Page 9 of When Nothing Else Matters

Joel pulls back from me when the slow music begins. “I’m heading to the bar; you all up for another round?” he yells, and surprisingly, we hear him. He’s breathing heavily and looks a little disheveled. Maybe I’m being too flirty.Oops.Everyone gives him the thumbs-up for drinks, and he heads off.

“I’m going to go to the restroom,” Gemma announces and follows Joel off the dance floor, leaving Dylan and me alone. Well, not exactly alone; it’s so crowded in here that three girls bump into me before the others have even left the room.

“So, best friends, huh?” Dylan asks, repeating Gemma’s earlier question while bumping his shoulder into mine. It’s the first time we’ve been alone since I started this never-ending lie, and I’m not at all comfortable with it.

“Ugh, I’m sorry; that wasn’t supposed to spiral like that.” I cringe. “But in fairness, you could have stopped it with Gemma. That one’s on you.”

“I know.” He holds his hands up in defense. “It seemed easier to just go with it, and then I wanted to tell her, but her friend came over, and I guess I didn’t think it would become such a big deal. Plus, I’m sure we would have been awesome friends.” He laughs but shakes his head at the craziness of it all.

“The best.” I laugh too and step back. “I’m just going to…” I signal behind me with my thumb and turn to leave.

“Summer, wait.” Dylan’s fingers curl around my wrist, pulling me to a stop. When I turn back to meet him, he’s closer than I thought he’d be. His intense stare bores into me, filled with uncertainty. “I’m sorry I didn’t come clean. I’m sorry you have to lie. I didn’t mean—”

“Oh, it’s totally fine; no bother at all. It’s just a night, right?”And then we’re strangers again. I don’t add the latter, but it hangs in the air.

“Right. Well, thank you…for going along with it.”

“Anytime.”

“Are they always that touchy-feely?” Gemma yells to Joel, causing me to flinch in surprise. Her words draw my attention to Dylan’s hand still lightly around my wrist and his other hand on my upper arm.When did that get there?

“Ever since they became best friends,” Joel replies.

I’d laugh if I wasn’t terrified of what I was about to see on Gemma’s face. The last thing I wanted was to cause problems for them. Relief sets in when I find her laughing. Joel looks between the two of us and smirks while I move to his side and snuggle in to him, needing the distance from Dylan.

“He knows it’s all fun and games; don’t you, babe?” I bat my eyelids.

“Of course, I know you love me.” At that, he surprises me by lifting my chin gently with two fingers and placing a light kiss on my lips.

Interesting.I don’t know him well enough to decide if he’s playing along or if he genuinely wants to kiss me. I do, however, know that kissing him is a bad idea, yet I go with it anyway because bad choices are the story of my life. I lift to my toes and wrap my arms around his neck to deepen the kiss slightly before pulling away.Hmm, I could happily continue that, but something is niggling at me to stop.

“You are the cutest couple,” Gemma coos, and a little part of me feels bad for lying to her. I’ll have to fake break up with Joel soon.Ooh, the possibilities… Do I catch him in bed with his ex, do I have a secret crush on my gym instructor, are we incompatible in bed… Nah, that won’t work.I’m lost in my thoughts when I notice three sets of eyes on me.

“Thanks, we get that all the time,” I say, looking back at Joel with a small smile.

“It’s nauseating,” Dylan notes, rolling his eyes with a tone that is nowhere near jovial. It’s time for me to split.

Ignoring the rest of the conversation happening around me, I look in Cory’s direction and realize she hasn’t needed me at all. We make eye contact, and she smiles, then with a quick wave, she signals that I’m free to go.

“I’m going to head off, babe, but you can stay. Walk me out?” I say to Joel, grabbing his hand. As fun as it’s been, he’s too good to be just another man I’ll forget by morning. I’m hoping my words made that clear. Emotion, even of the friendly variety, is generally not something I allow in the bedroom.

“I’m done too; let’s go,” he says, and I freeze.Guess it wasn’t clear at all. I really shouldn’t have kissed him. Aside from not being good for him, on some level I know, deep down, that I’m also concerned about how Dylan would react.God, how do I let him down after flirting with him all night? Good one, Summer.

As if sensing my unease, Joel squeezes my hand and pulls me close, pressing a kiss to my hair before whispering, “It’s just a cab, Summer. Nothing more.” His words bring me instant calm as we turn back to Dylan and Gemma to say our goodbyes.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” I say, giving them each a kiss on the cheek and turning to leave.

Don’t look back at Dylan. Don’t look back at Dylan.I try, I really try, but at the last second, before walking through the door, I look back. His eyes meet mine, watching us. He has a furrowed brow and a confused look on his face. When he notices me looking, he shakes his head and looks back at Gemma before pulling her close and giving her a kiss on the temple.

I walk away, laughing to myself, and shake off the thoughts that shouldn’t be lingering.I’m glad that’s over.

I wake early the next morning to my phone alerts going crazy and a thumping in my head. Deciding to tackle the headache first, I venture into the kitchen for painkillers and water. Glancing at the time on my way back to bed, I freeze–5:30 a.m. What the actual…? I’m going to kill whoever’s texting me at this ungodly hour on a Sunday.

Unknown: Yo! How are you on this bright and sunny morning?

Unknown: Shit! It’s still dark.

Unknown: Bestie you there?

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