“It means equality.” She shrugged, and I nodded. That was cool, I guess. “Do you have any?”
I unbuttoned my sleeve, rolling up the material until the outline of the road I had was on display.
“Started it, work in progress.” I smiled as she met my gaze.
“Rebecca.”
“Caleb. Do people call you Becky?”
She wrinkled her nose up. “Sometimes. Or Becks. Do you want to dance?”
She was confident, and I liked that. I did. She was also beautiful, and I struggled as I weighed up my options.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” she asked, and I shrugged.
“Something like that.”
It was easier to lie than the truth.
Her face fell as she glanced around. “Well, okay then. Enjoy the party, I guess.” She gave me a small smile, and I watched her walk back to the party, her hips swaying as she cast one last look at me.
Argh, for fuck’s sake.
“Caleb, I thought you left. You okay, man? Jade’s in there.”
Gabe appeared at my elbow, his blue eyes burning into mine as he followed my gaze to see Rebecca throwing her head back as she laughed with a group of girls.
“Wow. College girls arehot.” He whistled as I sipped my beer. “So, you coming in?”
I ignored the Jade comment, my heart racing as I imagined seeing her.
I hesitated before nodding, preparing to face whatever reality awaited me. The room was warmer now, despite me only being gone for ten minutes. It was much darker, and I realized I couldn’t see the chandelier anymore.
“Why is it so fucking dark?” I yelled to Gabe over the music, and he pointed at the disco lights that were strobing across the room.
Fucking hell.
Did they realize this was a house and not a club? A couple fell into me as they kissed, and I glared at them with annoyance.
“My bad, dude, sorry.”
The guy’s eyes were glassy, and he didn’t wait for a response before sticking his tongue back down the blonde’s throat.
Nice.
I rolled up my sleeves with the heat, wishing I had worn a thin t-shirt or something. I followed Gabe to where my sister was standing, gazing at the dancefloor in distaste. Following her gaze, my eyes fell on a figure clad in a bandage-type black dress and heels, heavily made-up eyes, and black hair that shimmered under the occasional lights.
Jade.
My eyes fell to the man who had his hands around her waist, his mouth sucking on her neck as they danced.
JT.
It hurt like fuck, but if that’s what she wanted, then there was nothing I could do. As she said, I’d had my chance. She didn’t look overly happy. Instead, she looked over at us, waving at Summer to join her. Summer shook her head as Jade disentangled herself from JT, who watched her walk away, his eyes narrowing when he saw me.
“Summer, come and dance with meeeee,” she sang as I ran my eyes over her, noticing her swaying as she tried to convince Summer to dance. Gabe caught my eye as he nodded towards her subtly, to which I sighed.
Jade’s eyes caught mine, her mouth opening as she went to say something.
