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While I tried to ignore the vibe of Jared’s presence, I foundfor hi with his friends, and the last time I looked, Piper had her face buried in his neck She looked trashy in her short, tight black dress and heels Who wore heals to the beach? Not even a real beach, either, but a rocky and ht, he looked about as interested in her as he would a plate of parsnips I stole enough glances to see him try to throw her off a few times She finally took the hint and stalked off in a pout

Jared caught my eyes more than once, but I broke contact ihtneed deep inside of et out of here

Glancing at"Hey, I really need to go now I have that race tomorrow," I reminded him

Ben’s eyebrows raised in surprise "Oh, co was a shock, and I was definitely turned off

"We can stay for a little while longer," he said

"Sorry, Ben That’s why I offered to drive etic sht, because I knew that this was probably our last date The spark wasn’t there, and aside fro at hoht

"Let’s just stay for another half an hour" He tried shoving his beer atto the side and had to latch onto my arm for support

"You’re not okay to drive," I pointed out "I can drop you at home, and you can pick up your car at my house tomorrow"

"No, no" Ben held up his hands "I’ll cut myself off now and sober up We’ll be on our way soon"

"Well, you shouldn’t drive Not at all" I averted

"I can take care of myself, Tate," Ben asserted "If you want to leave now, then you’ll have to find another ride If you want to leave withis "a while?"

This was getting ridiculous, and my patience was spent He’d said we could leave by 11:30, and I’d taken him at his word

Ben pulled at my arm to lead me back to the bonfire, but I yanked it free and stalked away He didn’t say another word, so I assuet hoerto be a part of? Ben and his friends were about as interesting as cornflakes, the girls had no other interests beside shopping and e to sanitizethe way they looked at me

After a quick sweep of the area, I ascertained that KC was already gone I dug my phone out ofaround for the cross-country teammate I’d spotted earlier, I noticed that she, too, was nowhere in sight The only other option was to callup at this hour, but she’d at least be happy to know I’d called for a safe ride

I twisted my lips up in disappointment when my Grandma didn’t answer her phone, either That wasn’t unusual, since she often forgot to take her phone to bed And thanks to the convenience of cell phones, we’d disconnected our hard line years ago

Awesome

My only options at this point were to wait for Ben and convince hi lot and ask soo piss up a tree

I trekked over the rocks and into the woods for the short traipse to the clearing near the road where everyone parked

With no flashlight available, I used uide ht shot, but the path was littered with sticks and stu their leaves, but the rain we’d received this fall kept everything moist and pliable Droplets splattered e, and a few bare branches poked atme

"Well, look what I found"

I jumped, startled out of the quiet that had just surrounded ht of Nate Deitrich…as eye-fuckingfroo, and now he blockedvoice rhymed

"Get out of e I tried to go around hirab htened, and my hands curled into fists

"Shh," Nate i echoed in my ear, and he reeked of alcohol "Tate, I’ve wanted you for so long You know that How about you put me out of my misery, and let me to take you home?" His nose was in my hair, and his hands dropped tos But it sees were too close together

Nate shook with laughter Kneading my ass, he whispered, "Oh, I know you’re tricks, Tate Stop fighting it I could take you on the ground right now if I wanted to"