“Thanks, Angelica.” I move a step back, crossing my arms across my chest, creating plenty of space between us.
“Can you get me a drink?” she asks, her lashes batting in my direction.
“The coolers are like, two feet from you,” Josh interjects. Angelica throws a harsh glare in Josh’s direction, and I use that moment to leave the conversation.
“See ya,” I tell Josh, just as he tilts his head back in an acknowledging nod.
It doesn’t take me long to find Teeny. She’s surrounded by her friends, a group of about four to five girls huddled around the glowing fire. A few of them have soda cans in their hands, and Teeny has a Capri-Sun gripped between her fingers.
“Hey,” I whisper into her ear as I sidle up behind her.
She turns to look at me, my chin resting on her shoulder. “Hey.”
I catch the eyes of the girls around Teeny glance in our direction. Some amused, mostly surprised.
“Hello,” I say, waving a hand.
“You guys know Everett,” Teeny says, eyeing the way not a single person greets me.
“Hi,” Diana finally says. A few of the girls follow suit, quietly whispering to each other. I glance down at Teeny, and she rolls her eyes at me.
“We were just talking about what a great game you boys had tonight,” one of the girls comments, tipping her plastic cup to her lips.
“Oh, yeah,” another adds. They share more glances at each other, something secretive and amusing.
Teeny shivers next to me, bringing her hands to her arms and rubbing over her shoulder for friction. I offer her the hoodie in my hand. “Here.”
“You won’t get cold?” she asks.
I shake my head. “I brought it for you.” I help her slip it over her head, and her face reemerges through the opening of my sweatshirt, the hood capped over her head. Strands of hair fall over her face, and she grins at me. I move the hairs out of the way and place a small kiss at her temple. “Better?”
She nods. “Better.” She turns and leans her back against my chest. I start to run my hands over her, attempting to warm her when I catch Angelica watching us through the flames of the glowing fire. She has this indignant look of judgment on her face with a raised brow and pursed lips, and she turns to say something to her own clique who’s standing a mere whisper of gossip of distance away from her. A few more heads turn in our direction, and I suddenly feel like we’re garnering more attention than I’m comfortable with.
Teeny slips her hand into mine, her focus on her friends, though with the way her fingers stroke my skin and her body still leans into mine, I know I’m somewhere in her line of thought.
“You want to get out of here?” I whisper into her ear.
She turns to face me. “Already?”
I nod, and she smiles.
“Yeah,” she answers. She then turns to her friends, letting them know she’s leaving. The exchange is quick, and my attention is more focused on leaving, away from the crowd, to somewhere less chaotic and probing.
We make our way to Teeny’s car, where I stop before getting into her car.
“You okay?” she asks.
I nod into her hair. “Yeah,” I tell her. “Just didn’t feel like mingling with the crowd.”
“Me too,” she tells me.
“You sure?”
“Yeah,” she assures. “Did you want to go home?”
“No.”
“Did you have some place in mind?”
