Page 10 of The First Play

Sienna’s breath catches before she stumbles over her words, “Why would I… why… why would I die of humiliation?”

It’s impossible to keep my laughter in check, but I do my best when she looks at me with bulging eyes, her cheeks turning from white to bright red.

I cringe and admit, “You kind of threw up on me.”

“No.” Her expression bunches with horror. “No, no, no, no.” Covering her face, she groans into her hands. “Kill me now.”

My laughter is light as I softly reassure her, “Seriously, it’s fine. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Uh-huh.” She nods, but she still has her face covered.

Lightly taking her wrists, I try to pull her hands away, but she resists me, and I have to let go and just admire the shape of her fingers instead. I like the ring on her middle finger. It’s a blue opal and matches the color of her eyes. “You obviously don’t remember much, huh?”

“No.” Her words are muffled. “I mean, I woke up in Olivia’s bed, no idea how I got there.” Her hands fall away, but she keeps her eyes on the floor. “I had this monster headache, and my brain was, like, blank. Olivia just said the party went well, I got completely shit-faced, but she assured me that Ididn’tembarrass myself.” She glances up to throw a hot glare at her friend.

Olivia, never one to apologize, actually has the decency to mutter, “Sorry. I was just trying to protect you”

Sienna’s delicate nostrils flare, her jaw clenching as she looks back down at the floor again.

Leaning my shoulder against the locker beside hers, I lower my voice and move into her space so she’s the only one who can hear me. “You didn’t embarrass yourself.”

“I totally did. I threw up on you.” Then she gasps and those big blue eyes are staring at me, once again wide with horror. “Did I say anything to you? Before I puked?”

I shrug. “Not really.”

“Oh.” Her expression wrinkles, and then she nods. “Okay. Well…” Her head bobs some more. “Good. That’s good.”

“You spoke to me after you threw up, though.”

She goes pale again, and my lips pull into a grin. I probably shouldn’t be enjoying this so much, but…

“What’d I, um…?” She licks her lips again, obviously steeling herself. “What’d I say?”

I flick my fingers through the air, taking pity on her and going for a casual brush-off. “Don’t worry about it. Not a big deal.”

“No.” She snatches my wrist, her grip surprisingly strong considering how skinny her wrists and fingers are. “What’d I say? And you have to tell me the truth.”

Her voice is so strong and adamant.

Something stirs in my chest, an unfamiliar sensation that… I kinda like.

Looking her in the eye, I study her expression and softly ask, “You sure you wanna know?”

“Yes, please. I hate it when people lie to me, even if they’re trying to protect me, so please, just say it.” She swallows. “How badly did I humiliate myself?”

“You didn’t.” I tip my head, still hyperaware of the fact that she’s holding my wrist. I like the feel of her fingers on my skin.

“Zander.” She closes her eyes, then grits out the rest. “What did I say?”

Letting out a soft sigh, I finally give in. “Okay, you…” I sigh again, then just blurt it out as gently as I can. “You told me you liked me and that you’ve liked me ever since you saw me. You keep finding excuses to watch me and?—”

“I swear I’m not a stalker.” She whimpers and covers her face again.

I grin, lightly nudging her hand away so I can look into those sparkly blue eyes again. “You told me the party was put together so that you and I could meet, and that your friend dared you to speak to me and that’s why you got drunk. Because you were nervous.”

A little whine pops out of her throat, her face crumpling into a cringe that’s just plain adorable. I love how red her cheeks go.

“You know you don’t have to be nervous to talk to me.” I can’t resist brushing my finger over her ear like I did the night of the party.

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