Page 39 of It Should Have Been Me

I tilt my head to the side as I put on my big silver hoop earrings. “Monday. He’s been busy with—” I’m cut off when music starts blaring.

Here come the Men in Black.

“What is that?” I ask, looking around as the beat and lyrics fill the room.

Tommy starts picking up the discarded clothes, looking for the source as the song continues to play.

They won't let you remember.

“It’s your phone,” Isa says as she retrieves it from under her pillow and hands it to me.

An annoyed humph bursts out of me when I see the name flashing on my screen. “Really, Scott?” I answer. “You setMen in Blackas your personalized ringtone? This song is, like, a hundred years old.”

I can picture the grin that forms on his face. “It’s the original, so it’s timeless...and listen to the lyrics. Just like the Men in Black, I, too, ain’t on any government list. I straight don'texist...” He pauses to let that simmer with me for a few seconds. “No name and no fingerprints. It’s sad.” He fakes a melancholic sigh. “But it’s fitting.”

“Why are you such an asshole?”

“Genetics. I get it from my mother’s side. How’re you doing, beautiful?”

I don’t understand the effect this man has on me. I’m irritated yet I still feel my face heat up. “I was in a better mood two minutes ago. Any particular reason you decided to call?”

“Yeah, the limo just picked us up. We’ll be there in ten minutes. Dyl asked if you can please make sure Isa is ready.”

“Tommy came over early to make sure of that,” I respond with a short laugh. “So, a limo, huh? That’s fancy.”

“Peter organized it, so we all have a designated driver for the night.”

“Clever. Look at Peter slowly taking on adult roles. I’m proud of him.”

“I’ll tell him you said so.”

We exchange goodbyes before I hang up and look over at Isa.

“I bet Dylan wanted to make sure I’m ready,” she says. “He gets Scott to call every time because he hates listening to my excuses.”

“Do you guys go out as a group often?”

“Yeah. Since Dylan and I got back together, we go out all the time. Tom is usually Peter’s plus one, which I guess is the same as when we were in high school.”

“We’re more of each other’s wingmen now,” Tommy clarifies, “because Peter still refuses to make me his bitch, but...you can’t win them all.”

“So, Scott is like the fifth wheel?” I ask without thinking.

“No! Scott’s dad is always trying to set him up, so sometimes he brings these weird blind dates along. Man, some of those chicks were straight-up crazy. Tommy, do you remember the one who—” She must see something on my face because she stops herself. “Are you alright, Cat?”

“Fine.”

I’m not, but this feeling of exclusion is becoming familiar to me now. It’s a byproduct of my choices and I have to get used to it. This is something I’m going to feel every time I come home to visit, so I might as well find a way to deal with it while I’m here.

A horn blares outside. We kiss Keith and my mom goodbye before rushing out. Isa is first into the limo and seats herself next to Dylan at the back, slinging her legs over him. Tommy moves to the opposite side and sits next to Peter on the left side, which only leaves an empty seat on the right...next to Scott. The second he lays eyes on me, I feel my whole world tilt off its axis. I know that look. I know exactly what it means. On the outside, he appears unaffected, but everything he’s thinking is reflected in those blazing blue eyes. And they are blazing, burning for me, so hot I feel their heat prickling every inch of my skin.

He looks sexy as all hell in a black-collared shirt and blue jeans that are ripped at the knee. I release a slow breath to steady myself.

“Fuck,” he groans as I sit down beside him. He turns slightly and lowers his lips to my ear. “Could your skirt get any tighter?”

“Could your attitude get any more obnoxious?”

His gaze moves down my body, slowly, purposefully, like he's undressing me with his eyes. “I bet I wouldn’t even be able to get my hand up there,” he whispers with a teasing grin.

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