Page 68 of Pucking Only

Mrs. Monroe is dressed in an elegant emerald dress that falls to her knees and Mr. Monroe is wearing a tan suit with an emerald tie. He raises his chin, looking proud and dapper.

“We have Grace to thank for looking so snazzy,” he explains. “She insisted on dressing us.”

“Well, I'll have to tell her she did an excellent job,” I say.

“Have you found her yet, sweetheart?” Mrs. Monroe asks, looking around. “She and Jensen were just here… ”

“I'm actually looking for Carson,” I quickly say.

Mrs. Monroe blinks in obvious surprise, but Mr. Monroe appears unfazed and replies, “He was by the bar, last I knew.”

I give him a smile and a nod. “Thanks, I'm going to go see if he’s still there. I'll catch you two later, okay?”

Before either of them can say a word in response, I turn and continue toward the bar, weaving my way through the crowd of partygoers. When the bar comes into view, I see him leaning against the end of it, looking drop dead gorgeous in a slate gray suit.

When I notice he’s not alone, I stop dead in my tracks.

Carson is standing near the bar, his arms wrapped around Elizabeth Norris.Elizabeth-fucking-Norris!She’s pressed against him, her head resting on his shoulder. He’s hugging her like they’re the only two people in the room. The sight of them together — so close, so familiar — makes my stomach twist painfully.

For a moment, I can’t move. I can’t breathe. All the confidence, all the determination I had built up tonight shatters in an instant. All I can see is Carson with his high school sweetheart.

The girl he’d told me he would rather date than me. The girl who was pretty andhis type.

All of a sudden, I’m a teenager again, standing in his backyard as he tells me I’m not what he wants. That gut-wrenching rejection makes me want to throw-up and I turn away, needing to get out of here at this exact moment. I can’t stay. I know I’ve come all this way and that there are more people here I want to see, but… but I know I can’t hang around here and pretend that I’m not falling apart from the inside out.

Suddenly, Elizabeth looks up and spots me. She smiles and waves.

“Skyler!” she calls out. “Over here!”

I see Carson stiffen and then he whips his head around and meets my gaze, dropping his arm from around Elizabeth. His eyes are wide and his face pales, as if realizing he's been caught doing something he shouldn’t be.

No…no, no, no, no. I can’t do this.

Maybe it makes me a coward, but I pick up my dress skirt, turn, and rush toward the door, just managing not to run. Once I’m out in the country club’s lobby, I stop and take a moment to catch my breath. Tears well in my eyes and I fight to hold them back. No, no, not here… not now. I can’t have a full-on melt down now…

I manage to get outside and to my rental car. Pulling out my phone, I shoot my dad a quick text.

Skyler: A work emergency came up and I had to leave early. I love you and will call you tomorrow!

Tucking my phone away again, I start my car and drive away, back to my hotel. I don’t care that I just arrived. I’m going to get a ticket on the earliest flight I can tomorrow and get the hell out of here.

Grace: Sky, why are you ignoring my texts? What happened tonight? Please answer me!

Guilt twists my stomach, but I don’t respond to Grace’s latest text. For the last two hours, she’s been bombarding me with texts and has tried to call a few times, but after a quick message telling her that something came up, I haven’t had it in me to reply to anything else she’s sent. What would I even say to her? I bolted from her parents’ party because her brother was with his high school girlfriend? How humiliating is that?

When I’m home and have calmed down, I’ll call her. For now, I’m just going to finish packing, get a couple hours of sleep, and then make my 5:00AM flight back to California.

As I’m stuffing the few clothes I brought for this trip into my carry-on, there’s a sharp knock on my door that makes me jump. Who the hell…?

I cross to the door and peer out the peephole. Grace is standing in the hotel’s hallway, dressed in a flowy pink dress, her hair arranged in an elegant bun. I freeze and don’t know what to do. I watch her release a long breath before knocking again.

“Skyler? I know you’re in there! You gave me your room number, remember? I’m not leaving, so you might as well open up!”

Knowing how stubborn she is, I reluctantly unlock the door and open it.

“Hey,” I murmur. “Sorry, I was just…”

“Don’t try to bullshit me,” she declares, slipping past me toget into the room. “Something’s going on and you’re going to tell me right now.”

---