Page 43 of In Too Deep

Of all the places for her to take her date, did she really need to bring him here? Is she trying to rub my face in it? Maybe she’s holding more of a grudge over the Sandra situation than I thought.

“Well…we…uh, were outside at the carnival.” My jaw tics, the word we banging around in my head like a hammer. I watch with narrowed eyes as she looks over at her date and smiles. “It’s just so hot outside, we thought we would come in to cool off for a while.”

“She’s covering for me,” her date says, stepping closer to her. “The truth is, I can’t keep up with her. She dragged me on the Gravitron, and I ended up making a mess of the grass out there.”

My eyebrow quirks with amusement, loving that this dude puked in front of Cat while they were on a date. His chances for a goodnight kiss are gone, and I’m breathing a little easier. But my chest quickly tightens again when she lets out a soft laugh, leaning her body closer to his before placing her hand on his arm.

“I’m so sorry. You tried to tell me you just ate. I shouldn’t have forced you to ride that with me.”

He shakes his head, his smile turning up five notches as he places his hand over hers. “Don’t be sorry. I’m not. The ride was amazing.” Her cheeks turn a deep red as her eyes fall to the ground, and I officially want to end this dude. “It was getting off the ride that was the problem.”

She meets his eyes again, and they laugh as my irritation with the situation reaches its boiling point.

“So…” I say, wrapping my arm around Cat’s shoulder, “are you going to introduce me to your friend, KitKat?”

Her eyes cut over to me. “This is Chad.”

“Hi, Chad,” I chirp, pretending his presence isn’t bothering me at all. “I’m Lawrence.”

“Lawrence?”

He looks over at Cat, who steps out of my hold as she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, her eyes darting around the room. This dude knows exactly who I am, and I suddenly feel like I have the upper hand again.

“That’s me,” I answer smugly.

“Nice to meet you, man,” he replies with a curt nod. “Cat, I’m going to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

She continues to chew on her bottom lip as she nods, shifting from one foot to the other as he walks away. It almost seems as if she’s uncomfortable to be around me right now.

“Are you on a date with him?” I demand, not even trying to hide my annoyance.

“No…kind of. I don’t know,” she answers without looking at me.

“What?” I bark out a laugh. “How can you be unsure if you’re on a date or not?”

That gains me her attention, her eyes narrowing as they land on me. “It’s complicated, okay? I thought we were going out with a group of people, but it ended up only being us. Then he…” Her words trail off, and she sighs.

“He what?” I press, my veins filling with icy panic as I think of the different possibilities, each one worse than the one before.

“He apologized for ruining our date,” she answers.

My features stay schooled, even though there’s a volcano of emotions erupting inside me. “I see. And do you like him?”

My breath stills as I wait for her answer, unsure I can handle it. Her eyes search mine before she lets out a sad sigh.

“I don’t know. Chad is great. He’s cute and funny…”

My ears ring, my face numb, but I nod, urging her to go on. “But?”

“But he’s not—”

“All right,” Chad cuts in, stepping in behind her. “I’m good to go now. Are you ready to get back out there?”

Her eyes are apologetic before she tears them away from me. Turning to her date, she gives him a weak smile. “Let’s do it.”

Catelyn

My pink nails glide down his bare back, and I marvel at the contrast of my snowy skin next to his. With summer finally relenting to fall, there’s a slight cooling breeze in the night air, and the crickets are soothing me with their melody. There’s always a calmness that washes over me when I’m with Lawrence this way. It’s like everything is right in the world.

---