Out of Line (Out of Line #1)(10)
Author: Jen McLaughlin

“Then why did you kiss me?”

“Because I couldn’t stop myself,” I admitted. It was one of the most honest things I had said to her all day. “But I should have.”

She finally looked at me again. “Why can’t you kiss me? What’s so wrong with it? I mean, if you want to, why is it bad?”

Good question. “It just is. In my career, I could be gone at any second if they call up my unit. I can’t have relationships.”

“That’s bull.” Her hands tightened on her knees. “If you don’t want to be with me, just say it. Don’t give me half-assed reasons why you can’t.”

“I don’t want to be with you,” I said, my voice coming out harsher than I intended. I reached out and closed my hand over hers, trying to soften the blow. “Not in that way, but I do want to be friends.”

“I’ll think about it.” The cab pulled up and she stood. Her hand on the door, she glanced at me over her shoulder. “But if you want to be friends, keep your lips off mine from now on.”

“Deal. Still want to surf?”

She hesitated. “Not today. I have a headache. See ya some other time.”

And with that, she closed the door in my face and left me standing on the curb. My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out. Her father, of course. The man had impeccable timing.

Things going well?

I tightened my grip on the phone and typed fast. I got it covered.

Good. Don’t forget the rules.

The ones I’d already broken? As if I could.

Chapter 5

Later that night, after Finn kissed me and dissed me, so to speak, I came out of the bathroom in a pair of frog jammies and found Marie sitting on my bed, a short dress in her hands. Since Marie was already wearing a way-too-short black dress, I could only assume the tiny blue dress in Marie’s hands was for someone else. That someone else better not be me.

I raised a brow and eyed the contraption. “What’s up?”

“What’s up is you’re going to lose the froggies and slip into this.” Marie tossed the dress at me and I reflexively caught it. “And we’re going to go party. And for once in your life, you’re staying.”

I held the dress to my chest. “I told you, I don’t like parties.”

“That’s because you never drink at them, I’d bet.” Marie stood up and gave me a little push toward the bathroom. “But tonight, you are. I’ll get you something good, and we’ll party the night away. Monday classes start, so we’ll have a boring week. But tonight?” She shoved me into the bathroom. “We dance!”

As the door closed in my face, I flinched. Marie might be pushy—literally—but she had a point. The week ahead of us would be long. Would it be so wrong to let loose and have some fun tonight? Look at all the other stuff I had already done since getting here.

Buying a surfboard? Check. Riding a motorcycle? Check. Kissing a hot surfer boy? Double freaking check. As long as I wasn’t crazy and didn’t get caught on camera naked or something, there wouldn’t be any backlash. Surely Dad drank in college, right? Oh, but that was different. He was a man, and I was his baby girl.

Rolling my eyes, I sent a mental eff you out in the universe. I made quick work of shedding my froggie pajamas and slid in to the short dress. Spinning in front of the mirror, I cringed. The thing barely covered my butt. Wait. Maybe it didn’t even cover it at all.

“I’m coming in,” Marie called. As she opened the door and barged through, she paused. “Wow. You look amazing. All you need is makeup and we’ll be ready to go.”

“I don’t really—”

“Wear makeup? I know.” Marie pulled out an eyeshadow brush. “But tonight you’re different, remember?”

Different. That sounded nice. I closed my eyes and let Marie work her magic. But when I closed my eyes, I remembered that amazing kiss Finn had given me. And then I remembered our fight afterward. He was always acting so…contradictory. It didn’t make any sense. Marie started applying the eyeshadow, and I belatedly said, “Not too dark.”

“I know, I know.” Marie set to work, and I tried to relax. This was supposed to be fun. “Your dad called. I told him you were studying at the library.”

I swallowed. “Why did you do that?”

“He calls every hour. He needs to back off. He a cop or something?”

I laughed. “No. Just overprotective.”

“Ah.” I felt Marie’s shrug, even though my eyes were shut. “My dad was like that before he died.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. Dad was annoying, sure, but I couldn’t picture life without him. “How long ago?”

“Two years.” Marie closed the mascara, and seemed to close the topic. “Open your eyes now.”

I refused to look at myself yet. I was scared I would look more hooker than sexy. “Done?”

“Not yet.”

I fidgeted. “Are you sure it’s not too short?”

“Positive.” Marie applied a layer of lip gloss, grabbed a piece of toilet paper, and said, “Blot.” I pressed my lips down on the toilet paper. “There. Now you’re ready to go.”

I peeked in the mirror. Smoky gray eyes and black eyeliner stared back at me, making my eyes seem brighter than usual. And the red lip gloss actually looked…good. “Wow.”

“Right?” Marie put the rest of the makeup away, fluffed her blonde hair, and grinned. “We’ll be the prettiest girls there. Now let’s go.”

We linked arms and walked out of the dorm. As we passed, boys gaped at us, making me smile. Okay, maybe Marie was right. Maybe I needed this. After Finn kissed me and practically wiped his mouth to remove my taste from his lips, my self-esteem had been lagging. It might be fun to go out and drink. Flirt a little bit too much.

And then Finn could kiss my un-kissable ass.

Marie dropped my arm when we reached the crowded frat house. Girls in dresses even shorter than mine filled the room, as well as guys in plaid shorts and solid-colored shirts. From a distance, they all looked the same. Marie tugged me toward the “bar” area, which was really just a bunch of wine coolers and beer cans on a folding table. “Which one do you want?”

I eyed the choices skeptically, then reached for a pink drink with a picture of the beach on the label. “This one, I guess.”

“Good choice.” Marie opened it for me and grabbed a beer from the table. After opening her own drink, she nodded to the room. “Next assignment is for you to find a cute guy and start talking to him. Think of this like a class. A class at how to party properly.”