Tessa pov
I forced myself back onto the dance floor, but every sound, every laugh, every beat of music around me felt oddly disturbing, as though I were submerged underwater. My heart was still racing, refusing to calm down.
I tried to laugh when my friends laughed, lifted my drink when they lifted theirs, but my mind betrayed me. It kept replaying the moment when Adrian stepped in for me, looping it over and over like a scene carved into my memory. And every time, I found myself smiling like a fool.
"Hey, Tess, why are you blushing so hard?" Charlotte teased, narrowing her eyes at me.
"Nothing—I'm not blushing," I replied quickly, turning my face to the other side so they wouldn't press further. But of course, they did.
"Nope, there's definitely something you're hiding from us. Care to explain why your cheeks are redder than a tomato and why you're grinning like you just won the lottery? And—what's with the jacket? You didn't have this when we were leaving the house," Avery chimed in, raising a brow with a questioning look.
"Okay, fine. I'll tell you," I said reluctantly, "but first I want to leave this party. I don't fit in here." I gave the condition firmly.
"Seriously? Why would you want to leave such an interesting place? I don't get you," Avery mumbled, shaking her head.
"Okay then," I replied, shrugging.
"Fine," Charlotte muttered after a beat.
My besties told their boyfriends they were leaving. Though the boys were reluctant to let them go, eventually, they agreed.
As we made our way out of the mansion, I noticed Adrian stealing a glance at me. My stomach fluttered, and butterflies swarmed inside me in a way I couldn't control.
I drove us to Avery's place. Since it was already late, we decided to turn the night into a sleepover.
When we arrived, we went straight to freshen up and changed into comfortable nightwear—Avery had tons of them stocked up in her wardrobe. My besties were too eager to hear everything that had happened, so we grabbed a bottle of fruit wine and three packs of popcorn before settling down.
I narrated the whole incident to them, and my girls seemed delighted to see me blush for the first time in a long while. They knew exactly how huge my crush on Adrian was, so of course, their excitement doubled.
On the other hand, though, they were annoyed with Piper and her gang. They were already plotting to cause a scene during school hours on Monday. I tried to talk them out of it, and while they pretended to listen, I could still tell they weren't going to let it go. They hated the fact that Piper and her crew always picked on me. My friends never joked when it came to defending me—and I was the same with them. We weren't just besties; we were more like sisters.
Anyway, we ate, we drank, we played music, danced, laughed, and did all sorts of things I never thought I'd actually have time for. Eventually, the night caught up with us, and we drifted into deep slumber.