cingulomania (n.)
a strong desire to hold a person in your arms
* * *
"HEY, guys," I said, trying to contain the happiness bubbling inside. Despite not sleeping a wink last night, I was still riding the high of officially becoming Eli's girlfriend. That and a few other things we did.
"Um, hey," Aubrey drawled, leaning up against her locker.
"How was your Valentine's Day?" I asked casually.
Mine was absolutely amazing, but I didn't want to start bragging right off the bat. No, I'd pretend to be interested in their dates before sharing my news.
"Good. Really good," she grinned.
"Mine was nice, too," Delaney added. "I never knew Valentine's Day could be that much fun."
"Great! I'm really happy for you guys!"
Their smiles fell off their faces as they looked down the hall. I followed their gazes to where Ethan and Eli were standing.
Eli caught my eye and sent me a grin.
"Ugh, the audacity," Delaney muttered.
I furrowed my eyebrows. "What's wrong? Did Ethan do something?"
"Um, no," Delaney coughed.
"You wanna tell her?" Aubrey asked Delaney.
She snorted, "Fuck no. I'm too pretty to die young."
A very out of breath Aliyah came running up to us. "Does she know yet? About—"
Aubrey sliced her finger across her throat to shut Aliyah up.
Aliyah's eyes widened. "Shit. This is bad. Really bad."
"Hello? I'm right here," I reminded them. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?"
They played a silent game of hot potato, trying to decide who would deliver the so-called 'bad news.'
"Eli, uh," Aliyah started. "Eli was out. Last night. On a date. On Valentine's Day. With a girl... On Valentine's Day."
I schooled my face, unsure of where this was heading. They either knew and were making a big show of telling me, or they thought Eli went out with another girl.
I perversely hoped for the latter; it would be much more entertaining for me.
"Do you know who it was?"
They shared a worried look. "No."
I snorted. My day was about to get a whole lot funnier. "Were you guys following him or something?"
"No," Aliyah said. "Jarod and I stopped at the beach last night after our date. I saw Eli shoving his tongue down some girl's throat, but it was too dark to see her face."
"Oh," I said, trying to keep my voice neutral.
Inside, I was in hysterics. This was too funny. I mean, what were the odds? It's like my life was a movie, and I was the main character.
YOU ARE READING
Because of Haven Beach
Teen Fiction"The moon's really beautiful, if you think about it," I blurted. "Yeah?" he asked, mild amusement and curiosity mingling in his voice. "Yeah," I confirmed. "It's just- there's something about the moon that's ethereal. I don't really know how to desc...
