"Thank you so much!" She throws her arms around my neck and hugs me, almost knocking my beer out of my hand. "You are a lifesaver."
"No problem." I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her close to me. There isn't anything I wouldn't do to have her this close to me again. It's been so long since I've had her in my arms like this. I've missed it.
Her grip on my neck loosens, and I let her pull away from me. Her cheeks are pink, and I hope I'm the reason she's blushing.
"So, how long are y'all going to stay at this thing?" She runs her hands down her dress, smoothing it out. Little does she know it makes the fabric cling to her body. She's trying to kill me.
"I'm not sure." I glance back at the guys. "Hudson said something about going somewhere else."
"Let me guess." She taps her finger against her chin, pretending to be deep in thought. "Y'all are going to tailgate on his property."
"Good guess." It doesn't take much to come to that conclusion because that is what Hudson does. He'd rather hang out on his, or his parents', property. In his eyes, we can all crash there if we have too much to drink. More fun for us and avoiding the law. Two birds, one stone.
"At least y'all won't be roughing it in the back of the truck, or on the ground, like we used to back in the day."
"What do you mean?"
"He has a couple of RVs back there now."
Why hasn't he told me that? Maybe I should come home more often. Even though it's the same town, so many things have obviously changed.
Hudson taps my shoulder. "Hey, man, you ready to go?"
I nod a response with my focus on Jaylen. "I guess we're heading out now."
"Be careful," she leans on her toes and gives me a peck on the cheek, "do you still have my number?"
"I don't know. I've gotten a few new phones since we were in school."
She holds her hand out for my phone. Handing it over, I watch her as she quickly taps on the screen. "Here you go. I texted myself, so I have your number too."
"Good idea." I shove the phone back in my pocket. "I'll give you a call tomorrow so we can figure out the party."
"Sounds good."
The guys are already heading toward the door. "I guess I better go."
"See you later."
I give her one last hug. Anything to feel her body against mine before rushing after my friends. Being home this week will likely blow up in my face.
6
Jaylen
Last night was a success.Not only did I get Patrick to open up to me, but he also agreed to go to the Halloween party. For a second, I thought he was going to say no. He gave me every excuse he could to find a way out of it.
“Are you going to coordinate costumes?” Kelly asks from the bed. She has a string of fairy lights in her hands, trying to straighten them out without tangling them. Hannah would normally be here, too, but she had to meet her parents for lunch. It’s their weekly tradition.
“How are we supposed to do that?” I turn down the speaker so we can hear each other talk. “He only agreed last night, and finding a decent costume this late in the game will be nearly impossible.”
“You could call and talk to him.” She rolls her eyes, and looks over the supplies to finish up my costume. I had planned on having it done by now, but school has been hectic. Let’s just say, I’m ready for winter break.
“Or I can wait and see what he does.” Opening up a drawer in the night stand, I rummage around until I find the hot glue gun. “It was like pulling teeth for him to agree to come at all. I don’t exactly want to press my luck.”
“Girl, we all saw the way he was looking at you last night,” she motions for the pile of tulle now that the lights are straightened out,. “He will do anything you ask of him. Even if he doesn’t want to. It’s always been that way with the two of you.”
“No,” I shake my head, “it was that way before. Now it’s like neither one of us knows how to act around the other.”
