He gestures to a group of cars already there. “I thought we’d start Operation Jealous Ex-Girlfriend early.”
“
And how are we going to do that?”
He parks near all the others, cuts the engine, and turns toward me. “My friends usually come here before dances or football games for a little pre-party. Caitlyn will be here for sure. What do you say?”
“
Sounds good to me.” I’m curious to see if this is going to work. We both unleash our seatbelts and get out. As I round the front of the car, I ask, “So what does this pre-party entail?”
Brody reaches into the backseat and pulls out two Slurpees from the cup holders.
“
Slurpees. Really?” I giggle. “This is what you call a party?”
He smiles his devilish grin again. “Try it. Something special I came up with for you.”
I take the straw between my lips and sip slowly. Mmm. Delicious.
“
Tastes like Cherry Coke. What is it?”
He sips his own. “It’s Coke flavor with some cherry rum. Is that okay?” He looks worried, like I’m going to freak out over a little alcohol. Me. Yeah, right.
“
It’s perfect.”
“
Yeah, and we won’t smell like a liquor store at the dance.” He puts his hand on my back and guides me toward his friends.
“
Guess my dad’s talk didn’t faze you, huh?” I elbow him in the side.
“
Not at all.”
Brody does the whole fist bump handshake with all his guy friends and side hugs some of the girls. Hmm. They’re just like us.
I recognize a lot of them from my classes, even though I’ve never really talked to any of them. It’s always been us and them. We’re all smart and get good grades. It’s just, they seem to be in the math or chess club, while we’re in ASB and get involved in the fun stuff.
“
Everyone, this is Megan,” Brody tells them. They all look at me like I’m some sort of alien. Fake smiles spread across their faces, like they’ve just been given an ugly sweater for Christmas.
I plaster on my most enthusiastic smile, showing my perfectly straightened teeth. “Heeeyyy, thanks for letting me join you.”
“
Aren’t you that girl from the King’s dance last year?” a girl scowls at me. Caitlyn. I thought it was her, but now that I’m focused, I’m sure of it.
“
That girl?” I question. “There were a lot of girls at the dance.” I look at Brody puzzled, and he looks confused too.
“
You know, Alex Aguilar’s girlfriend. He came home from college and called you up to dance with him for his last dance as king.” She clasps her hands together, mocking me, and I want to smother her with her own sarcasm.
“
Not Alex’s girlfriend anymore. Not since I met this guy.” I throw one arm around Brody’s neck and haul his face down for a dramatic kiss that lands half on his cheek and half on his lips. Oops.
“
Your dress is really pretty, Megan,” one of the girls says. She’s probably the Steph of the group, always trying to keep the peace.
I peel myself away from Brody, but he keeps his hand at my waist. Not bad. He’s good at this. “Thank you, yours is very pretty too.”
We make small talk with all of Brody’s friends and by the time we get ready to leave, my cup is empty and I’m feeling a little buzzed. Okay, a lot buzzed.
Keesh and Steph are already at the dance when we arrive. Steph is with all the hulking football players, and Keesh is with the twins. They’re on either side of her and I have absolutely no idea which one is her date.
As we walk toward Keesh, I’m still amazed I kept a straight face long enough to get through security. I’m seriously floating. My rum Slurpee really hit me on the ride over here.
“
Hey, girl,” she says, pulling me into a hug. And then she throws her arms around Brody too as if they’re lifelong friends.
Shrugging my shoulders, I think why the hell not and go in to hug Keesh’s man. “Hey, Jamie, what up g-money?” I’m not quite sure what brought on my rapper voice.
He looks at me puzzled. “Nothin’ loc.” And then he places his hands on my shoulder and spins me around. “But that’s Jamie. I’m Quinn,” he whispers in my ear. Jamie who? Quinn smells delicious and I wouldn’t mind if he whispered in my ear for the rest of the night.
“
Oh,” I manage to say. “Hey, Jamie.” I blush while the others chuckle at my expense. Wouldn’t be the first time, that’s for sure.
“
Have you seen Stephanie?” she asks. “She looks great.”
“
Yeah, she does. Let’s go see if she wants to dance,” I tell her. The music is begging my body to get on the dance floor already.
“
Not yet, Jamie’s not ready.” He’s chatting with his brother and some other friends. Keesh pastes on a fake smile. I’m not buying it. “You go. I’ll see you out there in a few.”
I hug her again and take Brody by the hand. He’s like taking a puppy for a walk.
“
She’s looking at us, you know.”
I don’t have to look. I know exactly who he’s talking about. I tug on Brody’s hand and pull it over my shoulder till he has his arm around me. That’ll make Caitlyn crazy. “Good.”
When we reach Steph, I surprise her from behind with a little tickle to her waist. “Hey, Steph. Hi, Ethan.”
Steph whips around and throws her arms around me, pushing Brody out of the way.
Ethan turns around and smiles at our girly display. “Hey, Meg,” is all he says. He stares Brody up and down. Obviously, my geek does not meet his uber athlete standards. Finally, he nods his head at my guy, and Brody does the same.
He better think twice before he’s rude to my man. I don’t care how good he plays. I clear my head of the pissy fog that came over me and ask, “Wanna dance, you two?”
Ethan tosses an arm around Steph and squeezes her waist. She smiles up at him and looks giddy at his display of affection. He kisses her nose. Oh wow. I didn’t know they were that close. She doesn’t take her eyes off him. “Not now, Meggie.”
Rolling my eyes, I turn around and take Brody with me. “Looks like it’s just us. Ready to bust a move?”
“
Megan, I don’t dance.”
I stop suddenly and swirl around to face him. “You
will
dance.”
“
Meg, I can’t. I don’t know how,” he says pleadingly.
Omigosh. I can’t believe I came to a dance with a guy who doesn’t dance. That should have been my first and only question. How can anyone who knows me think I’d go somewhere with a DJ and pulsing bodies and not dance? That’s the problem. Brody doesn’t know me. Not well, anyway.
The sound of Pitbull and Enrique starts to blare through the speakers. Oh hell. This dork is going to dance, even if it kills him.
“
Listen, you
are
going to dance with me. If you don’t, I’m going to sit here and get all weepy because I used to get freaky with Alex to this music. I refuse to stand here twiddling my thumbs thinking about him. So your ass is going to dance with me.”
Brody smiles down at me, probably out of pity. But who cares? I got to him.
“
Fine. Just show me what to do.”
I can’t help but squeal. “You’re not going to regret this.” I jump up and down. “There’s nothing sexier than a guy who can dance. Caitlyn is going to freak out.”
He grabs my hand and hauls me toward the center of all the gyrating bodies. Look who’s not being shy now.
Eleven
“
That was fucking awesome,” Brody tells me as we make our way to get a drink. We’re both out of breath, and my throat is dry from breathing so hard.
“
You are such a liar.” I punch him in the arm. A drip of water spills down his chin. Oops. I didn’t mean to make him leak. “You can totally dance.”
He swipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “I never have before. But watching you helped. Your ass looks amazing when you move.”
I swallow a big gulp of my own water to keep from spitting it out. “Thanks, I think,” I say, laughing.
“
That was totally a compliment. I could have watched it all night. No wonder Alex and Travis are fighting over you.” He leans back, and I can feel his eyes searing my backside.
“
Enough, sicko. Stop checkin’ out my booty.”
“
All right, I admit it. I was looking. I mean, who wouldn’t in that tight dress? But out there dancing, it’s something else.” He whistles, taking another look at my behind.
His hand reaches out, but I catch him by the wrist just in time. “Don’t you even dare.”
“
Excuse me. Brody, can I speak with you?” We both turn to see Caitlyn before us.
He raises a brow at me and I nod. It worked. “I’ll be right back.”
I watch Brody and Caitlyn walk away and am not surprised in the least our little plan worked. But now, it sucks to be me. I still want to dance.
Steph and Keesh are nowhere to be found. I don’t see Ethan or Jamie either. Josh is dancing like a fool, and if I didn’t know better, I’d crash his date and join him. Tempting as it is, I’m not that much of a bitch.
“
Wanna dance?” Travis holds out his palm.
“
Where’s Leeeeee-cha?” I stretch out her name with an irritating squeal, being that much of a bitch.
“
She’s busy chatting with her friends about who’s wearing what and whose ass looks big in their dress.” He rolls his eyes.
“
Oh. Poor you. My guy is getting back together with his ex right now. I win.”
“
Yeah, I guess you do.” He jabs an elbow to my side. “Dance with me, Meggie.”
“
Fine.” He walks away first and I follow him, dragging my feet as if it’s going to kill me.
When we reach the crowd, he reaches behind him, takes my hands. and wraps them around his waist as he guides me toward the DJ. He finds a spot and whirls around. The music is fast, and the movement of my hips matches every drumbeat. Travis has his hands up, and he wears a grin that’s so devious, it makes me want to kiss it right off him. Our bodies touch as the crowd pushes and pulls. My body tingles when Travis presses his palms to my ass and pulls me closer to him, his thigh pushing between my legs.
“
We shouldn’t be dancing like this. We’re both here with other people.”
“
We shouldn’t be,” he whispers against my neck, and the soft touch of his lips on my skin sends waves of shivers up and down my body. Thankfully, we’re in a room full of people, including teachers, or I might be tempted to do wild nasty things to this guy.
“
Yeah, well. We have a deal, remember?” I back away from him, even though my body resists.
He drops his hands from my rear. “All right, all right. Can’t blame a guy for trying. You shouldn’t have worn that dress. Your ass looks perfect.”
What’s with these guys? “There’s more to me than my ass, Travis,” I yell at him, still bobbing away to the music.
“
Oh, you
know
I know that.” He glances down at my boobs.
“
Meg, I’ve been looking all over for you,” Brody says, crashing into me.
“
Oh. Sorry.”
He grasps me in a tight hug. “It worked, Meggie, it worked. We’re getting back together.”
“
That’s perfect,” I yell, over the noise.
“
Yeah, but she wants to go out right now and talk.” His face scrunches up with nervousness.
“
Then go.”
“
I can’t just leave you here. Would you mind leaving now? I can take you home first. I don’t think she’d mind.”
“
Brody, that would be a total buzz kill for her. I’ll call my mom or get a ride with one of my friends. Just go, and don’t screw it up. I want all the details on Monday.”
He bends down and plants a kiss on my cheek. “Thank you. I’m so gonna let you copy all my chem homework from now on.”
“
Great,” I say, watching Brody push through the masses. I’m thrilled for him. The smile on his face is worth being ditched at my eleventh grade homecoming dance. And worth the humiliation. No one else knows our plan, so I must look like a total loser.
Travis’s jaw is twitching when I turn to face him again.
“
I knew he was an asshole,” he says, stone-faced. “He left you here for another girl?”
“
Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” I tell him. “We kinda planned it. No biggie. I’ll go home with Keesh or Steph.”
“
There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere.”
Travis’s face twists up even more, and I want to laugh. This dance is definitely different. My date left me. Travis doesn’t want to be with his. My two best friends are MIA. I haven’t seen them since we got here. And Josh … I haven’t seen him, period.