I was acutely aware of the angle of my face and chin as I turned my head, aware of how my eyes looked and which way the strands of my hair fell. I pulled the lipstick from my small purse and held up the tiny mirror from my compact, slowly tracing my lips with it and rubbing them together with the glossy red before putting it away. There was a fire in me that was forcing me to act out, draw Reed in, and I couldn’t stop myself.
The sound of the chair scratching along the floor as he stood up caused me to turn slightly more, and then his hand was on my bare shoulder. He leaned down next to me, his mouth actually touching my ear a little as he spoke. “So, do I get a dance?” he asked, his voice full of suggestion and confidence. I could have been held at gun point and there was no way I was saying no.
Turning to face him as I stood, I caught myself a little in awe. He was wickedly handsome, and when his eyes dipped to take in my entire body I melted. Purposely fluttering my eyes and looking up at him, I smiled softly and took his hand to lead him out to the dance floor.
He grabbed both of my hands and pulled them around his neck, sliding his own down my arms until finally letting them land at the small of my back. We swayed slowly, intensely staring at one another, both wearing suspiciously faint smiles. I narrowed my eyes a little and turned my head to our table to see Sarah and Sienna whispering (about us, I was sure).
“So, how’s your date,” Reed asked, pointed and short. Still focusing on my face, my mouth.
“He’s fine, thank you very much,” I said curtly. “How’s…Stephanie?”
He crooked up the side of his mouth, giving me a dimple and a devious smile. “She’s fine.”
We continued to sway back and forth, the electricity between us growing just a bit more with every turn. When I noticed Tyler come back to the table and sit by Sarah, I started to grow less sure of myself, the guilt of my actions settling in some. And Reed noticed. Bending his lips down to my ear again, he spoke privately to me.
“What are you doing?” he asked, leaning back to look me in the eyes, his face harder now, determined and slightly angry. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and my fingers were going numb around his neck. I was so scared to give in, afraid that as soon as I did Tatum would show up just to yank my happiness out from under me again. Afraid Reed was in on the joke the entire time. My five minutes of courage was fading, and fast.
Reed halted us for just a moment, forcing me to look him in the eyes. He could see the doubt in my face. He looked over at the table briefly and then back to me, pulling me back in to continue our dance. “Damn it, Nolan. You are such a coward,” he spat. His words stung a little, and I pushed back into his chest freeing myself. I walked over to the table and grabbed Tyler’s hand and led him to the dance floor, leaving Reed there alone.
“Hi. I was just waiting for you to get back,” I smiled at Tyler, pulling him to me and turning so my eyes targeted Reed, who stood there with his hands in his pockets, shaking his head. I know I was being spiteful, but he had no idea how many bad falls I had gone through over him, and I guess somewhere along the way my trust was shaken too much.
I stayed on the dance floor for a few songs in a row, Sarah and Jax joining us for a few of the fast songs. Tyler seemed to be completely unaware of my internal battle, which gave me some relief.
When we finally started dancing to another slow song, I looked back to the table, obsessed with keeping tabs on Reed’s location. This was a mistake, though, as he had pulled Stephanie onto his lap where he was brushing her hair from her shoulders and nestling at the nape of her neck. Then, he looked directly at me, pausing for a second, his jaw hardening, and then reaching for her face, he pulled her into a deep, powerful kiss.
He wanted me to see that! I was filled with rage. I tiptoed up to reach Tyler’s ear. “Hey, I think I’d like to go to your party. You wanna leave in a few to get there in time?” I gulped.
He just smiled down at me. “Yeah, that sounds good. I think you’ll like it,” he was oblivious to the fact that I was taking him up on an escape route.
We left when the song ended, and I made sure Reed noticed as I walked by with Tyler in hand. The party was at a huge house in a gated community on the outskirts of Chandler, so we didn’t have to drive far from the desert stretch of highway. Tyler was right, this party was different. Even though there was a lot of excessive drinking at the desert parties, something about this one made the alcohol all seem more apparent. Every person in the house was holding a cup, and the music was radiating off of the walls. The house was littered with plates and wrappers. I would hate to clean this up, I thought.