me and stomp towards Tyke to snatch my phone out of his hands. “What the fuck did you say to her?”
“I just told her you were packing things with Sharon and—”
“Sharon!” Mills and I yell at the same time. “Tike, what the fuck is wrong with you?!” I snap.
“Hey, I didn’t know! I thought she was a friend or something—well until she said that last sentence. I had no clue who she was!”
Ignoring him, I call Natalie immediately. I call again and again but each time it goes straight to her voicemail. “Great. Now she’s ignoring me. What exactly did you say?”
“I only told her Sharon was a student of your mom’s and an ex of yours who was—”
“Oh, come on, Tike! You fucking jackass!” Mills yells. “That’s the stupidest fucking move you’ve ever made.”
“Okay . . . seriously, don’t blame me,” he says, his eyes wide as he holds his hands up innocently. “I haven’t dated in years. I know nothing about what to say to girls that call—and she was making me nervous. You two classify me as the damn geek anyway.”
I shake my head at him before taking a few steps back and sitting on the edge of the sofa. “Geek or not, Tike, you should have known maybe she was someone I talked to. It’s says ‘Bunny’ for Christ’s sake.”
“Well, shit, I’m sorry. If you want, I can tell her Sharon is a nobody . . . although she seemed like somebody by the way she was pushed up against you . . . and since your pants are still unbuttoned.” Tike scratches his head curiously before pushing his round glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Okay . . . I’m curious. Did you have sex with that Sharon chick recently or not?”
“No,” I growl. “Fuck Sharon. I have no interest in her.” I rub my fingers against my temples, my elbows on my thighs. “Shit. That’s another thing I’m going to have to explain to her. I have to get the fuck out of California. The more I’m here, the more Natalie drifts away from me.”
“I’m sure she’ll be alright,” Mills mutters. “We’ll be there in no time. If she loves you, she should trust you . . . but then again you do have a rep for breaking hearts and doing shit behind female’s backs. This one may take some work.”
“Whatever.” I stand quickly, raking my fingers through my hair. “I’ll do what I can to keep it going. No point in giving up now.”
Chapter Fifteen
Natalie
After Harper and I went shopping, got dressed, did our hair, and applied some makeup, we’re finally on our way to the party. I decided to go with a sky-blue spaghetti-strapped dress with silver sandals and silver accessories to match. Harp went for a peach colored dress that reveals a little too much cleavage and skin but it works well against her tan complexion.
Before we even reach the house, I hear the bass of the music thumping. I swallow the nervous lump in my throat as Harper pulls up to the house that’s swarmed with cars around it. There has to be over fifty people here already and we’re early. That’s really saying something. “Holy shit!” Harper says as she parks the car and turns it off.
A girl screams from the shore and we both look to see she’s being tossed into the water by a guy. I expect her to get out and wail on him but instead she giggles while tugging her wet dress down. Yeah, she’s obviously wasted. “This is going to be fun,” Harper says then jumps out of the car. I get out slowly, shut my door behind me, and then look ahead at the lake house. It’s made of large wooden logs and is lit with sidelights. It’s a two-story home and I can tell it’s pretty pricey by its foundation and how well-kept it is.
“There’s one thing I need to say to you before we go in,” Harper says, running over to me. “Have fun. Fuck Nolan. He’s a dick. Get what you came for, which is to have fun. We aren’t here to wallow and whatever you do, don’t bring him up during a conversation. Just be free for once. You deserve it.”
I nod as I look her straight in the eyes. She then grabs my hand and rushes through the gaps of the cars to get to the door. We pass a few couples making out heavily on the