The QB Bad Boy and Me (Sidelined) - Wattpad Books Edition

Chapter 15

Gabby and I wandered through the mall the next morning. I was less than enthused to deal with crowds doing what I was doing—searching for a last-minute dress. Of course, I was far less worked up and frantic than some of the other girls who were tearing around with their parent's credit cards.

". . . so then after Josh threw up, he tried to swing at this guy he thought was staring at my ass, and Drayton literally had to pick him up, carry him to the car, and drive us both home, and oh my word, Dallas, it was hectic. He was such a mess."

I focused on the fabric of the teal dress in front of me, trying not to wince at the sound of Drayton's name or the thought of his protective heroics.

"I'm not finding anything here. Let's go try Belinda's Boutique."

Gabby prattled on about last night. After the tiff with Drayton, I'd asked Cooper if we could cut our evening short. We left Maxon's and met Nathan at another Halloween party. It was slightly less amped up and the numbers just couldn't compare, but it was fine. Unfortunately, I wasn't the best company. Cooper didn't seem to mind, though. He took everything in stride and never stopped smiling.

Gabby insisted we spend the day searching for a homecoming dress. I didn't know why she came along; she knew that I was hopeless, and we'd search the entire mall before I settled on some- thing. Cooper had had no problem abandoning the search three stores ago; in my opinion he'd made the right decision. He let us know that he'd be in the food court drowning his male sorrows in burgers and frozen soda until we were done.

"Are you going to tell me what happened with you and Dray?" Gabby asked once she'd exhausted all of her tales of drunken adventure. I sighed as I steered us into the cute boutique. I had known that she'd ask eventually.

"Nothing happened," I said quietly as I flicked through the racks with a little more hope than I'd had earlier. These dresses were beautiful. "We're both hopeless. Neither of us will own up to how we feel—not that I actually know how he feels."

"I think it's obvious," Gabby said as she mirrored my movements. "He's so into you, and we can all see it."

"It can't be that obvious when he's flirting with me one minute and giving me another guy's number the next."

"Josh thought it was super weird that this Cooper guy just arrived without warning. Creepy, kind of, but sweet. I don't know. I just hope it makes Drayton jealous enough to sort his shit out."

"That's kind of evil," I laughed. Of course she'd find a silver lining.

The champagne-colored dress in my hand looked perfect. "I'm going to try this on," I said.

"Do you wonder if Dray's trying to protect himself? Maybe he doesn't want to fall for you for the exact same reason that you don't want to fall for him?" Gabby asked on the way to the change-room. "Make sure you show me once you've got that on. You guys are being so frustratingly ridiculous. You both like each other."

I lifted the straps of the dress over my shoulders and assessed it in the mirror. It looked perfect. It stopped above the knee. The fabric was satin, and the dress had a tasteful neckline that left enough cleavage visible to be alluring but not inappropriate. I smiled at the reflection in front of me. It paid to be picky sometimes.

"Gabs," I said as pulled the curtain open. She gave me an approving smile and sprang up from the seat.

"That looks incredible! Dray is going to love it!"

"You need to stop."

"You're crazy. You don't want to date the rich quarterback who could literally visit you in California whenever he wants because, why?"