“Pri, hi,” Serena says as she shuffles on her heels from Priya’s suffocating hug. “Can you let go? You’re restricting my oxygen.”
“Oh! Sorry!” Priya exclaims as she takes a step back.
I lift my chin to offer a silent greeting to my wonderful neighborhood and current cockblocker. “Priya.”
“Tyler,” Priya echoes back with the same gesture before meeting Serena’s eyes. “I can’t believe you’re here! Alli told me you were coming. I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
Serena purses her lips. “I didn’t know you were coming, I would’ve texted you.”
Priya flicks her hand, her way of saying it’s no big deal. “This is my cousin’s party.”
My brows furrow together in confusion. “You’re Elijah’s cousin?”
“By marriage,” Priya explains. “Come, come, let’s sit on the couch.”
Serena looks at me, her eyes looking uncertain about leaving my side.
“Go ahead and have some girl time,” I encourage. “I need to catch up with Elijah and I’ll come find you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” I lean closer and gently touch her arm. “I’ll find you in a bit.”
Serena nods and Priya drags her to another area in the house. Serena looks back over her shoulder and once again, she steals my breath away.
I fucking wish I could find the willpower to tell her how every look, every moment with her leaves me utterly breathless. It’s the little things she does without noticing that draw me in. The way she tucks her hair, the way she throws her head back when she laughs, or the way she hums to herself in the car thinking I’m not listening. She’s not even aware of how destructively beautiful she is.
A hand clamps my shoulder. “Dude,” I recognize the voice to be Elijah. I forgot I was looking for him.
I revert my attention to him and we both slap hands together. “Sup, dude. Nice party.”
“You know me, always gotta do it big here,” Elijah gestures widely. “I gotta say, I’m surprised you’re here. When Jared told me you were coming, I was close to betting money if you were gonna show.”
Money? Really? “You make it sound like I’m allergic to parties.”
“You were the one that made a big deal about,” Elijah claps his hand while clearing his throat, “I’m done with parties, I have more important shit to focus on than high school parties.” Then he gives me a look that says did-you-not-say-that-or-what.
I lift both hands up as if I’m surrendering. “Okay, fair. I did say that.”
“What’s changed though, for real?” Elijah crosses his arms over his chest. “You said you were done and now you’re here. What’s up?”
“Nothing,” I say casually, then take a swig of water. I look around the room for Serena. She’s not too far from me, yet far away enough to where we can’t hear each other.
“You’ve been looking at that girl,” Elijah says, tilting his head in Serena’s direction.
“Huh?”
Elijah lifts his chin, pointing at Serena. “Her.”
“Oh, she’s my tutor. She’s new to Skyline, just showing her around.”
“So, you think I was born yesterday,” Elijah laughs sarcastically. “Come on, man, I’m not blind. She’s something.”
“Yeah… she is,” I confess absentmindedly, looking at her. “She’s smart, sweet and… so pretty, she’s very funny actually, and makes the best Thai green tea I’ve ever tried–”
“Okay, lovebird,” Elijah teases with a chuckle, and I catch Priya offering a drink to Serena. I remember her being apprehensive about the whole drinking thing, so I excuse myself from our conversation and walk over to the pair. I pull the drink from Serena’s hand and inspect it.
“What are you doing?” Priya asks, tilting her head to the side.
