The Switch Hitter (GxG)

Chapter 14

I pulled my leather jacket on and grabbed my keys, preparing to leave the house. It was 8:30 on New Years Eve, and I was getting ready to go to Alyssa's party. I felt a knot of nerves in my stomach like I had the last time I was at a party. 

Except this time I was more certain as to why I felt them.

Anna was on the couch, a glass of wine already in her hands. I noticed she was using the jumbo glass I'd gotten her for Christmas. She smiled at me. "You leaving?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Don't sound so excited," I teased.

Rolling her eyes at me, she said, "Jacob's coming over at nine."

"Ah, I see. You want the house all to yourself," I winked.

"Funny. You're lucky I don't take your keys away and make you stay home."

I made a disgusted face. "You think I wanna be here with you and your boyfriend getting down and dirty in the next room over? No thanks."

She chuckled. "Who knows, you might learn a thing or two."

My face now displayed only pure horror. "Oh hell no. Nasty. And people wonder why I'm gay."

Trying, and failing, to keep a straight face, she used her bottle of wine as a fake microphone. "Why are you gay, Miss Miller?"

I stood there, eyeing her dubiously. "I am a proud heterophobe, thank you very much."

Laughing harder now, she set her wine bottle back on the table. "Can't say I blame you."

"I know you can't."

She made a shooing motion with her hand at me. "Get going, you'll be late."

"I see how it is," I said, giving her a hurt look. "You just want to get rid of me."

"Yes, I do, now leave." She was still laughing.

I held up my hands, smirking. "Fine, fine, I'm going, damn."

As I closed the door, I shouted back, "I'll be home around one!"

Walking to my truck, I felt my stomach tighten. I leaned against the door of my truck and looked up at the sky, hoping to find some soothing force in the stars. Why did I have to be so nervous? It was still just a party. 

But you were going to see Ari.

And that was the crux of it. Just the thought of her made me apprehensive, excited, and afraid all at once. Even though I hadn't seen her in person since the semester finished, almost two weeks ago, I still saw her every time I closed my eyes. It was torture, really. I could remember almost every detail of her face; those amazing freckles that surrounded her eyes even though it was the dead of winter; the way her entire demeanor lightened when she smiled, revealing perfect teeth and the lone dimple on her left cheek; and most of all, her beautiful, vibrant green eyes that would draw me in and leave me speechless if I let them. I could tell she knew it too, she knew that she could stun me with her gorgeous face. And it seemed logical enough, based on her casual flirting, to believe that she was attracted to me and wanted me as bad as I wanted her. But nagging doubts were lingering in the back of my mind still, doubts that I hated to face. Alyssa had told me she was straight, which was something I kept trying to take into account. For some reason, though, I had a hard time remembering that when her face was two inches away from mine, our noses nearly touching, our eyes locked, trapped in her gaze.

I sighed and opened the door to the truck, climbing into the driver's seat. Cranking up the engine, I started the short drive to Alyssa's. The radio, as always, was on, playing Working Man by Rush, which was one of my favorite songs. But I couldn't focus on the music, not tonight, not with my nerves jumbled and my stomach tied in a knot. It took everything I had to pay attention to the road and not cause an accident. My hands were shaking slightly, and at every stop sign I forced myself to take a deep breath to stop the tremors.