Chapter Three #2
“Dance with me.”
“Absolutely not.”
He leans closer, voice dropping. “Give me one song.”
“No.”
“One minute.”
“No.”
“One look that says you’re not tempted.”
I hold his gaze too long.
He got what he wanted. Silent recognition. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”
From across the room, I see Rich standing in the corner, staring at Zoe and Tony with hostility and resentment in his eyes. Like at any second, he’s going to march over there and start something he won’t be able to end.
“You know what, Wesley? I do want to dance.”
His face lights up. “Really?”
“Just not with you.”
Before he can react, I march away from him, heading straight to Rich in the corner.
“Dance with me, Rich.”
He looks up, staring deeply into my eyes, then briefly glances over my shoulder in Wesley’s direction. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely! Come dance with me.”
He follows so willingly, but I can also see his apprehension with the way he constantly glances toward Wesley, who’s watching us from somewhere behind me.
The next song is slower than the first. Romantic. The right kind of song for two people to slow dance to and fall in love.
But I’m not here to fall for anyone. I just need a distraction.
Rich keeps a gentleman’s distance between us, refusing to get close, but also keeping us tight enough so we move together with ease. We lock eyes, then his gaze drifts to Zoe, who’s laughing and giggling as Tony dips her, her tits almost popping out of her top.
“She’s not worth the hurt in your eyes, Rich.”
He blinks away a single tear and focuses back on my face. “I wish it were that easy, Poppy. The hurt’s still real.”
I glance toward Pippa. She’s busy dancing with Daniel, but her eyes are constantly tracking Eddie and Amber. She’s got the same look Rich does: a quiet hurt nobody can really see unless they’re really looking.
“You know, he’s really not that bad of a guy.”
“Who?”
Rich smiles. “Wesley. He really likes you.”
“Well, the feeling is not reciprocated.”
He chuckles. “Why do you hate him so much?”
“He’s been in jail.”
“So have I, but you still asked me to dance.”
“You’re different,” I admit.
We suddenly stop dancing. “Because I’m not as attractive as him, right?”
“Huh? No. It’s nothing like that at all. It’s because I like you, I lo—”
He cuts me off. “Love him.”
“Eww gross. No, I was going to say I loathe him. He makes my skin crawl and the urge to vomit intensify.”
Rich laughs. “That’s foreplay, Poppy. Underneath all that hate is attraction—a pull you can’t quite explain. That’s why Eddie’s so drawn to Amber. When you meet the right person, you just gravitate towards them.”
Morgan’s now got Wesley back on the dance floor. She’s chatting in his ear as they sway together, but his eyes are focused on me, holding my gaze, a determination and silent claim lingering.
I try to look away but fail. My lashes flutter as I catch his gaze, the unwanted attraction burning between us.
“See,” Rich whispers. “What you’re feeling isn’t hate, Poppy. It’s misplaced devotion.”
Any kind of comeback stalls in my throat. Because from somewhere deep inside me, I almost agree with him.
Almost.
When the song finally ends, Rich pulls away, lightly tipping my chin to look up at him. “Thanks for making my prom not so bad, Poppy. At least I can say I slow danced with a pretty girl when my dad tries to ask.”
My smile falters just a tad, realizing there’s more behind the mask than just the gratefulness he’s feeling. It’s being seen when everyone else runs away
Zoe’s laugh breaks his confidence, and his shoulders slouch just a tad.
“You can do better, Rich. Some girl out there is going to sweep you off your feet someday.”
He laughs. “I like your positivity, Poppy. But I realized long ago that the only girls who will ever be interested in me are the wrong ones.”
“Done with your pity dance, Poppy?” Tony drunkenly asks, swinging an arm over my shoulder, his breath reeking of alcohol.
Shrugging off his arm, I turn on my heels with a glare so deadly it could draw blood. “Excuse me?”
He laughs. “With the freak. I asked if you’re done dancing with him?”
“Don’t you dare call him that!”
With an aggravated eye roll, he tugs on my arm. “Come on, prom’s getting boring. Let’s go upstairs and fuck.”
Wrenching my arm out of his grasp, I fire back at him, “Absolutely not.”
“What? Don’t be stupid, Poppy. Come on.” He tries to grab my hand again, but this time I slap it away, seconds from following it with a right cross to his smug, inebriated face.
His look of disgust says it all. Tony isn’t just a jerk; he’s a fucking douchebag just like Wesley predicted.
“You do realize that you can be replaced, right? That there are a string of girls just waiting to take your place. Don’t embarrass me. Just come upstairs.”
“She said leave her alone,” Rich growls beside me.
“Shut up, freak. No one’s talking to you.”
He takes a drunken swing at Rich, but it’s wild and misses him completely and almost nails me right in the cheek.
“Watch where you throw those fists, Tony,” Wesley growls, pushing his way in between us so that I’m out of range of any more flying fists. That last one came too close.
“Sober up, Tony,” Wesley threatens. “Better yet, go the fuck home.”
“Sure, I’ll go home. With my date.”
Wesley’s arms cross over his chest. “She’s not going anywhere with you.”
“She’s my date, Dover.”
“Not anymore.”
Tony rolls his eyes. “God, it’s so obvious that you want to fuck her. I see the way you look at her. It’s pathetic, especially since she’s not even the pretty twin. Don’t fuck this up for me. I want my hundred points.”
Wesley clenches his fist.
My voice cracks. “One hundred points?”
Tony smirks. “We have a list of girls rated from easy to hard to get into bed. Congrats, baby, you’re one of the easy ones.”
“Easy?”
“Nerdy. Desperate. A bit homely looking when you’re not dressed like that. By the way, those contacts and all that makeup did you wonders, sweetheart. I almost felt proud to escort you through that door. Too bad your sister turned me down. She would’ve doubled my score.”
I don’t even see the punch, just hear the sickening crack as Tony goes down hard, the crowd erupting in shocked gasps and sudden chants of, “FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!”
“What the fuck, Wes?” Tony growls, scrambling to his feet. He rushes at him full tackle, bringing Wesley to the ground with a solid hit, strong enough to ring anyone’s bell.
Unfazed, Wesley takes the blow, getting in another few punches before Tony’s lip splits open and blood starts to pour.
“Wesley, stop!” I beg.
The second he hears my voice, he stops.
But it’s almost too late. Any second now and the teachers will be here. Tony’s on the football team, and Wesley’s one of the school fuckups who's on the verge of not graduating. If anyone gets suspended. It’ll be Wesley.
“Are you really going to fight me over a prude?”
“Call her that again, and I’ll end you.”
Out of my peripheral, I see a couple of teachers rushing towards us from the punch bowl.
Before I can rethink it, I grab his hand, urging him toward the door. “Come on, Wesley, let’s go.”
He doesn’t budge. Doesn’t he realize that he’s eighteen and he could go to Parr over this?
“Wesley, please,” I urge, tugging him even harder. “Don’t get yourself arrested over him.”
“Listen to the prude, Dover. We all know that record of yours is getting rather lengthy. Hate to be the one who seals the deal for you.”
My hand curls over his clenched fist, forcing him to look my way.
“Take me home, Wesley. Before it’s too late. Please!”
Maybe it’s the desperate tears in my eyes, or maybe Tony is just feeling gracious tonight, but for whatever reason, Wesley takes my hand, allowing me to lead him to safety.
Adrenaline burns through my veins as Wesley pulls me through the casino and out the backdoor just as security descends into the prom room. I don’t know whose bright idea it was to have our prom at a casino, but whoever it was, needs to be fired.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I chastise the second we’re in the parking lot.
“Yes, I did. You were about to become part of the football team’s roster.”
“So? What’s the big deal?”
“He’s a douche, and you deserve better than that.”
He opens the door to a sleek-looking sports car, holding it open for me.
“Did you steal it?” I question, hesitant to get inside.
He shakes his head. “Are you ever going to let that go?”
“I don’t exactly trust you, Wesley. We didn’t really meet under great circumstances.”
He shrugs. “A dude’s got to eat.”
“Your dad is a police officer though.”
“One that doesn’t give two shits about me until I’m embarrassing him in front of his colleagues. Honestly, if I disappeared tomorrow, he probably wouldn’t even notice.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is.” His eyes darken. “Now get in the car before they come out here looking for us.”
Whatever hesitancy I had breaks the second I see security throw open the front doors of the building, scanning the parking lot for us.
“Fine, but if this car is stolen, I’m throwing you under the bus.”
He laughs. “I assure you, it’s not stolen, Poppy. Now get in the car.”
We peel out of the parking lot at record speed, leaving our senior prom, my sister, our friends, and all the drama behind. At first, I embrace the silence and the loud roar of his engine as he maneuvers through the back streets of Reno’s strip, but then it gets lonely.
“So, you brought Morgan, huh?”
“You said no.”
“Aren’t you guys kind of dating?”
He shrugs. “Not really. She likes to parade me around school like I’m hers, but outside of the hallways we barely see each other.”
“And why is that?”
“I’m not interested in her, to be honest.”
“Oh? She’s one of the prettier girls in school, though.”
He glances toward me, his blue eyes twinkling in the overhead casino lights. “She’s not you, Poppy.”
My heart does a tiny little backflip, and I hate myself for liking it.
“Why are you so interested in me, anyway? We’re complete opposites.”