Kiss and Break Up (Magnolia Cove, #1)(45)

Byron took that opportunity away from me when he walked ahead, not even looking back to see if I was following.

A hand grabbed mine, and Dash tugged me with him toward the path riddled with soft pink petals. It almost killed me to crush them beneath the weight of my boots. Though it helped to picture Dash’s balls as I tried to remove my hand from his death grip.

We stopped to have our photos taken, and I found myself smiling for real when Dash whispered into my ear. “You look like heaven.”

The camera flashed, and then we walked on, my palm growing slick in his as people turned to watch us enter the crowd. Before we got lost within it, he walked us over to an empty corner, and before I could step away, he framed my face with his hands.

“You just love causing trouble for me, don’t you?” I whispered, wondering if Byron would even speak to me after this.

His lips hitched, his eyes dark blue beneath the dancing disco lights above our heads. “That will never change.”

I licked my lips. “Never? Dash—”

“I love you.” His expression volleyed the admission, yet it still stunned me. “More than a friend should. The kind of love you fall into and desperately try to crawl out of, but it’s fucking futile.”

“What?” I shook my head, trying to peel away from his hold. “No, you’re lying.”

“Think about it, Peggy. Climb back down to reality and think about it.” His grip tightened, and he stepped forward, his voice holding a determined edge that scraped at any resolve I had left. “You know I’m not. I won’t cause any more trouble for you tonight, but if you think you might love me too, ditch him. For the love of God, please just ditch him.” He pressed a firm, desperate kiss to my forehead. “Then come find me.”

Then he was gone, a large shadow lost in a sea of color.

Wet trickled down my cheek. I swiped it away, trying to wrangle the emotions that wanted to send me hurrying after him.

I couldn’t. I couldn’t make sense of anything, and the longer I stood there, my thoughts swirling and my heart thrashing, the more confused, scared, and isolated I felt.

Looking around the room, I saw Byron over by the tables of finger foods. I gathered my skirts in my hand, and some courage, and walked over there quickly so as not to lose him again.

“Hey,” I said, tapping his arm. “Way to just leave me outside.” I laughed, trying to make it sound like it wasn’t a big deal when it kind of was.

He took a moment to answer, and when he did, his eyes fell angry and hard on my face. “You didn’t seem to need me.”

“What?”

He sighed, adjusting the light blue jacket of his suit. “When did you kiss him?”

My mouth opened and shut. I didn’t want to lie, but I couldn’t spit out the truth. “Not since we started dating.” The urge to admit that wasn’t exactly true tugged at my vocal cords, though I knew admitting so would just cause more trouble. Fear, so much fear, swelled within. Unshakable in its control. I liked Byron. I liked Dash. I hated this indecisive game we’d wound up being players in.

A sharp brow rose as he studied my face. “I want to believe you.”

“So believe me.” I straightened my shoulders. “I can’t make you, but I didn’t invite him here. I had no idea he’d show up the way he did.”

“Yeah? Well, I guess it doesn’t matter what you do or don’t do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He flicked a hand, forcing a smile to someone behind me, then gave his attention back to me, his voice rough and low. “That means you don’t care enough to stop him, and I’m starting to wonder who or what you want. Me? Or him.”

With his loaded plate, he stalked off to talk to some of his teammates.

I wanted to scream at him that trying to stop Dash from doing anything was a one-way trip to insanity, but that wasn’t entirely correct, and there was little point.

I spent most of the night sitting on the outer edge of the room, wondering what to do. Wondering about all the ways I should’ve done so many things differently.

Willa and Daphne pressed me for information about Dash, but I just shook my head. They tried to coax me into dancing with them, but I wasn’t interested. My eyes kept skating over the dance floor, but whether I was looking for Dash or looking for Byron, I wasn’t sure. Dash was nowhere to be seen, and Byron was busy stealing shots out of a flask he’d tucked inside his jacket pocket while stomping on balloons with his friends and talking to some of the cheerleaders.

It was far from over when everyone was kicked out and told to head home. I rode with Daphne, Willa, Byron, and some of his teammates to a party two streets away from school at an old warehouse someone’s parents had rented.

Only, we didn’t make it inside.

After everyone else got out, Byron shut the door, then told the driver to circle the block until he said otherwise.

“What’s going on?”

He poured me a glass of champagne, and I took it, taking a greedy sip as he scooted over to sit next to me. “I was being a dick earlier. I think we should talk.”

My brows furrowed, and I lowered my glass to my lap.

Byron’s eyes swam with remorse, but his next words had me deflating. “Kayla really screwed me; you know that.” He puffed out a laugh. “Everyone knows that. And then there’s the shit with my mom and dad.” He took a long sip of champagne, his throat rippling as he swallowed, then swiped his hand over his hair. “I guess I’m just afraid of being fucked over again.”