Keep From Falling (Markson Grove Series Book 1) (15 page)

He nods. He’s trying so hard to understand, and it only makes him that much more irresistible. He takes my hand into his once again. “Let’s go inside. Kelsie and Derrick must be wondering what’s taking us so long.”

We walk around the building to the front door of The Loft, still holding hands. I know I should let go, but something inside of me wants to keep holding on.

Once inside, his friends wave us to their table and we head over to join them.

Kelsie notices our hands immediately and beams a smile at Evan. I let go and take a seat next to him at the table.

“Bree,” Evan says with a soft smile, “this is Kelsie and Derrick, my two very best friends.”

“Yeah, but I’m
more
your best friend than Derrick is,” Kelsie pipes in. Evan chuckles but neither confirms nor denies her statement.

Derrick shoots them both a dirty look. “You wish.”

“Hi.” I give a little wave to the both of them and smile politely.

“Hi,” Kelsie returns with a huge, knowing grin.

What am I doing here? I know I shouldn’t be here meeting his friends as if I’m his girlfriend. I’m not his girlfriend.

I rest my hands on the table, palms down. I’m not really sure where to put them. This whole dinner feels very unnatural.

Evan must notice how uneasy I seem because he reaches over and rests his hand on top of mine. There goes that rush of electricity again.
Oh God, will this ever stop?
My face gets all hot and I’m certain it’s now a bright shade of pink. Lovely.

Kelsie seems to realize that I’m nervous so she tries to put me at ease with loads of questions. That is definitely
not
the right move at all. I start to panic. This was a mistake. I begin to think up ways I can get out of this gathering without being rude.

After a very quick round of the usual questions one might ask when they first get to know someone, Kelsie finally leans back in her chair and takes a breath.

Evan uses this opportunity to change the subject. “So Derrick, did you get a chance to check out that new game I lent you?” he asks. I shoot him an appreciative smile.

“What game?” Derrick returns with a blank look.

“You know… the one with the… zombies.”

“Oh!!” Derrick exclaims seeming to have caught on to Evan’s made up story. “Yeah, yeah it’s um… awesome… totally.”

“Don’t we have biology together?” Kelsie asks me, interrupting the guys. There goes Evan trying to change the subject.

I smile politely at Kelsie. “Yes we do.”

“You sit with… your…um,
friend
, right?”

Derrick begins to cough on the water he is in the middle of drinking, and Evan immediately kicks him in the shin.

I bite down on my lip nervously. I wasn’t expecting to have to explain my relationship with Skylar tonight. And then, as if on cue, in through the door walks Skylar.

My face loses any ounce of color it had moments earlier. How did she know I was here? I get up to meet her before she has a chance to walk over to our table. Evan notices the look on my face and follows my eyes to the door. He gets up from his seat to go with me, but I discreetly shake my head.

“Excuse me for a minute,” I say to his friends before walking over to Skylar.

“What are you doing here?” I ask cautiously.

She tilts her head to the side slightly and smiles a big fake smile. “I could ask you the same thing.”

I look over at our table and see the three of them watching us closely. “I’m just meeting his friends. We talked about this.”

She laughs bitterly, “Of course you are. So why should I be worried? He’s only kissed you and makes every excuse to spend time with you. But that’s nothing to worry about, right?”

“I’m only doing what it is you wanted me to do, I’m getting to know him. He knows that I’m with you.”

“Oh? Are you sure about that?” she challenges.

I shift my weight to my other foot as I look over at Evan. I already know she’s here to confront him about the other day. The innocent kiss. She doesn’t even know about the not-so-innocent one yet. “Of course I am. Just please don’t, ok?”

“Please don’t what?” She asks innocently as if I don’t know what’s coming.

I lean into her and bring my lips close to hers. “Just stay here and I’ll leave with you. Don’t cause a scene for him. These are his friends.”

She looks over at the table, catches Evan’s eye, and stares at him until he looks away. “No,” she says finally. “I want to talk to him.”

She nudges me aside and marches over to the table. Evan is already out of his chair. He is obviously feeling uncertain about Skylar being here, especially after what has just happened between us out in the parking lot. He’s not the only one.

Skylar pulls out the chair next to him and sits down abruptly. Evan looks at me, possibly for an explanation, but I don’t have one, so I just stare at him like an idiot. What else can I do? She won’t leave till she says to him what she wants to say. He sits back in his seat as I pull out the chair beside Skylar.

“Hi,” Skylar says in an overly cheerful voice. She smiles at Kelsie and Derrick. “I’m Skylar.”

Derrick shoots Evan a questioning look, but Evan is too busy staring at the table in anticipation of what’s to come to see it.

Kelsie smiles in spite of it all. “I’m Kelsie,” she says. “We were just talking about you, weren’t we, Bree?”

“Oh really?” Skylar asks with a look of contempt etched across her face. “And what exactly were you guys saying?”

“Just that we sit together in biology class,” I mumble, silently begging her to stop this before it gets out of hand.

“Ah, of course.” She glares at Evan, “biology.”

Kelsie lowers her head and begins to study the menu in front of her as though she will be tested on it later.

“So Kelsie, tell me, how long have you known Evan?” Skylar’s smiling, but it’s obvious, to me at least, that it’s an obnoxious one.

“Since ninth,” Kelsie replies, still staring at her menu.

“Did he ever try to kiss you?”

Evan’s head jerks up. He looks like he might be sick.

“Oh my God, Skylar!” I say. “That’s really none of your business.”

She shrugs innocently. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it’s only you that he hits on. Is that true, Kelsie? Is it only Bree that Evan makes the moves on?”

Kelsie peers over at Evan, then Derrick, then me. “What exactly is going on here?” she asks coolly.

“Just answer the question Kelsie. Come on, did Evan ever try to kiss you?”

“Of course not,” she says finally. It’s obvious that she does not like where this interrogation is heading.

“Of course not,” Skylar repeats to Evan. As she continues to stare him down, she goes on, “Notice him ever making any moves on anyone else besides Bree?”

“That’s enough, Skylar,” I interject.

What? We are just being honest here,” she says, turning to Derrick and Kelsie. “Because you see, Evan here seems to have a thing for Bree and I’m curious if this is a common occurrence or not? Kelsie, you’ve been his friend for the past four years so you tell me, any other girlfriends or flings we need to be aware of?”

“No!” Evan answers forcefully. His head is still down, but his fists are clenched so hard that his knuckles are turning white.

“Really?”

“You’re worried about his intentions with Bree, aren’t you?” Kelsie asks. She sits up confidently in her chair and challenges Skylar’s glares toward Evan with a glare of her own.

Skylar takes a deep, calming breath and forces a smile. “You can say that.”

I’m suddenly not so sure that Evan and I were alone in the parking lot earlier and I have a very unsettling feeling. She knows. She must have seen us. It’s the only explanation for her sudden change of heart.

Kelsie quickly goes on, keeping her eyes firmly set on Skylar’s. “You don’t have to worry about Evan. He’s a good guy and a gentleman. He’s only ever slept with one other girl, right Evan?”

“Kelsie!” Evan and Derrick both exclaim in unison, making it clear that she crossed the line with that statement.

Evan looks to Skylar, wide-eyed and panic-stricken. “I’ve not, nor do I have any intentions of sleeping with Bree.”

I put my face into my hands. I want to disappear. I want to make everyone here go away and just melt into the walls.

“Bree and I are just friends, Kels,” Evan says finally, with a warning tone in his voice. I’m not sure how much Kelsie knows about his feelings toward me, but this statement seems to annoy her. She peers in my direction and then looks back at Evan. She’s not sure what to say, and I don’t blame her. Obviously, she’s seen that there is something more between us than a simple friendship. We were holding hands when we walked in, for crying out loud!

“Oh.” Kelsie forces a smile through gritted teeth, “Of course.”

It’s clear to see that going along with Evan isn’t easy for Kelsie to do, but she does it without any argument. She seems to know him well enough to know that this isn’t the time to push for the truth.

Something in Skylar’s disposition changes slightly. Like a piece of her confidence has faltered, and I can see the real her through all of this fake bravado. Her cheeks go flush. Her lower lip begins to tremble but before anyone can really take notice of it, she gathers her composure and points at Evan. “You just stay away from her.”

“Skylar, I didn’t know when I kissed her,” his voice trails off. He knows an apology wouldn’t mean anything at this point. He doesn’t regret kissing me the first time and he certainly doesn’t regret the second kiss.

“You didn’t know when you kissed her that she was already involved. So I’ve heard, but you know now, and yet here you are introducing her to your friends like she’s your girlfriend.”

“I never said she was my girlfriend. And
you
were the one who wanted this night to happen,” he adds forcefully, clearly close to losing his temper.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting you to grope her on the top of your car!” Skylar says, slamming both of her palms down on the table angrily.

My face flushes bright red. It’s exactly what I had suspected; she did see us!

“Ok enough!” I interject. “It’s time to go Skylar, the both of us, come on.” I get up from my chair and take hold of her arm. I give her a tug and she complies but refuses to take her angry eyes off of Evan.

“It was really nice to meet you guys,” I say to Kelsie and Derrick who appear completely unsettled by Skylar’s behavior. I’m so embarrassed.

I turn to Evan. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” I say quietly.

He nods but refuses to look me in the eye.

Once we get outside, Skylar reaches for my hand but I pull away angrily. We walk to my place in complete silence.

Evan

The minute Kelsie, Derrick, and I walk into my house I kick my sneakers off and make my way down the stairs to the basement where the three of us always hang out. They follow behind me quietly. I’m pissed, embarrassed, and annoyed. They know I don’t want to talk about it, but they are sticking around which only means that they plan on talking about it anyway.

I can’t believe that I actually thought going out with Bree even though she and Skylar are still an item was a good idea. In what world is it ever ok to date someone else’s girl? I should have known better. I’m an idiot.

“Evan,” Kelsie says, finally breaking into our silence as we each plop down on the old sectional in front of the TV.

I shake my head, “I don’t want to hear it.”

“I know you don’t, but I’m going to say it anyway,” she replies.

“I’m done listening to your advice. No offense, but this has been one of the most embarrassing, not to mention emasculating, weekends I’ve ever experienced. I’m done.”

“Done with what?” my sister, Ellie, interjects as she’s walking down the stairs toward us. She takes a seat next to Kelsie and unwraps a chocolate bar. She offers everyone a piece before taking a bite.

“Your brother bombed with a girl tonight,” Derrick says as he reaches for the TV remote on the coffee table. He flicks through a few channels till he reaches MTV and then puts the remote back down.

“Shut up. I didn’t bomb with her. It’s not my fault she’s with someone else,” I return bitterly.

Ellie laughs. “Who is she?” she asks Kelsie.

“Bree Porter. He’s had a thing for her for a while now.”

“So what happened?”

“Doesn’t matter, it’s not going to happen again,” I reply coolly. “I’m done.”

Kelsie sighs. “You know she likes you, right?”

I shrug, “Doesn’t matter if she stays with Skylar.”

Ellie raises an eyebrow, taking another bite of her bar.

“I think if you give her some time to be friends and don’t expect more, she’ll come around to you eventually. She was pissed at Skylar tonight,” Kelsie points out.

“Wait, wait, is this Skylar Hale you’re talking about?” Ellie asks, her interest officially piqued.

I jerk my head in Ellie’s direction. “How do you know Skylar?”

“I don’t really know her,” she tells us with a shrug. “But I have a friend who knows her well.”

“Who?”

“You wouldn’t know him.”

“Him? Since when do you have ‘him’ friends?” I ask, half panicked, half pissed. “When the hell did that happen?”