Page 26 of One Little Kiss
“So this Elijah,” Brad says. He’s so close behind me I give a little start and whip around. He’s already got a beer in one hand and holds out a red Solo cup in the other.
I shake my head. I don’t know what’s in there, but whatever it is likely has alcohol and there’s no one I feel less inclined to loosen my inhibitions around than Buzzkill Brad.
“His parents are out of town?” Brad asks, his gaze roaming around the property.
“Yep.” I take in the view too. I guess I’m here so often I’ve become immune to it. The pool, the sprawling lawn, the pool house.
“Lucky guy,” he murmurs.
I don’t say anything. He doesn’t know the first thing about Elijah or his life.
“What do his parents do?” he asks.
“Um…I’m not totally sure. Something in real estate.”
For some reason this makes Brad smile and he wraps an arm around me. “You don’t need to know, huh?”
I have no idea what that means, but I don’t like the condescending tinge to his voice. I wait as long as I can before I shrug off his arm under the pretense of needing to grab my phone out of my back pocket.
It’s obvious the second the football players start to arrive because everyone’s shouting out congratulations. Ryan makes a beeline for Mara, who happily lets him scoop her up in his arms. They’re joined by Celia and Heath, and I wish more than anything that I was over there with them instead of on the far side of the patio with Brad.
His hand settles on my waist, and I swallow hard.
I don’t like PDA. It’s not my thing. I’m cool with my friends’ hugs, obviously, but I learned the hard way in junior high that when a guy seemed too friendly…
Odds were, he was about to get even friendlier.
So, unless I fully trust a guy, too much touching puts me on edge. Which…apparently Brad can sense.
“Whoa, relax, love.” He’s moved on to the drink in the red Solo cup and his hand shifts from my waist to my back, all the way up to my shoulders. I think the idea is to give me a back rub, but there is nothing relaxing or comforting about this.
“Hey, let’s go say hi to Ryan and the other players,” I say.
He tags along, but once again, I realize my mistake. Ryan gives me a big hug, but when he goes to make small talk with Brad, it just gets awkward.
“You into football, man?” Ryan asks.
“Yeah, just not high school football, you know?” He laughs like this is a joke and then goes on to bore my friends with a story about how he’d scored tickets to the Superbowl.
And byhe, I knew he meant his dad.
Because his dad is friends with my dad, and I remember that Superbowl trip well.
I’m trying to find a way to end this horrible story but then Elijah shows up, and he’s grinning and shaking Brad’s hand, and we have to start the whole awkward small-talk thing all over again.
But this time it’s even worse, because Elijah’s darting glances in my direction as he drinks his beer and answers Brad’s questions about what his parents do and where they’re at.
In any other circumstances, I’d be relieved that Elijah’s here. I can totally imagine us storing up every stupid thing Brad says to laugh about later. I can totally picture him making faces at me behind his back…
We’ve done this before.
But tonight…none of that happens. Despite Elijah’s big grin and welcoming charm for Brad’s sake, he’s not acting like himself. The happy-go-lucky, laidback act is surface level only, and I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who notices the difference.
“So you’ve got full run of the place. Sweet, bro,” Brad says.
I wince, but no one seems to notice.
What I do notice is that Brad’s hands are getting more and more adventurous and grabby. And every time someone offers to get more drinks, he accepts.
