he belittled me and care that he’s upset with me. This is Tory D’Angelo. I walk away from him, not the other way around.
Determined and pissed, I follow in his path and slide up next to him at the keg, waiting while he fills a cup. I partly expect him to give me the one he’s working on, but he doesn’t. Instead, he turns to make space and holds his hand out to signal it’s my turn as he takes a long gulp. Seems the old Abby and the old Tory are both making appearances tonight.
“Where’s your boyfriend?”
He says it with such animus, I wonder if he found out Hayden knew about his mother’s affair when it first started. This rivalry brewing between them has to be about more than just me. Hayden has been struggling with major guilt over hiding his mom’s secret for so long. Nobody knows he knew. He saw them together at football camp their freshman year, and a few unexplainable lunch-time visits when he ran into Lucas’s dad at his house fanned his hunch that the fling was not a one-time occurrence. Since his parents’ relationship blew up, Hayden feels his lack of action made everything worse. I’ve tried to tell him it didn’t, it only postponed the inevitable.
I finish filling my cup and take a few steps back, opening space between us so people can get through.
“Hayden’s at work. He know you packed up and moved out?” I take a slow sip, smiling with my lips against the cup.
We stare at one another while two freshmen come up and fill their cups between us. It’s amusing to watch them blush and act out for Tory’s benefit. So hungry for attention.
“Ladies,” he says, throwing them a bone.
“H-Hi,” one of them says while the other giggles. They’re barely fifteen. No way they’re finishing a whole beer. I wonder if the daycare camp bus dropped them off here by mistake.
“Careful, ladies. He’s all talk,” I say, shrugging with one shoulder as I cash in my win.
The girls rush away, whispering to one another. Tory and I just gave them a story to tell for the rest of the year. He’s the hot guy and I’m the bitch.
“All talk, huh?” He tips the rest of his beer back, chugging it in one smooth movement then tossing his cup to the ground. I hold my ground even though he’s getting closer, even though people are watching us, even though I shouldn’t. I’m daring him right back, and a little part of me wants to. It’s the beer thinking.
Tory runs his finger up my cheek then tucks my hair behind my ear. He leans in and dips down, pausing at my ear as if he’s about to share a dirty secret. My body tenses, and shivers run up and down my skin. I straighten my posture and shift my feet slightly, hoping he doesn’t notice the nervous movements. With his lips close enough to my skin that he could taste me if he wants to, I listen to only his breath. It’s warm.
“You look absolutely beautiful.”
His mouth hovers there, dangerously close for a full second that feels like several more. He backs away, letting his eyes seer into mine as he straightens tall and walks backward, leaving me where I stand—frozen and oddly heartbroken.
I have zero comebacks. Worse, I can’t rectify how badly it turns out I wanted—no, needed—to hear it. Mr. All Talk just said the perfect words, and a tear forms in the corner of my eye. I hate crying, but I’ve suddenly realized how absolutely miserable I have become. My life is a mess, and I’m trying to make it better by being some guy’s girlfriend because as messy as I am, he’s worse. This is co-dependency at its absolute worst.
“You all right?” June slides her arm through mine and I swipe the back of my hand over my eyes and nose.
“Yeah,” I say, smiling at her—performing. “Just cold. Let’s get some of that fire, yeah?”
She grins, then escorts me to a flat log parked near the open pit, a perfect spot for me to curl up my legs and think. So far, this isn’t the girls’ night I pictured, but maybe it’s the girls’ night I need.
15
Tory
Two things happen when you have about an hour to buy a used car. One, you don’t really pick based on the right set of criteria. You scan the lot by price point and then narrow things down based on