Page 154 of Something Rad
I guess Denise pulls away, because everybody is clapping now and Denise is scooting back into her spot in the circle. I stare at her, because I am willing to look anywhere other than at Robbie right now.
“Sorry, Sara. I think I got a little carried away there. Old habits die hard, I guess.” She shoots a wink in Robbie’s direction, and I resist every urge to hurl my wine cooler straight at her head. “Thanks for letting me borrow your boyfriend.”
“Don’t even mention it,” I grit, flashing her the most pathetic excuse for a smile that I can manage.
She smiles right back at me, unbothered.
Bitch.
“Okay, Paul,” Denise sings. “Your turn.”
I shift my attention to the shag carpet at my feet, twiddling a few of the fibers between my fingers, trying to get my heart rate under control and praying that my face doesn’t look as red as it feels. The sounds of the party around me start blurring together until they’re just a whirring in my ear. Eventually, a gasp and the sound of clapping break through the fog.
“My, how the tables have turned!” Denise’s voice says.
“Shit,” I hear Brad chuckle. “Revenge is best served piping hot, I guess.”
A few seconds go by, then everything goes eerily quiet, making me finally glance up.
First, I see Robbie, jaw dropped and shoulders stiff.
Second, my gaze shifts to the left, seeing Denise clapping and smiling harder than she ever has at any pep rally.
Third, my eyes graze back to the right, past Robbie, and towards the middle of the circle, where I find Paul, a smirk playing on his face and his tongue pushing in the side of his cheek.
Fourth, I’m drawn back to Robbie, as I suppose I often infuriatingly am as of late, and find his gaze on the floor, his brows drawn together.
Lastly, my eyes find the target of that double dark chocolate glare. And, suddenly, the whole scene before me makes a whole lot more sense.
The bottle.
Pointed directly at me.
Paul.
I meet his hazel eyes across the circle, and they light up the second I do. I make myself count to three in my head, then I take a long drink from my wine cooler, finishing it off.
“Wellll?” Denise questions, a devious tone of joy in her voice.
I haven’t taken my eyes off Paul, and he hasn’t made a move.
Robbie speaks up suddenly. “She said she didn’t want to play.”
And that’s why Paul hasn’t made a move.
What a gentleman.
“Well, Robbie,” Denise says. “Maybe she’s changed her mind. Your girlfriend’s a big girl, you know. She’s allowed to do that.”
“Cooper?” Robbie says.
I don’t break Paul’s eye contact, my heartbeat in my ears.
“Cooper, you don’t have to,” Robbie insists. “Let’s just move on. Who’s next?”
I watch the rise and fall of Paul’s chest and measure the indecision and conflicting emotions in his eyes. He watches me do so, then his face cracks into a smile, a single chuckle escaping him. My lips part, the smallest smile coming to my face as well.
“Sara.”
