“Ooh, how hot is he?” Karli, Juliet’s roommate, hollers from across the hall.
My blood boils. I barely know Karli, but I don’t want her anywhere near Grant. I don’t want anyone else near him but me.
“We have three guest rooms in the house. He knows he’s welcome to stay there.” I say, fiddling with my bracelet.
Juliet studies me in the mirror. Something is going on in her head, but I don’t know what. “Yeah. Of course,” she says finally. “Okay, you’re done. Go get dressed.”
“Thanks, Juliet,” I say and stand up to change. “I’m actually kind of glad you got me to do this. It’s been forever since I’ve been on a date.” I should be embarrassed by my lack of love life, but even though I’ve only known Juliet for a year, I feel like she was always meant to be my sister. I can confide in her, trust her.
She smiles. “You deserve this, sis. Don’t forget that.”
“I won’t.”
***
I don’t deserve this torture.
Reunions are terrible. It only took me three minutes into Noa’s reunion for me to decide that I will skip all of mine. Everyone is talking to Noa. Like everyone. He must have been Mr. Popularity. He’s introduced me to everyone because he’s nice like that, but after the introductions, they all turn their attention back to the star of the show, ignoring my existence.
I don’t protest when Noa pulls me onto the dance floor.
“Sorry about that.” He says with a smile as he spins me around under the fake snowflakes dangling from the ceiling.
“For what? Being Homecoming King, Prom King, and leading the football team to victory three years in a row?” I give him a cheeky grin and he actually blushes. “You were obviously very well-liked in high school. I’m surprised you don’t have girls breaking down your door to be your date tonight.” In fact, multiple girls had attempted to get between Noa and I, but Noa had kept me close enough they couldn’t.
He shrugs a shoulder, brushing off my compliments. “Not everyone liked me.” I hear the hurt in his voice. He must be referring to his prior girlfriend.
“You said your ex was going to be here. Have I met her yet?”
He shakes his head. “Nah, I haven’t seen her.”
“It would be hard to see her through the hordes of people always crowding you,” I say. But love was one of those things that made other people disappear. I didn’t need to see Grant in a room to know if he was there. I could sense his presence by the electricity coasting over my skin the second he was near.
One song turns into two, and then five, and by the time we break, my feet are killing me and so are my cheeks.
A microphone screeches and I wince. A woman wearing a Santa hat and what looks like bright red plastic wrap steps up behind the mic. “Welcome back to school Tigers!” she hollers, with a rawr that no one returns.
“Oh boy. That’s Chelsea. Our self-nominated class president,” Noa informs me.
“Why does that not surprise me?” I’m holding in a laugh as she continues to rawr at the uninterested crowd.
She finally stops and smoothes down her hair. “Isn’t it so great to be back at school? I feel like I never left.” She says with so much glee, I’m not sure she ever did.
“Ladies,” she purrs into the microphone. “I caught a glimpse of Mr. Ferguson earlier. He’s as hot as ever and newly divorced. I call dibs.”
My eyes widen, and my mouth gapes. It’s eerily quiet. “What is going on?”
“I wish I knew,” Noa says, looking as uncomfortable as everyone else in the room.
Cling Wrap Chelsea looks like the kind of girl Sean would date.
I wonder if she’s a belly dancer.
“So, in the spirit of the moment, I have impulsively decided to name a reunion king and queen.”
Oh, this should be good.
“All in favor of me as your reunion queen, raise your hand.” She raises both of her arms in the air and waits.
