Obsession

Friends

Caleb

Jenson was surrounded by people, all of them chatting excitedly. I stood off to the side, next to the fireplace, bottle of water in hand, and watched as his friends all huddled around him, and felt a smile tug at my lips.

I had no idea Jenson was this popular at school. I knew he was on the basketball team, which would have earned him some popularity, but it seemed that everyone at this party wanted to touch him, talk to him, fuss over him.

Girls, guys ... everyone wanted a piece of him.

And I wasn't sure why.

Raising the bottle to my lips, I let my eyes scan the living room. It was a pretty decent house, but looking at the empty spaces on the shelves dotted around the room, it seemed as though things were missing. I hoped they hadn't been stolen.

A guy came walking up, stood next to me and then nodded over at the crowd swarming around Jenson.

"Seems your guy surprised everyone by bringing you to the prom," he commented before tilting a bottle to his lips. I bristled. Was that a problem here? Two guys being together? I mean, if it was, I wasn't above using my fists to protect Jenson.

Trying to suppress my surprise at how strongly I felt at that moment, I frowned at the guy. "So?"

"He was just known as a ladies' man, that's all." He shrugged.

What?

Ladies' man?

Taking a breath, I swallowed down the sudden lump that threatened to clog my throat.

Why the fuck was I so emotional tonight?

The guy took another swig of his drink before offering me his hand. "I'm Dylan," he said as I took his hand, making sure I squeezed it a little too tight. "I was on the football team."

"Caleb." I let his hand drop. "I was on a football team, too."

Dylan looked me up and down, then chuckled, his dark eyes still appraising me. "Yeah. I can see."

I frowned again.

The fuck?

He held his hands up and shrugged. "Sorry." He chuckled. "Force of habit. I can't help seeing if you'd be good on the field, you know. Checking your ... build. Making sure you can hold your own."

What?

He cocked a brow, and I ignored the question in his eyes. Instead, I shook my head, pointing over to where Jenson was talking to a pretty brunette. "What were you saying about Jenson?"

"That he was a ladies' man?" Dylan shrugged. "He was. He always had a girl on his arm. Different date every week. The girls loved him." He smiled at me. "Looks like his taste has improved, though." He laughed and nudged my arm.

Okay. Either this guy was drunk or he was taking the piss. I wasn't sure which at this point.

Did he have a problem or not?

My eyes rested on Jenson. His head was bent as he talked to the brunette next to him. Her hand was on his arm as she chatted, her dark hair cascading around her in loose curls, still dressed in her soft green prom dress.

She was pretty.

Too pretty.

Was she one of the girls that Dylan was talking about?

Had Jenson hooked up with her in the past?

I gritted my teeth.

Why the fuck did I care right now? It wasn't like we were exclusive or anything. We hadn't really decided on what we were, really. We'd spoken every day on the phone and met up twice.