"This is Laura. Laura, this is my best friend, Rory," he says, shooting me his signature crooked grin.
"You're Rob Forbes's girlfriend, aren't you?" she asks excitedly.
I nod as Cam rolls his eyes.
"My daddy says he's gonna play in the NFL after college!"
I give her a cursory smile. "So is your date here," I reply, gesturing at Cam, who rolls his eyes again. He could. If it was what he wanted, but I know Cam has no interest in playing pro ball.
"She ain't my date," Cam drawls through his bad-boy smile. "She's just gonna keep me company if I get a little lonely later, ain't that right Laura?"
Laura blushes and seems at loss for words. I punch Cam in the arm. He knows better than to treat girls like that, even if they know the score.
I excuse myself to go find some friends and end up spending most of the evening with Lacey and Courtney. Emmers is off somewhere hooking up with Chip, and I'm told Stella went off with some seniors to smoke a joint out back. Robin intermittently makes his way over to steal a kiss before rejoining his boys.
A few hours later it's time to leave. I stand in the front yard with Lacey and Robin, looking around for Cam to say goodbye.
He comes up behind me. "Lookin' for me, Rory girl?"
"Hey! How'd you know? We're just leavin', I just wanted to say 'bye." I say.
Cam half smiles and pulls me in for a hug, squeezing tight. "You're drivin', right?" he asks. Clearly he's noticed Robin's alcohol consumption. But then, he's always noticing everything.
I nod.
"Goodnight, Rory girl," he murmurs, planting a quick kiss on my cheek before pulling away.
"Night, Cam. Love you," I reply.
"Love you, too, Ror. Night Lacey. Forbes," he mutters coolly before walking off.
Robin narrows his eyes at him, but I ignore it and climb into the driver's seat. On the drive home Lacey complains about Cam's new friend, Laura, while I pretend to listen. Robin is uncharacteristically quiet, and I think maybe he's had too much to drink and he just needs to get to bed and pass out.
I glance over at him, and he's just looking pensively out the window. He doesn't look like he's about to pass out, which is good, because Lacey and I would have some time of it trying to get him up to his room if he did.
When we get to the house, Robin goes right to his bedroom without kissing me goodnight. Lacey goes to hers, and I just head upstairs, confused by Robin's mood. He always kisses me goodnight. Especially when I stay over. Even if he ends up coming upstairs to kiss me again later.
I'm exhausted when I crawl into bed wearing only an overlong Red Hot Chili Peppers concert tee that falls off my shoulder since I forgot to pack the shorts I usually sleep in. I consider going to ask Robin to borrow a pair of boxers, but think better of it.
I close my eyes, but sleep doesn't come. I'm thinking about things too much. Robin loves me. I heard him say I'm the kind of girl he'd marry, but does that mean he wants to marry me someday? Or just a girl like me? I know I'm too young to be thinking about this, but it's Robin's own words that put it in my head. It gives me pleasure to think he would take our relationship so seriously, but then, it also frightens me. If I'm honest with myself, I'm not sure I would want to marry Robin, and I'm grateful it's not a decision I'll have to make any time in the near future.
These are all things that I've worried over for weeks, but tonight a new thought concerns me. The moment I saw Cam with that girl, Laura, I had the strangest feeling. Jealousy. I don't know where it came from, and I shoved it away the moment I recognized it, and yet... when he brushed her off after I'd called her his date... I also felt relief. Even if I admonished him over it. Surely it's just a result of missing my best friend, but still, it unsettles me.
My door swings open and hits the opposite wall with a loud bang. I sit up in bed. I'm used to Robin creeping up here when I stay over, but he's usually more quiet about it. Anyway, no one can hear us up on the third floor.
"Robin?" I whisper.
He stalks over and sits on the edge of the bed, facing the door. He's not looking at me. In fact, he hasn't looked at me since we left the party.
"Is everything okay?" I ask.
"I love you, Rory," he says.
"I know, I-"
"Only you."
"I, uh, know..." I have no idea where he's going with this.
