Page 38 of Puck You
I bit back a smile.“How do you know I’m not dressed up as someone specific?”
Grace considered my words, her eyes roaming back and forth along my body.
“Oh, I see now,” she said.“Can’t believe it took me so long.I’ve seen plenty of arrogant athletes around here, but there’s no mistaking the captain of the men’s hockey team.He’s handsome, but he doesn’t like to share.”
It didn’t matter that she was insulting me, not when she called me handsome in the process.This time, I didn’t hold back my smile.
“Well, this is strange.”
Caroline Hart, or should I say Hannah Montana, appeared above us in a flurry of sequins.Her hands were placed firmly on her hips, and she was gazing down at us like we each had two heads.With a sigh, I pushed myself off the ground, and together we helped Grace to her unsteady feet.
“Get her home safe this time,” I instructed.“When she wakes up in the morning and asks what happened, feel free to tell her she said I was handsome and that she wants me.”
Caroline’s eyebrow rose in speculation.“That last part can’t be true.”
She was right, but I couldn’t deny that a part of me wished it was.It would be comforting to know that Grace wanted me like I wanted her, even if we still loathed each other.I’d feel less crazy knowing I wasn’t alone in my madness.
“Maybe not.But it’d be funny if she believed it.”
>> <<
Grace
“Your hangover remedy awaits.”
Caroline placed a glass of unreasonably green liquid on the counter in front of me, followed by a second glass full of water and a steaming cup of coffee.“Drink them in order of light to dark, and you’ll feel better in an hour.”
“Never let me drink again,” I groaned, sinking onto a barstool.
The water went down first, followed by some much-needed Tylenol.Though I expected it to taste horrible, the green mixture was surprisingly refreshing.Once I got to the coffee, I no longer felt like I was going to throw up.A few minutes later, Lydia slunk into the room looking hungover but in much better shape than me.When Caroline placed the same green drink in front of her, she gulped it down immediately.
“So,” Caroline said, pushing a plate of pancakes my way.“Strange night, huh?”
Strange wasn’t the word I’d use to describe last night.Unfortunate?Yes.Humiliating?Also yes.If only my Bob Ross costume had been more believable ...
“What even happened?”Caroline asked.“You went missing out of nowhere.”
I shrugged, still unclear about certain parts of the evening.One moment I was trailing behind the group, and the next I was sitting on the stoop of some random person’s house.“I don’treally know for sure, but I drunk dialed my sister at one point.”
Lydia snickered into her coffee cup.“Isn’t she, like, thirteen?”
“She’s been ignoring me for weeks.I wanted to check in on her.”There had to be something more behind Gabby’s silence, and I was desperate to hear her voice.
“I don’t like runners, Grace.I get stressed out when we’re drinking and someone disappears,” Caroline muttered.
“I’m sorry,” I said.“But you should know there was very little running involved.The opposite, actually.”
“I know.I’m the one who picked your drunk ass off the grass and walked you home, remember?If it weren’t for Sebastian, I might not have found you.”
The irony of Sebastian coming to my rescue was not lost on me.“I didn’t take him for the knight in shining armor type.”
“He’s an arrogant prick at times, but he’s not a bad person.I’m glad it was him you ran into and not some creep from the basketball team.Nevergo to one of their parties.”
“You’re saying I was safe with Sebastian?”
She gave me an odd look.“Did he make you feel unsafe?”
I shook my head.It was quite the opposite, actually.I’d been so worked up after calling Gabby that I was relieved to see someone familiar, even if it was him.
