“Thanks, Jared.” I force out a chuckle. Did he purposely plan on not telling me to bring a chair so he could make sure he set one up next to his?
His chair is incredibly close to mine, the plastic of the arm rests touching. If I move my arm too much to the left, his arm will graze mine. He doesn’t seem bothered by it, so I try not to focus on it or care if we brush our arms, eventually settling into a constant position with them resting against each other. I shrug it off, figuring it’s no big deal, and focus my attention back on Julie and Porter who’s sitting beside her.
Time flies from the fun of girl talk with them. We discuss everything—periods, what sucks about being a girl, how boys have it so easy and even our home lives.
A couple hours later, a vibration in my pocket tickles my leg. I pull my phone out and see a text from Ben.
I swipe up to reply but get distracted by Julie and Porter saying goodbye and getting up to go home. And no wonder. It’s twelve-thirty in the morning. Matter of fact, almost everyone else has already left too. I was so engrossed in our conversation I didn’t even notice how small the circle had gotten.
I stand up to leave as well but a hand on my arm holds me back.
“Wait. Hang out with me a bit more?” There’s a small plea in Jared’s voice. Why not? It’s an innocent enough request.
A vibration in my hand, pulls my attention, delaying my response.
What the hell?Ok, this guy is getting a little scary…
An eerie chill drags down my spine, spreading goosebumps under my skin all over my body.
“Charlie?”
Should I call Ben and have him come pick me up?
“Charlie?”
“What?” I respond, still half distracted while anxiously chewing on my thumbnail.
“Will you hang out with me a bit more? Please?” His puppy dog eyes practically beg me in this second request.
With Jared here I should be safe. If the biker shows up, I’m sure he’ll protect me. Then when it gets too late, I’ll just call Ben and have him come get me or follow me home so I know I’m safe. I should confess what’s been happening with the biker boy anyways to rid this minute amount of guilt that rises whenever I think of him when I’m around Ben. It’s like I’m cheating on Ben, even though I know that’s not the case.
“Sure. But just so you know, my social battery is nearing zero, so I’m not sure how much fun I’ll be or how long I’ll stay,” I answer casually.
Jared doesn’t need to know about my newfound stalker. It’ll be on a need to know basis for him.
He laughs, “That’s totally fine.”
I sit back down and rock back and forth in the rocking lawn chair. A small tremble lingers under the surface from worry about if and when my previous obsession is going to show up. Soon after, the last group leaves,leaving just us two sitting in front of the now more conservative fire. It burned down fairly quickly; we can barely feel the heat of it outside of the sand barrier now.
“It’s getting chillier out. Want to get closer to the fire?”
“Yeah, for sure.”
I’m grateful he’s cold too, because I’mfreezing. I step closer to the fire, keeping myself a couple of arms’ lengths away. The fire’s crackling music fills the air around us as we watch the floating embers dance around the burning logs. One ember flies up particularly high, my eyes trailing it up to the beautiful stars shining brightly in the night sky.
The ember burns out and falls to my left onto Jared who’s staring at me intently.
“What?” I shift on my feet, backing away out of instinct.
“I’m glad you came tonight. It was great seeing you having so much fun, although I do regret that we didn’t spend more time together.”
“Well, I’m sure there’ll be other parties during the summer that we’ll both go to. I’m going to attempt to be a socialite now so you may catch me out and about more,” I say lightly, smiling.
“So, tell me, why exactlywereyou trying to set me up with Shirley tonight?” He sticks his hands in his back pants pockets and rocks back and forth on his heels.
I chuckle, meeting his gaze. “Shirley told me she’s had a crush on you for ages and since me and you had gotten closer this last week, she wanted me to set her up with you. I promised her I would so that’s what that whole situation was about earlier.”
He furrows his brow at my answer, his lips tightening together. “You’d rather her be with me than you?”
