Back to You

02 | Chapter Two

B O N N I E

"Excuse me?" I blurt out, shoving him back with enough force that he stumbles slightly. He loosens his grip on me and scoffs, but he doesn't let me go. The conniving smirk never leaving his stupid face. I glare up at him and frown, the confusion and anger no doubt evident on my face.

"Oh, come on, you don't recognize me?" his hands slowly move down to my hips before he lets me go. I stare at him, no words coming out. I'm completely speechless, and not because it was the best kiss of my entire freaking life, but because I kissed him.

"Josh?" I gasp, my hands flying up to cover my mouth. Lightly, I trace my fingers across my lips, knowing they had just been pressed against his. My tongue moves on instinct, slowly moving across my lips, and I can still taste him. I didn't hate it. I always fantasized about what it would be like to kiss him, but I never imagined it would happen like this.

I just kissed Josh freaking Carter. Holy s**t, why did I do that!?

He chuckles, breaking my internal debate. The sound caused my breath to hitch a little. I could never forget that laugh. The tone of it is no different than when we were kids, maybe slightly deeper, but still very distinct. He pulls an unlit cigarette from an open packet in his front jean pocket and places it between his lips. I focus on it and frown. That explains the slightly smokey taste to his kiss.

I stare at his mouth, completely enamored with the curve of his lips. He breaks the silence and my stare by giving me a huge, toothy smile. I look up at him and want to crawl into a hole and die. He knew I was staring at his mouth. Great.

"Now that I have your attention, BonBon," he drawls, pulling the cigarette from between his lips before even lighting it. "I always wondered what you'd sound like screaming my name," he leans in closer so that our cheeks brush, "but now, I have a better idea." I pull back in shock and fight the urge to slap him. The audacity for him to even think that, let alone say it out loud for everyone to hear.

He is surrounded by a sea of college guys, all their attention solely on our interaction. Obviously, they don't know who I am, they probably think I'm some boy crazy sorority chick just looking for a good time. I glare up at him. This isn't the way I imagined us seeing each other again for the first time. Far from it. I never thought I'd see him again.

I don't give him enough time to come out with any more rude remarks before I turn and storm off back towards where Liv stands. I hear him laughing as I walk away. It's so hard fighting the urge to turn back and glare at him.

I focus on Olivia. Her face is blank and paler than usual. She looks like a deer caught in headlights, the expression so unreadable. Maybe even a bit scared? I don't know. But I know that she obviously saw everything that had just happened.

"Holy s**t, Bon, what was that?!" she gasps, her eyes still glued on Josh and his friends. The same friends who are now laughing and high-fiving him, like me kissing him, were their idea. Bunch of frat idiots. If this is the way all guys in college act, I might have to reconsider my entire future. I don't think I could handle being around those idiots every day.

"That was Josh," I state before I turn back, looking to where he stands. That annoying smirk was still in place on his undeniably beautiful face. A beautiful face that I want to pummel with my fists right now. I would love to see even a slight imperfection on him. It would do him some good. Bring that ego back down to earth.

"Wait a minute," Olivia snaps out of her stare and looks over me, her eyes wide. "That's Josh, as in Josh from next door?" she questions, needing clarification before she overreacts. I glance over at her and simply nod. This is enough of a confirmation for her to let out a squeal so loud I have to cover my ears. Thank god for the loud music drowning out her sound from anyone else who isn't standing right beside her.

"Yes, as in Josh, Josh," I confirm in a hushed whisper, just in case she needed any more reason to scream. I'm not as enthusiastic and excited about the situation as she so clearly is. I grunt and turn to leave. I can't be here anymore, especially now that there's more than one reason for me to get the hell out of here.

"Bonnie, don't be like that," Olivia whines. I stop where I stand but refuse to turn and face her in fear of my eyes meeting his. Realizing my refusal to move, she walks to stand in front of me, leaning down a little to get on the same height level as me. Damn that b***h and her tall, slender, catwalk model frame. Being talked down to, although not her intention, just pisses me off even more.

"Are you okay?" she questions, and I sigh in defeat. I know she doesn't mean to be excited about what just happened, but she can't hide her feelings very well. I think it's physically impossible for Olivia to contain herself in any situation that involves hot guys and kissing. God forbid if we just started having s*x right in front of her. I think she would have a heart attack. Excitement overload.

"No, I'm not," I snap. There's no point in lying. I'm not okay, not at all. Her smile falls, replaced with a concerned frown. Great, now I feel bad for being a party pooper. "Look, Liv, I need to get out of here. I'm sorry." I'm not angry at her, and I would hate for her to feel like I am, but I need to run and far, far away from this stupid party.

Maybe leaving this town would be the best plan of action. I have thought about it a few times, admittedly after Josh moved away, all I could think about was running to wherever he was. The irony of that makes me want to laugh. Now he's here, and all I want is to get away from him. I could go home right now, pack a bag, and bail.

Snapping out of my own thoughts, I focus back on Liv. She nods and gives me a gentle smile, not needing to say anything else. Olivia has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. The girl can read me like her favorite book, and it's times like right now. I love her for it.

Olivia lets me go, and I push my way through the crowd, desperately searching for Scott. He is my only way out of this place, and of course, he is nowhere to be found. Grumbling to myself, I pull out my phone and try to call him. It goes straight to voice mail, perfect.

A few minutes later, after wandering around aimlessly, I find him. He is sitting on some gross looking couch with a girl straddling his lap. She's planting kisses all over his face while he sits there looking pretty pleased with himself. I walk closer to them, but he still doesn't notice me there.

"Psst! Scott!" I whisper, waving my arms around in the air to grab his attention. It's a lot quieter in this corner of the house, so it doesn't take much noise for him to break his attention away from his girl of the night.

The girl is completely oblivious, though. She continues to grind on him, not realizing his attention is now elsewhere. His eyes meet mine, and he lightly pushes the girl back, reading the look on my face. I love that with no hesitation; he chooses me.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he steps towards me, looking a little embarrassed that I caught him in this compromising position with some random girl. I tried my best to ignore the fact he keeps adjusting his crotch, but it's so in my face right now I can't ignore it. Just the thought of Scott like that makes me gag. Ugh, this night can't get any worse.

"I need a ride home," I blurt out, needing conversation to drown out the awkward silence now lingering between us. He doesn't agree or disagree. He turns to face his girl, who is now sitting on the couch facing us, her face so scrunched up I want to tell her to calm down.

In no way am I interested in stealing Scott from her, at least not in the way she thinks I am. Scott leans down, placing a quick kiss on her cheek as he whispers something to her. The smile on her face now lets me know she has been reassured I'm not a threat. I can see the moment the alarm bells going off in her head go quiet. Abort mission, Bonnie is not a threat.

•••

Sliding into Scott's car, the events of the night finally hit me, but not in the way I expected them to. I laugh, cackling, and poor Scott is staring at me like I've been possessed. The way I'm feeling right now, I can't deny that I haven't.

"Okay, what happened in there?" he finally questions in almost a scream. Now that we are alone in the car, it takes us both a few minutes to adjust to the sound of our own voices. I lean my head back, relaxing into the headrest and sigh. A headache develops out of nowhere, and I groan.

I decide it's just best to admit what happened so we can get this conversation over with. "You'll never guess what I did," I blurt out hurriedly. I peer over at Scott, and he is watching me intently. Waiting for me to continue. Instead, I close my eyes and take in a deep breath.

"Let me guess, you took your clothes off and danced naked on the table?" his response had my laughter increasing again. The fact that was his first thought. Maybe I should be worried about the way he sees me. That is something I'd never do, especially when I'm stone-cold sober.

"Okay, this isn't 10 things I hate about you!" I exclaim, and he laughs too. Although she didn't get naked, it's close enough for comparison.

"Fine, what did you do?" he concedes, turning in his chair to give me his full attention.

"I kissed Josh Carter."

Silence fills the car for a millisecond, and Scott's eyes widen with shock. I stare at him completely blank-faced, waiting for him to yell at me or something, but he cracks a smile and laughs at me. Okay, that isn't the reaction I was expecting. I join him and let out a big laugh, cackling again like a crazy person. The party-goers walking past the car look at us like we have lost our damn minds. I'm not entirely convinced that we haven't.

"Yeah, right. Good joke," he laughs, putting his car into gear, slowly pulling away from the curb. I frown at him. Does he really not believe me? So he thinks me dancing naked on a table is more likely than me kissing someone?

"I'm not kidding. I really kissed him."

The car stops suddenly as he slams the brakes on and snaps his head in my direction. "Wait, are you serious?" all the amusement on his face was gone, replaced by a familiar blank stare.

"Yes, Scott, I'm dead serious."

"When did he come back to town?" Scott questions, just as confused as I am. I was just thinking the same thing.