I couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t have too much fun.”
Jamie didn’t even respond verbally that time; he just waved his hand, dismissing me.
This time, I listened.
Out in the hallway, the music was louder, as were the voices carrying up the stairs. Taking another quick sip of my drink, I moved on toward the stairs when my phone vibrated in my pocket.
Nellie
I’ll be there in five
beck’s not coming?? don’t tell me you actually fried his hair off
Nellie
HA. more like he said he’d rather die than go to a party filled with high schoolers.
I didn’t fry his hair off
but thanks for the faith
With my phone out, I loaded up Penn’s contact, thumb hesitating on the keyboard. She was the only sibling with a phone, and felt safer to text than Mom, but what if she was already asleep and I woke her up? Then again, could I really enjoy the rest of the party without knowing?
Biting my lip, I began to type one-handed.
hey just curious, did Mo
I didn’t get to finish the text.
I was too busy looking at my phone as I neared the stairs, and I hadn’t noticed someone hurriedly rushing up them, not until they collided with me on the landing. Myplastic cup got crushed between us, spilling Sprite all down the front of our shirts.
“Gosh, I’m sorry, I—” the guy began. I didn’t have time to recognize the muffled voice before I looked up, finding Dalton standing there with his hand pressed to his nose. Red oozed between his fingers. “DD.”
“Whathappened?” I asked, forgetting my spilled Sprite. “Are you okay?”
“It’s just a nosebleed,” Dalton cut me off, and though most of his left hand was covering his face, his eyes were clear and bright. “Can you, uh—do you know where the bathroom is? Is it this one—” With his free hand, he reached for the door to the room Jamie was in.
“No!” Impulsively, I snatched Dalton’s hand. His fingers yielded beneath mine, as warm and knobby as I’d remembered. “It’s—this way.”
From the two sleepovers, I remembered which door was the half-bath, and thankfully it opened. I let go of Dalton’s hand, and he brushed past me into the bathroom. Instead of shutting the door behind him, he started talking. “I still get those spontaneous nosebleeds,” he said with a little chuckle. He pulled a wad of toilet paper off, pressing it to his gushing nose. “Remember our first kiss?”
Of course I did, with vivid detail. We’d been in his car, listening to Today’s Top Hits, when he’d finally leaned across the console during a Sabrina Carpenter song. He’d kissed me softly, the tip of his nose brushing mine, the perfect balance ofsweetandfirm.
But half a second after I’d pulled back, hisnose started gushing like a geyser, getting blood all over his car’s leather interior and my white denim skirt.
“I thought you were going to run for the hills.” Dalton chuckled, tossing out his bloody tissue and grabbing another. “Any other girl would’ve.”
“Itwaslike something out of a horror movie.” Inexplicably, I thought of the way I’d crouched in front of Jamie’s bed the other day. “It’s a good thing you kissed a girl who’s okay with blood.”
Now his chuckle bloomed into a real laugh. “Yeah.”
The sound of it was too familiar, and I found myself leaning toward the bathroom door. I needed to walk away—knew it the same way I’d known it earlier when I’d lingered in the room with Jamie. “Sorry about the pop.”
“Not really my biggest concern.” Behind his hand, Dalton’s teeth grazed his bottom lip. “I’m kinda more concerned about the ice cream you spilled on me the other day. Turns out, chocolate swirl isreallyhard to get out of Malstoni linen.”
I felt my cheeks go hot. “It was Malstoni?” It hadn’t lookedthatexpensive.
“I get it.” His teeth left his lip, and I realized it was him holding back a smile. “I’ll admit, I deserved it. Does that make us even?”
