Switched: Flirt New Adult Romance (5 page)

He cocks his head to the side. “You didn’t call me useless.”

“Hmm. I must’ve just thought it.”

His eyes roll to the ceiling. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you later.” He walks to his van, putting his hands in his pockets after tugging his hood over his head. If he wasn’t Wesley, I’d have given him a huge hug for what he did. I’d better step up my game, poke in the weak places of Reagan and Talon’s relationship. Then next week when it’s only me and Talon, I can get his side of it.

And do it all without feeling guilty. I guess that’s going to be the hard part.

If they kiss one more time, I’m going to strangle something. Seriously, what is with them tonight? Wesley looks as if he may die from PDA overload and collapse on the floor in front of the couch. If he does, I think I’ll probably join him.

“Yay! I got a five-star!” Reagan shouts as she booty-pops her way back to the big chair she’s sharing with Talon. Her lips get all squishy, and before I can see another slobber-fest, I drop the Wii remote.

“Be right back!” I say much louder than I mean to, but oh well. Wesley takes one look at my face and bounces out of the room after me. Good thing I wasn’t going to the bathroom.

There’s not much separating the living room and the kitchen in this apartment, but it’s enough to give them privacy and for me and Wesley to bang our faces on the counter without anyone else knowing what’s going on.

“Man, what is up with them tonight?” he whispers, rubbing his forehead and grabbing a drink from the fridge. “It hasn’t been this bad since they first got together.”

I nod. He’s totally right. Reagan and Talon were never much for being physical around us, with the exception of the traditional peck on the lips before class. It makes me want to gag and cry all at once. And by the look on Wesley’s face, he feels the same way.

“Think there’s a way to pry them apart? I’m not sure if I can handle much more.”

He takes a gulp of his water before answering me. “I have no clue. To be honest, after what Talon told me yesterday I wasn’t expecting this at all.”

“What? His big pepperoni revelation said he wasn’t going to make out with his girlfriend?”

Wesley’s face turns a little pink, and he takes another swig from his water bottle. “I may have withheld a little bit of information.”

I shove his shoulder. “What the hell? I thought we were in this together.”

“We are. It was … personal. Wasn’t sure if I should say anything.”

Okay, I’m going to give him a pass. I wasn’t exactly telling him everything about the epic anniversary present Reagan has planned.

Wait a minute …

“Crap.”

Wesley’s eyebrows disappear into his blond hair. “What?”

I glance over my shoulder, peeking around the tiny wall that’s separating us from the other room. Talon and Reagan are all snuggled together, but thankfully not glued at the lips. They’ve turned off the game, the blue screen lighting up the room. My gaze goes back to Wesley. “I think I know what’s going on.”

“Okay …?”

I suck in a breath and wave him closer. Better make it 100 percent guaranteed we won’t be overheard. “Can’t tell a soul, promise?”

He nods and comes so close his warm breath covers the skin on my forehead. He smells like gummy bears. No surprise, since he got off work just before we came over. And for some stupid reason that makes me super aware of his lips, and my face flames up. I’m sure the blush is because I’m going to talk about sex, though. Not because of his proximity. That would so not make sense.

I clear my throat and refuse to shake my head because I may smack him with my curls. “Reagan told me what she’s planning on doing for Talon for their anniversary.”

“And you’re thinking she spilled the beans to him?”

“You know her. She can’t keep a secret to save her life. So yes, that’s exactly what I’m thinking.”

His hazel eyes flick to the living room again before landing back on mine. “I’m guessing that present is going to make Talon a very happy guy.”

“You knew they hadn’t … yet?” Am I the only one who assumed they had already been tossing around in the sheets for a while?

“It’s pretty much all Talon talks about. Not in a douchey way, but it’s frustrating when you only get to go so far, and you’ve been …” Wesley closes his eyes and quickly says, “Never mind. I guess I won’t have to hear him complain about it anymore.”

He sounds just as depressed as I feel. And I try not to, but I can’t help it. There’s a heat wave tingling behind my eyes, and I close them to keep the tears from coming out. This is so messed up. I should be happy for my best friend when she decides to go all the way. I should be happy for her and for him because I’ve known her forever and I feel like I’ve known him just as long because of how long I’ve panted over him. But instead I feel like it’s the final stake in the vampire’s heart.

It’s not until Wesley’s arms are around me that I realize my tears have escaped and I’ve been holding my breath. This guy doesn’t hug me often, so it feels kind of weird, but nice at the same time because he doesn’t look at me like he should. Like the evil person I am for wanting someone way off-limits and for trying to make him mine. But then again, I don’t look at him that way either.

“Shh,” he whispers into my hair as he rubs my back. “It’s not a done deal yet. We’ve got the road trip before, and Christmas vacation.” His fingers stop, and when they do, I notice my back is full of goose bumps. Then his voice drops. “And if you promise not to say anything either …” I nod into his chest. “Things aren’t as perfect as they seem in their relationship. Trust me on that one, okay, Mickey?”

I take a huge inhale through my nose, catching that gummy bear smell again and totally ignoring the name he called me. “Okay.”

We pull away from each other, and there’s this moment—really, the smallest second in the whole world—when I feel the need to pull him back. Forget the guy I love in the next room and take comfort in the guy who’s in front of me.

“You guys lock yourselves in the fridge or something?” Talon yells.

Wesley half smiles, then we both take a big breath of air before going back to the torture chamber.

(And learn how to fake a yawn without looking like a dork.)

“Give me a kiss.”

“Stop it, Reagan.” I laugh, pushing her face away from mine.

“C’mon. I promise you’ll like it.” She puckers her lips and slides closer to me on the couch. Both the guys and I burst into fits of laughter. Late-night Reagan is a lot of fun, especially when she’s had too much sugar. We keep her away from alcohol, because if she gets this way off regular soda, she’d probably be streaking across Wesley’s apartment complex trying to get into the pool if she had a drop of anything stronger.

“If I kiss you, will you leave me alone?” I say it just to see Talon’s reaction, but it’s Wesley who ends up spitting his water all over the TV screen. After wiping his face, he takes off the jacket he’s wearing to clean up the spill. We’re all laughing, and with Talon sitting on the floor in front of me, Reagan still crawling across the sofa in this pretend sexy way, I allow myself to be in the moment, instead of thinking too hard about how I wish
he
was the one threatening to kiss me.

“Let’s play a game!” she shouts, leaping off the couch and running up the stairs to Wesley’s room.

I shake my head and glance at Talon, who’s doing the same thing. His dark hair is a little messed up from playing Just Dance, but also from Reagan giving him noogies every chance she got. The shadows under his gorgeous eyes tell me he’s exhausted. I give him a sympathetic smile because Reagan will be up for a few more hours before she’s ready to go home.

Heaven help me, he’s so sexy. That small lift of his lips, grinning back at me. I let out a sigh because I’m oh so smooth.

“You look tired,” Wesley says to him. Talon’s amazing blue eyes pull away from mine as he looks at Wesley.

“I am.”

“Go home.” Wesley stands, grabbing an empty bag of chips and empty bottles to throw in
the trash.

“You know I’ll get my ass chewed off if I leave before she’s ready.”

Wesley shrugs. “She can stay if she wants. I won’t be going to bed for a while.” His eyes flick to mine for a second before he walks the rest of the way to the kitchen.

Oh! I get it.
Way to catch on there, Kayla
.

I turn to Talon, who’s eyeing his jacket. My stomach goes haywire like I swallowed a whole bunch of jumping beans. Can I do this? I’m not usually alone with Talon, but when we are, it’s pretty much magical. On August 13 Reagan had this major job interview and was super nervous. So Talon and I went shopping for her favorite things. We ended up getting her forty-three different shades of nail polish. We wanted to get fifty-two—one for each week of the year—but the store only had forty-three. And I made him go and buy them, saying he was in the doghouse and his girl hated flowers. His face got all red, and it was the most adorable thing in the world to watch the future quarterback of our college team blush. It was the best day so far this year—like I said, simply magical for me, even though it sounds so stupid.

But how do I make our alone time magical for him too? Especially since he looks like he’s going to fall asleep in midsentence.

I push back the nerves as much as I can. Wesley’s giving me a good opportunity here—him too. So I better take advantage. “Um, I’m pretty wiped out myself. Think you could give me a ride?”

Talon yawns as he nods, and that seems to be his cue to put on his jacket. “You sure you’re okay with her staying?” he asks Wesley when he walks back in the room.

“Hey, wait! Where are you going?” Reagan jumps off the stairs, a deck of cards in her hand. She’s giving us the classic puppy-dog face, so I send out mind waves to Talon not to fall for it.

You’re tired. You want to go home now
.

“Heading out. I’ve gotta crash.”

If it’s possible, her lip juts out even more.

“Don’t give me that look.” Talon smiles and tugs her in for a hug and a kiss—on the forehead. “Wesley says you can stay if you want.”

“Fine. Leave me.”

“Stop it. You know I’ve been at late practices and studying for finals. And I’ve got an early class tomorrow.”

“I do too.”

“It’s not illegal to be tired, babe.”

“Don’t ‘babe’ me. Just leave. Kayla, Wesley, and I will have fun without you.”

I open my mouth to agree because fighting couples, even if I want them to fight, make
me uncomfortable. And when they really fight, that’s when the anxiety attacks start. I have no idea why this happens to me, since my parents hardly ever fight, but the few times they did, my breathing would go all crazy and my heart wanted to shoot out of my chest. So yeah, confrontation is not my thing. It’s probably why I’ve never brought up how I feel about Talon.

But before I can say anything, Talon speaks, his voice coming out a little forceful, making me wish I wasn’t in the same room.

“Kayla’s going too. Sorry, but not all of us have half the energy you do at two in the morning.”

Reagan gives me a look, and despite having sent Talon the don’t-give-in brainwaves, I’m on the verge of giving in myself. But I won’t. Alone time with him is precious. And crucial. That, and Wesley would lose his chance at being the consoling friend tonight when Talon and I walk out the door. Wesley and I have to work together.

So instead of giving in to Reagan’s pout, I shrug and grab my coat. Reagan huffs, flicking her eyes between me and her boyfriend. “Fine. Wesley and I will have fun without you.”

“Don’t be mad. It’s not a big deal, okay?” Talon tries to kiss her forehead again, but she doesn’t let him. I totally agree with him. It’s
not
a big deal. But Reagan likes to make
everything
a big deal.

Drama, drama, drama.

“How about a round of blackjack, Ray?” Wesley says, hopping over the back of the couch and patting the spot next to him. “Loser has to get coffee for everyone in the morning.”

Bravo, my friend. Reagan’s body loses the tension, and she parks herself across from Wesley. “Deal. Even though party poopers don’t deserve coffee.” She laughs, and Talon rolls his eyes at me and stifles a grin.

“We’ll see you tomorrow, guys.”

Wesley gives me a wink as I leave, and I almost skip on my way to the car. Talon, sweetie, you are all mine for the next fifteen minutes.

(If the driver is about to fall asleep at the wheel because you’re super boring, you’re doing it wrong.)

Talon’s car always smells like watermelon. It’s the air freshener I stuck in here when he finally started giving me rides as a regular thing. Well, not the
exact
one, but he buys this scent now because it makes his car smell amazing. I was oh so subtle when I gave it to him, clipping it on his air vent while plugging my nose. As hot as the guy is, he’s also very sweaty after those football practices. I think he’s secretly thanked me every time anyone gets in his car now. Or at least everyone else has.

“All right, Kayla. Talk to me. Jabber on and on about something. It’s your job to keep me awake.”