“That’s okay. You don’t have to,” she says. “But I think you should do something to take your mind off of Blake.”
Poppy nods. “That’s a good idea.”
“The three of us should go out this weekend and get a little wild,” Anna says with a teasing smile. “Go out dancing, have some drinks.”
“A girls’ night out,” Poppy says. Anna nods, smiling.
“You really think that’ll help?” I ask.
“It’ll be a distraction, that’s for sure,” Anna says. She gives my arm a soft squeeze. “Better than moping around the house, waiting for him to talk to you.”
I let out a breath. She’s right. I don’t want to be some pathetic, sad-sack counting the days until Blake feels like talking to me again.
And even if he does reach out, I don’t know if I want to talk to him anymore. Not after the way he’s treated me.
Maybe they’re right. Maybe going out for a night is exactly what I need to take my mind off things.
My phone buzzes with a text. When I see it’s Blake, a hopeful feeling sprouts through me. I almost glance at my phone screen, but I resist the urge. How pathetic would I look if I answered him right away? It would be so obvious that I’ve been staring at my phone nonstop for the past few days, waiting for him to acknowledge me.
Irritation zooms through me. I’m sick of this.
I darken my phone screen without reading Blake’s message and look up at Poppy and Anna.
I nod once, determined to get myself out of this funk. “I’m in. Let’s have a girls’ night.”
Chapter 25
Blake
“Dude, why did you bring us to a line dancing club? You know we hate dancing. And country music,” I ask Nick.
He leads Travis, Leo, and me through the crowded country bar that I’ve never been to before. It’s on the edge of the Hollis U campus, so it’s crawling with students.
A country song I don’t recognize blasts over the speaker system. A dozen people are dancing in the middle of the floor. Half the place is singing along to the upbeat lyrics. I wince at the sound.
Nick laughs at me and pats my shoulder. “Lighten up, dude.”
I roll my eyes.
“You need a drink,” he says. He gestures to the bartender. “Could I get four beers and four shots of whiskey?”
“I’m not in the mood for whiskey,” I say.
“Too bad. You’re doing a shot.” Nick hands the bartender cash. A minute later, he sets our drinks on the bar.
We all grab shot glasses. Nick raises his. “Here’s to Blake getting rid of his pissy attitude.”
Leo chuckles, and Travis cracks a smile before they take their shots. I roll my eyes before downing the whiskey.
We take our beers and head to a table in the corner, next to the dance floor.
“Blake raises a good question. Of all the bars near campus we could have gone to, why are we at this one?” Leo asks.
Nick grins. “Poppy’s out on a girl’s night with Anna. I wanna surprise her.”
“God, you’re clingy,” Leo says, chuckling.
Nick’s smug grin doesn’t budge. He shrugs. “You say clingy. I say I’m in love.”
