Page 29 of I Hate You More

I laughed and shook my head at her. “Fine. I’ll wear your slutty outfit. Now, are you guys going to tell me what I’m supposed to do to attract Chase tonight?” I hadn’t wanted to know about what their plan was before, but now that we were leaving, I knew I needed to hear it.

“You’re going to have a few drinks, dance your little heart out, flirt with all the boys, and totally ignore Chase,” Mia replied.

I frowned. “And that’s supposed to attract him?”

The two girls nodded. “He hates girls that fling themselves at him,” Tessa replied. “And if he sees you looking this hot and having an amazing time with everyone but him, it’s going to drive him wild.”

“You really think that will work?”

Tessa opened the car door and waved for me to get in. “There’s only one way to find out.”

9

Chase

Dizzy was justas awful as ever. It was overcrowded, the music was too loud, and everyone was wasted. I’d had a couple of drinks at the start of the night but quickly set them aside when I’d seen the direction things were heading.

I was hiding out in a booth at the back of the room, as far away from the chaos of the dance floor as possible. Nightclubs just weren’t my thing, but all my friends were out tonight, and I didn’t have much of a choice. My only other option was hanging out at the Lockwoods’ house avoiding Ally, so it was a no-brainer to tag along.

I knew I should be grateful that the Lockwoods had taken me in and that I was able to live with my best friend, but it was hard to feel that way when I was constantly tiptoeing on eggshells whenever I was in the house. I was also growing more and more frustrated by Ally. She hadn’t agreed to our truce, but she’d been acting strangely around me ever since we’d last discussed it in the kitchen. She seemed to be more unfriendly than ever and was pretty much refusing to speak to me. While I hadn’t heard an argumentative word from her mouth in days, I’d had more than my fair share of spiteful looks.

I’d hoped to find a little reprieve tonight. Just one night where I could forget how shit my life had become and hang out with my friends. Dizzy was not a particularly relaxing place though, and I was seriously regretting my decision to come.

“Are you hiding back here?” Shane asked, taking a seat in the booth next to me. I’d lost him at the bar a while back, and there was a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead, so I assumed he’d been dancing.

“Am I that obvious?”

Shane chuckled under his breath. “Yeah, but I don’t blame you. It’s getting messy out there. Jenna just puked on the dance floor, and the bouncers escorted her out.”

“Gross.” I screwed up my nose and glanced toward the packed dance floor. The threat of Jenna’s vomit lurking out there on the ground somewhere was yet another reason to stay exactly where I was.

Another body slumped into the booth next to me. “What’s happening back here?” Jordan slurred at us. He was on the football team with Shane, but unlike my best friend, Jordan didn’t take the commitment to staying sober during the season very seriously, and his eyes were glazed as he looked at us.

“Jordan,” Shane said. “Don’t you think you should take it easy on the drinking?”

“Nah, I’m ’kay.” Jordan’s answer was interrupted by a loud hiccup that seemed to surprise even him.

Shane shook his head and sighed but didn’t push the matter.

“Did you see your sister?” Jordan continued.

“Ally’s here?” Shane asked, a crease forming between his brows.

“Yep.” Jordan took his phone out and swiped across the screen before handing it over the Shane. “And,dayum,she looks hot!”

Shane’s face grew tense as he looked down at the phone, and I quickly leaned in to take a look. There was a photo open on the screen of Ally and Jordan. The two of them were laughing as they danced, and Jordan had her lowered in a clumsy but dramatic dip.

Ally looked nothing like her usual self. Her long hair was styled in thick curls, and she was wearing a short skirt that made her legs look unbelievably long. I could see just a hint of skin peeking out between her top and her skirt, but her face really took my breath away. She looked so sweet and innocent most of the time, but tonight, her makeup made her look sexy and far older than she was.

My mouth grew dry as I looked at the picture, and I struggled to pull my gaze away. I liked to believe it was shock that had my eyes glued to the phone screen, but I struggled to ignore the searing heat in my chest. Ally Lockwood was the last person I wanted to feel any sort of attraction to, so I clenched my hands into fists and dug my nails into the skin of my palm in the hopes a little pain might jolt me back to my senses.

“Shit,” Shane swore.

“You two were dancing?” I asked, frowning as I finally managed to lift my eyes from the screen.

“Dude, she’s dancing witheveryone,and I swear she nearly drank me under the bar.” Each word that left Jordan’s mouth was more slurred than the last, which meant Ally must be drunk if she was matching his drinks. “I didn’t know your sister was actually fun, Shane.”

Shane’s expression darkened, and he glanced toward the dance floor. “This isn’t like Ally,” he said as his gaze drifted over the sea of people dancing under the swirling lights of the club. “She doesn’t normally come to places like this, and she definitely doesn’t drink.”

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