Unspoken Rules (Rules 2)

What else?

“I’m good. I’m great, actually.” Haze quickly fills the uncomfortable silence before it gets too thick. “How are you?”

A bunch of chitchat follows, and all Bea and I can do is stand by while the boys catch up.

“Good to see you guys are still together. How long has it been?” Haze asks.

Vic circles Bea’s shoulders with his arm. “Four years in a few days. We’re actually having a dinner party with a few friends next Saturday to celebrate our anniversary.”

“That’s great.” Haze nods.

No one speaks for a few seconds. Bea lightly elbows her boyfriend as if to make him realize something. On hit number two, he takes the hint.

“Oh, hey, do you guys want to come?”

Immediately, I feel Haze pulling away. Not physically, but mentally. He doesn’t even move a muscle, but his body language and the energy oozing off him scream that he’s not a fan of the idea. But I mean, that’s pretty much what he does every time someone tries to get somewhat close to him.

“We’d love to.” The words escape my mouth faster than I thought possible.

Haze tenses up by my side.

“Wait, really?” Vic’s eyes widen. “I mean, that’s great,” he corrects himself. He looks in disbelief that Haze said yes.

Well, technically, I did. But I spoke for the both of us.

It’s obvious that Vic’s tried to reconnect with Haze in the past and got repeatedly blown off.

“We have the day of the party off. What do you say we all hang out at our place beforehand?” Vic suggests, pushing it even further to see how long his luck will last.

“Sure,” I speak again.

Haze clears his throat, and I know it means “What the hell are you doing? Shut up,” but I ignore him.

“Awesome. Let’s exchange numbers,” Bea suggests.

Haze doesn’t oppose, nor does he entertain the idea. We all exchange phones. Vic and Haze are the only ones who don’t have to as they already have each other’s cells. Minutes later, we’re all set.

“This is going to be so fun. We’ll text you the time and address.” Bea claps her hands in excitement and looks at the time on her phone. “Oh, we have to get going, babe.”

“Okay. Well, we’ll see you next Saturday,” Vic says, turning away. “It was really nice meeting you, Winter.”

“You too.” I wave.

Haze forces a smile, and I bet to them it seems real. I think I’m the only one noticing those details because I’ve spent way too much time looking at his annoyingly perfect face. I could tell his fake smile apart from a real one with my eyes closed.

“Oh, and dress up.” Bea glimpses at us one last time before they walk away.

As soon as they’re out of sight, Haze turns to me.

I am so not getting away with this one.

When we enter the lake house, Haze drops the many grocery bags he’s carrying on the counter. Silent, he starts unpacking and filling the empty fridge up.

“What’s the big deal? It’s just some dinner party.” I try to get him to warm up to me. He’s been cold since we left the mall. First, it was the dress, now this.

“You had no right to say yes,” he says and puts a cereal box away.

“Why don’t you want to go?” I hop to him and grip the counter to find my balance. “They seem really nice. Plus, what else are we going to do stuck in here for the next few weeks?”