Holden nodded his head, eyes wide with sympathy. “Shit, dude. Word’s going around that she’s cheating on you.”
“CHEATING?!” Ming shrieked into the phone. “Do they even know her? That girl’s like disgustingly in love with you.”
“Yes, thanks, Ming,” I muttered but he couldn’t hear as the music was still blasting.
“Lui’s on the phone with you?” Holden laughed, then slapped his hand onto my back. “I’ll take care of the rumors, you go find your girl, man.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Who told you about it anyway?”
“Ritchie,” he answered. Of course it was fucking Fynn. “It was so weird. I thought you guys were tight. Lane’s girl would murder every single person out there if he so much as thinks about another girl, so I was already confused as hell when Ritchie told me. And he should’ve known Lui’s not fucking your girl either, especially since Brooke’s like our unofficial team mascot.”
My eyebrows drew together. “What?”
“Yeah. Carter, she’s ateverygame. It doesn’t matter if we’re across the country, Brooke’s there. So basically a mascot—wait, no. She’s our cheerleader.”
Well, he was right, in some odd way. Brooke never missed a game, even if that meant she had to skip school to be there. She usually brought Eden to games that were too far away so she wasn’t alone on the way to and back from the place. She never went on a plane by herself.
But at least she showed up.
“If she ever doesn’t show up for one game, we’re gonna lose,” he added. “So she’s also our talisman. You got yourself a ruby.”
I nodded slowly, unsure of what to say. “Anyway, I should go find them.”
“Right.” He slapped his hand to my back once more. “Tell her I said hi.”
“Did you hear any of the things I just said?” Ming’s voice came through the phone, reminding me that I was still on a call with him. “I ain’t repeating it.”
I sighed and walked around a group of girls because they refused to let me squeeze between them. “Come downstairs with Brooke, alright? I’m getting Rina so we can get the fuck out of here.”
“But you guys just got here ten minutes ago.”
“Yeah, and you already started rumors that my fiancée’s cheating on me.”
“FIANCÉE?!” Oh, right… I didn’t tell him. “You’re engaged?!”
“Can you give me Brooke?” I asked, and a moment later, I spotted Rina. She was dancing with five different guys at once.
Alright then.
“Actually, don’t bother. Meet me downstairs in the kitchen. I’ll get Rina.” That said, I hung up the phone to make my way over to Brooke’s friend.
Neither Brooke nor I were party people. We preferred to spend free weekends at home in bed and watch a movie or two, or five. We were both big on spending time with our families and thought that treating ourselves to a good meal from a high-ranked restaurant was worth more than spending a night in a way too crowded space with drunk people.
We were only here because of Ming since he didn’t want to go to this disease-catcher party all by himself. But I was going to take that guy, drive his drunk ass home, and spend the rest of the evening with my fiancée in our shared apartment. It was such a waste of time coming here.
“Rina.” I laid my hand on her shoulder, almost earning myself a slap but she stopped herself when she realized it was me and not one of the five guys surrounding her.
“Hiiii!” She took my hands, swinging them around in an attempt to make me dance. “You’re so stiff, Carter. Loosen up, my God. You’re such a grandpa.”
Was that supposed to be an insult? “Thank you.”
She laughed, let go of my hands, and continued to dance like nobody was watching. There were more than ten pairs of eyes on her—mine excluded—and I was almost sure it was mostly guys who were looking at her.
When I first met Rina, she seemed like a very innocent girl. She was covered in paint in a school that didn’t offer art classes, perhaps that should’ve been a sign that she didn’t have a single care in the world. But boy did I wish she was less confident right now.
“We’re leaving,” I told her, but had to repeat myself because she didn’t acknowledge me.
“What, why?” Rina stopped dancing and let her arms drop. “We just got here. I’m having fun.”
