My Rebound (On My Own #2) - Carrie Ann Ryan Page 0,18
I might throw up or something later. This was way too stressful.
I walked into the living room and saw Pacey standing there, talking to Natalie. He wore a peacoat over gray slacks and a gray shirt, and had brushed his hair back. Still, that one blond piece kept falling over his forehead. I always wanted to reach out and push it back, but that wasn’t my place. We were just friends. It wouldn’t be my place tonight, either. Unless it was? What exactly did a rebound entail? What did he think would happen tonight? What did I expect?
I put my hand over my stomach and let out a breath.
I didn’t expect anything. This was as free and easy as I could be without a plan.
And I was drowning.
Natalie cleared her throat as I walked into the room. Pacey pulled his gaze from mine, and it was only then that I realized he had been staring at me just like I had been staring at him.
This isn’t awkward at all.
“Well, I’m going back to my room. Alone. Since I’m the only one without a date. However, I’m used to this. And I’m going to stop talking. Bye.” Natalie gave a little wave and practically ran towards her room. The door closed behind her, and I stood a few feet away from Pacey, wondering if I was making a mistake. I was probably making a huge mistake.
Pacey cleared his throat. “You look wonderful,” he said.
I bit my lip. “Maybe. I don’t know.” That wasn’t really what I was supposed to say. “You look wonderful, too. Or nice. I should really have notecards or something.”
Pacey’s lips twitched, and he held out his hand. “Are you ready?”
“Maybe?” I asked, then slid my hand into his.
“I guess I’m going to have to take that as an affirmative.” He squeezed my hand and led me outside. I quickly locked the door behind me to keep Natalie safe and then made my way down the front steps towards Pacey’s car.
“How did you secure a spot right in front of the house?”
Pacey shrugged. “Magic, I imagine.”
“Huh, I can never do that. Luckily, we have spaces behind the house, but it’s a tight fit with four cars.”
“Dillon occasionally parks on the street near our home,” Pacey said but frowned. I knew he remembered the last time Dillon had parked on the street, but we both brushed over that topic. We didn’t need to talk about things that hurt. Not tonight. At least, I hoped so.
“Well, you won the lottery on parking spots, so we’ll call it that.”
He opened the door for me, and I slid inside his black car and inhaled the scent of leather. He got it on the other side, and I raised a brow. “I didn’t know you had such a fancy car.”
“I bet you don’t know a lot of things about me, Mackenzie. But I guess that’s what tonight’s for.”
I swallowed hard, nerves and something else twisting inside me. “I guess so.”
He studied my face, smiled, and then pulled out of the parking spot. We could have walked the few blocks to the restaurant, but it was cold, and I wore heels. I was glad he had driven. It gave me a moment to think where we talked about school and classes and nothing substantial.
Was this what dating was? Talking about common interests and random things that might not matter in the end? What did Sanders and I ever talk about? Our futures and what was going on, but clearly not all of it. I hadn’t talked about my internship with him. We talked about what would happen once we left school, but nothing else. Maybe I was just thinking too hard about it.
Soon, I found myself sitting across from Pacey in the restaurant, candlelight flickering between us and music playing overhead. The waitress had poured us both water as neither of us had ordered soda or juice. Not being twenty-one yet sort of ruined things. But I had a birthday coming up, and Pacey should have, too, since he was in the same year as I was.
“What were you thinking about that made you frown?” Pacey asked as I looked up at him.
“What?”
“You were frowning. I was giving you a lovely anecdote about chicken parm, and Tanner’s amazing skills in the kitchen and my lack, and you weren’t even listening.”
“Chicken parm?” I asked.
Pacey sighed and tapped the menu absently. “Where is your head right now? Because it’s not here.”