Cursed

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"I-I think--

I'm about to answer Erik when there's a knock at the door. I sigh in relief and frustration. I'm not sure what I was going to tell Erik. I wait for Erik to acknowledge the person knocking at the door, but his eyes are locked on mine. 

I gesture towards the door. He rolls his eyes, not losing the smirk. 

"Yes?" His fingers dance on my skin as his eyes take me in. The look on his face makes my head spin. How can he look at me like that? What does he see in me? 

"Erik? Someone told me Corn went this way. I'm worried about her. Do you know where she is?" The door handles jiggles. "Why is the door locked?" Of course, that would be Addie question. I laughed too loud, she had to have heard.

"Um, yeah she's in here." Erik drops his hands and moves towards the door. He lets Addie in. She looks from Erik to me and then back at Erik. 

"What's going on in here?" She crosses her arms over her chest. She's not mad. We both know Addie wants the two of us to be together. 

I tried not to look so guilty. It was hard not to look at Erik, but I knew the second I did I would blow it. 

"I puked." I blurted out. 

Addie raised an eyebrow.

"Um, what?" She asked, confused.

"She had one too many and I brought her in here to help clean her up. Don't worry I was a perfect gentleman. Now, if you'll excuse me I think I have a birthday party to get to." I threw him a look on his way out. He winked and slipped out the door. 

He was just leaving me here with Addie? He had to have known she was going to hound me with questions the second he left. I was so getting him back for this. I guess it was his birthday, so maybe I would let it slide.

I turned to the sink and filled up the glass with water. My hand shook as I brought the cup to my lips. Hopefully, she didn't think anything of it. If she did, maybe she would blame my drunkenness. Her eyes were on me, trying to gauge what was going on. I wasn't a good liar and I hated lying to Addie. 

This was one thing I couldn't tell her.

"Are you feeling okay?" She leaned against the counter next to me.

"Yeah, I'm feeling better," I tell her and toss the rest of the water down the sink. I felt more than better, but I couldn't really tell her that. Then, I would have to explain the talk Erik and I had. It felt good to have a secret with Erik. 

"That's good. Oh! I was going to tell you, the painting was beyond beautiful." We talk a little bit longer in the bathroom about the painting. It's a light conversation. If she suspects anything, she doesn't make any indication. 

Eventually, we make out way out of the now cramped bathroom. The house is vibrating with noise -- music I guess. It's too loud for my taste, but I don't comment. It is a party after all. I follow Addie into the living room where most everyone is. There's lots of dancing. Instantly, I find Erik. He's talking to Mir, a beer in his hand.

You would think that seeing my vomit my guts out with make me stick to water the rest of the night, but you would be wrong. It was a party. I grabbed two beers and handed one to Addie, then sashayed over to Erik. He maintained eye contact as he tipped the beer back. I needed to control my face around him. 

People were going to guess something was up. 

What would have happened if Addie hadn't found us? I probably would have told Erik I was game to have us be our own little secret. If he thought we could make this friends with benefits work, then I was all for it. I was tired of fighting these urges and pretending like I wasn't a teen girl.