She starts saying something to him, and he laughs.
“She’s not my type,” Rocky says, looking into Cecily’s eyes. I can tell he likes her.
“That’s a lie,” she teases.
He shakes his head. “Rich and snobby? I’ll pass.”
“Hey!” she shouts. “That’s my best friend!”
Rocky smirks, so I grab her by the waist, pulling her away. She starts flailing in the air until I set her on her feet.
“Dylan!” she scolds.
I hold her close, looking down at her. Then I whisper in her ear, “Can we leave? Please?”
I’m being nice, but I want so badly to rewind the last hour and stop her from drinking whatever the fuck she drank because I don’t like when she’s like this. I know she doesn’t like it either. I can see it in her eyes when she looks up at me. She’s embarrassed.
“Hey, Dylan,” a small voice says. When I turn, I see Marina. Fuck. This girl’s everywhere, I swear.
Cecily sees her and lights up. “Marina!”
Marina’s eyes bulge out of their socket when Cecily throws her arms around her.
I grab Cecily and say, “We’re leaving.”
Cecily says, “Wait––”
Scott intercepts, talking to Marina and her friends, as I walk Cecily out the front door.
We leave the party, and when I buckle her in the passenger seat of my truck, I tighten it and ask, “Why did you drink tonight?”
“What?” she asks, even though she heard me.
I lift a brow.
She shrugs. “Because I promised Alix I would.”
“Peer pressure?” I scoff, closing the door, and then I walk around to get in the driver’s seat.
She sucks in her cheeks. “You can’t be mad at me. You drink.”
“Yeah, but you don’t.”
“That’s not fair, Dilly.” She leans comfortably into the seat and lets out a soft sigh. The noise travels straight through me. “Are you mad?”
“I’m not mad, Moo.”
She smiles as I start the drive home.
We drive in silence, letting the music fill the tension between us. I catch her looking at me a few times.
When we get to my place, she says, “I thought you were taking me home.”
“I thought you didn’t want to go home because of Alix and Dane.”
She lifts her phone. “Alix texted me that I ruined her night.”
I read the text messages and say, “Looks like you blew your shot with Dane.”
