Page 53 of Tasting Innocence
“Hey,” she says with a giggle. “Didn’t know you were so jumpy.”
Chelsea steps to my side, her arms still wrapped around me. “Hey, Ian,” she says, talking to my friend who’s finishing his cigarette.
“Chels,” he says with a nod. “Where’s your friend?”
“Which one?”
“Tiffany? Or maybe it was Tarryn. I don’t know. The one you had up here last time.”
“Oh,” she says with a laugh. “Teagan. Yeah, she’s not coming tonight. Sorry, man.”
Ian slaps his hand on my shoulder. “I’m gonna head in.” He gives me a look like he’s doing me a favor by leaving me alone with Chelsea. “I’ll see ya later.”
I step out of her grasp with a forced smile, feeling uncomfortable now that I’m with Violet. “You gonna go inside?” I ask.
Her hands move under my shirt, her fingers finding their way into the waistband of my jeans, a flirty smile on her face as she gets closer. “I will if you come with me. Maybe we can go to your friend’s room again.”
Wrapping my fingers around her wrists, I pull her hands from my pants and let out a nervous chuckle. “Sorry, Chels. I can’t.”
She pouts. “Why?”
Renzo steps outside, his head swiveling around until he lands on me and Chelsea. He grins, but I try to widen my eyes, hoping he’ll come rescue me.
“Uh, I’m seeing someone now,” I tell her.
Chelsea takes a step back, her arms crossing in front of her chest. “What? I thought you didn’t date?”
“I don’t,” I say quickly. “I mean, I didn’t. I don’t know. It’s new.”
“Well who the hell is it that she got Mr. I’m-Gonna-Be-A-Bachelor-My-Whole-Life to change his mind?”
The bitterness in her tone is evident. A while back she tried to beat around the bush, wanting us to be monogamous, but I turned her down, saying it was best if we kept it casual so I wouldn't end up breaking her heart.
Renzo finally starts heading over, but now’s not the time I want him to.
“What’s going on?”
Chelsea gestures to me. “I guess your boy has finally found someone to commit to. He’s off the market.”
Zo’s eyes snap to me, his brows pulling together. “What? Who?”
I sigh, rubbing my forehead. “Can we talk about this later?”
Chelsea scoffs. “Anyway, I’m heading inside.”
Once she’s gone, Zo continues to stand in front of me, waiting for me to answer. I can’t tell him now. This was not how this was supposed to happen. For one, we’re surrounded by a ton of people, and I don’t want to have this fight in front of everyone. For two, he’s already slightly drunk, and I’m not exactly sober, and it just doesn’t feel right to talk about me dating his sister right now. She should also be here. So I lie.
“Dude, I’m not dating anyone. She just started to become too needy, so I made something up.”
His face breaks into a grin as he shakes his head. “Ah, Dex. She start coming around one too many times? I forget you like to keep your experiences to a handful at most.”
“Heh,” I chuckle humorlessly. “Yeah, something like that.”
“Come inside,” he says, throwing his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s get a drink.”
Before we’re inside, Violet comes up the steps, stopping in front of us. “Hey.”
“Hey!” Zo says loudly. “What took you so long to get here?”