Page 99 of The Triple Threat

Pop let out a laugh and slapped a hand on my shoulder. “Question is, what you going to do about it?”

As Ellie let out another laugh, my insides bristled with annoyance once more. “Go and get her,” I growled.

“That’s my boy.”

As I laughed at his ‘not so funny’ joke, Dylan’s hand squeezed my waist and he gave me a smile that I guessed most girls would fall at his feet for. Problem was, I wasn’t most girls. I was a stupid girl who, the minute she’d seen Hunter Delaney walk in wearing a navy-blue suit with a white open necked shirt, looking more delicious than one of Miss Anderson’s chocolate cream pies, knew she’d made a huge mistake in saying no in the first place, and then not asking him herself. I was also the stupid girl who was too cowardly to go over to him and tell him so.

“Maybe you could come and visit,” Dylan said close to my ear. “We could go kayaking.”

I nodded but what I really wanted to say was, ‘not a hope in hell’. I wasn’t sporty at all, and certainly wasn’t in any mind to take up a sport that involved water. An ice-cold Topo-Chico was about as close to water as I got, unless it was a paddle in the ocean on vacation.

As the music to Kane Brown’s ‘Good as You’ kicked in, Dylan pulled me closer, but over his shoulder I saw Hunter walking toward us. His steely gaze was on us and his hand was raking through his hair. He looked amazing, like he was on a modelling shoot and pulling out all his best poses. When he had almost reached us, there was no doubt what he wanted, and I knew I was going to say yes.

He must have been only three paces away when I was being pulled from Dylan’s arms and turned around to face Bronte. Bronte, who had dyed her hair into strands of blue, lilac and purple. It looked beautiful, she looked beautiful, as the long, silky waves fell over her shoulders and down her back.

“Oh my God, when did you do that?”

“Today. I wanted a change. I need a change.” She grinned and glanced over to where I knew Jefferson was standing talking to Carter and my dad.

“It’s so pretty.” I turned back to Dylan. “Sorry, you remember Dylan, right?”

“Of course, I do,” she replied with a gleam in her eye. “Hi again, Dylan. Sorry, but I kind of need to steal Ellie for a few.”

Dylan took a step back. “No problem. I’ll go and find my aunt and uncle and I’ll see you in a while, Ellie.”

As he moved away, Bronte nudged me. “Dylan, hey?”

“He asked me to dance is all. Although it was highly embarrassing with just us on the floor.”

I looked over my shoulder to see Hunter had also disappeared, and my heart sank.

“So, what did you want me for?” I asked taking one of her blue tendrils between my fingers.

“I need you to know I’m moving on from Jefferson.” Bronte beamed at me and straightened her back.

“You want me to tell you I’m proud of you?” I asked, barely stopping the smile that twitched at my lips.

“Well, I thought you’d be pleased,” she protested. “You’ve been on at me for weeks to forget him, so I have.”

Her silver-sequined dress clung to the curve of her boobs as she thrust her hands to her hips.

“I’m glad you’ve come to your senses,” I replied. “But it was kind of stupid in the first place.”

Bronte’s eyes went wide as saucers and her pouty, pink glossed lips parted into a perfect ‘O’.

“I’m not stupid,” she finally gasped.

“I didn’t say you were,” I responded. “I said the idea of you and Jefferson was stupid. Because it was.”

“Says you.”

“Yes, says me,” I replied with a sigh. “Listen, Bronte, I don’t want to argue with you. I’m just glad you’re not going after Jefferson. I just think it would have caused too many ructions around the place.”

As a waitress passed by me, I took a bottle of beer from the tray and downed a large swig. I had to speak to Hunter, I knew that in my heart of hearts, but I also needed a little bit of courage to admit to him that I’d been wrong.

“So,” I said, my gaze back on Bronte. “Who’d you have your heart set on now, if it’s not Jefferson?”

She wiggled her eyebrows. “Now, that’s a secret.” She put a finger to her lips and sashayed away.