Fuuuuun� anti-Karas.
Shaking the hands of the bubbly girls, I tried to scan for Kara without catching Mike�s eye or looking too obvious.
That one moment when she�d turned around she�d had tears in her eyes again. The lights from the restaurant had reflected on her face, turning her eyes into reflective pools rather than having them hold the intense gaze she normally possessed.
I�m getting mushy.
But that couldn�t have been my fault. Every other time, it�s been my fault.
What did they do to her just now?
Damn it Nick. Stop it.
�Oh my god, it�s so good to meet you. I�m such a fan!�
I pleaded silently to Mike, who knew he owned me and took the yet-to-be-identified girl by the arm and pulled her towards the front door, slinging his arm around Angie�s shoulders on his way.
Some girl, a tall snobby blonde, blatantly checked me out before winking and turning to enter the restaurant as well, an evil smile on her face.
Ugh.
I used to be like that.
And there�s Kara. Beautiful still in that sundress, the light breeze playing with the loose strands of her light brown hair. Running her hands across her face, she wiped away tears unseen to me.
Walking slowly towards her and away from the two remaining chattering girls, I lightly rested my hand on her lower back and gently pushed her towards the door. She looked up at me in surprise as I walked beside her, keeping my hand on her back. Trying to give her a reassuring smile, I leaned towards her.
�Save me.�
Almost got a smile out of her.
God I need to see her smile. Soon.
*
Nick�s voluntarily talking to me.
And touching me.
What happened between him storming out of his house and him getting here?
Besides the skanks attacking him.
�I don�t know if I can.�
Looking down at me, he smirked. A gorgeous smirk that melted me.
All of a sudden I want to wrap my arms around him, so I can cry and beg him to forgive me.
�Try?�
Involuntarily, I felt my body relax and a small smile tug at my lips.
I don�t even know what we�re talking about anymore. With his breath warming my neck, I don�t think I really care.
�Okay.�
As we reached the table, he dropped his hand from my back and pulled away, going back to my game.
�So who�s sitting where?�
I turned to Mike and shrugged, even though I knew he really didn�t care about my opinion.
�I think Nick and Kara should sit together. They should get to know each other before the wedding. And Mike should sit with Angie. The four of us can just fill in around y�all.�
Another girl, Susan, smiled at me after she finished her suggestion. She actually seems to like me. Or at least she doesn�t make nasty comments about me to my face.
Probably because of her brother.
Yea for Xander!
�I can go for that.�
I turned to Nick, who avoided my eyes as he turned from person to person� to see if they agreed?
Brittney glared in my direction as he finally turned and gestured for me to take the chair he�d pulled out.
His eyes seemed filled with hope.
Damn it. I forgot how sweet he is.
*
Kara glanced at the girl who�d been checking me out earlier before covering the small distance between us and slipping by me into the chair.
She turned to look back up at me, her face innocent.
Corruption. I need to remember about the corruption I started planning last time.
�Thank you.�
Damn people. I can�t touch her because of everyone.
I hate them all.
Fighting all urges to brush my knuckles over her cheek or leaning down to kiss her, I nodded and sat in the chair beside her, feeling a pair of eyes burning a hole into me.
Mike.
�You�re welcome.�