No one cared about the opening band, but everyone cheered when they finished, in anticipation of the headliner. Alex and Tim reappeared, bumping into us on purpose and ending our lip-lock.
“You two need to get a room,” Alex teased, leering at us. Tim shot me a conspiratorial wink. They were disgustingly cute as they cuddled on the bench next to us.
The stage went totally dark, then light flooded the stage and the looming rocks on either side of us as one of Slade’s favorite country singers let it rip. The crowd screamed with excitement, and we jumped up from our seats. We all danced and spun together, laughing and singing at the top of our lungs.
It was the best time I’d had in forever. The lights of Denver and the entire Front Range spread out in front of us, and the moon shone down like nature’s spotlight. I could pick out Colfax, one of the longest streets in America, by the unending stream of red taillights flickering in the distance.
I wanted to preserve this night in my memory so that I could escape into it whenever I wanted to feel sublimely happy.
When the last encore finished we filed down the steps, getting separated in the crowd. Alex caught up to me and I saw Tim and Slade bobbing ahead of us. Alex knocked my shoulder and I returned the friendly gesture.
“Hey BB,” he said, grinning.
“Hey you.”
We hopped down the steps together like little kids. He reached out to grab my hand. “I’m so happy for you guys. I can’t even tell you.” He floated somewhere between tipsy and drunk. Slade had smuggled in a flask. Alex and Tim had way more sips than me. For a notorious party animal, Slade was good about not drinking when he was driving.
“Thanks. I’m happy, too.” Understatement of the year. I’d lost sight of Slade and Tim, but I knew we’d catch up to them at the car.
Alex leaned in to me. “I knew you guys would hook up. I freaking knew it!” He hiccupped in my ear, loudly. “That’s why I took the bet, even though it would cost me.”
My feet stumbled, and I reached for the railing to steady myself. “Bet? What bet?” My stomach churned, anxiety swelling inside of me.
Alex laughed and knocked my shoulder again. “My bet with Slade. That he could get you to lighten up. Turn you into a party girl.” He looked down at me and raised an eyebrow. “Okay, maybe you’re not ready for Girls Gone Wild, but…you two…” He leered at me.
The world tilted on its axis, and I couldn’t believe my legs still propelled me forward.
“You…you bet Slade that he’d…he’d…”
“Hook up with you. Yeah, totally. And he won, but it’s cool. Best fifty bucks I ever spent.”
A bet? My mind reeled with visions of all the time we’d spent together. The chick flicks we’d watched in his basement. The nighttime walks that had become our thing. Hanging out with the kids at the shelter. The swim lessons. The make-out sessions that left me barely able to stand.
It was all to win a bet?
I let the crowd surge around me, watching Alex disappear in the sea of moving bodies. Maybe I could hitchhike. Take a bus. Pitch a tent and never go home.
My cell buzzed and buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it. I waited for the tears but they didn’t come. Instead, I felt numb. Completely dead inside.
Screw it. I’d stay here all night if I had to. No way was I getting in a car with Slade.
Eventually I got sick of the phone’s constant buzzing. My screen lit up with a zillion text messages and voicemail notifications. Against my better judgment, I listened to the first message.
“Where are you? Trina, I’m freaking out! I’m about to call the cops.” Slade sounded genuinely worried. Pretty good acting for a guy who just cared about winning a bet.
I texted quickly. Go home without me. I’ll get a ride somehow.
WTF? Where are you?? R u ok??
I sat on a rock for a while, ignoring all the people stumbling around me, laughing and still singing songs from the concert, while he blew up my phone with more texts and calls.
I sent another text. You won the bet. You’re free to go.
His reply came slower this time, but it was a doozy. If you don’t tell me where you are, I’m grabbing one of the cops on duty and we’re going to find you if it takes all night.
God. I staggered to my feet, still numb and dead inside. Fine. I’d ride in the backseat on the way home. Run to my apartment and lock the door. Quit my job. Never see him again.
I sent another message. I remember where we parked. Don’t say a word to me. Just take me home.
About ten minutes later, I found them. Alex and Tim stood huddled together, whispering and darting wary looks at Slade, who sat on the hood of his Jetta, eyes narrowed, waiting. He didn’t move when he saw me.
I stopped right in front of him. “Take me home,” I whispered.
His eyes bored into mine. “I have a lot to say.” His voice was low and angry. “There’s been a big misunderstanding.” He shot a glare at Alex, who stared at the ground, kicking his feet.
What the hell gave Slade the right to be angry? I owned the angry tonight.
“I don’t want to hear it.” I turned away and wrenched the back door open. Tim slid in next to me, and Alex sat in the front with Slade.
Slade cranked up the stereo and we drove the whole way home without speaking. For the first time ever, he didn’t walk me to the door, or even to the bottom of the stairs. His car squealed out of the parking lot, and he didn’t look back.
Chapter Forty
Trina
Monday, July 15
“It’s got to be a misunderstanding,” Desi said. She perched on the end of my bed, pawing through my tub of nail polish. She held up a bright green bottle. “Is it me?”
I shook my head.
“You’re right. Too Comic Con.”
How could she focus on nail polish at a time like this? “You do realize I’m dying inside, right? Heartbroken. Devastated.”
She held up a red bottle full of swirling glitter. “This is more me, I think.” She tilted her head and smiled at me. “Yes, I’m aware of the situation. The emo vibes coming off you and Slade have darkened the aura of the entire state of Colorado.”
I sat up straighter. “Why are you talking to him? Your loyalty should be to me.”
She tossed the polish into the tub then crossed her legs, facing me on the bed.
“My loyalty is to true love. Which is why I’m stuck playing mediator between you two.”
“There’s nothing to mediate. He used me, Desi. To win a freaking bet.”
She scooted back on the bed, leaning against the headboard and stretching out her long legs. “I don’t believe that. He has never, and I mean never, treated a girl the way he treated you.” She glanced at me, her eyes narrowed. “He’s a wreck, girlfriend. He wants to explain everything, but you won’t answer his calls or texts.”
I plucked at a loose thread on my bedspread, not looking at her. “Duh.”
“You know, I never thought I’d say this, but you’re kind of being a bitch.”
I jerked my head up, shocked at her words. “What? I’m the bad guy?”
She shrugged. “So maybe things started between you two because of a stupid bet. They’re guys; they’re morons. It goes with the territory.”
My stomach twisted and rolled. How could she be so casual about this?
“But God, Trina,” she continued. “The guy is in love with you. Everyone can see it.”
I swallowed over the lump in my throat. “It’s what I was always afraid of with him. Just being one more notch in his belt.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You’re not, though, right? You guys didn’t…” She didn’t finish the question.
My face flushed as I thought of what we’d done together, and what we hadn’t. I shook my head. “He never pressures me…like that.”
She sighed. “I told you he was a good guy. That’s more proof of how much he cares about you.”