Page 6 of College-Virgin & Dark Bully Next-Door

She sighs. “I guarantee, no one remembers that awful night.”

“Right, until they see me in this.” I sweep my hand down my body.

“Let me prove it to you.” She offers me her hand once more. “Trust me.”

I scoff. “Only because you’ve had my back since middle school,” I reply, taking her hand.

Still, my entire body shudders as we head through the back door. The hard concrete under my sandaled feet reminds me of the night I wished the earth would open and swallow me. I hope this isn’t another trap. Another cruel joke.

No. Bonnie wouldn’t hurt me like that—

My thoughts come to a sudden halt. I lift my gaze from the paved patio floor to dozens of eyes staring back at me. Everyone freezes. Even the music has paused. The urge to turn tail and run is even stronger now, but Bonnie’s grip tightens on my wrist.

“Don’t you even think about it,” she mutters through a smile.

With my breathing on pause, I brace for the jeering, maybe a bottle or two thrown at me, but nothing happens.

At least, not for the next thirty seconds.

I almost startle as the loud pop music suddenly resumes, and the crowd unfreezes. Most of them go back to bumping and grinding. A few are still gaping at me.

“Bonnie, you promised small. This isn’t small!” I complain in a harsh whisper, looking over no less than half of the senior class that’s now partying around or in my pool. When I had glanced out the window fifteen minutes ago, I literally saw five people down here.

I chew my bottom lip and pull my cover up tighter around me as if the fabric isn’t lace and will actually hide the dark green bikini Bonnie practically wrestled me into. No wonder she went through the trouble of distracting me with the outfit, so I wouldn’t notice all these people coming in.

Although my entrance turned out way better than I’d been worrying about all day, the party was still far outside my comfort zone. I can still feel the anxiety shaking me up. I feel like a can of pop – ready to explode. My dad isn’t here, Chase is upstairs gaming, and without Bonnie grounding me, I’m alone. I’m not really the ‘friends’ type after all, and the graduation party was just supposed to be people I talked to - which meant like five. Not the thirty-plus people she insisted on inviting.

I’m already calculating the issues. “No one is allowed in the house wet, and there are no towels. I should just call it off entirely.”

Bonnie shakes my wrist impatiently. “Look, you’re taking a semester off, but most of these people … you’ll never see them again. What do you have to lose, Sky?”

“You mean more than what I’ve already lost?” I hiss as she nudges my back.

“I understand high school wasn’t the greatest, but the purpose of tonight is to go out with a bang. This is the last time they’re going to see you. You want this to be memorable, don’t you?”

I shrug. “I guess—”

“Jesus Christ, Sky,” Maddox, a guy from the track team interrupts, staring me up and down. “You look… wow.”

Bonnie beams as my wide-eyed stare remains fixed on his handsome face. Six years of high school, and he’s never said a word to me until now.

My best friend jabs my side with her elbow, and I blink. “Um… thank you?”

“I mean, I knew you’d lost a ton of weight, but this…” His hand runs up and down my frame. “I can’t believe you’ve been hiding all of this under those baggy clothes you wear.”

“It’s called the element of surprise,” Bonnie offers.

“Oh, trust me, I am.” Maddox bites his lower lip.

The obvious interest in his eyes makes my stomach flip, and not in a good way. I force a smile, and his puzzled expression is the last thing I see before I move off. A few of my schoolmates greet me with thumbs-up gestures as I hurry along the edge of the crowd.

“Great party, Sky!” yells a girl from my math glass. “Who would’ve thought you had it in you?”

I respond with the same forced smile I just gave Maddox and move on.

“Lose that cover-up!” a guy calls. “Show off that banging body!”

“Sky, breathe,” Bonnie says from behind me. I didn’t even notice her following me.

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