Out of Breath (Breathing, #3)(11)

‘Now you let it settle and wait for the Tickle before you drink anything else,’ Serena explained.

‘A tickle?’ Peyton questioned Serena with her brows raised. ‘Serena, you are so weird.’

‘Whatever,’ Serena said, turning away.

‘Tom!’ Peyton suddenly hollered across the courtyard to the opposite balcony. To my surprise, he heard her and waved. She grabbed my wrist, causing me to stumble after her, though she didn’t seem to notice, or care, as she forced our way through the crowd.

‘We’ll wait right here,’ Meg called out behind us.

‘I was hoping you were going to be here,’ Peyton exclaimed when she reached Tom, giving him a hug.

‘You’d know if you’d actually call each other,’ I mumbled under my breath. Tom and Peyton had a strange relationship. I kept hearing about him and how they’d meet up at parties. She was obviously interested in him. But we didn’t think they’d even exchanged phone numbers yet. We were all confused by it.

‘Hey.’

I looked up to find Cole standing in front of me. Gritting my teeth, I forced a smile, suddenly realizing why Peyton had been so adamant about bringing me along.

‘Wow, two parties. I’m impressed,’ Cole taunted.

‘Parties aren’t my thing,’ I countered in annoyance.

‘Obviously,’ he stated. ‘Otherwise I would have seen you before.’

‘True,’ I admitted with a slight nod. ‘Well, it’s a new year, so I’m trying new things.’

‘What’s next on your list?’ Cole enquired, his clear blue eyes focused on me. I avoided his gaze and studied the crowd around us.

‘Umm … stage diving,’ I answered without thinking. I really didn’t have a ‘new things’ list. I was making it up as I went. But now that I’d said it, I actually wanted to try it.

‘Nice. You’ll have to let me know when so I can witness that.’

‘We’ll see,’ I answered, not wanting to commit to seeing him again, no matter what he looked like. When he turned his head in the other direction, I slipped away. I heard Peyton call my name, but I ignored her.

When I squeezed my way to where we’d left Serena and Meg, they were nowhere to be found. I scanned the crowd and spotted them by the pool, then ducked into an apartment and grabbed something grape-flavoured and bubbly. I could barely feel the Tickle, so I figured I was still safe.

Meg saw me at the top of the stairs and waved. I nodded and followed the line down the steps. When I reached the bottom, an arm swept around my waist and pulled me to the side.

‘Hey, gorgeous,’ Gev murmured in my ear, kissing my neck. ‘I was hoping I’d see you again.’

‘Uh, hi,’ I stuttered, my entire body stiffening at his touch. I looked around in a panic, but I couldn’t locate Meg or Serena. Then Meg’s spirals came into view, and I connected with her. Her eyes flipped from me to Gev, and she pushed through faster, not caring that she was pissing people off.

‘So, how are you?’ I asked, my voice cracking slightly.

‘Sober,’ he complained. ‘I’m going up to get a drink. Wanna come?’

‘Emma!’ Meg exclaimed, her bright smile not entirely masking the concern flashing in her eyes. ‘There you are. We thought we lost you.’ She noticed Gev’s arm around my waist and the tightness in my shoulders as he squeezed me against him. ‘Hi. I’m Meg, and this is Serena.’ Serena just nodded and didn’t even bother faking a smile.

‘Gev,’ he responded. ‘Guess I’ll find you later,’ he said, kissing my cheek before disappearing up the stairs. I tried to smile while swallowing the sour taste of disgust that rose in the back of my throat.

‘Are you okay?’ Meg asked, taking me by the hand and leading me away.

‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ I responded meekly, taking large gulps of the purple stuff from the cup in my other hand.

‘He’s awesome-looking,’ Serena noted from beside me. ‘Too bad he’s a complete dick.’

I laughed, almost spitting out my drink.

Meg smiled. ‘We won’t let him near you,’ she promised, stopping near the pool.

‘Hey!’ Peyton exclaimed dramatically when she found us a few minutes later. ‘Em, why’d you take off like that again? Seriously, I think you should give Cole a chance.’

‘He’s not my type.’

‘Wait, are you talking about the guy you’ve been trying to set her up with for like forever?’ Meg clarified.

‘Uh, I just met him at the New Year’s party,’ I countered.

‘But I’ve been wanting you to meet him for way longer.’ Peyton sighed. ‘I need an in with Tom, and they’re never apart, so I figured you’d be a good fit for Cole.’

‘You obviously don’t know me very well.’

‘Come on,’ Peyton said, sulking. ‘Cole is everyone’s type.’ She eyed Serena in contemplation and corrected with, ‘Well … except for Serena. He’s lacking the freak factor.’

‘Fuck you, Peyton,’ Serena bit back.

Meg laughed at their banter. They were always throwing snide comments back and forth. I sometimes wondered if they liked each other at all.