He smirks. "One of the only few things he's good at."
"Hey, he and Indie are cool now. He's not the enemy anymore." I take a sip of the beer and glance down at my phone.
Still no texts from Indie.
"Have I told you that you look really pretty tonight?" Duane says out of nowhere, making my eyes snap up to his, my breath stuttering.
"Um, no?"
He thinks I'm pretty? My heart flutters wildly in my chest and I suppress the urge to smooth my hair. I'm so glad I decided to wear this teal dress. It looks so good with my new hairstyle.
But then I quickly check myself and dart my eyes around to see if she's around. Because there's a real possibility that he's being sweet and attentive for her benefit.
But Heather's not in the kitchen. And her friends are nowhere to be seen, too.
Which means he's complimenting me for my benefit.
A shy smile forms on my lips.
He chuckles softly, reaching out to tuck my hair behind my ear.
Our eyes lock for a long, intense moment that it feels like air is crackling around us. And everything around us ceases to exist. Suddenly, we're not at Brad's party anymore. We're not surrounded by people anymore. It's just the two of us, lost in each other's gaze.
I lick my lips.
His eyes trail the movement, darkening. He steps closer.
My pulse hammer in my ears. Is he going to kiss me again?
But before he can do anything, my phone buzzes in my hand, startling the two of us.
"You should get that," he says gruffly, taking a step back.
Swallowing hard, I nod and glance down at my phone.
Indie: Sorry, All. We're not coming. Gray wants to see a movie instead of going to Brad's, and there's no changing his mind. I think he's not really okay with me going to my ex's house even just for a party. I'll think of something else to fix him and Duane, okay? Really sorry, hon. Enjoy the party though!
Seriously? I groan aloud. I came here because of her plan. And now she's bailing? Ugh.
"What's the matter?" Duane asks, picking up on my mood change.
"Indie and Gray aren't coming."
"Oh." Disappointment flashes in his eyes but quickly disappears. "Oh, well. We're already here, aren't we? Who says we can't stay?"
Guy's got a point.
I bite back a smile. "Then I guess we're staying."
"Come on, let's go find the guys."
"Um, guys?"
Instead of answering, he takes my hand in his, drawing me out of the kitchen.
The "guys" turn out to be his lacrosse teammates who are having fun at the beer pong table in one of the rooms. Of course when they see Duane, they instantly rope him into playing. And then to my surprise, they ask me, too.
I gamely indulge them, high-fiving the guys every time I land the ball in the red cups, my heart fluttering whenever Duane rewards my points with a kiss on the cheek. Which makes me blush and keeps earning hoots and cheers from his friends.
"I'm going to the bathroom," I tell Duane after an hour of playing.
"Okay. Don't be long." Then he plants a quick kiss on my lips without any hesitation, as if doing it feels natural to him.
Only I always end up blushing every time he does it.
Which he seems to find amusing—judging from his soft chuckle and the gleam in his eyes.
Grinning like a goof, I make my way through the halls to look for the bathroom, smiling at anyone who calls my name. And there seems to be more of them compared to the last parties I've been to.
Come to think of it, people seem to greet me and smile whenever they see me walking through the school halls. Huh. Is fake dating Duane giving me popularity boost?
I honestly don't know how to feel about that.
"What's taking him so long? You practically told him you want him back."
My steps halt at the female voice drifting through the open door a few feet away. Is that Merritt Wayne? It definitely sounds like her. Who is she talking to?
"I know. I even straight up told him to dump her dorky butt. But he didn't listen, did he? They're still pretty much together."
I freeze. I recognize that other voice. She's talking to Heather. Which means they're talking about me and Duane.
I probably should turn around and walk away. I doubt I'd want to hear whatever they're going to say next, anyway. But as always, curiosity has me rooted to the spot.
"Well, maybe he's just playing hard to get. Boys do that sometimes."
"But Duane isn't like that. He doesn't play games."
"Maybe so, but think about it. You broke up with him. It will make him look like a total wimp if he comes crawling back just because you told him so."
"Ugh. I hate that you're right."
"Trust me, Duane's going to dump Grayson's geeky sister and he'll be back in your arms in no time."
Way to dig a knife to the chest, Merritt.
I've heard enough. Slowly, I turn around and head back to where I came from. I'm just gonna have to find the bathroom somewhere else.
Where there are no truth bombs waiting for me.
CHAPTER 10
Mom is sitting by the pool when I step out, intending to chill out in one of the lounge chairs. It’s what I do during the weekends—usually by myself. Obviously, that’s not going to be the case today.
“Hey, honey.” She waves me over with a smile.
Walking over, I drop down on the lounge chair next to her. That’s when I notice the book on her lap. It’s Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover, her favorite author. Just like Indie, Mom loves to read books. But while my best friend usually goes for fantasy books, Mom is a total sucker for romance novels. She even joined a few reading groups on Facebook and have made friends with other avid readers over the years.
“You don’t have any plans today?” I ask as she takes a sip on her lemongrass iced tea.
Being a stay-at-home mom to grown-up children, she occupies her time by reading books and going out with her friends. It helps with the boredom, she says, since Dad is at work all day. He owns a construction company, affording us a comfortable lifestyle and allowing Mom to manage our household full-time.
“No. I feel like staying in and finishing this book. How about you? No plans with Indie?”
“Indie is probably with Gray right now, so no.”
Mom stares at me. “Does it bother you that she’s dating your brother?”
“When it started, I was a little bothered, yeah,” I admit. “But not because I didn’t want them dating each other. It’s just that...seeing them together felt weird. But it was just a fleeting feeling, I quickly got over it.”
“That’s good to know, honey. Just because she’s in a relationship with Gray now doesn’t mean that she’s already disregarding your friendship. She’s still your best friend. It didn’t change that.”
I smile. “I know, Mom.”
“Now, tell me what’s the problem between your brother and Duane. He hasn’t come around here for some time now. Then you and Gray had an argument when he came over for dinner a few nights ago. What’s going on?”
Crap. This is what I was afraid of. That Mom would finally notice and decide to get to the bottom of the issue. She didn’t demand an explanation after that dinner so I thought she already forgot about it. Of course, she was just waiting for the right time to bring it up.