Kiss and Break Up (Magnolia Cove, #1)(9)

Daphne opened her purse, fished out a twenty, and tossed it at his feet.

Lars blinked down at it, then at her, tilting his head. “I don’t need your money.”

“And I don’t need to be nicknamed after a pointless sweet.”

“You’re still mad?”

Mad? I looked back and forth between them.

“Mad would require me to actually care about you, and I don’t, so …” She tipped a shoulder, her coral, fluttery dress skimming her tanned thighs as she left him sitting there, scowling after her.

Willa turned to me. “I’m so lost right now.”

“Me too.” I sighed, then pulled Willa with me outside, thankful for the clean air in the hallway. Screw Dash. I should’ve known he’d show up anywhere there was booze, pot, and willing girls. I looked around, wondering where Byron was, and if he was looking for me.

We tried to find Daphne but that proved impossible. The bass thudded harder, and the rooms filled up so much, I figured half the town had to be here.

We got another drink and stood in the hall, people watching as couples drifted off, searching for privacy, and others outright groped each other where they stood or sat.

Dennis Bradley, who I had three classes with last year, strode by, and I moved my hand to wave, but it fell as he stumbled to a huge ceramic vase and threw his head inside, puking.

Willa and I both looked at him, then at what remained of our drinks. Taking stock of our lightheadedness, we ditched them and wandered away before the area started to smell.

A hand grabbed mine outside the kitchen, and I got ready to growl at Dash until I realized it wasn’t him. It was Byron.

A very drunk, very smiley Byron. “Hey, been looking all over for you.”

I smiled back, nodding at Willa when she gestured that she’d be hanging in the kitchen. “You have?”

He took a swig of beer, his head bobbing. “Oh, yeah. Wild party, right?”

“Yeah,” I said, hardly hearing myself over the music. I was getting tired of half-shouting. “Wild.”

As if he could sense it, he pulled me toward the glass windows and doors that overlooked the bay beyond Wade’s house. I let him, knowing I was safe when I saw shadows of partygoers out by the Olympic-sized pool.

There were no seats available on the deck or around the pool, so we ventured down the lawn to the bay. Not wanting to get sand in my boots, I took a seat on the small grassy edge that divided Wade’s property from the sand, and after finishing his beer and tossing the bottle toward the water, Byron did the same.

“Pretty loud in there, huh?”

He reeked of beer as he leaned back on his hands while stretching out his long legs. “Sure is. You get used to it after a while.”

I tried not to let his comment irritate me, but it kind of did. “At least the weather is nice.” The weather? Someone slap me.

“Yeah, it’s nice out, and now I can see you better. You look great,” he said, leaning a little closer. “You’ve always been this cute thing, waltzing around school in your black boots instead of heels or those ballet things, like the rest of them.”

“Oh, thanks.” Cute. He thought I was cute.

“Yeah, but now?” He reached out, startling me as he grabbed a strand of my hair. “You’re like this sexy minx.”

“Minx?” I asked, trying not to laugh.

He chuckled. “My ability to flirt is severely hindered right now. You’ll need to cut me some slack.”

“I guess I can.” The way his finger wound around my hair felt nice.

“You should come out more,” he murmured. “Give me a reason to smile.”

“You smile plenty.”

“Not in the way you make me smile.”

I laughed, turning to face him. “I don’t think anything’s wrong with your ability to flirt.”

“No?” he whispered, lashes lowering as he stared at my mouth.

Was he about to kiss me?

His hand moved from my hair to the back of my head, pulling our faces even closer. He was going to kiss me.

Shit. Oh, shit.

I’d never been kissed by anyone other than Dash, and even then, he’d only done it in the sixth grade so he could claim my first kiss. I told him that one-second pecks didn’t count, and he said he’d better kiss me again then before I shoved him away.

The scent of beer mingled with the sweet spice of his cologne, and I tried to stop it, but as his lips neared mine, I sneezed, pulling back just in time to avoid spraying his face.

Byron’s eyes were wide as he wiped at his shoulder and neck.

And oh, how I wanted to run down to the bay and throw myself under water until he disappeared.

“I’m sorry,” I said, then sneezed again. Sweet holy shit. “Something’s up with my sinuses.”

He chuckled, and then someone called out to him from the pool behind us.

I kept staring at the bay, my face a wildfire of embarrassment, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw him get up. “I’ll be back.”

I knew he wouldn’t. I shut my eyes, mortification pricking at them. One of the most popular guys in school tried to kiss me, and I’d sneezed my germs all over him.

A slow clap started, and then a plonk beside me had my eyes opening.

I groaned when I saw Dash grinning like the devil he was, teeth and all. “Nice, Freckles. Real smooth.”