“Aw, come on Addie. You still pissed about last night? I can pay you back,” he practically whines.
I’m actually embarrassed for the guy, having this conversation in front of all of us.
“I don’t want your money,” she says with a firm shake of her head. “And I definitely don’t want you making public claims that I’m your girl. I don’t belong to anyone.”
“Yeah, Liam, ease up,” Emma adds, coming to stand beside Addie. “You keep this up and she definitely won’t want to be with you.”
He glances at all of us, Danny at his side. “What the fuck? Are you all conspiring against me? Did you get them all to hate me, Beck?”
“I had zero to do with this,” I tell him, disliking how he’s trying to pin this on me. “Pretty sure you’re doing this all on your own, bud.”
“Fuck you,” he says to me before he storms off, Danny bravely sending me a dirty look before he goes chasing after his friend.
“Whoa,” Dom says after they’re gone. “That was kind of intense.”
“Can’t wait for my party tonight,” Marcus says. “Better not start any shit with him, Callahan.”
“Definitely won’t,” I say firmly.
But I can’t control Liam, that’s for damn sure.
TWELVE
ADDIE
Only the second day of school and I missed having Beck in sixth and seventh period, which is silly. The football team left early to travel to the scrimmage and I stared at his empty seat pretty much the entirety of World Religions, wishing he were sitting next to me. Wishing I could see that warm smile that appeared on his face every time he looked at me.
Am I stupid for thinking something could happen between us? I know for sure he and Sasha broke up, even though I haven’t heard the confirmation from him directly. It doesn’t matter though. She’s making it pretty obvious via her Instagram stories she posts every night of her and her ex, Jayden.
Has Beck seen any of those videos? They’re such a big fuck you to him, but he’s never mentioned it. Not like he would.
Then there’s Liam. He really showed his true colors to me last night and this morning, and it only took a week. He blew up at Beck for no apparent reason and he’s just…not the kind of guy I want to go out with. Not even the kind of guy I want to talk to really.
It’s unfortunate he’s part of the guys’ friend group, but if he keeps acting the way he has been, I get the sense he’s on his way out. He just seems so angry all the time.
I don’t want that kind of energy in my life. I’m trying to focus on positive things. Enjoying my senior year before my entire life changes and I become a so-called adult.
Once school is over, I go home to grab some things before me and Tori head over to Emma’s, who invited us to get ready with her before we go to the game together. The girls are still wearing the jerseys to the game, but afterward, they’re changing into “party attire,” as Tori calls it.
“Gotta look hot for our boys,” Tori explains, once we’re all at Emma’s house and contemplating outfit choices. I’ve already got my shorts picked out, but I still need to come up with a shirt to wear.
“Marcus says I always look hot,” Emma brags, right before she bursts into laughter.
“Who are you cheering on tonight, Addie?” Tori asks, her expression innocent, but I think she knows who I’m cheering on.
The little sneak.
“I don’t know,” I say with a shrug. “Definitely not Liam.”
“Oh my God, wasn’t that awful? I don’t know what’s gotten into him,” Emma says, shaking her head.
We talked about the incident briefly during lunch, but then Emma took off with Marcus and God knows what they did together when they disappeared for thirty minutes.
“You’ve given up on him completely, right, Addie?” Tori asks me as she pulls out an endless pile of various shirts from the bag she brought.
“Yeah, I never really liked him that much in the first place,” I admit.
“Who do you like?” Emma asks, her tone vaguely accusing. “Because you certainly haven’t mentioned it to me.”
Here’s my moment of truth. Should I admit it to Emma? She has to know. This has been going on between Beck and me for a while. And Tori figured it out quick. Plus, she’s so encouraging.
I don’t know if Emma will be as positive.
“I’m thinking…Beck,” I admit.
“Yessssss.” Tori bounces up and down. “I fully encourage this.”
“Really?” Emma’s voice is sharp and she trains her gaze on me. “Are you sure, Addie? You two have kind of done this thing before, and nothing ever comes from it.”
This right here is why I didn’t want to tell her. She discourages me every chance she gets.
“It’s our senior year, right? We only live once and I may as well go for it,” I say with a shrug, hoping like crazy she’ll support me.
I don’t like feeling as if I have to keep things from her, which is exactly how I’ve felt the past week. Not that she’s paying attention to me or Tori. She’s too wrapped up in being back with Marcus.
“I don’t know…” Emma’s voice drifts.
“Oh, stop being so discouraging. We only live once. If Addie has been lusting after Beck for years, she should totally try something with him now. If she never takes that chance, then she’ll live with regret for the rest of her life. And that’s not cool,” Tori explains.
“So deep,” Emma murmurs, her gaze going from me to Tori. “Feels like you two are talking without me.”
I stiffen, but thank God, Tori says something first.
“You’re always with Marcus.” She shrugs.
Glad she beat me. I would’ve apologized, when I really have nothing to say sorry for. We’re all friends, and we can’t control it if she’s hanging out with her new/old boyfriend instead of us.
I steer us out of that conversation and focus on getting ready, since we’re running out of time. The girls basically force me to wear a pair of shorts that are almost too short. As in, my ass cheeks practically hang out of them and the hem is completely frayed. The sides have working zippers, and I wore the shorts when I went to the beach with my family and Emma over the summer. Mom about had a heart attack when she saw them on me, while Emma cheered me on for wearing them.
I pair it with a soft and faded green T-shirt, so I’m not going full-on skimpy. I’ve never been comfortable showing a bunch of skin, especially at a party. Sometimes people get drunk and get grabby.
Emma, on the other hand, has no issues with going skimpy to this party. She’s wearing a black denim skirt that barely covers her ass and a freaking white tube top. It accentuates her tan nicely, but dang.
“Really, Emma?” Tori asks drolly when Emma models the outfit for us. “That’s pushing it, even for you.”
“What’s wrong? I like it. Plus, easy access.” She yanks her tube top down quickly, flashing us and making Tori and I squeal. “God, you two are ridiculous,” she says after pulling the top back over her breasts.