Benefits

Chapter Seven: Party

I immediately wanted to go over there and interrupt their conversation, to pull KC away from Justin so he couldn't say anything to embarrass me, blow our cover, or make KC not want to date me later. However, I didn't want Jaida or Gabriela to wonder why I was weird about them talking. So, I carefully watched the guys, and almost as soon as KC walked away, I said I was going to go make sure Justin was okay, and slipped out of the crowd.

"Hey!" I said as I walked up to him. He instantly smirked.

"I had a feeling when I saw you looking over here that you'd come wondering why we were talking..."

"Well, look at how smart you are," I joked, pushing his shoulder slightly. "But you should tell me what you were talking about!"

"Oh, I should?" he asked teasingly, pulling me close.

"Mhmm," I responded, trailing my fingers up and down his chest.

"Hmm," he muttered, before leaning down, capturing my lips in a kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him close.

"Ew, get a room, lovebirds!" I heard Jaida's voice, followed by Gabriela's loud giggle.

I reluctantly pulled away from him, and he smiled at me. "I'll tell you all about it when we're alone."

"Okay," I said, feeling slight relief.

"So," Gabriela said excitedly, "Liz is throwing a party and she invited me during cheer practice today! Do you guys wanna go?"

"Oh, yeah, I got invited to that too," Justin said. "I just knew we had this, so I figured we couldn't go."

"It sounds fun," Jaida said, shrugging.

"Oh, yeah, we can go," I said, looking at the three, who were looking hopeful that I'd say yes. "Sorry, babe, I didn't know you got invited to something!"

"It's okay, sweetie, I wanted to come here. So, do you two want to meet us there?" Justin asked, turning to Gabriela and Jaida.

"Yeah, we can do that!" Gabriela said, before pulling Jaida away with her.

Justin chuckled, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and leading me out.

"So," I said as soon as we got into the car, "what did you and KC talk about?"

Justin started the car and began driving as he was talking. "Well, he asked a lot of questions about us... He asked if we were actually boyfriend and girlfriend, why I was suddenly interested in you, and then he got a little angry... He told me if I was just looking for someone to get off with, I could go find someone else... So, I told him that I like you, he doesn't know me, and he has no right to butt into our relationship, because it's ours, not his."

My jaw dropped. "Justin!" I exclaimed, slapping his arm.

"What?" he asked, laughing. "That's not a bad thing! That's how I would react if I was your boyfriend, and it just cemented it into his head that he can no longer dangle you by a string anymore. If he wants you, he's going to start making it more obvious now."

"Oh..." I took a deep breath. "Okay, Justin. Thanks."

"No problem, weirdo."

I giggled. "So, we're going to a party with your friends now..." I said hesitantly.

"Yup. Is that a problem? Because if you don't want to go..."

"No, no it's not! It's just... I'm awkward. What if they don't like me?"

He laughed. "Aw, don't worry about that sweetie! I'll still love you."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up! You know what I mean. They might be like 'oh wow, they're not compatible at all'. Especially since you've dated most of the cheerleading team, who will all be there!"