Page 103 of I Shouldn't Feel This Way

Curiously, I scanned my surroundings and noticed Noah and Vanessa standing a few feet away from us. They were playing a game, the one where you have to slam this huge mallet down and see how high you can make the arrow reach on the meter. My stepmom kept kissing Noah’s neck and it was driving me nuts, so I stood up and sat astride Ryan’s lap. It took him by surprise, but he certainly wasn’t complaining.

“Hey there, blue eyes.” He held my hips and gave me his full attention.

“Hi.” I smiled flirtatiously, swaying my hips in beat with the music. It looked like I was giving him a lap dance. “I love this song!” I shouted to catch Noah’s attention.

Sure enough, he turned his head and our eyes locked. I couldn’t read his expression too well, but I think he wasn’t happy with the show I was putting on in front of all the guys. Ryan’s friends cheered me on while I tossed my hair back and dirty-danced on him. I kept switching glances from Ryan to Noah, and the more I stared at Noah, the hotter it made me. Vanessa was too distracted with the game to even seem to notice what was going on. I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to imagine that it was Noah I was dancing on.

Ryan’s fingertips were gliding up my hips from underneath my halter top, and I—

“Aria.”

The sensation suddenly stopped, and that’s when I opened my eyes. The sound of Noah’s voice brought me back to reality. He was standing right next to me, and he didn’t look too pleased. I smiled and relaxed in Ryan’s lap. I think Ryan was more uncomfortable than I was.

“Your hour’s up,” Noah said.

“Are you sure?” I started nibbling on my friend’s earlobe. “Gosh, time really does fly when you’re having fun.” I giggled and found the sound of my voice very annoying.

Noah looked super irritated with me.

Well, good! Serves him right for making me watch that disgusting display of PDA earlier.It was serious overkill.

“Aria, stop,” Ryan said, chuckling. “Your dad’s talking to you.” He reluctantly pushed me back, and that’s when I felt a firm hand grab hold of my arm and pull me right off his lap.

“Which one of you gave her alcohol?” Noah demanded, his demeanor turning hostile.

“We didn’t drink any liquor, sir.” Ryan rose to his feet.

“God, Noah, stop!” I pulled my arm away from him and looked around. My stepmom and Vienna were nowhere in sight. They must have gone off on a ride before he came over.

“You’ll have to forgive my daughter,” Noah said to Ryan. “She’s usually not this slutty,ever. I’m not sure what’s got into her.”

My mouth hung wide open in shock.

“Um …” Ryan regarded me with uncertainty, looking just as awkward as I felt.

“Let’s go, Aria.Now,” Noah commanded.

I glared at him, and we stared each other down. But he wasn’t going to back off. I had to accept that this was one battle lost. Feeling totally embarrassed, I looked back at my friend, apologetically mouthing the words “I’m sorry” before departing.

“See you tomorrow night, Ryan!” Noah’s enthusiasm couldn’t have sounded more sarcastic.

“You have a good night, Mr. Hunter.”

I’m sure he thought my dad was a total dick.

****

Once we were far enough away from my friends, I stopped and stared scathingly at my abductor. “Slutty? Really? How could you humiliate me like that?” I cried out.

“Excuse me?” he scoffed. “Did you expect me to just stand back and allow you to dance on him like some stripper while a bunch of his buddies watched like a herd of horny voyeurs? His hands were all over you and under your top!”

“So? Vanessa was all overyou!She was practically eye-sexing you all evening and kissing you every ten seconds! Do you really think I want to see that? No! Do I complain about it and embarrass you? No!”

“What the hell, Aria? She’s my wife and we weren’t …” Noah paused and lowered his voice. “…eye-sexing.”

“No, you’re right—because what you two were doing was much worse. She pretty much had her hand down your pants!”

I was worried that we were within earshot of Vanessa. But at the same time, I didn’t care. I wanted her to know how I truly felt about her.

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