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“Who’s ready to party?” Ben yells out.
The sound of car tires along the gravel road catches my attention as lights sweeping across the barn shine brightly in my eyes.
Once a few more guys from the team trickle in, Ben heads to the stereo system and flips a button that blasts music all around us. “For the Glory” by All Good Things begins with their drawn-out techno-like beats.
Ben climbs on a chair, pounding on his chest as he yells out the lyrics, “Better back down, you’re in my domain. Got the whole crowd screaming out our name!”
All the guys join in on singing the song about being champions and doing it all for the glory.
Watching them all bounce around, acting like fools as they celebrate their win, makes me laugh so hard, andby the end of the song, my cheeks hurt from smiling so big.
Ben screams out one more time once the song is over, then jumps down and heads to the fridge to get a drink.
I’m lost in the theatrics of it all, so I don’t even notice Dalton is standing above me until he says, “You know that’s my seat, right?”
I jump at the sound of his voice and feel my face flush when I look into his eyes. It takes me a second to remember that I do have a voice—or to even breathe—before I say, “You think I care?”
He lets out a surprised laugh, then picks me up, swinging me around until I’m sitting on his lap and he’s sitting where I just was. His hand rests on my thigh, and I instantly jump up from the feeling of his touch.
“How dare you!” I yell.
He laughs as he holds his hands out to his sides. “I told you this was my spot.”
Remembering him doing the same thing to Trish last time I was here fills me with disgust. She might have liked sitting on his lap, but not me.
“Ugh,” I say as I roll my eyes and find a seat on the other couch, next to Susie.
When I look up, I see Trish staring at us, and I know she just saw all of that go down.
Don’t worry, sweetheart; he’s all yours.
The night goes on, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t having a good time. Thankfully, Dalton has kept to his side of the party, sitting on the couch, while I’ve walked around and enjoyed the company of my fellow classmates.
Wanting to get some lip balm from my purse, I head out to Ashley’s car, where I left it. After grabbing it, I shut the door and am startled when I see Dalton sitting in the dark on the side of the carport that we’re parked next to.
“You scared me.” I place my hand on my chest to calm my breathing.
“Sorry,” he responds nonchalantly. “I didn’t mean to.”
“What are you doing out here?” I ask as I approach him.
He holds the beer bottle in his hand and points it up to the sky. “Looking at the stars.”
“By yourself?”
“Yeah. What’s wrong with that? I just wanted some quiet for a second.”
“Oh. Okay.” I turn to head back to the party.
“Join me,” he says, stopping me in my tracks.
“I thought you wanted to be alone.”
“I said quiet. Not alone.” He scooches over on the curb where he’s sitting and pats his hand down, like he’s giving me instructions to sit right there.
I don’t know why, but I follow those instructions and sit next to him.
“Want a drink?” He offers me a sip of his beer.
