Losing Her by Mariah Dietz Page B

chance I was leaving. Javier’s greeting caused me to miss your damn response to the question that I’d been so anxious to hear, but your eyes flicked toward mine again before dancing away, and that slight move gave me way more hope than you’d think was possible.
    “You want to get a drink or something? You used to promise me you would, and it still hasn’t happened,” Nathan continued his normal pursuit.
    Javier giggled like a school girl, making more lewd comments that I probably should have been concerned over you hearing, but I blocked it all out. I had to know what your response was to Nathan.
    “Maybe that’s a hint.” I wanted to high five Javier. I wanted to whoop. I wanted to look at you. Instead, I smiled at Javier because I couldn’t keep my fucking excitement in.
    “Oh come on, you know you want this.” Even though you’d basically just rejected him, I remember feeling nervous all over again, and how my smile faltered with the realization that most chicks in school used to love Nathan Hudson. I kept my focus on Javier as he and Brock discussed something, but my ears were still trained on you.
    “Do you want me to congratulate you on knowing how to do a sit up?” I was so relieved, babe. Yet I knew there were still several reasons to avoid you, namely, your boyfriend, Eric.
    A loud scoff coming from Nathan had me turning to see what was going on. He was shaking his head at you and your lips were pursed, making your cheekbones more prominent. I don’t know how my eyes managed to finally crawl higher to see your eyes, but when they did I saw it. I saw the loathing. It surprised the hell out of me. In all of the times I’ve seen you, I’d never seen that expression, though the night of my birthday, your expression was so fractionally close, I couldn’t sleep for two nights. His head shook, as though he didn’t want to interpret the anger. “A sit up? Baby, do you know what I do to train my body to keep it in this kind of shape?”
    “Come on, I showed you mine, now you show me yours.” He took another step closer to you and my muscles contracted. The familiar current of adrenaline coursed through me in preparation for him to touch you. Barbaric or not, babe, I wasn’t going to let it happen.
    “Dude, and Lizette … did you see her titties tonight? She’s gained like the college forty rather than fifteen, but day-um, I think it all went to her titties!” Javier’s laughter should have been mellowing me out. I needed something to cut the focus and aggression I was feeling toward Nathan, but it didn’t. I wanted to punch him so he’d shut the hell up. “Are you hearing me, man? You have to see these things. They’re like, bam!” Javier’s hand hit my bicep as he held both of his palms out in front of him to emphasize the size of her chest.
    I took a deep breath through my nose and clenched my hand in a fist to prevent my fingers from running through my hair. “Dude, what’s the deal here?” As much as I noticed you in high school, I spent ten times that trying to ignore and avoid you. I never wanted to know what guy you were dating, or who you were sleeping with.
    “Are you hearing me?”
    I know, I bet you can imagine my reaction. Through his inebriation and laughter, Javier read pretty damn quickly that I didn’t give a shit about Lizette’s titties.
    “Hell, I don’t think so. She’s cool, though. I think I heard something a while back, but I don’t know …” I should have finished paying attention to him, but I was focused on what Nathan was saying to you.
    “ ... you still think I’m a bad guy. That or you’re playing hard to get, which if that’s the case, I’ll play along.”
    I caught Brock looking at me with curiosity as I took a step away from them, bringing me two steps closer to you before I saw you were looking at me. Your eyes were hard and cold, furrowed with the hint of confusion, and it stopped me.
    “I’m not interested in you, Nate. I never have