“I’m so glad my misery has brought you such joy,” she deadpans.
“Ugh,” Elle groans. “Let’s go dance again.”
“No way,” Brooke says, scrunching up her face. “My feet are about to fall off.”
“I’m in,” Brylee sings as she flies to her feet. “You coming, Court?” she says, turning back around to look down at our friend.
“Uh huh,” Courtney says as she lays back in the grass and closes her eyes. “I’ll be there in a sec.”
“Right,” Brylee scoffs as she sashays off with Elle.
Brooke and I watch on as the girls push their way through all the people to get back to the dance floor. “Thanks for making me enjoy my night,” she tells me as my phone starts vibrating in my pocket.
“No problem,” I tell her, pulling my phone out. “Have you seen him since then?”
“Nope,” she says as I check the message.
Nate – Where are you? You ok?
I type back as she continues talking.
Tora – I’m fine. We’re down the back of the property. Near the tree that looks like a dick. I think Court is passed out!
“It’s been, like, two hours,” she groans. “He’s probably buried balls deep inside some whore cheerleader giving her the ride of her life.”
“Don’t think like that,” I tell her. “He’s probably passed out somewhere. You saw how drunk he was earlier. There was no way he was going to last all night.”
“Yeah, I guess,” she mumbles like a little negative Nancy.
I roll my eyes as Nate pushes his way through the bodies and appears before us. He starts walking towards us with a glorious smirk across his face. “See,” Brooke says. “That’s what I need.”
“Maxen loves you,” I remind her.
“Yeah,” she scoffs. “Tell that to the girls he’s currently screwing.”
“What’s going on over here?” Nate says, cutting off whatever retort I was going to give Brooke.
“Nothing, we just needed to sit for a while,” I explain before looking across at Courtney. “But apparently, that was a little too much for some people.”
He shakes his head as he looks down at her. “She’s going to have to build up her stamina if she’s going to keep up with Puck.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Brooke scoffs.
“Come on,” Nate says, reaching down and pulling me up to my feet. “I don’t like you girls all the way out here by yourselves.”
With that, he bends down and scoops Courtney up into his arms before mumbling some shit about this being Puck’s responsibility.
We walk back down to the massive cabin Maxen’s parents built here and Nate locks Courtney in a spare bedroom before searching out Puck and handing him the key.
We go to walk back outside when Brooke tugs on my hand, stopping me in the doorway. “I think I’m going to crash,” she tells me. “I’m not really in the partying mood.”
“Are you sure?” I ask, stepping back into her and making sure she’s alright.
“Yeah, I’m tired,” she says, looking away.
I see it for what it is. She’s done for the night. She’s done thinking about Maxen while pretending to have the time of her life for us. “Ok,” I say giving her an encouraging smile. “Remember to lock the door. You don’t know what weirdoes are creeping around here.”
“I will,” she says before pulling me in tight. “I’ll probably get out of here early tomorrow.”
“Ok, sure. I’ll come find you if I’m awake early enough.”
“You mean if you’ve even gone to bed yet?”
“Yeah,” I laugh. I squeeze her hand and she turns away. “Night,” I call after her. “I love you.”
“Love you, too,” she says as she disappears around a corner.
I turn back to Nate and take his hand. “Tell me you found him and whopped his ass?” I demand, finally able to show my real anger about that douchebag hurting my best friend.
Nate’s face scrunches up in regret. “Sorry,” he says. “Still haven’t seen him, but when I do, I’m going to knock his lights out.”
“Good,” I grunt. “Now, why don’t you show me what it’s like to celebrate New Year’s as Nate Ryder’s girlfriend.”
A smirk lifts the corner of those delicious lips. “I’m not sure you can handle that.”
“Oh, believe me,” I grin. “I can handle anything you’ve got. Bring it on.”
“You’re going to regret that.”
“I’m counting on it.”
I collapse down in the grass beside Nate four hours later and curl into his side as the laughter gets the best of me. It’s just past six in the morning and the sun is peeking over the top of the hills in the distance. It’s been one of the best nights of my life, and even though the chill in the air has had me shivering on and off for the past few hours, it hasn’t managed to bring me down.
One arm wraps around me and he uses the other to shove behind his head as I use his wide chest as a pillow, though, it’s rock hard, just like the rest of his sculptured body.