Page 60 of Before You
“I’m four months older than you. Watch who you’re calling old,” he grumbles, before sighing. “Go ahead, Mar, tell us what the boy did—keep in mind I can ruin his life in a couple of phone calls if he hurts you.”
I roll my eyes, acting as if this annoys me, but I love how happy my parents are together. They ground each other and balance out in the best way. Kind of like me and JJ.
A picture pops into my head of JJ and me in twenty years, sitting the same way my parents are after a long day of work, whispering secrets to each other in different languages. The ideamakes my smile wider as I enjoy torturing my father to the delight of everyone else with details of my time with JJ today.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
JJ
I’M ON TOP of the fucking world.
I wipe the small stream of beer off my chin that escaped while the guys and I were shotgunning. Between the conversation I had with Marley and this morning’s game, I feel on fire. The drugs and alcohol have numbed the twinge of pain in my knee to nothing.
The only thing I would change about this moment would be having Marley here, but with her parents being in town, it’s okay she’s not, especially when I know this isn’t her scene. I know she’s missed them, and I feel bad I unintentionally crashed their dinner last night.
Her dad is fucking terrifying, but I think I held my own.
I catch sight of Asher jumping into the pool with all of his clothes on, and everyone else follows suit. The pool is no match for the flood of people, and it quickly becomes a mosh pit. I wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.
I drop my empty can in a nearby trash bag hung up on the back of a chair before heading inside to grab another drink. A couple of people clap me on the back in congratulations, but I don’t bother taking note of their faces. I know everyone and everyone knows me.
A group of cheerleaders I know passes me a shot in the kitchen, and I don’t think twice before throwing it back. I mean, why the hell not? It’s okay to let loose sometimes. I’m not in any danger of missing a call from Bailey. It’s only been a month since his last call, and I deserve a night where I don’t carry the weight of everything on my shoulders.
The only problem is I’ve lost track of how much I’ve had.
Is it a bad idea to call Marley? I want to talk to my girl—
A hand taps me on the shoulder, and I turn, my vision swimming as a girl throws her arms around my torso, knocking me off balance. “You run so fast, like a cheetah!” she says, and my back hits the wall behind me. I blink rapidly, my brain slow to connect the dots.Why is this chick hugging me?
“Hey, don’t touch me,” I slur, pushing her gently off me as the music rattles every bone in my body.
This is wrong, I took it too far.
My vision clears enough I can place her as a cheerleader, but her name is lost in the oblivion. “JJ, I was just congratulating you?”
“I-I . . . I have a girlfriend. Don’t touch me,” I say, trying to remember if Marley and I defined what we are earlier, but it’s not coming to me. I don’t think we did. I would remember, but regardless, she’s the only one for me.
“You must bereallydrunk if you think you have a girlfriend. I thought you didn’t do relationships, or do you just tell everyone that because you’re gay?” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest.
“What?”
“Are you? It’s okay if you are, but you don’t have to hide it. Sure, it’d be disappointing, because holy hell, have you looked in a mirror? Half the cheerleaders totally want to hook up with you,” she rambles on, and my brain can’t even comprehend this conversation right now.
“I’m not gay,” I say, stumbling over my words.
“Wanna prove it to me?” she asks, stepping forward to rest her hand on my chest, sliding it all the way down to my pants, copping an unwanted feel before I can react. I jerk back from her touch, hitting my head on the wall.
“No.No, I have a girlfriend,” I insist, wincing as my head throbs.
A familiar blonde comes out of nowhere, stepping between us. “He said no,” I recognize Charlie’s voice, but all I can think is how I’ve messed up everything.
“Call me when this psycho bitch isn’t here.”
I shut my eyes for a moment, resting my head against the wall, until there’s a slap across my face, snapping my eyes open.Oh shit. She looks pissed.
“How much have you had to drink?”
“Charlie?” I question, struggling to make sense of what’s going on. The girl—Marley.
