we find somewhere of our own. My mom insisted it would do me good to come here with Mike tonight.”
“I’m sorry about your mom and dad,” Lucy said, and she could slowly feel her defences drop a little. Tucker seemed nice. He was different from the rest of the boys here, and Lucy liked that. “And I’m sorry you are having such a crappy time here at the party.”
“I was,” he said with a smile as his eyes locked with hers. Lucy could feel her face flush as she realised Tucker was flirting with her. This was very new for Lucy, but she had to admit, there was a spark.
“Oh,” Lucy said, as she could feel her heart race a little. She would be lying if she said she didn’t find Tucker cute, but she loved Riley, so she wasn’t interested. “Why is that?”
“Because I finally got to meet the prettiest girl from school,” Tucker said without missing a beat, then added, “And she doesn’t like these assholes either, so I know that makes her pretty special.”
Lucy stared at him for a moment. No one had ever said something like that to her before. Not even Riley. She could feel her cheeks burn hotter as Tucker held her eyes with his. They stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Finally, Tucker inched closer to her, and Lucy knew he was going to kiss her.
He softly pressed his lips to hers, leaving Lucy was stunned for a moment, but then as she slowly returned his kiss, she felt like the world had faded away and there was no one there, just her and Tucker. It was the most perfect kiss she ever had.
Suddenly Riley’s face crashed into her mind, and she pulled back from Tucker abruptly
“I…I should be going,” Lucy said standing up quickly, putting a little distance between herself and Tucker. “I should go find Riley.”
“No, wait!” He exclaimed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. Please, stay.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Lucy replied. “But I need to go find Riley.”
“Oh, okay,” Tucker said as he tried to hide his disappointment, but failed miserably. “Well, it was lovely to finally meet you, Lucy.”
“You too, Tucker,” Lucy said as she turned to leave, but she stopped and turned back to him. “Please don’t tell anyone about this. It should have never happened.
“Your secret is safe with me,” Tucker replied with a smile, but Lucy could see the sadness in his eyes.
“Bye, Tucker,” she whispered, giving him a warm smile before she turned and went in search of Riley.
As she pushed her way through the room, Lucy scanned the crowd looking for Riley, but he was nowhere to be seen. She was becoming anxious and a little bit angry with Riley for just disappearing on her.
“Hey, Lacey,” one of the girls Lucy recognised from the cheerleading squad called out as she grabbed hold of her arm. They always got her name wrong, and Lucy knew it was on purpose, so she didn’t bother to correct her. “Are you looking for Riley?”
“Yes,” Lucy replied, as she thought maybe this girl was actually being helpful. “Have you seen him?”
“I saw him head up to the bedrooms with Amber about twenty minutes ago,” the girl said, then laughed in Lucy’s face. Lucy just smiled and tried not to react, but inside she could feel a knot in the pit of her stomach.
Without replying, Lucy turned, slowly making her way up the stairs. Each step she took, her heart raced faster and faster. Deep inside she knew Riley wouldn’t cheat on her, but still she was afraid of what she would find. She made her way along the corridor, checking each room she passed. Most of them were empty. One had a couple making out on the bed, another had two girls talking, one of them was crying.
Finally, she came to the last room on the hallway and took a deep breath. She slowly opened the door. A wave of relief washed over her when she found this room too was empty.
What a lying bitch! She thought to herself as she walked further into the room. She knew in her heart Riley would never cheat on her, and she was angry at herself for ever doubting him.
She turned and jumped with fright when she found Trent McAlister standing in the doorway. Trent was on the football team with Riley and was another one Lucy didn’t really like.