In My Skin

CH 5 || A Good Friend and His Sidekick

"Oh, look." I grabbed more bags of chips and pressed them into his arms. "You should try salt and vinegar, it's way better."

"Sure." He winked at me. "I think I'll go say hi to the others."

And now I was alone with Killian. Great.

My fingernails picked at the label of my bottle as I studied him out of the corner of my eyes. He was wearing a gray-green shirt with a loose fit that only tightened around his shoulders and towered over my 5'4 by at least nine inches. His sharp jawline showed just a hint of stubble, and the olive tinge to his skin only complimented the pair of hazel eyes. And suddenly they looked straight at me.

I turned my head away so fast my neck cracked. My hair fell forward, shielding my face. Maybe he would just ignore me and join the others.

"Done staring?" He asked in a wry tone.

My shoulders stiffened. He had to point it out.

"And what if I'm not?" I faced him again, faking a smile.

He shrugged. "Up to you."

"Good that you know."

"Your boyfriend is not going to pay for that?" He nudged the water I was clutching.

"He's not my boyfriend," I said reflexively.

One of his brows arched. "Yet you didn't even have to ask who I meant."

I grimaced. "Y—you said the same thing last time so of course, I know who you mean."

"If you say so."

Argh. Whatever. I came on my tiptoes and tried to look over the aisles, but they were too high. Where did Chris go?

"He's at the counter paying right now," Killian said casually.

I froze and my soles dropped back on the ground. Aha. So, Chris went to pay without me.

"It's fine, I can pay for myself." No, I couldn't. I hadn't even brought my wallet. But, I could always just put it back. My eyes dropped to the shredded label or rather what was left of it. Or maybe not.

Heat rose to my face, and I dodged Killian's gaze.

He let out a sigh, plucked the bottle out of my grasp, and marched down the aisle.

For a second, I was stunned. Then I scrambled after him. "Hey!"

"What? Are you going to pay?"

Before I had a chance to think of a retort—not that I really had any—Cody emerged from one of the side aisles and Killian braked.

I took the opportunity to snatch my water back. He opened his mouth, but I quickly faced Cody and flashed him what I hoped to be one of my friendliest smiles.

"Can you lend me some money? I promise I will give it back to you by Monday." He looked between us. "Please?"

"Of course." It sounded like duh.

I let out a breath. 

Killian stared at me, his arms folded across his chest. "Petty, much?"

"I don't like owing favors to people I don't know." I matched his gaze and crossed my arms as Cody went to pay.

"For a bottle of water?"

I shrugged. 

After a brief glance at Cody, he leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Sucks to have a boyfriend who doesn't give a shit so that you need to rely on others."

My hands tightened into fists. What an asshole. I straightened to my full height and—my head barely reached past his shoulders. "I feel bad for Cody who's stuck with an annoying sidekick like you."

He barked out a laugh. "Sidekick?"

I lifted my chin. "Yep. Wherever he is, you're somehow there too. It's like you two are attached to the hip. Are you going to the toilet together as well?"

"Sounds more like you're stalking me. Sorry, but I'm not interested in little girls that like to pretend they live in a fairytale."

My voice rose slightly. "I'm not pretending anything!"

"I see. You're just delusional then?" he asked deadpan.

I glared at him. "Whatever. It's none of your business anyways."

He shot me a flat look. "It's hard not to pay attention when it slaps you in the face wherever you go. Unless you actually think everyone around you is clueless? If I figured it out after one day, I think even the slowest person at PSU must know by now."

My cheeks flushed. "I—" The door opened and Drew strode in, his eyes searching until they dropped on me.

"Tay, we are all waiting for you? Let's go!"

Killian brushed past me without another word.

My nails dug into the soft skin of my palms. Just as well. He could think whatever he wanted.

Cody returned, a perplexed look on his face. "What's up with you two?"

"Nothing."

His brows rose. "Uh-huh."

I quickly muttered my thanks and fled outside to join the others again.

Back in the car, Chris's eyes narrowed on the bottle in my hand. "What the hell do you want with that?"

Startled, I looked up at him. "What?"

"We're drinking tonight. You promised. No backing out this time."

"Yeah, Tay, you are getting drunk tonight, hell yeah!" Ben fist-pumped the air.

My jaw clenched. "So? It's just water."

"Yeah, but for you, that's always an excuse."

"Well, excuse me. I'm just careful since I took some painkillers earlier." 

"Don't worry, there are basically no side effects. I take them all the time," Drew added.

I sighed. Except that it hadn't been painkillers... My gaze dropped and again I wondered what I was doing. I hated that I had to justify myself all the time. It was the exact reason I didn't bother explaining anything in the first place.

What did Killian say? I was delusional, huh?

My fingers flexed. I was going to prove him wrong. And if it was the last thing I did.