trembling.
"Hey. Don't listen to her," Upton said, tipping up my face with his finger. "That's just Poppy. When she's upset, she feels the need to tear down everyone around her. And she's always been quite skilled at it."
A breeze caught my hair, and I shivered violently. I could only imagine how Poppy was going to treat me for the rest of our vacation. At the very least I was sure I was in for a lot of glares and behind -my-back whispers. But if she was anything like the rest of her friends, I also could look forward to a lot more childish pranks like the shower fiasco--probably worse. Was anyone, even Upton, worth all that?
And did he really want to stand directly in the storm path of Hurricane Reed?
"She's right, though," I said, pulling away from him and hugging myself. "You should stay away from me. Every time anyone gets close to me ... something bad happens." Upton smirked. "Well, that's a risk I'm just going to have to take," he said, stepping closer and reaching out to tuck my hair behind my ear. He let his fingers linger on my cheekbone as he looked into my eyes. "You still don't get it, do you? You've done something to me, Reed Brennan. I can't seem to stop thinking about you. "He took a deep breath and gazed out at the ocean. "It's bloody annoying, actually."
He cracked a smile and I couldn't help it. I smiled back. Okay, so maybe he was worth it. There was something about being with Upton that made it difficult to stay in a negative frame of mind. Jealousy, apprehension, sadness, self-pity--they all seemed to flit away when he was near. When it came down to it, it seemed that he was exactly what I needed. The light and happy yang to my seriously depressing yin.
"Sorry. I hate to be an annoyance," I joked in return. He pulled me into a hug, the warmth of his arms instantly chasing away the chill, and rested his chin atop my head.
"I will only consider you an annoyance if you refuse to dance with me right now," he replied as the DJ switched over to a slow tune.
"I suppose I could oblige," I said with a grin.
Upton tugged on my fingers, and I followed him back onto the dance floor. I could still feel Paige, Sienna, and the others watching us, but I concentrated on Upton, making sure I didn't give any of them the satisfaction of catching their eyes. Wrapped safely in Upton's arms, I shut out all the angry, curious, jealous stares. As we swayed back and forth to the music, I let it all go, simply listening to his breathing and feeling the rise and fall of his chest. Despite everything else that had happened, that moment, at least, was perfect.
CHAPTER 18 FACE-TO-FACE
In the end, Upton did not spend every single second of the night pinned to my side. After all, sometimes a guy has to pee. It was at one such solo moment that the encounter I had been dreading finally happened. I was standing at the bar, waiting for a glass of ice water, when I saw a familiar hand next to mine. Just seeing those fingers brought back flashes of memories I didn't want to recall. Bare skin, zippers undone...
Hands ... everywhere.
"Dash."
"Hey, Reed."
My heart was in my throat as the bartender placed my glass in front of me. I picked it up and tried to turn the other way. Away from him. But he touched my forearm lightly.
"Don't. Please."
Damn. Damn him and his politeness.
I took a deep breath and held it for strength, then turned and forced myself to look at him. To really look into his warm brown eyes. They were totally miserable.
"Sorry," he said, releasing me and shoving his hands into the pockets of his pressed chinos. Over them, he wore a white T-shirt and a blue-and-yellow Canterbury rugby sweater. The uberpreppy look so worked for Dash. Worked so well that every other girl in our vicinity was eyeing him hungrily as they sipped their drinks. Not that he would ever notice. "Sorry. I just. . . how are you?" he said.
"Fine," I replied.
"I heard about everything. What happened the night of Kiran's party. ..," he said. "I
"Hey. Don't listen to her," Upton said, tipping up my face with his finger. "That's just Poppy. When she's upset, she feels the need to tear down everyone around her. And she's always been quite skilled at it."
A breeze caught my hair, and I shivered violently. I could only imagine how Poppy was going to treat me for the rest of our vacation. At the very least I was sure I was in for a lot of glares and behind -my-back whispers. But if she was anything like the rest of her friends, I also could look forward to a lot more childish pranks like the shower fiasco--probably worse. Was anyone, even Upton, worth all that?
And did he really want to stand directly in the storm path of Hurricane Reed?
"She's right, though," I said, pulling away from him and hugging myself. "You should stay away from me. Every time anyone gets close to me ... something bad happens." Upton smirked. "Well, that's a risk I'm just going to have to take," he said, stepping closer and reaching out to tuck my hair behind my ear. He let his fingers linger on my cheekbone as he looked into my eyes. "You still don't get it, do you? You've done something to me, Reed Brennan. I can't seem to stop thinking about you. "He took a deep breath and gazed out at the ocean. "It's bloody annoying, actually."
He cracked a smile and I couldn't help it. I smiled back. Okay, so maybe he was worth it. There was something about being with Upton that made it difficult to stay in a negative frame of mind. Jealousy, apprehension, sadness, self-pity--they all seemed to flit away when he was near. When it came down to it, it seemed that he was exactly what I needed. The light and happy yang to my seriously depressing yin.
"Sorry. I hate to be an annoyance," I joked in return. He pulled me into a hug, the warmth of his arms instantly chasing away the chill, and rested his chin atop my head.
"I will only consider you an annoyance if you refuse to dance with me right now," he replied as the DJ switched over to a slow tune.
"I suppose I could oblige," I said with a grin.
Upton tugged on my fingers, and I followed him back onto the dance floor. I could still feel Paige, Sienna, and the others watching us, but I concentrated on Upton, making sure I didn't give any of them the satisfaction of catching their eyes. Wrapped safely in Upton's arms, I shut out all the angry, curious, jealous stares. As we swayed back and forth to the music, I let it all go, simply listening to his breathing and feeling the rise and fall of his chest. Despite everything else that had happened, that moment, at least, was perfect.
CHAPTER 18 FACE-TO-FACE
In the end, Upton did not spend every single second of the night pinned to my side. After all, sometimes a guy has to pee. It was at one such solo moment that the encounter I had been dreading finally happened. I was standing at the bar, waiting for a glass of ice water, when I saw a familiar hand next to mine. Just seeing those fingers brought back flashes of memories I didn't want to recall. Bare skin, zippers undone...
Hands ... everywhere.
"Dash."
"Hey, Reed."
My heart was in my throat as the bartender placed my glass in front of me. I picked it up and tried to turn the other way. Away from him. But he touched my forearm lightly.
"Don't. Please."
Damn. Damn him and his politeness.
I took a deep breath and held it for strength, then turned and forced myself to look at him. To really look into his warm brown eyes. They were totally miserable.
"Sorry," he said, releasing me and shoving his hands into the pockets of his pressed chinos. Over them, he wore a white T-shirt and a blue-and-yellow Canterbury rugby sweater. The uberpreppy look so worked for Dash. Worked so well that every other girl in our vicinity was eyeing him hungrily as they sipped their drinks. Not that he would ever notice. "Sorry. I just. . . how are you?" he said.
"Fine," I replied.
"I heard about everything. What happened the night of Kiran's party. ..," he said. "I
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