Page 46 of I Don't Need Your Love
All hands shoot in the air.
I bend close to whisper in her ear, “Outnumbered.” I get a whiff of her smell that makes me lose focus for a second.
“Be right back,” I tell them before heading to the counter and asking them for the most delicious cake they’ve got.
Carly still looks a little uncomfortable when I return. And she’s flushing as the team compliments her.
“It’s not just me,” she’s saying. “It’s all of us. I’m just a captain, but we’re a team because of you guys.”
“But we’d be nothing without you,” Naya says.
“Agreed,” I tell her.
She looks like she wants to argue, but I place my hand on hers. “Carly, this is your moment,” I whisper. “We all appreciate you and want to show you how much you mean to us.”
“But I’m just a scholarship kid,” she blurts.
My hand reaches to push some hair away from her cheek. It’s so smooth and warm and I don’t want to drop my hand. But I have to. “No. You’re so much more.”
She searches my eyes like she doesn’t believe me and looks like she wants to respond. But the table cheers as the cake is brought in.
“Carly! Carly! Carly!” they chant.
She looks at me and I shoot her a wide smile, gently knocking my shoulder into hers while I join the others. “Carly! Carly! Carly!”
“Thanks, everyone,” she says. “We were awesome today, but we’ll be a million times better at the competition. Want to know why? Because we have each other. Harrington Bay Academy dance team!”
“Harrington Bay Academy Dance Team!” we repeat.
Then we all dig into the cake. I catch Carly glancing at me every so often, and I smile at her. Because we’re sitting so close, I feel her body heat. It’s comforting. Our faces are close as well, since we’re squished tightly. Lips are only a few inches apart. I never thought about what it’d be like to kiss her. She’s always hated me. She’s looking for commitment. She’s Blake’s sister. But now that we’re practically on top of each other, all I can think about is how it’d feel to press my lips to hers. I’ve kissed many girls over the years, but something tells me that kissing this girl would be different.
She’s got some frosting smeared near her lips, and I can’t stop myself from staring at it. When she licks it away, this need to kiss her and be close to her overwhelms me.
But I force myself to push those thoughts and feelings away.
What’s gotten into me lately?
It’s the adrenaline from tonight’s performance. That’s got to be the only explanation.
My goal is to mend our relationship. That’s all. Nothing more. And certainly not to kiss her.
Chapter Seventeen
Carly
One thing my friends and I have been wishing for is to have a sleepover with Addie. We’ve only been friends with her for nearly two months and haven’t had the chance because we haven’t gone home yet. Sophie, Raven, and I have had loads of opportunities for sleepovers ever since we became friends in freshman year. Considering we won’t be going home for a while, who knows when we’ll have the chance? Which is why I’ve come up with a brilliant idea to have a sleepover in Raven and Sophie’s room on Saturday night.
Of course that’s not allowed. Students are supposed to be in their respective rooms after lights out at nine PM. The school barely checks on the students, though—except for maybe freshmen during the first few weeks of school. It’s still hard for kids to sneak out of the dorms because of the security guards, but that shouldn’t be a problem for us.
When there’s an hour before curfew, Addie and I hurry to our friends’ room. We already brought our blankets and pillows earlier today, along with our pajamas, clothes, toothbrushes, and anything else we’ll need. Raven puts her finger over her lips as she quickly ushers us into the room. We’ll have to be as quiet as possible during the night so we don’t get caught. Addie joked that with her grandfather’s power and influence, she’s sure she can get us off the hook if we get caught, but I don’t want to take that risk. Harrington might not kick me out because she still has to uphold her image, but she can definitely dismantle the dance club. That would hurt more than getting kicked out of school.
I drop down next to Raven on her bed and bounce. “This is so exciting!” I say in a hushed voice. “Our first official sleepoverwith Addie. We should celebrate. Chocolate, anyone?” I grab my backpack and rummage inside for the candy bars.
“Super exciting,” Addie says with a huge grin as I toss a chocolate bar at her. “What’s the plan for tonight? Movies? We can watch a movie from every genre.”
“How about that teen drama I was telling you guys about?” I suggest, chucking another chocolate bar at Sophie after handing one to Raven. “There are four seasons. We can binge season one all night.”
Raven frowns. “Is that the series with the subpar acting? Everyone is obsessed with the show because of the hot guys. And the writing sucks.”
