pull me back | a drag me down spin off

【ten】

"I still don't think this is a good idea." Cameron nervously says as we head downtown to the bar. His knuckles are turning white from gripping the steering wheel so hard.

"Because it's not a good idea, it's a great idea." I mischievously smirk and turn my head to look at him.

"Hanging out with Riker, Jesse, and Theo isn't my definition of a great idea." He rolls his eyes.

"Come on, they're not that bad."

"I hate when you get like this." He shakes his head.

"Like what?"

"All boy obsessed. It happened with Zack, and it's happening again with Riker. Both are douchebags who use girls in negative ways."

The mention of my high school boyfriend makes my skin crawl. We dated my junior and senior year until he dumped me two days before prom. He was screwing some blonde on the cheerleading team for three months and I had no idea, go figure. Luckily Cameron stepped in and escorted me to the dance. My parents were ready to kill him, and so was I.

After that, I swore off long term relationships. I went on casual dates with guys, but ended things before they got too serious. I guess getting burned by Zack nearly four years ago really destroyed my confidence. I never wanted to feel like that again.

"Please, Zack was so long ago." I sigh.

"But him and Riker are pretty similar. Star athletes, manwhores, have that charming smile that girls drop their panties for."

"Ew, who says panties?" I cringe with a laugh.

"You know what I mean." He groans while looking straight at the road ahead of him.

"I get where you're coming from, I really do, but this is harmless. We're just having some fun, those guys are cool." I defend my randomly selected new friend group.

"I feel like they're not going to be happy that I tagged along."

"Who cares what they think? You're my best friend, I want you there." I honestly mean my words. I can't picture my life or having fun without Cameron Renner, he's been by my side through everything.

He doesn't respond to my comment, he simply turns his head to glance at me. "Well, you look amazing tonight. Seriously, that dress is stunning."

A happy smile forms on my face as I glance down at the black dress covering my body. It's silk material is totally sexy. I curled my brown hair and added fire red lipstick to my lips. I didn't come to play tonight, I came to win.

"Thank you." I turn and eye him up and down. Cameron is wearing a white t-shirt with black jeans and his usual Nike sneakers. "You're also looking very sharp tonight. I'm sure girls will be all over you."

"Hm, we'll see." He says, pulling into the parking lot.

Cameron's last girlfriend, Isabella, was three years ago. Let's just say, they were doomed from the start. She was constantly nagging, extremely controlling, and called him every second of every hour. If he was at work and couldn't talk, she accused him of cheating. If he was studying at the library, she accused him of lying. Their relationship was so toxic and she was beyond annoying.

Plus, she hated my guts simply because she was jealous of the friendship Cameron and I have. She even called me a slut once for going to the beach with him. Honestly, I'm glad he broke up with her and ended all forms of communication after that.

Getting out of the car, the muggy air hits my skin as I practically drag Cameron into Patrick's Roadhouse. A lot of local surfers come here, so it's usually always packed. I glance down at my phone, but see no new messages from Riker.