Page 30 of I Blame the Alcohol

I shake my head, “Shouldn’t Stella get a say in this? It’s her break too.”

“She’ll be ecstatic, she loves hanging out with you. Plus, you’re one of the few people who doesn’t get scared by her temper. You would be doingmea favour by tagging along.”

I grimace, thinking of Stella’s crestfallen face when I ran away last night. I owe her a huge apology along with an explanation for my actions.

“I don’t know, man…”

“Ellsworth. This is not up for discussion. I will pick you up Tuesday, 8:30AM sharp. Have a bag packed and ready to go.” He hangs up the phone, ending the call.

Shit.

Stella

CODY: We need to talk.

I toss my phone across Lou’s bed where I have been lounging all morning. Her comforter is nowhere near as soft or as fuzzy as mine, but being in her presence more than makes up for it.

“Isn’t it a good thing he wants to talk? Like wouldn’t it be worst if he was pretending the whole thing didn’t happen?” Lou twirls a wavy strand around her finger, eyes scrunched up in thought.

“That’s exactly the problem, hon.”

I heave myself onto my stomach for a change of scenery. Instead of staring at a moldy ceiling, now I’m admiring sticky laminate.

It’s good to broaden one’s horizons.

“Cody wants to talk because he regrets kissing me.” Ouch. Saying the words out loud hurt a lot more than just thinking them.

Lou tilts her head, her sitting position at her dorm desk separating us by a whole two feet.

“Didn’t you kiss him?”

I lift my head high enough to give her a glare, “Not the point, Lou.”

“Right, sorry.” She blushes faintly, the only telltale her social anxiety continues to linger even after all we’ve been through together. It breaks my heart to still see it, but I am proud to have watched her grow these last few months.

“No need to be sorry, I’m just in a mood.” I huff, dropping my gaze back down to the horrid colour choice.

Why would anyone think speckled brown is a good colour?

“What I’m trying to say is, Cody wants to pull the wholethat was a mistake, let’s promise to just forget the whole thingcharade with me.” I frown at a drifting clump of hair, not sure whether the sick feeling is from my close proximity or the thought of Cody regretting last night.

“Doyouregret kissing Cody?”

I hum to myself, taking a moment to think about my answer.

Do I regret kissing Cody? At the time, absolutely not. But the way he ran away the moment our friends showed up left a sour taste in my mouth. Not that his subpar reaction did anything to lessen my sexual frustration last night.

Curse those broad shoulders.

And that jawline.

And those eyes.

And those… ENOUGH.

I sigh, torn between wanting to punch myself and wanting to punch the varsity captain who haunted me all night long.

“Honestly? I don’t regret kissing Cody. A part of me wishes I do, just so this next part will be easier, but I don’t.”

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