I hang back, but soon I’m pulled closer and sandwiched between two very enthusiastic chicks.
“I don’t dance,” I say.
One of the girls leans forward, and I think she asks me to repeat what I said, but I can’t hear anything over the music.
Huh. The one place I can’t put my foot in my mouth. Yeah, I can get down with this.
8
Sienna
My stomach is in knots as we push through the party with drinks in our hands. Josie walks in front of me, holding my hand and pulling me along behind her. My roommate is a lot more social than I am. It isn’t that I never go out, but most weekends, I prefer hanging with Josie or Olivia or, yes, watching true crime documentaries. I find it reassuring that terrible things happen to even really good people. Make out of that what you will.
My gaze darts around, looking for Rhett as we weave across the backyard of the basketball house. A huge pool takes up a large portion of it. People stand in groups in and around it. On one side of the yard, a DJ booth is set up, and there’s a mass of bodies moving to the music. The other side of the yard has the keg, according to Josie, and that’s the direction we head.
“Are you supposed to be meeting him somewhere?” she asks when we finally reach the line at the keg.
“Not exactly.” I twist my hands in front of me. “He doesn’t know I’m coming.”
She laughs, fills us each a cup of beer, and then starts back toward the middle of the yard. I was perfectly content hanging on the side and out of the chaos.
I continually scan the party, but I don’t see Rhett anywhere. I was so sure he’d be here. I didn’t even consider the possibility that he made other plans.
“We’re dancing,” Josie announces and pulls me again, sloshing half of my beer on the ground.
“We are?” I ask, the question gets lost in the noise as we step closer to the source of the booming music. She drags me behind her and I squeeze her hand to work out some of my nerves.
She stops a few yards away from the people dancing. “What’s up with you? You’re acting like you’re nervous, and you have no reason to be. Is it the dress? Are you uncomfortable? Because you look amazing.”
“No. It isn’t the dress. Looove the dress,” I assure her, smoothing a hand down the skintight pink dress from her closet that she insisted I wear tonight. “It’s Rhett. I think I like him.” Damn him. “I don’t even really know him, but I can’t stop thinking about him. I’m all out of sorts.”
“I hate it when that happens.” She smiles at me. “Forget about Rhett for an hour. Let’s just have a good time and then we’ll ask around and see if he’s here.”
As she speaks, I spot him. I grab her arm, so she doesn’t step any closer. There he is. The guy I stupidly can’t stop thinking about. He’s on the dance floor sandwiched between two girls. One plastered on his front with her hands on his chest and another at his back rubbing her boobs all over him.
A surge of annoyance and frustration blasts through me. Followed quickly with jealousy. The latter pisses me off the most. Of course, he came anyway and is dancing with other girls. I said no. Which is why the jealousy I feel is particularly annoying.
Josie follows my gawking stare. “Guess he came.”
“Yeah. Found him. Now can we go?”
“Sienna!” Maverick’s voice manages to boom over the music. I glance back to the dance floor to see him in a similar position as his teammate.
I wave, and he untangles himself from two girls, who move on to someone else in his absence. Mav moves toward Rhett, who speaking of, still hasn’t noticed me, but the two girls he’s dancing with are inching up his shirt, and four hands move over his back, stomach, and pecs. The one in front squats down and licks his abs. That’s as much as I see before I turn and walk away.
Josie jogs beside me to keep up. “Where are you going?”
“This was a mistake.”
Maverick, half naked, tattoos rippling under his muscles, catches us. “Hey, no way, you came! Rhett’s going to be so stoked.”
“Right. He looks pretty stoked.” I wave a hand of indifference toward him. He’s finally spotted me and is attempting to squeeze out from between his dance partners. They are not letting him go without a fight. I can hardly blame them.
He looks sinful in a plain white T-shirt and jeans, staring at me with apologetic eyes. The thing is, I’m not even pissed at him. I’m pissed at myself for assuming he was going to be hanging off to the side, waiting and hoping that I’d come. I told him no because this is who he is, and I didn’t want to get my feelings hurt, but then convinced myself otherwise because that’s what I wanted to believe.
“Ah, don’t be mad at him. I had to practically drag him out there. Let’s go save him.” Mav wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me back toward the dance floor. Rhett’s managed to get free and heads toward us.
“Hey,” he says tentatively. “I didn’t think you were coming.”
“Surprise!” Sarcasm drips from the word.
Josie and Maverick look between us. An awkward silence falls over our small group.
“Dance?” Maverick asks my friend, holding his hand out to her.
“Absolutely.” Josie slides her palm into his. She looks over her shoulder as they move into the center of the dancers.
Rhett shifts nervously in front of me. “You look nice. I’ve been wondering if your hair was short or long. I can never tell when it’s all up.”
“You have?”
“I like it.” He lifts a hand and brushes his fingers along the ends of my hair. He sways and inadvertently pulls my hair as he does. “Oh shit, sorry.”
He untangles his fingers with a sheepish grin.
Rhett is drunk and for some reason I find it a little charming.
“Do you want to dance?”
I shake my head. “No, I think I’m good.”
I don’t think I can live up to the threesome he had going earlier.
“Okay, uh, drink?”
I’m still carrying a mostly full cup of beer, but I nod.
We walk side by side. His arm brushes against mine, and neither of us pulls away. Now that I’ve found him, I have no idea what to say.
At the keg, he takes my cup, looks at how full it is, and laughs. “Do you actually want another beer?”
“I’m not much of a drinker.”
He tops it off and takes a sip of it.
“I’m gonna level with you.” He runs a hand through his messy hair. “I’m really drunk.”
I can’t help but laugh as he disarms me with a cocky grin.
“I didn’t think you were coming, and I decided to say fuck it.” He shakes his head. “Not fuck you, just it. You know girls, dating, life?”
“You realize I’m a girl, right?”
He closes one eye and pulls his bottom lip behind his teeth for a second. “I really suck at this. Like epic-levels of suckage.” He waves his arm around dramatically, and the beer in his cup sloshes onto me, soaking the front of my dress.
It’s cold. Really cold. I shriek and jump back. “Okay, well, this has been fun.”