Free Heartbreaker Hanson by Melanie Marks Page B

was. I noticed a lot
of girls flirting with him after that. He could have had his pick of what girl
to take home from the party if he could just drag his persistent eyes away from
me.
    Not
that I could claim innocence to staring. While Drew and Laurie were across the
room in each other’s arms, kind of slow dancing, kind of just swaying to the
music while they talked, Drew’s eyes flickered my way, then stayed. His
eyebrows rose.
    I
flushed and quickly looked away. I didn’t even notice/realize that I had been staring
until Drew pointed it out with his raised eyebrows.
    I
quickly diverted my gaze, pretty much despising myself for being so pathetically
attracted to Drew, for having been fantasizing what it would be like if it were
me in his arms with my head resting on his chest. I yearned for him to hold me like
he was holding Laurie, and have his hot breath whisper in my ear, and have him
kiss me softly as we swayed to the music and pretended no one else was in the
room.
      I liked things better back in the olden
days when I could stare at him as much as I wanted and he never even noticed. Now
he stared back. It hurt every fiber inside me to see his beautiful blue eyes
gaze at me while he romantically held Laurie in his arms. My heart shriveled.
    I
darted out of the room quickly, just leaving Wade standing there confused. Dashed
back into the kitchen—my hiding place.
    I
wanted to leave the party and never have to see the two of them together again—not
ever. It hurt too much now that Drew had kissed me, and said that he thinks
about me.
    “Hey,
can you help me with this?” Kim said as she tried pulling a chest of ice out of
the garage and into the kitchen where now I stood alone—again in a
trance. Only this time not staring at Drew, just off into space, thinking I
might die of heartache.
    “Sure,”
I mumbled grateful for the task to keep my mind diverted from my woe-is-me
pathetic-ness.
    “Here,”
Wade said as he came back into the kitchen and found Kim and me struggling with
the chest. “Let me get that for you,” he said with a smile.
    Wade
was no slouch himself I realized as he lifted the chest and brought it to where
Kim instructed. I wished I could let go of my stupid, pathetic passion for
Drew, and like a nice unattached boy like Wade.
    But
as Wade smiled at me and asked me if I wanted to dance to the slow song that Nick’s
band had just started to play, I agreed with an aching heart. I knew as long as
Drew dangled his attention in my face, my heart could go out to no other boy.
    Still,
I danced with Wade. Because he asked me. And he was nice. And I wished so bad I
could like him.

 
 
 
 
    CHAPTER 15

 
 
    Disturbingly
often during the party I would look up from doing something to find Drew watching
me. Unlike myself, he didn’t look away when I discovered him gazing at me, but just
continued to longingly stare, his hungry eyes glued to me. Even so, all night
he was dutifully beside Laurie, holding her hand, making her smile. Not going
to lie though, each time I discovered him looking at me an involuntary thrill would
race through me.
    It
was bad though. I knew that. Afterwards,
every time, I would feel more and more depressed. I mean, he was always with
Laurie. Sometimes he was kissing her
and looking at me. How twisted was that? It seemed he was playing a game with
me, and it hurt that he was being so careless with my feelings. I desperately tried
to avoid him all night.
    In
fact the only time we actually spoke directly was when I was standing next to
him waiting to use the bathroom.
    “That
guy Kenny keeps staring at you,” he said with concern as I leaned against the
wall.
    “I
hadn’t noticed,” I lied.
    “Watch
out for him Brooke,” he said with concern.
    I
peeked up at him doubtfully. He really had a thing about me staying away from
Kenny.
    Drew’s
eyes flashed with frustration. “I’m serious. He’s weird, and he hasn’t taken
his eyes off you all night.”
    “Who
are