Chapter 10
MOST LIKELY TO SNEAK AROUND IN THE DARK
“Connor?”
I jerk back, wishing Ella didn’t shriek my name so loudly.
Does she want the entire party to know we’re in a dark room together?
I look back at the door, more specifically the small crack at the bottom.
It’s still dark in Hardy's bedroom, and I’m looking for any shadows in the small sliver of light coming from the hallway.
As far as I can tell, the coast is clear—except for being in the same room as Ella.
I turn back toward her and lower my voice. “What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here? What are you doing here?” she asks, her volume mercifully matching mine.
That really isn’t any of Ella’s business. She’s the one who was lurking in the shadows like a creep. How long was she going to stand there and secretly watch me? “Didn’t realize you were such a voyeurist."
I can barely see her in the light, but her posture stiffens. “I’m not a voyeurist.”
“Then you just like spying on people.”
She shakes her head. “I wasn’t spying on anyone.”
“Then what would you call it?”
“I was…”
“Watching me quietly in the dark.” I run my hands through my hair. “Call it whatever you like, but you’re like that creepy vampire in those cheesy movies my mom likes. Do you sneak over to my house and watch me sleep, too?”
“First of all, barf. I’m not watching you sleep.
Second, did you just compare me to Edward Cullen?
” She lets out a loud puff of air. “Believe it or not, my being here has nothing to do with you. I have no desire to watch you while you sleep or look at you at all for that matter. Now, if you excuse me, I’m out of here. ” She starts to push past me.
“Wait,” I say too quickly.
Ella stops. “What do you want?”
“Can you just hang out for a second?”
Ava has been following me around all night trying to talk to me about school charter reform at the state level, and I’m exhausted from pretending that I care or even understand half of the things she’s talking about.
I snuck upstairs while she was talking to someone else.
I’m not sure if she saw me duck inside Hardy’s room or not.
If Ella leaves now, she might tell Ava where I am, or, at the very least, draw attention to Hardy’s room.
Ella lets out a harsh laugh. “You insult me and then want to hang out? Is this why you’re so popular? Because of your stellar personality?”
“Just be quiet for a second.” I listen out for any sound outside the room.
“Wow, you really are a charmer.” She takes another step, and I grab her arm. Her skin is soft beneath my fingers. I only feel it for a second before she wrenches out of my grip. “What is your problem?”
“I’m hiding from someone,” I admit.
“Not sure what that has to do with me, but I don’t want to stick around a second longer to find out.” Her hand reaches for the door handle.
“Please,” I say the word like a curse. I don’t like asking people for help, certainly not Ella. “I just don’t want anyone to find me.”
“Maybe you should have thought about that before shutting yourself in here with me.”
“I didn’t know you were in here.” My voice is too loud. Why can’t Ella just shut up and be quiet for five minutes?
She turns the knob. “Maybe if you pulled your head out of your—”
“Ella, for the love of all that is good and holy in this world, will you please stop for two seconds?”
To her credit, Ella doesn’t finish her sentence, and she doesn't open the door. She just stands there. I hold my breath as I wait for her to either walk out or stay. What feels like an eternity later, she sighs. “Two minutes, but I’m turning on the light. If I’m going to be trapped in here with you, I don’t want it to be in the dark. ”
“Fine.”
She flicks the switch, and the room illuminates. The sudden brightness blinds me, and I squint down at the carpeted floor. Thankfully, my eyes adjust quickly.
The first things I see are Ella’s shoes.
I’m hit with a sense of deja vu. Are those my sister’s shoes that I dropped off at the thrift store the other day?
I normally wouldn’t notice something like that, but they have these beaded designs on them that look like waves.
They remind me of the beach, and I always thought they were cool.
My eyes continue up, and I am surprised to see bare skin—lots of it.
I force my eyes to move quickly over her legs, but when I get to the rest of her body, something looks off.
The dress she’s wearing, it doesn’t fit well and not because it’s from the thrift store. It almost looks… “Is your dress wet?”
She looks down at herself and runs her fingers along the bottom hem. “I…uh, someone spilled juice on me. I washed my dress in the sink.”
I imagine what that entails and instantly regret it. I clear my throat and try to redirect my thoughts. “At least I know where that wet dog smell is coming from now.”
“Wet dog?” She snorts. “I smell like beach breeze, thank you very much. Not that you’re one to judge. You reek of perfume, and there’s lipstick all over your collar. Do I even want to know what you were doing before you snuck in here?”
I tug at my shirt so I can get a look. Sure enough, there’s a red stain on it.
There’s only one person I’ve talked to tonight with lips that bright.
How did Ava get close enough to get lipstick on me?
Probably when she was yelling in my ear about our responsibilities as the heads of student government.
This looks much worse than it really is.
I could easily explain the misunderstanding, but it’s more fun to see her flustered. I smirk at Ella. “Jealous?”
“You wish.”
“Your loss.” I shrug and then unbutton my shirt, starting with the top.
“What are you doing?” Ella takes a few steps back. “I thought we just established that I’m not interested.”
“Relax. I thought I’d use the bathroom sink as a washing machine, too.
” I wouldn’t have even considered it, but looking at Ella’s dress, I don’t see any evidence of a juice stain.
Whatever she did worked. I don’t want people to think I was making out with anyone tonight.
Washing it before going back out there seems like a great idea.
“But you’re getting naked.” Her cheeks are bright red.
“I’m not getting naked. I’m taking off my shirt. You see more at practice. Grow up, Adams.”
She avoids looking at me as I finish unbuttoning the front and pull my arms out from the sleeves.
I walk into the bathroom and turn the hot water on.
My fingers dance in the running water while it heats up.
I spy the hand soap on the edge of the sink.
Beach breeze. I smile as Ella’s earlier words echo in my head and put a few squirts on the collar of my shirt.
“You don’t need that much soap,” Ella says from behind me.
I hadn’t heard her walk in. I don’t look at her when I say, “Okay.”
“And you should really be using cold water.”
I spin around and narrow my eyes. That doesn’t make sense. Hotter is always better when it comes to cleaning stuff, isn’t it?
“The hot water will only melt the lipstick and make it stain. If you gently pat it under cold water, you should remove enough until you get home and can use a stain remover.”
I stare at her blankly.
Ella sighs and sticks out her hand. “Give it to me.” When I hesitate, she reaches out and grabs it. “The sooner we get this clean, the sooner you’ll cover yourself up.”
“Don’t act like you don’t enjoy this.” I flex a little.
“Please don’t keep doing that unless you’re willing to hold my hair back while I puke.” There’s a bite to her words, but the pink on her cheeks hasn’t gone away.
She turns the faucet until cold water comes out and carefully puts the collar of the shirt under it.
I watch over Ella’s shoulder. She’s careful with the fabric as her fingers meticulously work on the stain.
After a couple of minutes, it looks much better than it did.
She turns the water off and thrusts the shirt in my hands. “Put it back on.”
I open my mouth to make a suggestive comment to her, but she’s already walked out of the bathroom and back into Hardy’s bedroom. The shirt is wet and cold around the neck, but at least it’s not soaking. Once I finish buttoning it up, I follow Ella out.
She’s got her arms wrapped around herself, and I catch a small shiver.
“Are you cold?”
She looks up at me. “What do you care?”
“I don’t.” But she was nice to me just now.
I feel like it’s the decent thing to ask.
Not that I have anything to offer her but my shirt, and she insists that she doesn’t want to see me shirtless.
My eyes go to Hardy’s closet. I don’t have anything to offer Ella, but I bet he does.
“If I did care, I would say you could probably grab a hoodie from there.” I jerk my head toward the closet.
She looks at Hardy’s closet, then to me, and back to the closet. There’s a pause before she says, “Only because he’s my friend, and I think he’d offer. Not because you suggested it.”
I lift my hands in surrender. “Of course not.”
She glares at me before opening the door. I’m surprised at how orderly everything looks. All of Hardy’s shirts are on hangers and seem to be organized by style. I would have never pegged him for that guy.
Ella finds a Citrus Prep lacrosse hoodie just like one I have in my closet and pulls it over her head. It’s so big, I can barely see the bottom hem of her dress. A corner of my mouth tugs down in a frown as a strange thought pops into my head: It should be my hoodie.
Ella puts a hand on her hip. “Can I leave now?”
I’d forgotten that I’d asked her to stay here against her will. Enough time has passed that I doubt Ava is looking for me anymore. I’m sure she’s found her next victim to discuss the injustices of the school system with.
“Right, uh…sure.”
She spins toward the door just as it opens. It’s Hardy and Lily.
“What are you doing in my room?” Hardy says.
Lily’s eyes are wide. “And why are you wearing his hoodie?”