Chapter 10 #3
I pick up a pitcher of ice tea and throw the drink at him.
He grasps a handful of hummus and flings it at me.
I drop the empty plastic pitcher and hurl a handful of guacamole at him.
He ducks, and it lands on the guy standing behind him, who was watching the whole thing, just like almost everyone else at the party.
My hands fly to my mouth as he stomps over. “I am so sor—” The guy slings two handfuls of mixed rice at me.
I stand there, shocked, looking at the bits of rice clinging to my skin, then back at Jay and his accomplice.
They both have great big smiles on their faces, absolutely laughing their asses off.
For a brief moment, I think, Who brings rice to a party?
But my second, more prominent thought is, Fuck this.
With both hands, I dip into the potato salad that started it all and lob a handful at each boy, laughing as it glops on their skin.
They throw some back, but it doesn’t just land on me, it lands on the people standing near me.
But now I have people on my side, and they help me retaliate.
Soon there are multiple people joining in, almost half the party, and food that kids had so kindly prepared and brought to the party is being fired back and forth.
Screams and giggles and vows of revenge are now louder than the music.
Jay’s got a pitcher of orange juice, and he’s fast approaching me. Through the onslaught of food raining down from both sides, I try to avoid him, but I only get a few feet before the pool blocks my exit.
Strong arms wrap around me, and the only warning I get is Jay’s deep voice in my ear instructing me, “Hold your breath!” before he hurls us into the pool.
The cold water is a shock as we go under, and Jay’s grasp on me is gone as I break the surface and suck in air.
He surfaces right in front of me, running a hand over his head to get the water out of his eyes.
As I tread water, my hands shove the wet strands of hair out of my face.
I thought I was a mess before? I must be an absolute wreck now.
My hair is soaked and tangled and will dry frizzy because of the humidity, my makeup is ruined, and my mascara and eyeliner are probably making me look like a raccoon.
“What the hell, Jay?” I splash water at him, my merriment fading as I face him and remember how all this started. “Like getting a pie in the face wasn’t enough? You had to throw food at me too?”
He shakes the water from his face. “Everyone was staring.”
Wow. He’s almost as helpful as Emmett was when he told me there was pie on me.
“Yeah, I know that. And you decided to make it worse by chucking potato salad at me!” I splash him again to emphasize my statement.
Almost no one was in the pool before, but now more people are jumping in, fully clothed, shoes and all, just like me and Jay.
“Stop splashing me!” He wipes the water from his face, but I’m so pissed I don’t want to be around him anymore, so I swim over to the part of the pool where I can reach the bottom.
“I was helping,” he explains, following me.
Helping? Does he mean helping himself to a good old laugh? Because he certainly wasn’t helping me.
I whirl around. “How was that helping?”
“Look around, Princess!” He holds both hands out to the crowd running around throwing food at one another and the bunch of fully clothed people giggling in the pool with us. “You’re not the only person with food all over you anymore.”
The anger that was building in me pauses. In fact, my whole body freezes as I consider his words. He does have a point.
“It was either you stand there and run away embarrassed, and that’s all anyone would be talking about for the next who knows how long, or this.
” He crosses his arms over his chest, and the soaked material of his shirt strains and clings to him, outlining every single curve of his shoulders and biceps.
“Would you rather be known as the girl who got a pie to the face and left crying or the girl who started a food fight?”
I can say nothing, only stare at him. That was .
. . weirdly thoughtful of him? And also really .
. . smart. Would starting a food fight then jumping in the pool to wash everything off have been my first, second, or even third thought?
No. But it was Jay’s, and for all intents and purposes, it worked.
I’m no longer the outlier at this party.
I don’t even have any more pie on my face.
He smirks when he realizes the conclusion I’m coming to. “You’re welcome. Again. You know, having your back is becoming a full-time job for me.”
I try to remember what he’s talking about. First at the cliff when he stopped me from going over, then on the phone on my terrible date, and now this.
“Yeah, well, you’re still an ass,” I mutter, wading to the steps of the pool and getting out.
My tight white dress is even tighter now, but at least there are no chunks of anything on it.
The fabric clings to me like a second skin, and I might as well be naked for as much coverage as it’s giving me right now.
I wring my hair out poolside and turn to look at Jay, who’s trailing behind me up the steps. His eyes dip down briefly, then he breaks out into a knowing grin.
I glance down and confirm that yes, my white thong is very clearly visible for everyone to see.
“Don’t say it,” I warn Jay, but he laughs.
“I totally knew it.”
I shake my head but turn so he doesn’t catch my smile. He’s so infuriating and provoking, but something must be seriously wrong with me because I kind of like it.