“But… I thought…”
“What? You thought what?” he scoffs. “That’d I’d change my mind and fall madly in love you?”
“Well…”
“Never going to happen, babe,” he laughs.
Ooooh, ouch. This shit is juicy… and brutal.
“No, Nate. Please,” she says. “Please. I promise. I’ll stop calling you my boyfriend.”
“Nah, sorry, babe. I’m done with this shit. You’re too much drama.”
“Nate,” she calls as the door to the room is barged open.
I gasp at the sudden intrusion as he slams the door closed behind him and turns on the light before flicking the lock. “Shit,” he says as he looks down at me sitting in his bed. “I forgot you were in here.”
“Ahhh… yeah,” I say, wrapping my arms around myself to try and keep warm. His eyes linger on me and it almost looks as though he’s enjoying the sight of me in his bed, wearing his shirt.
The thought is ripped away by a loud banging on the door followed by Ashley’s screams. “Nate. Open the damn door. I’m not done with you.”
“Well, I’m done with you,” he calls back with a smirk on his handsome face and an attitude so sharp it could cut through metal. He turns back to me with a cringe. “I, um… I suppose you heard all that.”
“How could I not? My parents probably heard it in Australia,” I say. “That was harsh, though. It was like one hell of a mad dumping.”
“No,” he corrects. “I thought you could hear it. It’s not dumping when you were never together,” he explains before cringing when Ashley bangs on the door again. “She deserved it,” he says as an afterthought.
“Shit, I’d hate to see what it’s like for the poor girl who actually gets dumped by you,” I say as I rub my hands over my eyes and yawn.
“Did we wake you?” he questions with concern as Ashley tries again before jiggling the locked door handle.
“What do you think?” I grunt before laying back down and curling into his bed.
He crosses the room and rifles through his closet before pulling out a blanket and tossing it over the top of me. “Do you mind if I chill out for a bit?” he questions. “You know, only until she pisses off.”
“It’s your room,” I say with a shrug.
He nods his head and takes a seat on top of his desk which is when it gets awkward. I mean, what the hell are we supposed to talk about?
“You still owe me an apology, you know?” I tell him.
He scoffs as he looks at me with a sparkle in his dark eyes. “What for?” he questions.
“Where do I start?” I smirk. “First up, for scaring the shit out of me at that race last night and not letting me out of the car. Secondly, for kidnapping me… twice now. And third, how about for the past five years of being an asshat.”
“An asshat?” he questions.
“Yes, an asshat,” I say with a raised, impatient eyebrow.
He watches me for a moment before grinning. “Never going to happen.”
I let out a huff. I knew it was a long shot but it was worth a try. “What time is it?” I question when the silence begins to slowly kill me.
“After four,” he says. “We’ll start kicking people out soon.”
“Ok,” I mumble into his pillow.
A smirk slowly begins to creep across his face as he watches me and I worry that something awful is about to come flying from his lips. “It never used to be this awkward between us,” he says, shocking the absolute hell out of me.
“Yeah,” I agree with a laugh. “That’s because you turned into an asshole.” He lets out a sigh and leans forward onto his knees. “Is it…?” cringe, “did I…?” I let out a sigh, giving up as I’m simply unable to get the question out.
Just like when we were kids, he knows exactly what I’m thinking. “No,” he tells me. “You didn’t do anything. This is all on me.” I look away. I don’t know if that makes it better or worse. “I’ll let you sleep,” he says as he jumps down from the desk.
I nod my head as I silently watch him walk to the door. He unlocks it before turning back to me and watching me as he flicks off the light. “Night, Tora,” he says into the darkness.
“Night,” I whisper back, though, with the sound of the music flowing up through the open door, I don’t know if he hears me.
The door closes behind him and I find myself lying awake, feeling really unsure about what just happened. I mean, it was super awkward, but did we seriously just have a conversation that didn’t end with me wanting to tear him to pieces?
I try to get back to sleep after that, but too many thoughts are running through my head. So, I listen. I listen to the sounds of the people lingering on the stairs. The sound of the music thumping through the floors. The people screaming and squealing as they get thrown in the pool.