Page 40 of The Wrong Prom Date

Teagan stared at me for several moments before she suddenly started laughing. I frowned when she kept on going.

“What?” I said, which only made her laugh harder. “What is it?” She sounded kind of hysterical, and I was guessing it was because she was freaking out. My heart was racing with adrenaline, so I had to imagine hers was too. We were lucky to have gotten out of the party without getting hurt.

“I just had to use the cops as a threat to get rabid girls away from you.”

My frown grew deeper. “That’s not funny.”

“Sure, it is,” she said, though she’d finally stopped laughing and was now taking in deep breaths as if the whole experience was just starting to hit her.

“It was a good idea though,” I admitted. “Thank you for getting us out of there. If you hadn’t done that, we might have been overwhelmed by people.”

Her cheeks seemed to warm at my thanks, and she started to twist a strand of her long blonde hair around one finger. “It was nothing, and you rescued me first from that fight, so I’m pretty sure I’m the one who should be thanking you,” she said, struggling to meet my eyes.

It had probably nearly killed her to admit that, but I felt a wave of happiness at her gratitude. The feeling swelled in my chest in an intoxicating way that I couldn’t quite understand. Why did this girl’s thanks mean so much to me?

“I guess that makes us even,” I said.

“I guess so.” She finally lifted her gaze to meet mine. There was curiosity in her eyes, and I sensed she was a little nervous. She was probably still processing our escape from the party though. She’d never exactly been nervous around me before.

“Is that really what it’s like to be you?” she asked. “All those people at the party trying to get to you, I mean.”

I shrugged. “Sometimes, but normally it’s not nearly so bad. Usually I have a whole team of security when I’m in situations with big crowds.”

“Where were they tonight?”

“I didn’t realize so many people would come,” I replied. “Boss wanted to have more security on me, but my mother was more interested in making sure I experienced a real high school party. I guess she figured it would be hard to do that through a wall of muscle.”

“Well, that was stupid,” Teagan said, with a shake of her head. “Shouldn’t your mom be more concerned about your safety?”

“Yes, well, she’s not exactly going to be winning a prize for mother of the year anytime soon.” I slowly blew out a breath and fished my phone out of my pocket. I had countless messages and missed calls from Zeke and Boss. I fired off a text to Zeke, telling him where I was and asking him to come pick us up, before I focused on Teagan again. “I’ve just organized a ride for us.”

“Thanks.” Teagan gave me a relieved smile and peered down at her own phone as it lit up with several text messages.

“Is that your friends?” I asked, feeling a hint of worry for the drama kids she normally hung out with. I’d spoken to a few of them during classes and had seen several of them at the party tonight. I knew Teagan would be concerned about leaving them behind.

She nodded as she read the string of text messages. “They’re all okay,” she said, letting out a long breath. “It sounds like they went out the back of the house when all the craziness started, and they’ve managed to get back to Evan’s car.”

“Good.” I was surprised to find I actually felt comforted by the news. I guessed the drama kids were growing on me.

Zeke’s eyes were filled with concern and relief when he finally arrived to pick us both up. Boss was in the car with him, and he looked just as unhappy about how the night had escalated.

“You seriously had me worried there, kiddo,” Zeke said, as Teagan and I got in the back of the vehicle.

“Don’t worry,Dad, I’m fine,” I replied, making him chuckle. His voice was strained though, and I knew how concerned he’d been. Despite my fame, it wasn’t every day we found ourselves at the center of such a big crowd. Walking a red carpet or leaving a nightclub was one thing, but inviting all the screaming fans into your house for a party was something else entirely. I wasn’t in any hurry to do it again. My mother was crazy for thinking it was a good idea.

When we pulled up at Teagan’s house, I expected her to race from the car without a backward glance. But, as she got out of the car, she hesitated and turned to me.

“Thanks again for looking out for me tonight,” she said. She didn’t meet my eyes as she said it, and she didn’t wait for my reply as she swiftly shut the door. She hurried down the darkened pathway toward her house like she was worried I’d come after her so I could respond. I didn’t stop watching her until she was through her front door and out of sight.

“I think she might be softening on you,” Zeke commented from the front seat.

My heart warmed, and a flicker of hope flared within me. Teagan might have a knack for driving me crazy, but I couldn’t deny that whenever she was near me, my heart beat a little faster and I struggled to notice anyone else in the room. Seeing her so vulnerable tonight had brought out a protective streak in me I didn’t know I possessed, and now that it had come to life, I couldn’t seem to switch it off.

There was so much more to the girl who had yelled at me in the corridor on my first day of school and she wasn’t at all like I first assumed. It felt as though I was slowly peeling back the defensive layers she shielded herself with, and the more I got to know her, the more I wanted to know. Teagan was good at getting under my skin. The problem was: I was starting to like it.

14

Teagan

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