Page 65 of Things I Wish I Said
“Why are you helping me, Ryleigh?”
I shrug, pushing away the unfamiliar heaviness inside my chest that has nothing to do with my missing half a lung. “Because Grayson’s a good guy. And I want him to be happy,” I say, realizing it’s true.
I may only just be getting to know Grayson, but it strikes me at this moment how inherently sad he seems. There’s something haunting him I know nothing about. But maybe Hannah can change that, fix it.
“Yeah, he really is.” Hannah smiles.
I swallow and start to move past her, pausing to give her arm a little squeeze of encouragement on my way to the door. “Oh hey,” I say, spinning back around to face her. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Sure.”
“When you see him, can you tell him I have a ride home?”
After circling the party with no sign of Grayson, I head back to the dance floor but quickly decide the prospect of dancing without him isn’t nearly as appealing.
I amble around the backyard, winding up by the keg and a snack table which looks like it hasn’t been touched all night, save for a cute strawberry blonde muttering to herself as she picks through a bowl of Chex Mix.
“That should be illegal,” I say, nodding to where her fingers have settled on another mini breadstick.
“What? Everyone knows these are the best part of Chex Mix,” she says, plucking it out and popping it in her mouth.
I shake my head, scooping up a handful and picking out a corn Chex. “No. These are the best,” I say, eating one. “But I think we both can agree these,” I say, snagging a rye chip and holding it up, “are an abomination to all humankind.”
The girl laughs. “Totally. Those things are fucking disgusting.”
I nod, smiling as I eat the rest of the mix in my hand before asking, “So, what are you doing at the snack table alone while everyone else seems to be having fun?”
She grimaces and glances my way. “Boyfriend trouble. He’s being a dick.”
I snort.
“What about you?”
I think about it for a moment, but there’s no short explanation for my being alone, so I say, “It’s complicated.”
“In other words, same.” She laughs before turning her gaze back out to the party, and her eyes fly wide. “Speak of the devil. I have to go,” she says, and before I can ask her what the problem is, she’s gone.
I frown, trying to find the boyfriend that spooked her, but when I see no one noteworthy, I wipe my hands on the seat of my shorts and head to a darkened corner of the party while I figure out a game plan for getting home.
I’m only five minutes into scanning the faces around me for people least likely to be serial killers when a moan snags my attention.
The couple opposite me is making out on a lounge chair, the same kind I’m sitting on. The girl is blonde and wearing a dress. From this angle, it appears she’s unbuttoning the dude’s pants, and I give them two minutes before they’re having full-blown sex in the middle of a party surrounded by all these people.
A moment of panic clutches my chest at the thought it might be Hannah and Grayson. I know I gave her my blessing to find him, but that doesn’t mean I want to watch her paw at him.
The girl straightens for a moment, swinging one leg over the mystery man so she’s straddling him. I catch a glimpse of his face and sigh when I see it’s not him.
“Do you have room for one more?”
I jerk my head to the sound of the voice and find Cameron hovering above me. “Oh, uh . . .” I smile and lift mylegs from where they’re draped over the lounge chair. Making room, I pat the empty space next to me. “Hop on.”
He settles in, his weight dipping the chair and causing me to tilt slightly into him. “So, what are we staring at?” He glances ahead of us at the couple and whistles. “Wow. They’re really going at it.”
I laugh. “It’s escalated quickly.”
“I’ll say.”
We both watch for a minute before, Cameron says, “Shit. I feel like I need a smoke.”
