One Word From You: A Pride and Prejudice Adaptation (11 page)

“
Me too. I was running out of people to pretend to talk to,” she confessed.

Unfortunately, I hadn't lost Wyatt. He stalked up behind me, and noisily cleared my throat. Although he was one of Georgia's teachers, I knew that the proper rules of courtesy had to be observed in a place like Charlie's house. I let out a soft sigh, and in monotone introduced, “Georgia, this is Wyatt. Wyatt, this is Georgia. Wyatt is my ex-brother. He insisted on joining us this evening.”

Wyatt spared her a brief smile, that being all the civility he could muster while I was being so rude. He said firmly, “Elisa is under my care tonight, so she'll be in my company. And I think we're about to dance.”

I mouthed
help
at Georgia as I was dragged away. Unhelpfully, she laughed behind her hand. Of course she did, she was my friend after all. I might have done the same were she in my place. That's just how we were. I really wished we weren't, though. Then, I might have been spared Wyatt's clumsy feet and sweaty hands.

He really couldn't dance.

Some people were just cutely out of time, and would make their apologies, then give up. Wyatt insisted on stepping on my toes for two whole songs, and not once said he was sorry for the agony he was causing me. By the time he was done, I had to go and find a place to sit down. Fortunately, it was close to a few good looking boys. I didn't know any of them, but I wasn't going to complain. They didn't attend our school, and must have been Charlie's friends from the last one. Well, at least they were better company than Wyatt. He'd found himself some adults to impose on, and they were more than welcome to him.

“
Here,” Georgia held out a drink to me when she arrived, “Sorry about before.”

“
No you're not.”

“
No,” she grinned, “I'm not. How are your feet?”

“
Swollen, I think. God, can you believe that idiot followed me here? I mean, some people have no sense of – well – anything!”

“
It could be worse. You could have been dancing with William.”

“
Yeah, true,” I muttered, “I imagine Chantelle will be stuck to him like glue. I mean, I don't like him, but no one deserves that.”

“
Actually, the last I saw of him, he was talking to Jenny.”

“
Poor her.”

Georgia shrugged, “I don't know. It looked like he was being pretty nice to her. Then again, Charlie was there.”

“
Which will be the only reason why he's talking to her at all. Seriously, he should have stayed at his own school if he hates being around us so much.”

“
He probably just wanted to be with his friend. Anyway, it's not like it's anything to us, right? Come on, why don't you come and dance with me?”

I smirked, “Slow dance? We could make some people
really
uncomfortable with that.”

Georgia laughed, “I was thinking more of a group of us. I'm way out of your league, you know that.”

I held my hand over my chest, “Oh God, right in my feelings! That hurts.”

“
You're such a loser,” she joked.

“
I know. Still, I'm not as bad as Wyatt.”

“
I doubt there are many people as bad as he is,” William observed.

I nearly jumped out of my skin. I hadn't seen him walking over, but I was actively avoiding his company. I did hope that he hadn't heard any of the bad things I had to say about him. Not that I had any problem with my opinions of William. I just didn't want to start a huge argument in Charlie's house. It would make things difficult for Jenny if I caused a rift between us and them.

I cleared my throat gently, “It's a good party. Sorry that moron came along.”

“
If you want to make it up to us, then you can come and dance with me.”

Did I hear that right?

I opened and closed my mouth a few times. I wasn't sure if he was joking or not. If he was, then I really didn't get it. I mean, it wasn't like he could humiliate me any more than Wyatt had. Plus, William was clearly concerned about his public image. If he wasn't, then he wouldn't willingly spend time in Chantelle's company. She was popular, and that was about the only advantage to being around her. And even that didn't seem quite worth it.

“
Er – well – that's -”

“
I'll take that as a yes, shall I?” he asked, and offered his hand.

Georgia was quick to relieve me of my glass, and motioned in a completely unsubtle way that I should hurry. I was so nonplussed by the idea of dancing with him, that I was on my feet before I knew what I was doing. William closed his fingers around mine, and led me into the throng of couples already swaying to a song. I thought I might be lucky enough to only spare a minute with him if it had been playing a while. But the music switched over just as we came to a halt, and then started up with a new rhythm.

Damn it.

I was prepared for a decent amount of distance between us. The sort of slow dance usually seen at weddings between awkward new in-laws was what I had in mind. William didn't. He pulled me so close I almost fell onto him, and stepped purposefully in time with the music. I was so busy praying to whatever God might be present to let me get through it alive, that I barely registered him trying to engage me in conversation.

“
Blake?”

“
Huh?”

“
Were you listening?”

“
Not even slightly,” I said, unabashed at my disinterest in him.

William sighed. I thought he might snap at me, but he held himself together pretty well to say he hated me. After calming himself, he asked again, “Are you having a good evening?”

“
It would be better if Wyatt would leave me alone.”

“
I noticed that his dancing leaves a lot to be desired.”

“
Yeah, I might need an x-ray on my feet tomorrow,” I agreed, “I can't believe I have to put up with him until the end of the school year. Wait – why am I even talking to you about this?”

“
Because we're having a polite conversation.”

“
What's that about?” I asked, “You hate me.”

He let out a short breath through his nose, “Hate is a strong word. You're not my favourite person in the world, but Charlie seems to like your company.”

“
Wow,” I smirked, “What a massive sacrifice you're making for your friend by dancing with me. I'll try not to make it too painful for you.”

“
I don't mind talking to you, if that's a habit you have when you dance with people.”

“
Given I don't usually dance with anyone, I can't say I have anything like a habit when I do. Usually I just hope that it'll be over pretty quickly.”

“
In that case, I'm going to make you dance the next one with me as well.”

Git.

Lisa and Chrissy were making total spectacles of themselves on the dance floor. They skipped carelessly past us, bumping into me on the way. I fell against William's chest, and he brought his arms around me securely. The heat flew to my cheeks so quickly I got light-headed. I tried to ease myself away, but he was too busy glaring after the idiots to notice. He muttered something under his breath I didn't quite catch, and that was for the best I imagined. It can't have been anything polite.

“
Think you could let me go?” I asked, “If Chantelle sees this, she's going to claw my eyes out.”

“
Whether she sees it or not, it's not her business.”

“
Yeah, but I'd still like to keep my eyes in my face,” I said, and wriggled free. Well, as free as I was going to get while we were still locked in the dance together. We returned to the gentle sway that seemed so popular with people who were using the music as an excuse for some physical contact with the opposite sex.

Had my partner been Gideon, I wouldn't have minded it so much.

“
So... Do you usually walk around the back routes of the school?”

“
What?”

“
When Charlie and I saw you, you were -”

“
Oh, you mean when I was talking to Gideon?”

He visibly bristled.

I couldn't resist adding, “Sorry, I should call him Mr. Wilson, but he asked me to use his first name. I sort of fell into him, and we just got chatting. He's a nice guy.”

“
I suppose he would seem to be one if you don't know him that well.”

“
Maybe I should get to know him better, then,” I mused aloud.

His eye actually twitched at my suggestion. Dancing with him hadn't been a total loss, after all. While I couldn't openly accuse him of anything, it was fun to hint that I knew something had happened between them. It felt like a victory was being scored on Gideon's behalf. If he wasn't prepared to stand up to someone like William, then this was the least I could do.

William looked away, and said, “I suppose everyone has different tastes when it comes to the company they keep.”

“
Are we still talking about Gideon, or are you talking about my other friends?”

“
I wouldn't look down on Jenny, if that's what you're worried about. She and Charlie seem to have become fast friends already.”

“
More than friends,” I muttered.

William caught on, and soon his gaze was fixed on Jenny and Charlie. I didn't think he could oppose any attachment they felt to one another. She came from a good family. Okay, so she didn't have the same kind of superiority in her that Chantelle did, but I thought that was in her favour. She was a kind girl, and any guy would be lucky to have her. Not that she was forward enough to make a move on anyone. I was determined to push them to one another, though. I didn't think she'd find another guy that complimented her so well.

“
I hope,” I said, “That you're not the type of person that judges people too quickly.”

“
Obviously not.”

“
And you wouldn't think less of anyone for stupid reasons.”

“
No, I wouldn't.”

“
So you wouldn't stoop to anything that might be beneath you, just to get back at someone. Right?”

“
What's with all the questions?” William asked.

I shrugged nonchalantly, “I'm just trying to understand you better. Is that a crime?”

“
It's not. But I doubt you're getting a good idea of the kind of person I am like that.”

“
I'm getting enough. Plus, the music's stopped. That means I'm free, doesn't it?”

“
I didn't realise I was making you feel trapped. Thanks for the dance, Blake.”

I wasn't going to return his feelings of gratitude, not when he couldn't even address me by my first name. I couldn't get away from William fast enough, and walked straight into Chantelle. So much for the night being fun. It was turning into something from my nightmares. I wished I'd stayed in the dorm, and had an early night.