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“I thought about it, but I assumed you wouldn’t like that very much.” He assumed correctly. “Plus, I thought it might be better ifsomeonesaw it a little closer to home.” He nodded past her towards the closed door, and she understood immediately he was talking about Joliet. Ever since he found out about the cheating thing, he’d seemed to be far more against Joliet than ever before—and that was saying something because he never really accepted her advances anyway. “But you’re not completely off the hook.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “What does that mean?”
“How quickly can you get ready?”
She raised a brow, “For what?”
“A party.”
“A party?” Her heart dropped a little bit. The last time she went to a party . . . she couldn’t meet his gaze so she stared at the roses. “Tonight?”
He looked at his watch. “It starts in ten minutes.”
* * *
The party house was nothing like Nathan’s which made it easier to stifle the nerves bundling in her fingers. She clenched and unclenched her fists to relax them. It made it easier to swallow down the alcohol. Logically, she should avoid alcohol because that’s was what made her lose her common sense at the last party, but this time she wasn’t going to do that. This time she knew better, this time she didn’t have a reason to kiss Nathan, so she wouldn’t embarrass herself again.
Plus, she had both Stephanie and Nathan with her now. They all knew the same thing: Everything at this party was a show.
That helped her relax.
Nathan whispered a soft, “Yes or no?” as they walked in, and when she gave a subtle nod yes, his fingers gently locked with hers.
In the sea of unfamiliar, his hand was an abnormal comfort.
She had to do more talking than she was used to in a social function like that. At school, they could avoid a lot of that, but here people made an effort to go up and talk with Nathan, and since she was with him and they were all so curious, she was forced to talk too. She kept it simple, kept it sweet, and whenever she got a little nervous Nathan’s hold on her tightened in a quiet solace.
She knew what people were looking for now so she could give them at least that. Every now and then she would pretend to whisper something in his ear and they would both laugh like they had their own little secrets. They did have their own little secrets, but it wasn’t what people were probably thinking.
“My feet are killing me,” she whispered once. They both giggled like the annoying couple they appeared to be and then he found a way out of whatever conversation they were having to take her to the couch and sit down. Once or twice he pulled her over to dance, and her laughs there weren’t completely fake. She didn’t know the first thing about dancing, and midway through the night, the alcohol made it easy to laugh at her mistakes and calm her nerves with the light-headed buzz running through her system. Luckily for her Nathan was in his right mind the whole time. He had only a single beer when they arrived since he was driving. His main focus was on holding conversations and taking care of her.
She wished the last party was like this. No falling into pools, no cheating ex-boyfriends, no making out with the guy your sister likes for revenge. Just dancing, drinking, and fake dating the guy your sister likes for revenge. The way things should be.
Joliet was there. She’d shown up a little after they did and Tully had seen her once or twice, but for the most part, they skillfully avoided each other’s paths.
At some point, Tommy and Kimmy arrived and joined them. Tricia was nowhere to be found, which wasn’t much of a surprise. As far as Tully had seen, Tricia hadn’t interacted with the entire group since Monday. It looked like she had ditched them entirely to put all her energy into being a Joliet groupie.
A good night was a good night, and Tully was happy Nathan had invited her.
“I’ll be right back.” Nathan leaned into Tully and whispered in her ear. His breath brushed against it and she shivered as a chill ran down her arms. He let go of her hand and walked towards the bathroom.
“I’m going to get more to drink. Do you guys want any more?” Kimmy asked and linked her arms with a drunk Tommy. They both were taken by the alcohol already, but at least she could walk straight . . . mostly.
“No thanks. I think I’ve had enough,” Tully said, and Stephanie repeated the same. Kimmy and Tommy walked away toward where the alcohol was stored. Once they were gone, Stephanie started talking.
“They’re about as dumb as I thought they would be, but they’re not as terrible so that’s a win,” she said, and Tully laughed.
“You read my mind.” She’d thought the same thing when she started to get to know them. Her mouth moved faster than her thoughts. “But Nathan is still the—.”
“Hey, babe.”
Tully turned towards the voice, and her entire body cringed at the sight of a very drunk, very unwelcome cheating ex-boyfriend.
thirty-four
nathan
“Nathan!” Someone was yelling his name. He was heading back to find Tully when he heard it and he stopped to look around. His search led him to Tricia, who was walking at him. She frowned so deeply, lines cut the middle of her brows.
