Page 16 of Before You
“I know,” he says, chuckling. “I needed a break from all the noise. Why are you out here?”
“Because I…” I trail off, knowing how unfair it would be for me to say I’m mad at Trent for not giving me his keys, but I also can’t say I’m jealous JJ was flirting with a girl. “I needed a breather.”
“Are you okay?” he asks, moving closer to me as concern bleeds into his smooth voice.
“I’m fine. You should go back inside, I bet you’re missed.”I probably shouldn’t have said that.
“Missed by who?” he asks, and I shrug, opening the water to take a sip.I shouldn’t be out here, but especially not with JJ.“Marley?”
“I should go find Trent. Thanks for the water,” I say, avoiding looking at him as I hold tightly to my drink to escape into themass of people.I would have thought with this party being exclusive, there’d be less people, but I guess not.
Trent is not where I left him by the time I find my way back, and everyone from the group we were sitting with have dispersed into different corners of the party.
I pull my phone out of my pocket, beginning to text Trent to ask where he is, before deciding to call him. I can barely hear the phone over the music, but it goes straight to voicemail. Looking around, I’m not sure I recognize anyone here, but I’ve met so many people in the last week, all the faces are blending together.
Where the hell did Trent go?
Combing my fingers through my hair, I pull it back into a ponytail to get it off my neck. I can’t tell if I’m hot because it’s a thousand degrees or because my social anxiety is climbing. I wander the party some more, scanning over faces to find one I recognize, but I’m not sure how long it is before I spot JJ again, this time talking to Asher in a corner.
Is it fair for me to go up to JJ, knowing I ran away outside after being a jerk to him? I absolutely owe him an apology, because he’s not the one I’m upset with. I’m upset with myself for caring he was talking to another girl. I’m upset with Trent because . . . JJ and I are friends.
I walk up, wiping my sweaty palms on my denim shorts as they notice me. “Hey, guys. Um, do you know where Trent is? I’ve been looking all over, and I can’t find him.”
Asher looks at JJ before turning to muster a smile at me. “Haven’t seen him, but I’m sure he’s around here somewhere?”
I look at JJ, who’s staring intensely at me, and my stomach sinks. I fucked up. He was only trying to be nice to me, and I was rude.
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right. Sorry for bothering you,” I say, twisting my thumb ring. That’s not what I should be apologizingfor, but some apology is better than no apology. They were in the middle of a conversation before I interrupted, after all.
“You’re not bothering us,” JJ says, finally speaking, to my relief.
“Je suis désolée pour tout à l’heure,”6 I say, not wanting Asher to hear me apologize for something having nothing to do with him.
“Ne t’en fais pas,”7 he replies, giving me a reassuring smile helping to ease some of my guilt.
“I have a feeling this is going to get old fast, so how about we just speak English for those who aren’t trilingual, and whatever Marley is,” Asher jokes.
“Don’t be a sore loser because you can’t speak a different language,” JJ says.
“I’m not being a sore loser, but I do feel out of the loop thank you very much.”
I laugh, smiling genuinely for what might be the first time since walking into this party. “Sorry, Asher. It won’t happen again.”
Actually, I can’t promise that, because I like hearing JJ speak in different languages. I’m aware I shouldn’t, so maybe it’s a promise I should plan on keeping.
“I knew I liked you. You’re a lot nicer than JJ,” Asher says, nudging me.
“Some best friend you are.” JJ snorts, leaning against the wall behind him.
“I’ll let you guys get back to whatever you were doing before I interrupted. I’m going to try again to find Trent. Will you let me know if you see him?”
“If you still can’t find him, I can give you a ride home,” JJ says, but there’s still a tenseness to him I can’t place my finger on.
I push the thought out of my head, smiling appreciatively before taking another lap around the party to look for Trent.Seriously, where could he have disappeared to?
I’m ready to give up and ask JJ for a ride when I turn around, finally spotting Trent as he’s coming out of the bathroom. He’s zipping up his pants as he shuts the door behind him quickly. “Trent!” I call out over the music, taking a couple steps toward him.
He looks startled, his eyes widening before he relaxes into a smile. “Marley, where have you been?” he asks, wrapping an arm around my back to pull me with him in the opposite direction.
