Page 29 of One Little Kiss
I shake my head. Definitely no drinks for me tonight. I feel bad enough as it is, a depressant like alcohol would make me do the unthinkable…like cry in public.
One of the cheerleaders joins us and I find myself getting comfortable at Dominic’s side. He’s easy to be around, including me in the conversation but not expecting me to carry it. I can just relax and…and hide.
Okay, fine, I am totally hiding and I know it.
I get an alert telling me the car I ordered has arrived at Brad’s house. I can go back out there now. Part of me wants to see my friends.
But I don’t want to face Elijah.
I don’t want to see that judgy look he gave me whenever Brad said something gross or rude. I don’t want to see the anger that simmered behind that easygoing smile.
My eyes prick with tears that I rapidly blink away, but I can’t get rid of the thought…
It’s not Brad I’m hiding from.
It’s my very best friend.
EIGHT
Elijah
The good news?My team won.
The bad news? Noelle invited that bland, potato-faced intern to my party.
He’s gone now, thank God, but I’m still tense with fury at the scene I walked in on. The adrenaline coursing through me is a hundred times stronger than when I was on the field earlier, and it’s clouding reason, making it hard to do anything but…butfeel.
And what I feel is freakin’ anger. Toward that jerk with the weak chin, sure. I didn’t hear what he’d been saying, but I’d seen the look on his face, his posture as he’d stalked toward Noelle, who’d just…she’d just stood there.
I scan the too-crowded patio again. Where the hell is Noelle?
It’s not anger I feel toward her, necessarily, but…frustration? Concern? I don’t know.
I’m not sure I want to know.
All Idoknow is that she disappeared and she’s not answering her texts.
“Stop glaring at the guests.” Mara’s suddenly in front of me, and when I drop my gaze, I realize I have no idea how long she’s been standing there. Her eyes are narrowed on me like I’m some puzzle she’s trying to sort out.
I take a step back. Much as I love this girl, her gaze is freaking me out.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” I ask.
At least, I think I do. My tongue’s a little too thick and my head feels fuzzy.
“Are you drunk?”
“What? No.” I never get drunk. Which is not to say that I never drink. But I know my limits, and while I find it hilarious to watch my friends and teammates get stupid and messy, I personally can’t stand losing control like that.
Not that I’m a control freak.
But I am speaking to one currently.
Mara tilts her head to the side as she studies me. “You okay, Eli?”
Eli. All of my friends call me that. Except for Noelle. Except for earlier.
I don’t know why she doesn’t, and right now it feels important that I figure this out. “Where’d Noelle go?”
