Out of Mind (Out of Line #3)(35)
Author: Jen McLaughlin

“Nope, when we broke up, we broke up. I woke up the next morning, and he was gone. Haven’t heard from him since. It’s over.” Yeah. Even though I still slept with his shirt, I was so over him. I smoothed my hair for lack of something better to do. I didn’t like talking about it. It hurt too much. “How have you been?”

“Good.” He studied me. “But you didn’t tell me how you’ve been.”

“I’m fine,” I said softly. “Really. I don’t like talking about it, or him. That’s all. It hurts too much, you know?”

“I know. Hey, I like the darker red.” He gave a small nod toward my hair. I’d dyed it a little darker after the breakup, and I had side bangs now. I was still adjusting to the darker red. “It’s nice.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I like the bangs, too.” He stepped closer. “Ready to go?”

I smiled at him gratefully. One of the best things about him was that he knew when not to push. “Yeah, just let me get some shoes.”

Once I had a pair of heels on, I walked out into the hallway with Riley. Cory was walking down it at the same time as we left. He looked at Riley, and then stared at me. “Oh. Hey.”

I gave him a little smile. We might not be friends anymore, but he did know my secret. I hadn’t forgotten about that. “Hey, how’s it going?”

“Good.” Cory held his hand out. “I’m Cory.”

“Riley Stapleton.” He shook Cory’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Cory nodded and looked back at me. “Where’s Finn?”

“We broke up.” I swallowed. “We’re on our way to a party, so I’ll catch you later?”

“I’m going, too.” Cory grinned. “So, yeah, you will.”

Great. I nodded. “Bye.” I headed down the stairs, grimacing. “Remember the guy I told you about who Finn hated?”

“That’s him?” Riley asked dryly. “I can see why. I don’t like the way he looks at you.”

“Now you sound like him.”

Riley shrugged and opened the door at the bottom of the steps for me. “Sorry, but it’s true. He’s sleazy.”

I rolled my eyes. “He’s harmless as a—”

“Oh, don’t be such an ass,” Marie snapped. “God, why did I come out here at all?”

“I’m simply pointing out that if you wanted to wear a short dress, you should have put on—” Hernandez cut off, his eyes narrowing on me. “Oh. Hey, Carrie. What’s he doing here?”

“Put on a what?” I asked, my eyes wide.

“Nothing,” Marie snapped.

“Pair of underwear,” Hernandez said at the same time. “That doesn’t leave ass cheeks hanging out.”

“I…I see.” I looked at Marie, whose face was bright red, and she looked as if she wanted to punch Hernandez. I forced myself not to ask how he knew what she had on under her dress. Forcing my attention back to Hernandez, I smiled. “And he’s here to go to the party with us.”

Hernandez frowned. “You come down here an awful lot, considering your school is so far away.”

“Yeah. I came down for the weekend to see Carrie.” Riley eyed him, his blond hair reflecting the full moon. “Is that a problem?”

“No, of course not. It’s just a long way to travel for a little party when you’re going to school for law. How long did it take? Five hours?”

Riley laughed uneasily and rubbed his jaw. “Yeah, something like that.”

I frowned at the way Hernandez was watching Riley. To quote Marie, he was looking at him with judgey eyes. “How do you know where he goes to school, and what his major is? From my dad?”

“No, from—” Hernandez hesitated. “I mean, yeah. Sure. Your dad.”

My heart stopped before painfully speeding up. If he hadn’t heard about Riley from my dad, that meant he’d spoken to Finn. Was he here, in Cali? I looked over my shoulder, half expecting to see him behind me. He wasn’t. “You talked to him.”

It wasn’t a question.

Hernandez flexed his jaw. “Let’s not do this. You ready to go?”

“Y-Yeah, of course.” I took a steadying breath. “You’re right.”

“Carrie?” Riley placed his hand on my lower back. “You still want to go?”

No. “Of course. Let’s go have some fun.”

Hernandez looked at Riley’s hand, stiffening. “After you guys.”

I walked by him, Marie on my other side, trying to resist the urge to shrug Riley’s hand off. It was an innocent enough touch, and despite what everyone seemed to think…

He wasn’t in love with me.

Chapter Seventeen – Carrie

The music was so loud I couldn’t hear myself think, let alone carry on a freaking conversation. But I guess that was the point of a party like this. You were supposed to let loose, stop thinking, and just drink. Dance. Have fun. Be young and free.

I was trying so hard to do all of those things.

I lifted my cup to my mouth, draining the last of the wine. It tasted okay, but I missed my pink wine coolers that Finn had always kept stocked for me. I paused, the cup still pressed to my lips. That’s the first time I’d thought about Finn without wanting to cry in…well, since the breakup.

Maybe that meant something.

“Want to dance?” Riley asked me, leaning down to shout in my ear. “With me, that is?”

My head spun a little bit from the amount of booze I had already. The last thing I should do is dance, yet that’s exactly why I would. I’d been living my life doing all the things that I should be doing, instead of being crazy every once in a while.

Maybe it was time for a change of pace.

“Sure, let’s go. But first…” I took his drink and finished it. When he looked at me with wide eyes, I laughed, tossing my head back and everything. “What?”

“Nothing at all. I like seeing you happy, is all.”

He grabbed my hand and led me to the dancing area—which, in all reality, was nothing more than a cleared out living room. Couples danced all around us, half of them caught in the moves, and half of them caught up in each other. Some had stopped with the pretense of dancing, and were just plain old getting it on without caring who saw.

It made my cheeks go all hot, and it made me miss how Finn had made me feel when he touched me like the dude in the corner was touching his girl.