"Did you murder someone?" Brynn asked, gasping for air between laughs.
"Go ahead, make fun of me, get it over with." I was humiliated. "I'm going upstairs to bed. Enjoy your dinner." My face fell and I could feel the sadness creep over me. All I needed now was a little black rain cloud following me around.
"Seriously, what happened?" Anna stopped laughing when she spotted the defeated expression on my face.
Anna's empathy was one of the traits I adored about her most. My best friend, on the other hand, was doing her best to enjoy the most comfortable seat in the house. She had on a little black skirt that barely covered her lady parts and a halter top that sat dangerously low on her perfectly thin chest. Seriously, who dressed like that to go have dinner at somebody's parent's house?
"I was training a new girl and she dropped the sauce bucket. Not much of a story. I am going to go change. No more questions. Goodnight." I took one last look over at Ezra, who didn't make eye contact with me. His lack of interest in even looking in my direction hurt my feelings. I turned to storm out of the room to stomp up the stairs.
"Peanut, we were just teasing. Don't be mad. Come back down for dinner. Don't be like that." My Mom yelled.
I was embarrassed. I was angry with Brynn and Ezra. There was no way I was going to sit and watch her hang herself all over him tonight and him touch her the way I wanted him to touch me. I didn't have any right to be angry with either of them since nothing was going on between us, but that didn't stop my brain from being furious. I couldn't just let him go.
I reached the stairs and I felt a soft hand on my arm.
"What?" I turned around sharply. I was surprised to see Aiden standing there. My angry outburst made him take a step back.
"Whoa!" He said, throwing his hands up in defense. "Are you ok? I know there's something wrong. Do you want to talk about it?" Aiden's voice was soft and full of worry.
"No, Aiden, I just had a really long day." My breathing slowed and my exhaustion started to take over my body.
"If you need to talk, let me know. You know I'm here. Please don't go hide in your room all night. You can ignore them, just talk to me if everyone else is pissing you off tonight." He placed his hand on mine on the banister. His fingertips gently rubbed my hand before he turned to go back to the living room.
I ran to my room and shut the door. I took off my shoes and threw them against the wall. I wanted to jump up and down, stomp my feet, and throw one of those toddler tantrums where you get on the floor and kick. I didn't want to go back downstairs. If Aiden hadn't begged me to come back down, I would not feel the least bit guilty about skipping dinner tonight.
I closed my eyes and imagined what going back down would be like. In my head, I saw Brynn and Ezra hanging all over each other. The image of them was so clear it was like I was really there. They were sitting at the kitchen table and Ezra swiped his hand across the table, knocking the food from in front of them. He lifted her up and moved her skirt up to bury himself in her. She moved expertly around him, taking his ring inside her. Ezra moaned Brynn's name and told her she is the only one who can make him feel this good. She talked dirty to him just like he liked while we all sat there, watching and taking bites of our lasagna. His eyes shifted to me and he pulled the corner of his mouth up in a wicked half-smile as he finished inside her.
My imagination was so much worse than reality. I couldn't stay up here and hide with just my thoughts. They were trying to murder me.
I was going back downstairs against my better judgment.
I opened my closet and searched for something to wear. I didn't have the energy to compete with Brynn tonight over Ezra. She would always get the guy over me any day. I was not competition to a girl like her. He would feel her body on his and forget all about me. I had almost no experience and she was a pro. Guys like him are what Brynn lived for. Girls like Brynn were never told no.
I settled on my coverall shorts and my blue sports bra underneath. I found the pair of boy shorts that matched the bra and placed them on my pile. It was one of my go-to outfits at home because it was so comfortable. It did show a little skin, but it wasn't like I was trying to impress anyone. Brynn got that trophy tonight. It was a workout outfit with coveralls over it.
No sexiness here.
I hopped into the shower to scrub away the sauce and onion smell. When I got out, I followed my usual routine, except I divided my hair into two sections and braided the ends into pigtails. I pulled a couple of shorter strands out of the front to hang in my face. I looked in the mirror, I didn't look as bad as I felt, but I was not Brynn level. I needed to quit comparing myself to her. In a lot of ways, I had a better life. She was my friend. I would get over this jealousy at some point. Ezra was nothing to me.
I walked back downstairs and everyone was already around the kitchen table. The only empty chair left was between Ezra and Aiden. I groaned. I always managed to find myself between these two boys more often than not recently.
Mom had already dished up the food on the plates and everyone was talking and shoveling the steaming lasagna into their mouths. She even placed some on my plate, having the Mom instinct that I would eventually come back down once I quit throwing my tantrum.
Ezra must have sensed my presence staring at them.
The dark-haired boy looked up at me and his icy blue eyes met mine. He performed his signature glance over my body and his eyes darkened when he took in the exposed skin of my hips. I turned my head and continued to stare at him. My eyes were hard and narrow, burning into him. Everyone else in the room was oblivious to our moment.
"RILEY!" Brynn's voice rang out loudly. It cut through my Ezra fog, making me aware that everyone was now staring at me again. At least this time, there was no one laughing at me.
"Riley, I sat you between Aiden and Ezra." Mom said, stating the obvious. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out since it was the only unoccupied chair in the room.
"Got it, Mom," I said. I had two paths I could take, wiggle in behind Brynn and Ezra to get to my seat or go behind Aiden. Naturally, I chose the Aiden path. It was the logical choice, but I was somewhat hoping I could turn the tables and make Ezra a little jealous in the process.
I went to squeeze in behind Aiden, and he stood up to let me through. He pushed in his chair and pulled mine out for me. As I passed him, I felt him place a hand on the small of my back with his fingertips brushing the bare skin of my hips. I looked over and saw Ezra staring at Aiden's hand with a storm brewing behind his eyes. I sat down in my chair and Aiden helped push me closer to the table. That was even better than I could have planned myself.
Way to go, Aiden.
"Thanks, Aiden," I purred, batting my eyelashes at him. He gave me a genuine smile and I placed my hand on his squeezing it.
I picked up my fork and cut a piece of lasagna off my plate. I stuck the fork in my mouth and said out loud. "Mmmm, this is so good." in a voice I barely recognized. I was hoping no one else was catching on to the game I was playing.
Ezra shifted in his chair as he watched me place the fork in my mouth and move my tongue around it. Everyone was eating and talking and laughing. I was doing my best to keep up with the conversations while Ezra stayed silent and pushed the food around his plate, pouting.
I leaned over Aiden a few times, brushing against him, mock pushing him, and anything else I could think of to push Ezra's buttons. Ezra kept giving me sideways glances as he watched me touch Aiden.
Brynn's hand disappeared down under the table to touch Ezra's leg. He didn't attempt to move it off him as her fingers inched further until she was almost stroking him under the table. He looked over at me and down to where she was touching him. My eyes followed his and he sent me a silent challenge back. Ezra wanted to play my game too.
He leaned over to whisper in Brynn's ear and she giggled softly. He looked over at me to see my reaction. I rolled my eyes at him as I tried to plot my next move.
After we all finished the food on our plates, my Mom said, "I made dessert. How about you kids go relax. Kurt and I will clean up a bit. Riley, can you help me get the dessert?"
"Sure, Mom," I said, jumping up quickly with a new idea.
This was probably going to be my last chance to pick at Ezra. I stood behind Aiden and put my hands on his shoulders and massaged them. I leaned my chest into him and pressed it into the back of his head. He grabbed my hand and squeezed. Ezra looked furious, but then a small twinkle formed in his eyes. He had something brewing in that dark head of his.
Ezra cleared his throat and finally chose this moment to speak. "Stacie, you went all out on this dinner. How about you go relax and visit with everyone. I can help Riley grab the dessert and then we will clean up the kitchen."
"Oh no, I couldn't ask you to do that." My Mom said, but I could tell she was worn out. It was getting pretty late for her. She was usually in bed by 8:00 PM most nights.
I sighed and shook my head. Ezra was way better at this game than I thought. "No, Mom, It's no trouble at all. Ezra and I can handle it."
"You twisted my arm." She said, smiling back at me.