“They’re outside,” he says, motioning to the open back doors.
“I guess I’m that easy to read,” I say.
He gives me a lopsided grin. “None of y’all look at me without also checking to see where they are. It’s kind of funny.”
“Always good to know where your enemies are,” I say with a laugh, except we both know I’m not joking.
“Nonna set anyone up on any more dates lately?” he asks, changing the subject. “The girls were telling me about that. Sounded hilarious.”
This stops me short. “Didthe girlshappen to tell you about the date they set Soph up on?”
“Movie date, right? What’s wrong with that?”
My mouth is open like a fish out of water. “Oh, it was a movie, all right. Is that all they said?”
He can tell from my tone this is not going the way he thought it would. He holds his hands up and says, “Calm down, I’m not trying to make you mad.”
Calm down. Those two words are like waving red in front of a bull.
“Oh, I’m calm. You need to get the facts straight. Askthe girls.”
I walk off and join Wes and Sophie back on the dance floor. As much as I try, though, it’s hard not to keep track of where Leo is. He’s moved across the room to a beer pong game with a group that includes the Evil Joes and their boyfriends. And it’s bad that I watch him long enough to notice that when he misses, someone on his team takes his drink for him. I guess he’s their designated driver tonight.
Needing some distance so I don’t completely embarrass myself, I track down Mia and Bailey on the other side of the room.
“Yay! There’s Olivia!” Bailey squeals when I join them.
They’re sitting on top of the bar. Mia holds out her hand. “Hop up here. It’s a perfect view of the room.”
I take her hand and she pulls me up. I squeeze in between them. We people-watch, and even though I was trying to get away from staring at Leo, I find this is the perfect location to do exactly that.
Bailey leans close so I can hear her over the music. “There’s a bunch of us staying at my house tonight if you want to come over.”
I turn toward her. “Aw, I can’t. Sophie is in town and staying at my house.” I don’t mention how early I have to get up in the morning.
“We figured but wanted to ask anyway.”
I try not to cringe. This happens a lot and I feel a little awkward that I’m always turning down Bailey’s invitation. Thankfully, Miller and Will put a new victim in their spotlight, so the tension passes on the rejected invite.
After a few songs, Sophie weaves through the crowd to find me. She says hi to Bailey and Mia and they return her greeting, but that’s it. Soph leans against the bar next to me. “As much as I was trying to avoid it, I’ve got to go to the bathroom. And since the bathroom is actually a bush in the woods, I can’t go alone.”
And as soon as she says the words, I feel the same way.
“Yeah, I need to go, too.” I scoot off the bar, then turn to Bailey and Mia. “Y’all need to go?”
They both decline, and Sophie drags me out of the back of the building and doesn’t stop until we’re surrounded by trees and bushes. Just one of the indignities of partying in an abandoned building.
Sophie pulls a few napkins out of her pocket. “Here,” she says, handing me one. For her first time here, she’s more prepared than I am. “We have field parties all the time. You always need a napkin or two on you.”
We both stand there a minute with our hands on the waistbands of our shorts. Even though we can still hear the music, we can also hear the birds in the trees and the unknown creatures rustling in the underbrush. It’s really dark out here, and scenes from every horror movie I’ve ever seen run through my head.
“I’m always scared something is going to bite my butt,” I admit.
Sophie laughs at me but then stomps around in the area around us, making really loud growling noises.
“That probably bought us a few feet of unoccupied space,” she says, once she’s finished.
“Well, we better not waste it!”
