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“Hey, Tommy.” She turned to him and he stopped clapping to look at her, she pointed at the pocket she had seen him slip a small flask out of earlier. “Can I have some of that?”
Pulling it out of his pocket, he laughed and gave it to her. She took two hard swallows and cringed as it burned down her throat stronger than party jungle juice. Tommy commented something but she was too distracted to hear it.
“The King and Queen will now dance on the floor.”
Tully tried to not look, but she couldn’t help it. While she was trying to distract herself, Nathan had been granted a fake gold crown, and now politely held Joliet by her hand and guided her off the stage and onto the floor.
They really did look perfect together. All sparkly crowns and symmetrical faces and equal confidence as they strode to the floor. The crowd shifted to make way for them, and suddenly she couldn’t see them over too-tall heads.
Maybe it was for the best.
She didn’t want to see it.
Nathan washerdate. Nathan washerboyfriend. Nathan was—
“Are you okay?” Stephanie frowned at her. When she met Stephanie’s concerned eyes, the realization hit her like a rock to the head.
No.No. She wasn’t okay.
Joliet was the one dancing with Nathan when it should be her. Did this mean . . .
The song came to a close and people clapped for the couple. “I need to go find Nathan.”
“Tully.”
Tully didn’t stay to hear whatever Stephanie said. She pushed away from the table and shoved past people toward the center of the dance floor. It didn’t feel as sparkly and amazing as before. It was a labyrinth now, changing its maze every step she took.
She made it to the front of the stage, but when she turned to look back at the crowd, there was no sign of any cheap plastic crowns.
She’d missed him, possibly walked right past him and he didn’t see her either. If she went back to the table, he could be there waiting for her—
“Tulsa.” A soft hand wrapped around her upper arm and she jumped. It was one of the last people she expected. Tricia’s eyes were lined in a bright pink hue, and her red lips mouthed words Tully had to read to hear over the loud music. “There you are. Come on, Nathan is looking for you.”
Tully blinked. “Nathan?”
Tricia didn’t explain. She led her out of the crowd to the side door into a hallway without letting go of her arm. Why would Nathan send Tricia for her?
Tully guessed it wasn’t too strange after the years of friendship they’d had, but Tricia had dropped them when Tully came in. Nathan never said anything to her about it, but it wasn’t outlandish if they still spoke some.
“Where is he?” She asked. She yanked her arm out of Tricia’s hand and rubbed the skin that her fingers dug into.
Tricia rolled her eyes. “Just come on. He’s right up here.”
No. Something wasn’t right.
They were in front of the same girl’s restroom where Tully and Nathan were caught in a stall together on the first day of their fake relationship. She frowned at the door. “In here?”
“Just go in, he wanted to surprise you.” Tricia gave her back a small shove and Tully braced her hands on the door so she didn’t fall forward. She snapped a glare at the girl behind her.
It took three seconds for her to make up her mind, and finally, she pushed on the door and walked into the restroom.
Her chest concaved. The burning jealousy she’d felt watching Nathan with Joliet burst into flames that ate up all the oxygen in her lungs.
Nathan stood with his back against the bathroom wall, pinned against the tile by Joliet’s whole body with their lips just centimeters apart.
forty-five
tully
