“It’s Sar’s birthday party.” I placed my hand on her shoulder to calm her down. “Don’t do this now.”
Kev twisted his hands together. “Yes, Mel. Leave th-them be.”
She watched them dance with a sneer. “Okay. I won’t do it. I’ll just have to break Barbie’s nose the next time I see him.”
Kev and I glanced at each other, and he shrugged his shoulder. Yep, she was that drunk.
“He didn’t do anything wrong, Mel,” I said. “He’s just dancing with that girl.”
Mel’s brows quirked up. “He did nothing wrong? He exists! He should be wiped off the face of the earth!”
I snorted. “You’re being a drama queen. And remember that anti-bullying campaign of yours, Miss Vice President? What would the student council say if they heard about this? They would call you out on your double standards.”
Her only response was to roll her eyes. The band started playing a ballad, which was my cue to finally go to the kitchen to fetch some water. I was parched, and my feet hurt too much in my high heels. The blisters were going to be a nightmare to deal with.
“I’m going to get some water.”
“Have a nice trip,” Mel said before sticking her tongue out at me.
I wore a goofy smile as I pushed through people, struggling to see anything beyond the hazy lines of my surroundings. The sweat was coating my skin, and I hoped my makeup was in place. If not, I was most probably looking like a clown. I giggled at the thought and sashayed my way into the kitchen, which brimmed with activity.
Some guys played beer pong on the kitchen island, while a blonde girl and a guy who looked old enough to be in college played flip cup on the dining table. There were a few couples kissing, and I exhaled a wistful sigh. I wanted to have someone to kiss, too.
The unwanted memory of my last kiss rushed through my mind, and blush spread all over my cheeks. The lips that drowned me in desire. The hands that reveled in me. And then the words that came out of his mouth that destroyed everything.
I tucked my curls behind my ear and opened the fridge with a pout. Everything about Blake was complicated. The walls around him and his complex past were too high, impenetrable, and dangerous. The depth of contempt in his eyes each time he looked at me was too much, and I asked myself for the hundredth time why I’d had to let him take a piece of my heart.
We weren’t meant to be, and even though Sarah had just told me earlier that he might realize how wrong he was and change, it was hard to get over all the things he’d done to me.
I took the water bottle and placed a cup on the counter, humming to the ballad playing. I unscrewed the cap and tilted the bottle to pour the water, but someone flicked my cup aside, and I jerked back when the water splashed all over the counter and my dress, bumping into someone standing too close to me.
“What—” I started to turn around, but he grabbed the counter and pressed himself against me, two arms corded with muscle caging me in.
I was ready to panic, disgusted by this perverted stranger, when the voice in my ear said, “That dress doesn’t suit you. You’re too fat for it.” Blake. “Your flabby stomach and sagging ass are on full display.”
I closed my eyes shut and squeezed the bottle in my hand tightly. It hurt. It hurt so much, and shame and anger invited more self-hatred and self-doubts. I was more than aware of his hard body behind me, my pulse hammering madly. I imagined dumping the rest of the water from the bottle on his head.
I wasn’t Mel though. Dumping liquids on annoying guys was her specialty.
“Looks like someone couldn’t take their eyes off of my body,” I replied with faked confidence courtesy of alcohol.
He snorted. His lips were so close to my earlobe I got goose bumps. “I didn’t have to stare at you to figure out how fat and unattractive you are.”
I bit into my lip and put the bottle down on the counter with a thud. “You can’t seem to stop talking about the way I look. Are you that obsessed with my body?”
“Obsessed? You think I’m obsessed with your body when I get to sleep with girls who are way better looking than you?” Another snort traveled over his lips. “You’re pathetic.”
I refused to let his words get to me. He was a prick. “Leave me alone.”
He spun me around too quickly and got into my face, creating a whirlwind of emotions within me. I pressed myself against the counter to get as far away from him as possible and tipped my head back so I could meet his gaze. His icy gray eyes promised me pain.
“I won’t leave you alone, because you broke my damn phone screen today. You can’t mess with me.”
“I’ll pay you for the screen. And you’re the one messing with me—all the time.”
He grimaced. “I’m messing with you because I can’t stand you. And don’t think you can just pay for my screen and that’s it. You won’t get away with it that easily.”
He is unbelievable! “You’re sick, Blake, and—”
He grabbed my shoulder. “Now listen to me and listen to me carefully. I’m not that fool Burks who kisses the ground you walk on.”
“He’s not—”
He shook me. “Don’t interrupt me. As I said, I’m not him, so don’t think even for a second you can have me wrapped around your finger.”
A few seconds went by as we glared at each other, our faces only a breath apart, and heat spread through my chest. He looked
