thinks “well jeez, that was fast.” The rest of me is crazy jealous.
Chapter Nine
That jackass. How the hell does he do it?! I can’t believe he’s making out with Amber. I can hear them rustling behind me and it makes me want to throw up, because I know he’s going to give me all kinds of crap about how much smoother he is than me as soon as the girls go home. Not to mention I’m incredibly jealous. He so owes me for this.
Mabel sits in the recliner next to mine, looking absolutely amazing in a pale yellow, v-neck sweater. Her dark brown hair is down, the curls falling over her shoulders, and I can’t believe how much I want to run my fingers through it. My pulse races in my ears and I keep wiping the sweat off my hands onto my jeans. How does a person even go from sitting here, not talking, to, well, where Nick and Amber are?
Maybie turns and look at me a couple of times. And looks at them. I’d like to believe she’s thinking what I’m thinking, but I seriously doubt it. More likely she’s thinking, look at them. Our job appears to be done, can I go home now?
Trying to figure this shit out is like trying to read a riddle in a foreign language. You know there’s some point, some direction there somewhere, but how are you supposed to solve the clue when you can’t even decipher the first word?
There’s one thing I know for sure. I cannot even attempt to make a move with those two sucking face in the background. I’ve got to get out of here.
***
I’ve spent most of the movie watching Lance. He has such an easy laugh, and his whole face lights up every time. I can’t believe how attracted I am to him. It’s actually painful sitting here, less than two feet from Lance, wanting to reach out and touch him, to run my hands up his arms or stroke his cheek and that adorable dimple, and knowing I can’t. Or at least not without looking like a complete nut job. So I keep my twitchy hands in my lap.
But I can’t stop my eyes from shifting over to him. He keeps turning and looking at Amber and Nick on the couch. He kind of looks upset, but it’s hard to be sure in the dark. Is he jealous?
He sees me staring and turns to look at the make-out King and Queen behind him again. When he looks back at me, he makes a face of complete disgust, then leans closer and laughs.
“I’m going to go get some more chips, wanna come with me?” He nods toward the door.
“Definitely,” I say, wrinkling my nose. I jump up and follow him out of the room. Neither Nick nor Amber asks where we’re going. I have a feeling the rest of the room could get sucked into a black hole and they wouldn’t so much as blink.
“I don’t really need more chips,” he says once we’re out in the hall, pulling the door closed behind him. “I kind of just wanted to get out of there.” He sets the half-empty chip bowl down on a table. “I guess they don’t need our help anymore, huh?” He glances at the closed door.
“Um, no. It seems like they’ve figured it out.” There’s an awkward pause while I look at the ceiling and he stares at the half-empty bowl of chips, neither of us sure where to go from here.
“You want to go sit outside?” he finally asks.
“Sure.” He holds the front door open for me. He’s so sweet it just makes me want to kiss him even more.
We sit on his front steps. It’s nice out, not too cold, and the stars are bright. The moon looks like a white paper lantern. I wrap my arms around myself while we stare up at the sky. It’s so incredibly romantic. The space between my arm and his feels charged and every time he moves into it, my heart jumps, wondering if he’ll close the gap completely. I take a deep breath and do my best to ignore the crazy fluttering happening in my stomach.
“Do you ever feel like the comic relief?” he asks me all of a sudden, not turning away from the moon.
“What?”
He looks me and sighs. I watch his broad shoulders move up and down and I want to reach over and run my hand across his back.