Page 25 of One Little Kiss
I give in to the inevitable bro hugs and laughter that follows as we celebrate, but my head is still turning over what I just saw.
More importantly, I can’t just ignore the gut-wrenching, violent wave of jealousy that has swept over me and left me feeling dazed in its wake.
SEVEN
Noelle
My face hurts from smiling.As Brad and I file into the crowd heading out of the stadium, I am so aware of what a horrible mistake this was that I’m actively cursing myself for being such a moron.
Brad’s on his phone when we reach the bottom of the stairs, and he doesn’t see Mara coming, but I do. I laugh as she tackles me with a hug, and Brad looks on with puzzled amusement.
It was the same baffled polite smile he wore the entire, painful hour we hung out with my friends before the game started.
Finally, I pretended there weren’t enough seats for all of us and dragged him a little ways away. But that sucked even more because while all I wanted to do was, you know…watch the freakin’ game, Brad was insistent that we talk.
Nay, thathetalk.
So, rather than watch my favorite guys play my favorite sport and cheer them on like Mara, Celia, and Leah, I was forced to listen to Brad lay out his five-year plan.
A five-year plan!
The dude is nineteen. He shouldn’t even have a five-dayplan.
“Wasn’t that amazing?” Mara gushes.
I’m laughing at the way she’s still squeezing me tight. Then Celia and Heath catch up with us and Heath laughs as Celia joins in the group hug before he wraps his arms around all of us.
And for one blissful moment, I forget that I’m with the lamest date known to man.
Until he speaks…
“Noelle, love, you’re blocking the aisle,” he murmurs.
Love. He’s been calling me that a lot today, and the way he says it makes my skin crawl. It’s not natural. It sounds forced, like a faux British accent.
The hug breaks up thanks to Brad—AKA Mr. Buzzkill—but before I can respond or drag him away, so he doesn’t ruin my night any more than he already has, Leah and Ben descend on us.
“Yay, you’re still here!” Leah’s tone is breathless with excitement. She looks between me and Brad. “You guys are coming to the party, right?”
“Oh, um…” My heart sinks as I scramble to come up with an excuse. It was painful enough to watch Brad make conversation with my friends before the game. There’s no way I want to bring him to a—
“A party?” Brad perks up like a dog that just heard a high-pitched whistle. I swear his head even cocks to the side.
Leah nods enthusiastically as Ben gives me this little apologetic grin.
I like Ben. He’s very astute. I’m guessing he saw my flinch and knows perfectly well that I’d prefer to have my nails pulled out one by one than bring Brad to a party,at Elijah’s, as my date. Ugh.
But Leah has not gotten the memo, and Mara, Celia, and Heath are already heading toward their cars, calling back that they’ll see me at Elijah’s, and Leah—sweet, sweet Leah—is doing her darndest to convince Brad to join us.
I try not to sigh when Brad turns to me with an eager smile. “We should go!”
This smile I’m wearing is making my cheek muscles ache. “Sure. Okay.” I desperately try to keep my peppy tone as I turn to Leah and Ben. “We’ll see you there.”
Brad’s car is too hot and the hot air he spews only makes it hotter. I practically lunge for the door handle and don’t wait for him as I head toward the back door of Elijah’s place.
I already hear classmates laughing out by the fire pit on the back patio and the music is a warm welcome as we draw close.
Maybe this won’t be so bad. I mean, I’ll be surrounded by my friends, right?
