Free Spill Over by Jolene Perry Page B

Well, David and his bottle of scotch. I crack open a soda an d start to move toward the fire. After my last binge, I’m in no hurry to go back. Kent rest s his arm over Amber’s shoulders , and I stop . I pretend to stare at the ocean , but I’m using all my powers of peripheral vision to see what’s going on between them .
    “Hav ing fun?” Brit asks, standing in front of me. Her smile spreads wide across her face.
    “Uh… yeah.” I nod. Crap. It’s really hard to see out of the side of my eye when I’m distracted. I take a step to the side , so I can look over her shoulder at Amber.
    “We do these a lot, you know, come out to the ocean.” She wobbles her head back and forth like it’s the most boring thing in the world.
    “It was better than I thought.”
    Kent tightens his arm once, trying to be all relaxed about it. But how does Amber feel about him ? It’s impossible to tell , and that’s making me crazy .
    Brit’s head cocks to the side, giving me a better view. “Yeah, you’re totally right, I mean…”
    “Whoa!” A voice yell s . Someone’s done a stupid soda bomb out of M entos on the far side of the fire . The group scatters. Whatever. All juvenile crap that I’m not in the mood for.
    Kent now has Amber in some sort of protective hug. H e squeezes her close and kisses the top of her head, making me want to break his face. Guess she decided he was okay. And that makes it hard for me to breathe. How many times will I have to remind myself that even if we did like ea ch other, we’re not a good idea?
    “Y ou okay?” Brit asks.
    “ Distracted.” I shake my head. We’re fa r enough from the fire and the M entos bomb, that we’re not really part of th e action. I lean against a large driftwood tree.
    “Right.” She nods again and bites her lower lip. “So, David’s a friend of yours.”
    “Uh, yeah.” That should be obvious.
    “Do you think he’d uh…”
    “Brit?” I take a quick drink. “David’s not up for anything more than right now, and fun. If that’s what you want. Tell him, and you’ll get it.” Is that what she’s asking?
    Her smile spreads. “Do you think he’d be into me?”
    “We went on a nature walk where he wore three hundred dollar shoes , which are probably ruined, and was next to you for most of the trip.”
    “Right.” She starts to turn. “Thanks, Antony. You’re nice.”
    “Yeah, well, tell your friend.” What the hell’s wrong with me? Tell your friend? Am I in elementary school?
    Brit giggles and jogs off toward the fire. She wastes no time in wrapping her arms around David’s waist. And he wastes no time in hugging her back.
    Brit and Amber are friends. Brit seems so relaxed about David, about guys . W hy is Amber still so distant? Having someone in my arms, someone’s lips on mine sounds pretty awesome right now , and the perfect antidote to how hard everything’s been .
    Amber’s eyes catch m e from about 50 feet away where she’s back by the fire. “Help,” s he mouths, holding in a laugh.
    Help . She wants away. I just lost half the weight I carry. I stand up a little taller. “Hey, Amber! ” I yell. “ Your mom called my phone!”
    She ducks away from Kent and jogs toward me. “I think it’s a private conversation, don’t you?” she whispers.
    “Yeah.” I smile. Private sounds great. She grabs my hand and pulls me with her.
    My phone rests against her ear. “Thank you,” s he says, now that we’ve walked a ways away.
    “No problem. ”
    “What do I do?” She frowns.
    “About the guy who likes you?” I lean closer to whisper, just because it gives me an excuse.
    “Uh, yeah …” H er eyes widen.
    “I thought you might like him.” And we’re so close that I breathe in and stare at her lips. The ones I will probably never touch.
    Her shoulders fall. “I just… I don’t know . It feels like a lot. Maybe too much. I e ven tried. I mean, he’s pretty cute. ”
    I almost say, if you like that kind of thing ,