Dylan must have been familiar with the story, because I caught a slight flinch in her face as she nodded and smiled a little. “Ohhhhh, I see,” she smirked before looking back at Peaches.
Not knowing what to do, I did the only thing I could think of doing to get us away from Dylan and her judgmental gaze. “Hey, wanna dance?” I said, holding out an arm. Peaches slid right up to me and took my arm as we walked out on the same floor that Nolan was on, now nestled into some boot-wearing idiot for a romantic slow dance. If I survive the night without punching someone, it would be a miracle.
I started dancing with Peaches, and she looked up at me, her face both hopeful and indignant. “So,” she said, biting her lip. A few weeks ago, I might have given in to a second chance with her, but armed with my new knowledge, that there was no Gavin—never was…? Well, Peaches didn’t have a chance.
“So,” I said, not really even looking at her.
“I’m Jenny, by the way. In case you were wondering,” she said, a complete attitude coming to the surface now. I spun her around once in a twirl, mostly to get her out of my grasp and gain some space between us. Unfortunately, though, she giggled when I did this, drawing Nolan’s attention. And the flash of hurt on her face was unmistakable.
“Nice to meet you…again, Jenny,” I said, pulling her back in so her head was out of my line of vision. I watched Nolan walk back over to the pool tables with her cowboy and a few of his friends. At least no one would touch her while she was playing pool.
“You know, I’m not usually easy like that,” Jenny said. I just nodded and smiled, still trying to keep an eye on Nolan, and my chest tightening as I watched her down three shots from a tray with her cowboy friends.
“I’m sorry…how do you know Dylan?” I said, fighting to put conversation out there that I didn’t have to work at.
“Oh, she’s my cousin,” she said quickly.
Shit! This just keeps getting worse. I just swallowed in response to this new information. My muscles tensed, and I became even more careful than I had been with this dangerous girl.
“Oh, I had no idea,” I shrugged tightly.
She must have sensed my distance and hesitation, because she sighed heavily and then rolled her eyes, spinning herself from my arms and back again. “It’s okay, Reed. I knew who you were. And I was totally just hitting on you that night, the entire time. My roommate and I had it all planned,” she said, just curling one side of her mouth into a guilty smile. “And you can relax. I didn’t tell my cousin about how I stripped for you, and you bailed on me after I threw myself you. It’s not really one of my finest moments.”
Relief washed over me, and my feet felt like they had shed a little of the concrete that had been weighing them down since I saw her walk from the bathroom. “She just knows that you walked me home, and we sort of kissed but that you rejected me,” she continued.
Okay, we did sort of kiss. I could live with this. And it wouldn’t make its way to Jason for him to twist and use against me at some later date. I leaned back a bit and smiled at Jenny genuinely now, the breath that I’d been holding finally exhaling. “Yeah, so…I’m so sorry about all of that,” I admitted. “I wasn’t myself. I’ve been…dealing with something.”
I was looking for Nolan again, and Jenny followed my gaze, and then looked back at me to see the pain in my eyes while Nolan laughed and brushed her hand along the shoulder of Mr. Cowboy. “Ah, yeah…I see that,” she smiled with tight lips, soft and understanding. It seems I’d underestimated both Dylan and Jenny.
“You wanna tell me about it?” Jenny said, her head tilted a bit, and her shoulders rose like she was truly interested in hearing my relationship problems. I considered it for a moment, but then I saw Sarah’s stare right behind her, and heard her cough loudly just to get our attention and force us to face her.
“Excuse me,” she said, just cutting in and taking my hands.
I shrugged a little at Jenny, and just mouthed, “I’m sorry,” as I gestured toward Sarah. Jenny just shook her head and rolled her eyes, walking back to my brother and Dylan at the bar.
“Thanks,” I said to Sarah.
“Really? You’re thanking me?” she said, a little confused.
“Yes. Yes, I am,” I smiled. “That girl is a…well…she’s not a bad girl. Let’s just say, she was almost part of a reallllly big f**k-up though.
Not quite ready to trust me, Sarah just looked at me sideways, and continued our dance. “Ooooookay,” she said, full of skepticism. “You can fill me in on that another time. Tonight, though, well…we’ve got bigger problems.”