03

S T O L E N  L I P S

I WOKE UP TO a gentle revving in my ear. It was like an engine, something distant and rumbling, and I opened my eyes to a blinding sunlight.

No, it wasn't an engine...

Somebody was crying.

Blood slammed my skull as I sat up and squinted. Where the fuck was I?

My fingers were pressed up to white carpet, and an earth-coloured quilt was pulled over my body. I winced as a pinch in my neck struck me. Ow – I'd passed out without a pillow.

I blinked and (painfully) adjusted to the light pouring in through the blinds. An orange duvet hung off the bed beside me.

Jenny. I was in Jenny's room.

My tongue was sandpaper and my mind was Silly Putty. I clenched my jaw at the kink in my neck and the hammer in my brain as I forced myself to sit up straight.

"Jenny?"

She scrambled on the bed and hid her face beneath her blanket, sniffling. "Hey, you're up."

I scowled and looked around. Orange walls. Posters of that Zayn guy from One Direction. A cluttered desk, an unkempt laundry basket, an open closet stuffed full of junk.

Yep, this was Jenny's room, all right. And truthfully, not the room I'd expected to wake up in.

"Where's Luisa?" I asked.

We were supposed to crash at her place.

Jenny poked her face out, revealing her eyes. Black makeup smeared down her freckled face and her brown hair was a dishevelled mess. My eyebrows drew together. What the hell was going on?

"I dunno," Jenny said. "I lost her at the party."

The party.

She shuffled up and wiped at her red, puffy eyes, though tears still dripped down her cheeks. "God, I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I ever thought Ren would like me."

Ren.

Reality body slammed me and swallowed me whole. I plunged into a series of cringes as it all came back to me.

I'd left the party with Ren. I'd fucking kissed Ren.

Jenny will never forgive me.

Wait, what the hell was I saying? I hadn't kissed Ren – Ren had kissed me.

Boiling anger flooded my chest. How could he? I never asked for him to kiss me! How fucking dare he put me in this situation? Now I had to tell my best friend that I'd kissed the guy who'd just broken her heart!

I covered my eyes and sucked in a breath. No – I was being childish. As easy as it would be to blame Ren, it wasn't all his fault. Because looking back on last night, I'd batted my eyelashes at him, I'd stared at his lips when he'd spoken, I'd leaned toward him when he'd leaned toward me. Hell, when we were playing Mario Kart, our fucking shoulders had rested against each other and I'd liked it.

I'd been flirting with him the whole time. Sure, I had descended into a state of anoesis brought on by inebriation, but that didn't mean I wasn't responsible for my own actions.

My blood went cold and my heart raced. Jenny's voice lifted my trance.

"Um, Ella? Hello?"

Like a zombie, I turned my head and faced her. "Hm?"

"What were you doing at Ren's? Why didn't you wait for me?"

"I, uh—"

Fuck.

"I dunno, really." I brushed my hair behind my ear. "I wasn't really enjoying the party and he told me that you and Max were coming, so I just left with him."

"Alone?" Her brown eyes squinted. "How long were you guys alone for?"

"Maybe like... half an hour?"

Bullshit. It was more like two hours.

Oh my God, I'm already lying.

How the hell could I tell her that I'd kissed him? How could I look her in her teary eyes and tell her that me, of all people, had betrayed her?

Jenny kicked off her blanket and crossed her legs. She wore the same blue plaid pajamas she'd had for years. "Did he say anything about me?"

I shook my head. "No, we didn't talk all that much. Just played video games."

She slumped her shoulders and let out a huff and a whimper. My heart sank. Poor Jenny. She'd liked Ren for so long, and now...

"What exactly did he say to you?" I asked.

Her frown deepened. "I told you last night."

"I barely remember. Sorry."

"Were you that drunk? Jesus, Ella."

Well, that made me feel judged. Which wasn't totally fair considering the state Jenny had been in.

Jenny sighed. "Sorry. I'm just... on edge. He was pretty mean about it, honestly."

I squared my shoulders and frowned. "Mean?"

"Well, he didn't exactly let me down easy."

"What did he say?"

"Do I really have to tell you again? Ugh." Jenny covered her face and sighed, then met my eyes. "Okay. I was like Ren, I've liked you for a really long time, and he was all, yeah, it's pretty obvious."

Yikes. In his defence, it was obvious.

"So," Jenny said, "I asked him if he'd ever felt the same, or if he'd be willing to give it a shot, and oh God, I said some other embarrassing shit, too. But anyway, he said no, that it could never work, and I was like why won't you at least give it a try? And he just shrugged and said he wasn't into me. Can you believe that?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I wanted to be on Jenny's side, but honestly... Ren sounded less like an asshole and more like an honest guy. He didn't owe her a chance if he just wasn't into her – would it not have been worse if he'd lied to spare her feelings?

"Ella?" Jenny asked, irritation lacing her tone.

"Um, sorry," I peeped.

She cocked an eyebrow. "What's with you today?"

I shifted my weight, a knot squeezing my throat. "I'm just hungover. I need water."

"Here." Jenny tossed a water bottle at me. I chugged it back like I'd just come back from being stranded in the Sahara. My head spun and my stomach churned. I had to work at three, and the full impact of my hangover hadn't even set in yet. The full realization of what I'd done was still in its embryonic stage.

I gasped for air and put the lid back on the bottle, just as my phone on the floor beside me buzzed. I opened it up, expecting a text from my brothers or Luisa, but instead, found a notification.

* * *

I worked at this restaurant in the mall called Vestige. It had started off as a family diner named Barnetts' (after the owners), but due to the extreme popularity of their extensive vegan menu, they stepped it up and renovated the place into a classy, modern restaurant with glass pillars and black-tiled floors. The Barnett's were still as wholesome as ever, but due to last year's renovation, I had a uniform change.

In the back room, I tucked my bag into my locker on the lowest shelf and adjusted my skin-tight black dress. I hated showing my body like this, but it wasn't as bad in tights. I would've just worn jeans, but the one time I'd done that, I'd received significantly less tips, so...

I suppose that was an unfortunate reality I had to deal with in this business. And it wasn't that bad, really. Most of our customers were nice people, and the one time I'd had my ass pinched by some guy, my boss, Joe, had raged and kicked him out.

"Boo."

My heart leapt. Heather Ward stood beside me, 5'9 and looking like a runway model despite how much she must've drank last night. Her tawny skin was clear and fresh, like she'd had the best sleep of her life, but her hazel eyes said otherwise as they met mine. Yep – there was the hangover.

"Oh, hey," I said. "How you feeling?"

"Like I have a pound of makeup on my face but still look like a grim reaper."

I laughed a little. "No, you look great. It's just your eyes that give you away."

Heather opened up her locker and put her purse inside. "I saw you leave with Ren at the party last night. Are you guys hooking up?"

My face flushed. That was Heather – she never beat around the bush.

"No way," I said. "We were just hanging out."

Her full, glossy lips smirked. "Sure. That's why your face is bright red."

I glowered and avoided her eyes. "I'm serious... I didn't hook up with him."

She shut her locker and propped a hand on her hip. "Why not? He's hot."

I couldn't deny that. Ren was hot. Hotter than I wanted him to be.

"I just don't like him like that."

There I was, lying again. Well, it wasn't so much of a lie as it wasn't the full truth, because I actually had no idea how to feel about Ren. When I thought about our time together last night, about him kissing me, my heart fluttered. But my mind hated me for it to the point where I wanted to vomit.

Heather's heels clacked against the tile as she walked through the kitchen to the dining area. My shift didn't start for another ten minutes, so I took out my phone. I hadn't made any decisions on accepting his request on Facebook, but my Instagram profile was open – and he'd followed it an hour ago.

I nibbled on my lip as I opened the app and went to his page. His profile was nice. I wasn't artsy aside from my music so my Instagram was pretty lame, but I liked Ren's black and white theme and the artistic photos he took. That mural on his wall last night was cool, too. He was talented.

My heart thumped as I tore my eyes away from the screen. So, I was still attracted to him. I'd get over it. I mean, just yesterday, I'd barely even noticed him, so surely this wouldn't last. I was just hungover and infatuated with... his appearance. Not him as a person. I just liked what he looked like.

Okay, now I was lying to myself. I liked Ren's personality, too. And what he'd said to me – how he'd put my feelings into words – was something no one had ever done.

The bassy sound of Joe bellowing pulled me from my thoughts.

"So," he said in his loud, booming voice, "it's... Rensookie? Rensook?"

My heart dropped and my blood froze. A light, familiar laugh – one I'd gotten to know all too well last night – sent shivers up my spine.

"Just Ren is fine, sir."

Oh my God.

I remained a statue and stared at my locker. Joe and Marcia had said they were looking for new servers. Ren had said he'd had a job interview today.

This has to be a joke.

I stood up straight and looked over my shoulder, mortified. Ren's black eyes were on my lower half before they flickered to my face and widened.

I scowled. Was he just looking at my—

"Ella!" Joe exclaimed.

He walked up to me with a big smile on his bearded face. He had his hand on Ren's shoulder and guided him toward me, while I stood there and stared at him like a deer caught in headlights.

"This is Ren," Joe said, giving him a slap on the shoulder. Ren jerked forward, but his eyes didn't leave mine. He must've been horrified, too, but he regained his composure quickly.

"We know each other, actually," Ren said. "Same school."

Joe nodded. "Ah. I should've known. Anyway, Ren's gonna be working with us starting Monday, so you can help show him around then, 'kay Ella?"

"Of course, Joe." I avoided Ren's eyes with panic coursing through my veins. "I should get to work."

I held my hands together and skittered away.

* * *

"So, are you gonna accept my friend request on Facebook or just ignore me?"

My pulse jumped as I left Vestige and into the mall. I jolted and spun around, where Ren leaned against the wall with a wicked smirk on his face.

How long had he been waiting?

I gulped and flattened my dress as I faced him. "What're you still doing here, Ren? Your interview's over."

He stood up straight. "I asked Joe when your break was. Let's talk."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"I think we have lots to talk about."

I bit my lip and looked at my feet. I guess he was right. I'd spent the entire day worrying about how I was gonna tell Jenny about what had happened, and I needed to make sure Ren wasn't gonna tell anyone else (Max) first.

"Fine," I said, "but I need to get something to eat."

I crossed my arms and sped ahead of him, heading for the escalator. It led right into the food court. I didn't normally eat junk, but only pizza was gonna cure this destructive hangover.

"So how was your day?" Ren asked as we entered the lineup for Pizza Pizza.

I really didn't mean to, but I shot him a glare. "It was awful. I drank way too much last night."

"Yeah." He put his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Me too."

Ren tried to pay for my pizza, but I wouldn't let him. I didn't wanna do anything that could lead him to believe this was anything more than us talking. We didn't speak as we found an empty booth in the chaotic, disorderly food court.

I splayed my pizza out in front of me and opened my straw before sticking it in my can of root beer. Ren opened up his bottle of green Gatorade, took a huge chug, then ate a massive bite of his pepperoni pizza.

"So, listen," he said, wiping his hands with a napkin. "I'm sorry for coming onto you last night."

Our eyes met for a brief moment, and my cheeks warmed at the memory of his soft lips on mine. I sipped from my water and looked away, though Ren's stare was blazing hot.

"I was drunk," he said, "but that's not an excuse. I hope you don't hate me."

"It's... okay." I sucked in a breath. "Well, actually, it isn't okay. Jenny's my best friend. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do."

"And you know now that she likes you."

"I've known since like, grade nine, but yeah."

I fell quiet and focused on my food. Just sitting here with Ren, talking about Jenny, felt like a huge slight against her.

"Relax," he said.

I looked at him and frowned. A grin tugged at his lips.

"I'm not gonna tell Max," he said. "He has a big mouth, and I'm not out to interfere with your life."

I relaxed and let out a breath. Okay – so I had some time before I told Jenny the truth.

Ren took another bite and swallowed it. "That aside, I think we should be friends. I liked hanging out with you last night."

His words zapped me. Friends? I hadn't expected that.

I wanted to say yes, because I'd enjoyed hanging out with him, too. I'd felt like we'd connected and really understood each other for a moment, and even without the booze, that spark still fizzled.

(I'd also enjoyed kissing him, but that could literally never happen again).

Would hanging out with him be so bad? Jenny's enraged face flashed in my mind and gave me chills. Yep, she'd probably lose her mind.

I lowered my eyes. "I'm sorry, Ren. I don't think we should."

"Okay." He nodded and stood up, taking his pizza with him. "It's cool. I get it. Well, I'll let you finish in peace. See you at school."

"Yeah... see you."

He disappeared down the aisles, and a little weight was added to my heart. He took a bite out of his pizza and didn't look back as he turned a corner, and sadness washed over me.

I sighed and pulled out my phone, hovering my thumb over the home button. Maybe I couldn't hang out with Ren in real life, but what was the harm in accepting him on Facebook?