“Maybe,” he answers.
That complete and utterasshole!How dare he throw food at me while I’m already covered in face pie! Is hetryingto humiliate me as much as humanly possible? I’m so pissed my clenched fingers are digging into my palms and my hands are shaking.
I’m burning hot as I shove my purse into Emmett’s chest and march over to Jay as fast as possible in my stupid shoes. He’s smirking, andboy,do I want to wipe it off his smug face.
When I’m standing directly in front of him, I pick up a wide container of barbeque sauce and throw the contents at him, dropping the dripping container back on the table.
Ha! Take that!
Some of it splashed on his neck and jaw, and at least I’m not the only person here covered in food now.
Without saying a word, he picks up a pitcher of fruit juice with one hand, holding it over my head.
I glare at him. “Don’t do i—”
He pours the drink over my head. It soaks my hair and shocks my body as its coolness slides down my hot skin.
“Youass!”
I pick up a pitcher of ice tea and throw the drink at him. He grasps a handful of hummus and flings it at me. I drop the empty plastic pitcher and hurl a handful of guacamole at him. He ducks, and it lands on the guy standing behind him, who was watching the whole thing, just like almost everyone else at the party.
My hands fly to my mouth as he stomps over. “I am so sor—” The guy slings two handfuls of mixed rice at me.
I stand there, shocked, looking at the bits of rice clinging to my skin, then back at Jay and his accomplice. They both have great big smiles on their faces, absolutely laughing their asses off. For a brief moment, I think,Who brings rice to a party?But my second, more prominent thought is,Fuck this.
With both hands, I dip into the potato salad that started it all and lob a handful at each boy, laughing as it glops on their skin. They throw some back, but it doesn’t just land on me, it lands on the people standing near me. But now I have people on my side, and they help me retaliate. Soon there are multiple people joining in, almost half the party, and food that kids had so kindly prepared and brought to the party is being fired back and forth. Screams and giggles and vows of revenge are now louder than the music.
Jay’s got a pitcher of orange juice, and he’s fast approaching me. Through the onslaught of food raining down from both sides, I try to avoid him, but I only get a few feet before the pool blocks my exit.
Strong arms wrap around me, and the only warning I get is Jay’s deep voice in my ear instructing me, “Hold your breath!” before he hurls us into the pool.
The cold water is a shock as we go under, and Jay’s grasp on me is gone as I break the surface and suck in air.
He surfaces right in front of me, running a hand over his head to get the water out of his eyes.
As I tread water, my hands shove the wet strands of hair out of my face. I thought I was a mess before? I must be an absolute wreck now. My hair is soaked and tangled and will dry frizzy because of the humidity, my makeup is ruined, and my mascara and eyeliner are probably making me look like a raccoon.
“What thehell, Jay?” I splash water at him, my merriment fading as I face him and remember how all this started. “Like getting a pie in the face wasn’t enough? You had to throw food at me too?”
He shakes the water from his face. “Everyone was staring.”
Wow. He’s almost as helpful as Emmett was when he told me there was pie on me.
“Yeah, Iknowthat. And you decided to make it worse bychucking potato salad at me!” I splash him again to emphasize my statement.
Almost no one was in the pool before, but now more people are jumping in, fully clothed, shoes and all, just like me and Jay.
“Stop splashing me!” He wipes the water from his face, but I’m so pissed I don’t want to be around him anymore, so I swim over to the part of the pool where I can reach the bottom.
“I washelping,” he explains, following me.
Helping? Does he mean helping himself to a good old laugh? Because he certainly wasn’t helping me.
I whirl around. “How was that helping?”
“Look around, Princess!” He holds both hands out to the crowd running around throwing food at one another and the bunch of fully clothed people giggling in the pool with us. “You’re not the only person with food all over you anymore.”
The anger that was building in me pauses. In fact, my whole body freezes as I consider his words. Hedoeshave a point.