22

Adam

You Must've Had Fun

The formal was in an auditorium with crappy fluorescent lights flickering overhead. Half of the people danced for a couple of minutes, then tapered off when the courage died, and the other half were on their phones, pretending like this wasn't happening. The punch should've been at least fifty percent tequila to tolerate this.

I should've brought some of Kassie's lemonades from the fridge.

"Hey?" Nevaeh tapped my shoulder.

She was one of the hottest girls in the room, with her dyed locs down her shoulder, glittering dark eyes, and a dress that didn't belong at this weird middle school dance. Usually, she had a big smile on her face, but right now, her hand was on her hip.

"I know," I said, even more impatient than her. "It's been thirty minutes."

"There's an overtime fee," Amanda teased. Her old roommate was yet another hot girl. She had eyebrow piercings, jet-black hair, and a killer body. They were both perfect for the part.

"Amanda." Nevaeh rolled her eyes.

"Two hundred more. Each." I couldn't risk them dipping out before Piper even showed up. That'd be a thousand dollars down the drain. It was a bad business investment.

"I'm still confused about what we're doing, " Amanda told me.

"Just look gorgeous." I shrugged. "You already have it covered."

"Remember, I have a boyfriend now," Nevaeh said for the fiftieth time that night.

I shook my head, scanning the room again. "I don't want to hang out this weekend."

"Adam, I'm still confused." Amanda pushed. "All I want to know is what's going on. Because these heels are high and my thighs are cramping."

"You can sit down. I don't need you near me yet."

"Why?"

I straightened my tie. A waste of one of my best suits at an Oklahoma RA conference. Great. "I'm trying to…show a girl that I'm not thinking about her."

"The Marrs Manwhore is showing off to a girl? Are you serious?" Amanda's mouth fell open. "Who is this girl?"

"She's a huge pain in my ass. How's that?"

Amanda raised an eyebrow. "You're spending a thousand bucks to prove to a girl that you're not thinking about her? Nice plan. What's next? Getting a tattoo of her face so she understands you're just pals?"

" Amanda, " Nevaeh chided.

"If he wants to throw away his money, that's cool, but I have questions!"

Nevaeh grabbed my shoulder, stopping me from scoping out the room again. "I don't need overtime pay. But, Adam, is the Marrs Manwhore…? How do you feel when you're around her?"

Both of them started talking at once. Over each other, around each other, agreeing with each other, and I couldn't get a word in between them. The answer was easy though. Piper Fontaine was an ice princess, fun to mess with but two steps away from the real world. All the stuff she believed in just made her an easy target for anyone that wanted to fuck with her. It'd be adorable if she wasn't such a guaranteed mark.

And she was so high and mighty about it. It drove me insane.

I didn't get a chance to tell them though. Their words melted away as Zariah and June walked in the door.

Piper has to be right behind them.

"Let's go." I strode ahead without waiting. The girls called after me, hurrying to keep up. I had to slow down. I had to look casual, the fun guy at the party with two hot girls on his arm. It was something I'd done a thousand times before.

"Adam, walk slower, these heels are insane!" Amanda called to me as I came to an abrupt stop.

There she is.

"Oh my god." Nevaeh drew in a breath. "Is that her?"

I nodded, numb. "Yeah."

Piper walked into the room in a light blue dress with a neckline so low, my breath caught in my throat. The thinnest straps known to man kept the dress up. I'd never really thought about how tall Piper was around everybody else, but in heels, she easily cleared six feet.

Willowy. Long, lean, gorgeous, showing a hint of those legs with every step

Her blonde hair curled over her shoulder, soft strands framing her face perfectly. And the red lipstick…I'd never seen Piper in that before…

My heart knocked around in my chest. I stared.

Goddamn.

"Um, Adam?" Amanda's chuckle brought me back to the present.

I blinked.

Oh, shit. Right.

All of my plans short-circuited on my way to Piper. There were things I wanted to say, jokes I wanted to make, and I couldn't remember one damn thing. I wanted to say something to Piper. What did I want to say to Piper?

I needed to talk to Piper. All I wanted to say to Piper was…

Fuck. Xavier.

Xavier, perfect blond Xavier, Ken doll Xavier, the man of the hour, broke into the girls' circle. They were instantly infatuated with him, giggling and talking and twirling their hair and shifting closer to him. I came to a stumbling stop, watching from the outskirts. Piper put a hand to her mouth, laughing, and a sour taste hit my mouth.

I should've shoved myself into the conversation. Say something funny. Take her attention away from him. But I couldn't move.

It wasn't like I was justified in how much he annoyed the shit out of me. I had nothing on him. Not once did I catch him kicking puppies or stealing from homeless people. And Piper was right. The calculator app didn't mean anything beyond a place to store the photos of his girlfriend who he clearly loved.

There wasn't a concrete reason that I had to not like Xavier. I didn't know why I felt sick when Piper gazed up at him. I'd never been a true hater like that before.

"Fuck," I muttered.

Piper caught sight of me and waved while June and Xavier hurried away to the dance floor. Zariah followed close behind with some nerd RA, and Piper passed them, a smile tugging up on her lips when she cut the distance between us. It died completely when she looked behind me.

Honestly, I had to glance back too. I forgot about Nevaeh and Amanda.

I cleared my throat and motioned to the ladies I'd invited along. "Hey, could you grab drinks?"

Amanda raised an eyebrow. "Both of us?"

Her ex-roommate elbowed her in the stomach and tugged her back towards the punch table. I turned to see Piper with her arms crossed over her chest, making it a hell of a lot worse to keep my eyes off her neckline.

"You got comfortable, " she said, icy. "You must've had fun."

I shrugged. "Well, you didn't want me there."

How childish did that sound? Well, you didn't want me there . What was I, six years old? She didn't want to take me around the block, and I had to shove that in her face?

I needed to play it cool.

"You ruined my presentation," she pointed out.

"Wasn't trying to."

Piper's gray eyes narrowed. "Just because you're not trying to be a jerk doesn't mean you're not being a jerk."

I was about to say something to that, something that wasn't going to be nearly as good as I wanted it to be, when Piper blurted out the worst combination of words in human history.

"Xavier's taking us to a party later."