wall ran the length of the yard, away from the lights. I made my way over toward it and sat down, hoping to blend in with the bricks or the dark night sky.
“You purposely sit here?”
I turned to my right and jumped. How hadn’t I seen the guy sitting less than ten feet from me? He wasn’t even dressed in all black, like I was, but he seemed to want to hide even more than I did.
“Shit. You scared me.”
“I scared you?” he huffed out an annoyed laugh. “You didn’t see me here?” he asked with disbelief in his voice.
He obviously assumed that I had sought him out on purpose, hoping to be near him. Arrogant prick of a baseball player.
“I actually didn’t, or I would have sat somewhere else,” I bit back, trying to make it crystal clear that my being anywhere near him had been purely accidental.
“Parties not your thing?”
“Baseball players aren’t my thing.”
“Then, you’re in the wrong place,” he added, actually sounding a little amused.
“Trust me, I’m aware. This wasn’t my idea.” I angled my body away from his, not that I could see him that well anyway and he wasn’t making any moves to change that fact.
He sat perfectly still in the dark, and to be honest, I was okay with it.
“Let me guess. Overenthusiastic roommate who didn’t want to come alone?” He had nailed my situation far too easily.
“How’d you know?” A small laugh escaped from my lips as I realized that he was way too familiar with how we girls worked.
“I’ve heard that excuse once or twice before,” he said.
I wasn’t sure if he was trying to be insulting or not. Did he think I was making things up just to get close to him? He probably did. He was a baseball player after all.
“You think I’m lying?”
“I don’t know you, so I don’t think anything.”
“You know, you’re kind of a dick,” I said, my accent growing as thick as my irritation. It always came out stronger whenever I started to get fired up.
He laughed, his voice throaty and gruff. I hated that I liked the way it sounded when I was supposed to be irked by his very existence.
“What’s your name?” he asked, and I took it as my cue to stop whatever this was before it started.
“I have a boyfriend,” I said before pushing up from the wall and heading back inside toward the chaos, leaving Shadow Guy in the dark.
Sunny was still with Mac, his hand on her waist. I figured she didn’t need me around anymore and wouldn’t care if I went home to finish reading my book. Which was exactly what I planned on doing after I made sure she was cool with it. Why? Because the boys in books were way better than any guy at this party could ever be.
Meetings
Chance
I watched Miss I Have a Boyfriend walk away from me and laughed to myself. She was feisty and had an attitude and an accent that had instantly pulled at something in me.
My family had spent a lot of time in New York when I was growing up, so I’d always had a soft spot for it. The people there were so different from the people here. They were more direct, honest, straightforward, and forthcoming. At least they always seemed to be. LA was filled with fake people trying to use you, and they would do anything to anyone in order to get ahead. New Yorkers might have had that kind of attitude in their blood, too, but I was fairly confident that they’d stab you in the stomach to make sure you saw it coming, as opposed to stabbing you in the back, like they did out here.
The girl never looked at me again as she stormed across the yard, her long, dark hair moving with each step. When she’d first sat down, I could have sworn that she’d seen me here and done it on purpose. Most girls did. But when I said something to her, she practically jumped out of her fucking skin, and I knew I was wrong. I’d actually scared her. And what did I do? I’d acted like a jerk instead of apologizing.
My mom would have kicked my ass if she’d heard me just then. She was always telling me to stop being so closed off and that I needed to learn how to trust girls and let them in. The problem was, she’d also raised me to keep my wits about