“That’s exactly what I want, Tiffani,” I tell her, mirroring her smile as I squeeze her thigh. I’m trying my best here, and it’s the best damn performance I’ve ever done.
She leans toward me and presses her lips to mine, kissing me hard, and I almost flinch away from her. It takes a lot of strength to kiss her back, to act normal, to pretend I wasn’t just kissing Eden last night. Kissing Tiffani isn’t the same. It’s always so rough, always so aggressive, always so boring. There’s no excitement. No passion. How did I ever enjoy this? I stick with it for a few long seconds just to keep her happy, then I finally pull back from her, slumping against my seat.
“I hope you enjoyed that, because you’re getting nothing more until I trust you again,” Tiffani states as she reaches for the door, her new purse over her arm, her eyes piercing mine. She laughs and then gets out of the car, slamming the door behind her.
I watch her as she strides across the street, and I realize that Rachael, Meghan, and Eden are waiting for her over on the sidewalk. Have they been there the entire time? Did Eden just see me kiss Tiffani? I only look at her. She is sipping on a cup of coffee, her head tilted down, watching everything from beneath her eyelashes. Her gaze travels to mine. I can only hope she understands why I have to do what I am currently doing, and from across the street, I give her a small smile, one that’s apologetic. I wish I was with her and not Tiffani. Eden glances away from me again as Tiffani nears the group. Rachael doesn’t look too happy, because she aggressively hurls her cup of coffee into a trash can and throws her hands up. I don’t care to wait around and watch. I’m meeting Dean and Jake at the Refinery, so I head off, revving my engine all the way around the corner onto Broadway, leaving the girls behind.
I spend fifteen minutes trying to find parking, and by the time I push open the door to the Refinery, Dean and Jake are already there. They’re sitting by the full-length windows, watching the hustle and bustle outside on Santa Monica Boulevard, laughing among themselves as they consume their coffee without me.
“Oh, so youhaveturned up,” Jake remarks as I enter, rolling his eyes.
“Jake, did I ever tell you how much I justloveto hang out with you?” I fire back at him, and I barge my shoulder into his as I head for the counter. We’re only messing around right now. My relationship with Jake is volatile, but at least we’re on the right side of friendly most of the time.
I order myself an Americano, then head back over to the guys and pull up a chair, sitting down next to them. “So,” I say as I take a sip of my coffee. It’s so hot that it scalds my tongue. I set it down on the table instead, giving it a minute to cool. “What are we talking about?”
“Honestly, not much,” Dean says, leaning forward to look at me past Jake. He gives me a warm, friendly smile, which is a much nicer welcome than Jake’s. I know I probably frustrate Dean constantly, but he never lets it show. It’s nice to have at leastonefriend who has my back. “Just the beach party on Saturday.”
Immediately, I straighten up. I forgot all about that. “That’s this weekend?”
“Yeah,” Jake says, then he stifles a laugh as he mutters under his breath, “and try not to kill yourself this time.” We both hear him.
“Jake,” Dean hisses. They exchange a look, and Dean gives him a slow, firm shake of his head in disapproval. Jake only shrugs and props his elbows on the table, gulping down his coffee as he stares out the window.
Every year, there is a party down on the beach. Half of the beach gets cordoned off, and there’s a stage where different DJs and bands perform all night. Everyone just turns up wasted and parties for hours as the sun sets over the Pacific. It’s real sweet, and although officially no minors are allowed, half our school turns up anyway. I should be looking forward to it, but after last summer, I can’t help but feel anxious. Even the thought of it is making my stomach twist.
At the party last year, I enjoyed myself a little too much. I was seriously drunk, and I bought some stuff I shouldn’t have from a complete stranger. I thought I would be alright, but I wasn’t. I don’t know what the hell I took that night, but it was definitely laced with something. It was the one and only bad trip I’ve ever taken. Luckily, despite my friends being wasted themselves, they managed to drag me back to Tiffani’s place where they watched over me for hours to make sure I didn’t, like, die. I know they don’t always care about me much, but they did that night.
“I was thinking,” Dean says, clearing his throat, “we could all have some drinks at my place first before we head down to the beach.”
“I shouldn’t… Maybe I shouldn’t go,” I mumble. My mouth has gone dry. I drop my eyes to my lap, fumbling with my hands. The beach party last year was one of my lowest moments. It doesn’t exactly hold any good memories for me, and I don’t want to end up making any risky mistakes again.
“You think?” Jake mutters. He turns to face me and honestly, I could punch him in the face right here and now. “Is Eden going? I haven’t seen her in a while.”
“Why the fuck do you care?” I snap at him. He doesn’t get to talk about Eden. He’s an asshole, and he’s going nowhere near her. Sure, she may have slept at his place, but that was weeks ago, and I get the feeling her attention is no longer on him. It’s on me. “She’s not interested in you.”
“Really?” Dean says, shifting forward to the edge of his chair. Curiosity lights up his gaze as he looks at me, his eyebrows raised. “She said that?”
“She didn’t need to,” I say, clenching my jaw. I am losing it quicker than usual today. I just hate hearing Eden’s name on Jake’s tongue.
“Tyler, seriously, shut the fuck up,” Jake says through laughter. I hate that he can always laugh his way through everything. I like topretendthat I don’t care about anything, whereas Jakeactuallydoesn’t give a fuck. Never has, never will. “C’mon. Rachael says they’re all at Johnny Rockets, so let’s go meet them.”
I take my coffee with me and drink it en route to Santa Monica Place, the luxury outdoor shopping plaza at the foot of the promenade where I dropped Tiffani off. Dean walks between Jake and me, most likely to prevent any arguments from breaking out, and we headupstairs to the dining deck and search the tables until we finally spot the girls. We pull over chairs and join them as they eat their sundaes. Or at least only three of them. Eden isn’t eating anything.
I set a chair down next to Tiffani and sink down into it. I’m not sure how I feel about being in such close proximity to Eden while my friends surround us. I’m scared to look at her because I’m worried I’ll smile without realizing, or our eyes will tell a story that isn’t ready to be told.
“Hey,” Tiffani whispers, smiling wide at me. She places her hand on my knee.
“So,” Jake says, raising his voice as he leans forward on the table and runs his eyes around the circle, looking at each of us in turn. He only receives a glare back from me. “We’ve decided that we’ll go to Dean’s before the party on Saturday.”
“A party before a party,” Dean throws in. He bears an excited grin as he glances around all of us too. Dean isn’t a huge fan of parties, but he does always love the annual beach party. “We’ll take care of the booze.”
“You guys just take care of looking good,” Jake finishes. He jokingly shrugs and leans back in his chair, nonchalantly folding his arms across his chest.
“Prick,” Rachael says, and she throws her spoon across the table at him. He narrowly avoids it, but I wish it had hit him.
“You know I’m kidding, Rachy baby,” he teases, sitting up again and cocking his head to one side. He smirks at her, his expression playful. Ever since middle school, they have been like this.
“Don’t call me that!”
