His hand falls away from me, and my stomach shivers in protest. When I turn around to meet his gaze, his eyes are vacant and icy. He’s staring at me as though I’m the worst person on the planet. As though I’m the one who imploded everything. I want him to fight back. I want him to interact with me. This is what we do. But tonight, Landon turns his back on me and drags himself out of the pool without another word. When he walks away, I watch him until he disappears into the crowd. I don’t understand him. I really don’t think I ever will.
My heart is still rioting in my chest when I glance up at Court.
“How’s the water?” She arches a suspicious eyebrow at me.
“Um, fine,” I mutter, dragging myself to the edge and hoisting my body up the ladder.
I feel like a drowned rat, and I can tell by the look on Court’s face I’m a mess, but she’s nice enough not to point it out.
“What was that all about?” she asks.
“What?” I play stupid and untangle my hair with my fingers.
“Landon.” She gives me a look that tells me I’m caught. “You weren’t exactly acting like he was your mortal enemy, which is super weird, considering that’s all I ever hear out of your mouth.”
“He is.” I wipe the mascara from beneath my eyes and wring my tee shirt out between my fists.
“Are you sure? Because—”
“Court.” I peek up at her, hoping the shame I feel isn’t written all over my face. I know what she’s thinking. What the hell is wrong with me? How could I ever let him touch me? I can’t deal with her judgment right now because honestly, I don’t have a clue myself.
“Yes?” She crosses her arms and frowns.
“Can we just talk about this later?” I beg. “I still need to have a conversation with Jared.”
“You’re going to confront him now?” She glances over at him. “In front of everyone?”
“Yes.”
My jean shorts and tee shirt are clinging to my body in the most uncomfortable way, but I can’t leave yet. I wasn’t planning on this, but I have to show them I’m not bothered. No matter what. Nothing can get to me.
“Alrighty then.” She collapses onto a pool lounger with a sigh and drags her phone from her pocket. “I’ll just wait for you here. Go give him hell, or whatever.”
“Thank you.”
Gathering up the shattered pieces of my broken confidence, I pivot on my heel and head straight for Jared, who still hasn’t noticed my arrival. He’s too busy Frenching the life-sized blow-up doll to notice me. At least until I poke his shoulder, interrupting his ick fest.
“Can I have a word with you?” I stare down at him.
“Who is she?” the cheerleader asks.
“I’m his girlfriend.” I flash all my teeth in a smile so fake my face hurts.
“Ugh. Jerk!” She shoves him away, and he stares up at me with a glazed expression. He’s definitely drunk, and I’m second-guessing my determination to have this conversation right now.
“Hey.” He jerks his chin at me and climbs out of the pool. “You take a swim with your boyfriend over there?”
Odd, I didn’t think he’d even noticed.
“I should ask you the same thing.” I cross my arms and glare at him.
He shakes his head like I’m ridiculous. There’s something different about him tonight. Jared’s always been a little cocky, but there’s a sharpness in his eyes I’ve never noticed before. He seems uptight, and I wonder if it has anything to do with the fading bruises on his face.
“Over here.” I grab his arm and drag him to a quiet corner of the garden, away from prying eyes and ears. There’s a large wooden gazebo tucked into the shadows, and I steer us behind it where I can confront him privately.
“What the hell is going on?” I snap at him. “Why are you making out with some random chick when we had a deal? And what about your boyfriend?”
“I fuck whoever I want.” His words are clipped, an undercurrent of tension polluting his voice. “Chicks. Guys. I don’t really give a damn as long as I can get my dick wet. Everyone already knows it, so if you think it’s some big secret, you really are delusional.”