“I’ll wait.” She sat on the edge of his bed and crossed her legs. Her skirt was so short that if it rode up any more she’d be flashing him her underwear.
Matt glanced toward his closet.Me.And then back at her. He pulled off his t-shirt. I’d never seen him without a shirt before. And for a moment, I forgot that Isabella was sitting on his bed and I was hiding. Because his abs? If I wasn’t so mad at him Iprobably would have been drooling. He grabbed another t-shirt from a drawer.
“You know,” Isabella said and stood up, grabbing Matt’s hand that was holding his shirt. “The party’s kinda lame. Did you know that Rachel is here? It’s so humiliating for me. Her throwing herself all over James in front of all my friends. Doesn’t he know how that looks?”
“He probably thinks it looks like he’s dating her. Because she’s his girlfriend.”
“That’s not how everyone else sees it and you know it. Rachel doesn’t belong here. She’s not even smart enough to get a scholarship to Empire High. She attends public school. Public. School. It’s sad, really. I’d pity her if she wasn’t so horribly annoying.”
“We’re not at a party with our parents, Wizzy. James doesn’t have to pretend to like you here. Cut the bullshit.”
She huffed. “How many times do I have to ask you to stop calling me that? And you know I don’t like it when you curse around me.” She put her lower lip out like she was a child.
Gross.
“If you don’t like the way I talk you can leave.”
She sighed. “No. I don’t think I can face seeing anyone else tonight. You know what would make me feel better? Hiding out up here.”
Matt glanced over at the closet again. I was pretty sure he couldn’t see me. Did he know I could see him?
He cleared his throat. “I’d rather go back downstairs.”
“Are you sure? I could think of a lot of things we could do right here.” She sat down on his bed again and I tried not to vomit all over the thousand dollar tuxes hanging in his closet.
“Maybe later. Right now, I was hoping we could…dance.”
Dance?
Isabella smiled. “Now that sounds fun. Do you have any music up here?”
“I meant downstairs.” He pulled on his fresh shirt.
“Oh. Well, I guess I could use another drink too.” She stood back up and walked over to him. “But you have to promise to dance with me the rest of the night so I don’t look like a fool. Or else I might make a scene with Rachel and that would really ruin James’ night.”
“One dance,” Matt said.
“Oh, Matt.” She pressed her index finger against his lips. “I wasn’t asking.” She trailed her finger down, pulling at his bottom lip. “Dance with me the rest of the night. I’ll make it worth your while like always.”
He didn’t say a word. I held my breath. Waiting for his response. What did she mean when she said,“I’ll make it worth yourwhile like always.”Why was she touching him? Why wasn’t he pushing her away? I stared at Matt, willing him to tell her to leave. To kick her out of his freaking bedroom.
Instead, he nodded his head.
“There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?” She grabbed his hand. “Tonight is going to be so much fun now.” She pulled him toward the door and then the lights went out.
For a second tonight, I hadn’t felt like a dirty secret. But now? I was literally sitting in a closet with a stain down the front of my dress. I was the definition of a dirty secret.
And for some reason I waited. A minute. Maybe two. Maybe freaking fifteen. And as the seconds ticked by in my head, I knew Matt wasn’t coming back. He left me. He left me alone in his dark room. Locked away in his closet like the dirty secret that I was.
I wiped away the tears beneath my eyes. Matt Caldwell was an asshole. And I was done believing a word from his mouth.
I pushed open the closet door. I’d waited so long that my eyes had already adjusted to the darkness. I went to open his bedroom door, but paused. I needed to tell him what I hadn’t before. I’d let him kiss me instead like an idiot.
I switched on his lights and walked over to his nightstand. The top of it was empty except for the bedside lamp. I opened up the first drawer. I swallowed hard. Like me, he had a huge box of condoms. But unlike me? It was open.I’ll make it worth your while like always.
I rummaged through the drawer, looking for a notepad and pen. I found a pen but nothing to write on. I opened up the next drawer and froze. There was just one folder inside with Isabella’s name on it. I lifted it out of the drawer and opened it, assuming it was old school notes or something. But it was filled with pictures. Candids. Of her. I lifted up one. Then the next. And the next. They were all of Isabella. Her laughing. Her with her friends. Her freaking eating at some posh restaurant. I thought about the way she touched him. The way he didn’t flinch. He told me they weren’t dating. But Matthew Caldwell was a liar. It was the only thing I knew about him for sure.
I grabbed one of the pictures and turned it over. I closed my eyes and it was almost like I could still feel his body pressed against mine.Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you felt nothing and I’ll leave you alone.
