Page 47 of Sneaking Around with the Player
“I told him I wanted to stay here for New Year’s Eve and he said no, that I should be there for Felix’s birthday.”
“First off, I would be so sad if you missed it. So would Felix. We always ring in the new year together. And second, he’s right. He doesn’t want you to do something you’ll regret.”
“It’s not even his actual birthday.”
“That’s semantics and you know it.”
“Why doesn’t he want to spend his last night in Arizona with me?”
“I’m sure that he does.”
I’m not so sure. I’ve brought as much drama to his vacation as I have fun. Maybe he’s decided I’m not worth it and this is his way of letting me down easy. He’s made no bones about the fact he isn’t a relationship guy. And now he’s in one and we can’t even go to a party together because my brother hates him.
My head spins and I can’t make heads or tails of the thoughts racing through my brain. Irrational or not, I worry that the happy, fun bubble Beau and I have been living in has officially popped.
As soon as we get home from the theater, I text him.
Me: Home. Want to come over?
Beau: To your house?
Me: Felix isn’t home. He’s gone for the night.
Beau: How about we go to a party? I’ll pick you up in twenty minutes.
He takes me to the house of a friend, of a friend from high school. The place is huge and the backyard is filled with people. Beau introduces me to his friend Lonnie and a bunch of other people he went to school with.
He isn’t drinking, but fills a cup of foamy beer for me. I sip it as we mingle. Even sober and not playing any games, he is the life of the party. Guys pat his back and bump his fist, eager tohear how he’s doing and offer congrats on his season, while girls bat their lashes and send him not-so-secret smiles.
“Do they not see me standing here?” I ask, after one hugs him a little too long and tells him to call her sometime.
“They’re just being nice.”
“Mhmm.”
“Damn you’re sexy when you’re jealous,” he whispers in my ear and then kisses down the column of my neck. He pulls back to stare into my eyes. The look he gives me takes the wind out of me, but before he says a word, a familiar form snags my attention across the yard.
“What is he doing here?” I mutter.
Beau follows my gaze to where Felix and Teddy stand next to the keg.
“They went to a bowl game. He’s not supposed to be in town,” I say, mostly to myself. My sexy boyfriend takes a step away from me, and the look on his face is something close to shame or maybe guilt.
It breaks my heart for him. And for me, if I’m honest. I want to bring him home and introduce him to Holly and my parents, go to parties without worrying about who we’ll run into. I want to stop sneaking around. Beau deserves that. He’s done nothing wrong.
“I’m gonna talk to him,” I say. “I’ll be right back.”
“No.” Beau grips my hand tighter. “I’ll talk to him.”
Beau
Stella’s fingers clasp around mine. Felix and I are having a stare down. I’m trying to figure out what the right thing to do is, and he looks like he wants to pummel me and then hand me off to Teddy to finish the job.
She looks like she wants to argue with me, but I give her my most reassuring smile. “It needs to be me.”
I give her one more squeeze and then cross the yard toward her brother. He sees me coming, but holds his ground. His lips are pressed into a hard, straight line, and he turns to have a conversation with a group of guys nearby.
He didn’t automatically come running over to bash my face in, or really act in any visible way like he cares I exist, and that should be enough, but it gnaws at me.
