Page 14 of Perfect Chemistry

He laughed. “Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow.”

I threw my phone down on my bed and went to get showered before bed. A cold, cold shower.

* * *

I couldn’t help looking for any sign that I was being avoided, and I have to say, the results were mixed. I went home after school completely depressed and no less confused than the day before.

I checked my phone again, but there was still no response. I didn’t want to text her again and seem needy, so I just put my phone away and sat down to do my homework.

Why hadn’t she messaged me yet?! I could see that she read the message. Why was she avoiding me? Fuck. I couldn’t continue like this. I needed to call Bradley, and ask his advice.

I slammed my head into my pillow and growled. I needed some kind of answers or I was at risk of pulling a crazy stalkerish move, and I didn’t want to go there after the time I had with that crazy bitch last year. I decided not to call either of them and wait it out.

Thank fuck, the rest of the week flew by.

My parents agreed to let me borrow their minivan. Unfortunately for me, it was not nearly as cool as the Mystery Machine (aka the Jeep Cherokee) and instead looked like a total soccer mom-mobile. Because it was.

My mom called it the best “anti-chick” device. She swore that no girl would ever get pregnant by her sons if we drove her van. I just shook my head at Bradley as he walked out to the van on Friday night.

“Dude! Your brother wouldn’t let you borrow his Jeep?” he asked, climbing into the front seat beside me.

“Just shut up,” I muttered.

Bradley laughed and thumped me in the arm, “You are so not getting any tonight!” He continued to laugh until tears were streaming from his eyes. “Shit, Kai. How much do your parents really hate you?” he asked, still laughing.

He knew this was the only vehicle I was allowed to borrow when we went out. It had been my parents’ rule since I got my license nearly two years ago.

I looked over at him while I drove toward Alex’s farm through town. “You can always walk,” I told him pointedly. I didn’t know if he got the point I was making or had just laughed this one out to its end. But he finally stopped chuckling, and we talked about normal school shit for the rest of the drive.

The music was already going when we got to the dirt road leading up to Alex’s place. Alex’s family owned about 130 acres outside of town, and his parents let him throw one massive party each year. Alex had the best birthday parties when we were kids because his family always did hayrides or haunted mazes through a corn field. When we got to High School, he moved his annual party closer to the end of each school year.

His parents didn’t care if we drank; so long as no one got stupid, and we had to have designated drivers. The last rule was broken only once. Alex’s dad had caught one of the designated drivers drinking two years ago at one of Alex’s older brother’s parties. That kid woke up in a horse stall covered in shit the following day. No one broke that rule again. Not one of us dared to.

I parked the van in a cleared field next to all the other vehicles, and we made our way to the barn where the party was. As we walked up, Bradley reached over to a table and passed me a red solo cup filled with beer. I looked at him, confused, but he grabbed the van keys out of my hand and nodded to the cup.

“I don’t know what you have going on, but I know you need this more than I do. You don’t have to tell me today. I know you have your reasons for keeping shit quiet. So I got the cock-block-mobile,” Bradley said, jingling the van keys at me, “and you have a beer, and go get you some!!” He patted my chest before walking into the throng of dancing people.

“Wooooo! Hellllooooo, Ladies!” he shouted as he shimmied into the crowd.

I chuckled to myself and took a swig of the beer. Bradley had his hands in the air and danced his way into a group of girls. He was a known flirt, but he always respected their boundaries. He never touched without permission, and I had even heard him ask a girl if she was flirting with him. So I wasn’t surprised when they welcomed him into their group laughing at his antics.

I never understood how he just got people in a way that I didn’t. Then again, that’s how we became friends. Dude was super nerdy on the outside, like a young Rowan Atkins. But he fit in with every crowd at school like a damned chameleon.

I walked around the inside of the barn, stepping around hay bales and kissing couples, looking for Kat. My heartbeat sped up each time I saw a blonde making out with a guy, then it calmed back down when I realized it wasn’t her.

I finally found a place near the back of the barn where I could see the doors and the whole interior of the barn. Maybe she wasn’t coming after all. I scowled at the thought.

No, she was going to come to this party. Bradley had talked with a friend of a friend, or some such bullshit. But he assured me that she would be here.

My phone vibrated in my back pocket, and I took it out to see who was messaging me. I almost choked on my beer. There was only one “hot Kat” in my contacts.

?????: [Why do you look so angry one second and then fine the next?]

She was here. I looked up, my eyes scanning the room, but I didn’t see her. I texted her back, still looking around the barn.

[Where are you?]

?????: [Right where I can see you. ?? Can’t you see me?]

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