“Hey, what took you so long?”
“Nothing,” he said. “What are you wearing?”
I glanced down at my dress. “A dress?”
“Since when do you wear things like that?”
“A dress like what?”
He gestured to me as if it explained everything. It was a short dress, but it wasn’t anything out of the norm.
“Are you just trying to pick a fight?” I asked with a sigh. “You see me in stuff like this all the time for dance.”
“Yeah, but not out. This isn’t you.” He waved at me, as if to say a dress could change who I was.
I swallowed back tears. This was stupid. All of it was stupid. How many more fights could we have? And about such stupid shit?
“This is just what I’m wearing.”
“Whatever. I’m getting a beer.”
Then, Samar vanished. I swallowed and stared down at my drink. Brinley appeared then and slung an arm around me.
“What the fuck was that?”
“Don’t, Brin,” I whispered.
“He can’t treat you like that. Let me give him a piece of my mind.”
“Can we just get through the night? I don’t want to deal with this in front of everyone.”
Already, it felt like people were staring.
“When did he become such an asshole though?” she asked.
That I didn’t have an answer to.
Lora came over with her current friends with benefits—Vicky—laughing and telling crazy stories, and I tried to forget the fight with Samar. He came back at some point and sulked behind us while we had a good time. It felt like having a target on my back all night. I was half-ready to go before it was even midnight. But I stayed by sheer force of will. I was not going to let him ruin this.
“Holy shit,” Brinley said.
Lora whistled low. “Yeah. Who the hell is that?”
Vicky elbowed her. “Babe.”
Lora shrugged and held her hands up. “I’m bi, babe. I can appreciate that body.”
But when I caught who was standing in the door of the house, I froze in place. “That’s Derek Ballentine.”
“Who?” Brinley asked.
“And how do you know him?” Lora asked with a wicked grin.
“Yeah,” Samar grumbled, “how do you know him?”
“He’s… an old friend,” I stumbled over the words to describe Derek. Friend was the wrong word. Old enemy was more accurate.
“Hey, Derek!” Lora called out.
He turned our direction, and my face went bright red. Because he didn’t just look at us, he looked at me. And the entire room disappeared as those hazel eyes settled completely and entirely on me. A slow smirk crossed those pouty lips. I could sense Samar stand up, and he might have said something to me, but I didn’t hear it. It had been years since I’d seen Derek, and somehow, he’d gotten even more attractive. Taller, stronger, more confident, if that was possible. It was recognizable in the angles of his body and the tilt of his head. The easy grace of his rich-kid clothes. And the way he filled a room just by stepping inside.
Then, before I could utter another word, he strode through the crowd and straight to me. I gaped at him for a heartbeat before his mouth was on mine.
My brain stopped working. Everything settled into a buzz in the background. The world shifted ever so slightly on a different axis.
Derek Ballentine was kissing me.
A part of me had thought that I’d made up how good of a kisser he was. He’d been my first. Of course I would have exaggerated it in my head. But dear God, no. He was just… this good. His lips were soft and supple yet full of command. His hands pushed up into my loose, dark curls, holding my head in place for him to devour me whole.
And I just stood there and forgot reality.
That I hadn’t seen him in years. That I had a boyfriend standing a foot away. That none of this made a lick of sense.
Because Derek was kissing me, and I was kissing him back.
And I wanted to.
I wrenched backward. My breathing was irregular, and my hand shot up to my lips. He still had one hand in my hair.
He looked down at me like I was his next meal. “Hey, Minivan.”
Then, I heard a muttered, “Fuck this,” and Samar slammed into my shoulder as he left the room.
I jerked forward into Derek. He caught me easily. But I shoved against him.
“What the fuck, Derek?”
He laughed as I rushed past him and after my boyfriend. I needed to get my head on straight. I shouldn’t have kissed Derek back, but it had all happened so fast. Jesus Christ! What was I even going to tell Samar?
“Samar, wait!” I called, running out of the house after him.
“Save your breath, Marley.”
I grabbed his arm, dragging him to a stop in the grass. “That was not what it looked like.”
“It looked like you kissing some other guy right in front of me!” he shouted at me. “If you want to break up, then just do it. Don’t cheat!”
“I didn’t. I haven’t. I wouldn’t! That was not that.”
“I watched you kiss him! You wouldn’t have done that if you’d never done it before. If you didn’t want to.”
“I have,” I said with a shake of my head and followed him as he trudged down the street. “In high school, Samar. We kissed once at a party forever ago.”
“I’m not an idiot, Mars.”
“I swear that’s all it was. I have no idea why he kissed me. He doesn’t even go to Duke. I don’t know what he’s doing here.”
Samar shook his head at me. “Whatever. It’s over. You know it’s over.”
I stopped in my tracks and tried to hold back tears. Yeah, it had been over for a long time, but I hadn’t wanted it to end like this. “Yeah,” I whispered.
“Then stop following me. You’ve apparently already moved on.”
“Samar…”
“Save your breath,” he snapped and then stalked away from me.
I ground my teeth and let him go. I wasn’t going to change his mind. We’d been on the rocks long enough. Derek had put the nail in the coffin. My hands turned into fists. Derek fucking Ballentine.
I rushed back to the house and up the stairs. Derek was standing there, talking to Ash Talmadge, as if nothing at all had happened. I walked right up to him and pushed him as hard as I could.
He took one step backward. “Hey, Minivan.”
“You absolute asshole!”
Ash ran a hand back through his hair. “Uh, what’s going on?”
“How could you do that?” I snapped, ignoring Ash. “My boyfriend just dumped me because of you.”
Derek crossed his arms and smirked down at me. “Do you want me to run and tell him we didn’t sleep together? Do you think he’d believe me?”
My jaw dropped. “This is about high school?”
Ash took a step back. “I’m going to let you have this one, bro.”
Derek patted Ash’s shoulder twice. “I got this.”
“Don’t you dare tell Lila!” I snarled at him.
Ash raised his hands and retreated. “Keep me out of this. I don’t even talk to Lila anymore.”
I looked back at Derek. “You made a huge mistake.”