. Our server comes by and brings us menus. We order food and drinks.
"So, did you guys have fun at the dance?" I ask Ellie and Ian. They both smile.
"Yeah," Ellie says.
"I had fun," Bryce says.
"I didn't ask you," I tell him. Bryce rolls his eyes.
"You two done?" Colton asks.
"Stop acting so pissy," Bryce says. "What's your deal, man?" Colton laughs.
"You're seriously asking me that?" Colton asks, he leans forward to get in Bryce's face.
"What the hell are you talkin' about? You have have somethin' to say to me, you say it to my face," Bryce says. Oh, shit. The southern in his voice is more pronounced.
"I don't appreciate you coming on to Andy," Colton says. "It's really shitty to go for someone who's already taken."
"Taken by who?" Bryce asks, looking around in a condescending way. "You don't mean that you're her boyfriend, do you?" Colton opens his mouth.
"I'm right here, you jackasses. I can speak for myself. God!" I say. I shake my head. "I'm going to the bathroom, get out of the way, Colton," I say. Colton slides out of the booth. His gaze burns my back as I walk to the bathroom. I shake my head. This is ridiculous.
I walk into the bathroom and splash my face with cold water. I take my time as I touch up my makeup. Someone walks out of a stall.
"Oh, God. It's you," Mother slurs.
I freeze.
YOU ARE READING
2:29 AM
Romance"Okay, you know what? You're such a jackass and I never should have kissed you," I say. Colton stands up. His green eyes are just as angry as mine are. "Then why did you?" he asks. "I don't know!" I yell. "Why did you kiss me back?" "Hey, you kis...
