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“Etiquette,” I retort.
“Boring,” he yawns.
“Don’t be silly. What kind of person ditches her own party?”
“The kind of person who doesn’t give a fuck.” His green eyes gleam with mirth. “Tell me, aside from a handful of people here, do you give a fuck about any of them?”
“Of course I do.”
“Liar.” He laughs. “You don’t give two fucks for half the stooges that you invited here tonight.”
“You make me sound like a heartless bitch.”
“Hey, never,” he reprimands, taking a more serious tone. “That’s not what I meant. You’re the kind of woman who doesn’t thaw just for any Tom, Dick, or Harry. You make people work for your smiles and friendship. And that’s a fucking compliment if you missed it.”
“Are you flirting with me, Donovan?” I arch a knowing brow.
“I’m always flirting with you.” He laughs unashamedly. “But I know you’re taken now. It’s all good.”
“I’m not—”
“Don’t bullshit a bullshitter, babe. I saw Nichols stroll out of this party like a man who just got his ass handed to him. Quite the heartbreaker, aren’t you?”
“Caleb—”
“Let me ask you this question,” he interrupts me, placing his hands on my shoulders and looking me dead in the eye. “Are you going to stay at a party where you’ll be bored out of your mind, or are you going to find your man and celebrate your birthday like God intended—bumping uglies?”
“You’re incorrigible.” I laugh.
“Not the worst thing I’ve been called. Now, go and have some fun. The night isn’t getting any younger.”
I look around the room, and aside from a handful of people, no one really means that much to me.
Caleb’s right. I don’t want to be here.
“Can you tell—”
“Your hottie bestie that you bailed? Not a problem,” Caleb interjects. “FYI, you’ll never guess who has the hots for her.”
“Who?”
“My boy, Nate. Dude is beyond smitten. Like cupid-shot-him-right-in-the-ass kind of smitten.”
“Really?” I ask, unable to hide my surprise. Then I suddenly remember that when Lottie caught me coming out of the bathroom, Nathan was standing right beside her, and they were both acting like they had just been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. I didn’t pay it much mind at the time, but now it’s all starting to make sense.
Whenever I call Lottie for feedback on Nathan, she spends most of the time gushing about him. Whenever I ask Nathan how his fake-dating with my best friend is going, he looks like I just punched him in the gut.
How did I not see it sooner?
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
“Hey, she could do a lot worse than Nate,” Caleb quickly defends.
“Don’t I know it? I’m looking right at him.” I tilt my chin in Coop’s direction. “You can’t get any worse than that. He’s the human equivalent of period cramps.”
“I feel you. I only talked to him for a couple of minutes and got the distinct feeling that God created the middle finger with him in mind,” Caleb chimes in.
“So true,” I add with a grin. “But enough about Coop. I refuse to waste my precious time talking about people who should have been swallowed.”
