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“Maybe we should go,” I suggested. Peyton seemed ready to get into all kinds of trouble and that wouldn’t end well.
“We just got here. I want to dance.” She lifted her hands in the air, shimmying her hips. Aaron and Cole snorted, and I pinned them with an irritated look.
“What?” Aaron said. “She seems—”
“She’s just dealing with stuff.”
Peyton moved deeper into the crowd. I glanced toward the house and Ashleigh whispered, “You could always go after him.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Come on, we’ll all go.” She clutched my hand. “Guys, let’s head to the house to get Lily here a drink.”
“Leigh,” I protested.
“A little Dutch courage never hurt anyone.”
“Peyton, you coming?”
“You go,” she yelled, joining some girls who were dancing in a small circle.
We left her there and went into the house. It was dark, and music pulsed through the air. It reverberated inside me, like a rubber band around my rib cage, tightening my lungs, making it hard to breathe.
“Yo, Bryan,” Aaron said. “Where’s Thatcher at?”
“He’s in the basement.” His eyes flicked to mine and dread snaked through me. “Come on. There’s a pool table down there and video games.”
We each grabbed a drink and followed Bryan and Aaron. It wasn’t actually a basement; it was a games room, decked out for Lindsey’s younger brothers no doubt.
It was quieter down here, chilled beats playing out through a docking station while the party went on overhead. I stuck close to Ashleigh as we found a few empty seats over by the pool table, and Aaron and Cole racked up the balls.
“Playing?” he asked me and Ashleigh.
“Sure, why not?” she answered for us. Something caught her eye over my shoulder making her frown. I glanced back, my stomach falling away when I spotted Kaiden sitting in the shadows with Lindsey draped over his lap like she belonged there.
“Oh God.” Embarrassment burned through me.
“Breathe,” Ashleigh said. “You know what she’s like and she’s made it obvious she wants him.”
“Yeah, well it looks like he wants her too.” I couldn’t help but peek back over at them. She had her arm wrapped around his shoulder as she leaned in whispering something to him.
“I need to go,” I rushed out, but Ashleigh gently grasped my wrist.
“You’re not that girl, Lily. You don’t need to hide. Stay.”
But I wanted to.
I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole, for ever thinking someone like Kaiden could be interested in a girl like me.
“Don’t take it personally,” Bryan said, coming up beside us. “He’s in a bad place.”
“And Lindsey just happened to fall into his lap?” The words spilled out of me before I could stop them.
“She’s the female equivalent of me.” He smirked. “We don’t know when to quit.”
I glanced back at them, and this time Kaiden saw me. His eyes narrowed and then widened a fraction, as if he couldn’t quite believe his eyes. But then Lindsey ran her hand over his jaw and demanded his attention once more.
My stomach hollowed as sticky regret coiled through me. I didn’t consider myself a jealous person, but as I watched Lindsey with Kaiden I turned green with envy. She was so beautiful, so confident. She was everything I wasn’t. And it shouldn’t have mattered. But in that moment, it did. Because I wanted to be the one consoling Kaiden.
