When You Least Expect It

28

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Chapter 28

   "Whatchya doing here by yourself?" I asked, strolling over to him.

"Just needed a breather," Carson said, cigarette between his lips. He wore his signature red hoodie.

I watched his pale mouth for a moment, then flicked my eyes up to him. His dark eyes were already fixed on mine. "Yeah, it's getting pretty stuffy in there."

His mouth twisted into a smile. "Tell you what, I barely know half the people in there."

"Classic Belle Haven. Word of a party spreads, and suddenly everyone's here." I paused, gauging his response. "But hey, you're still enjoying yourself, right?"

"Mm, Max's fishing for compliments," he said, smiling, his hand lingering on my shoulder there too long for it to be an accident. Was he... flirting?

I shoved him lightly, smiling. It barely made him budge. He smiled and tapped the ash off his cigarette.

"I'll have one of those."

I smiled up at him, waiting for his reaction. That was one of the first things I ever said to him when I was getting my car fixed.

"You're a smoker now?" The look on his face suggested he might not remember our first encounter. My stomach clenched and rolled over. If he didn't see significance in the day we met, then...

The drinks I had earlier were starting to catch up with me. When I drank too much, I'd always been the sort to become a little depressed. I remember last year's father-daughter dance, we all gathered at Holly Dae's house for some pre-drinks. I ended up having a few too many, feeling the buzz kicking in pretty strongly. I danced with Dad to all his favorite songs, but then he pulled Holly Dae over to join us. Her dad passed away, which made Dad's gesture even more touching. But it also hit me like a ton of bricks, and I remember bawling my eyes out. Both Dad and Holly Dae ended up teasing me about it, and I swore off drinking for a month after that.

My eyes felt a bit glazed over. "Well, not really... I mean, sometimes," I mumbled, feeling a bit defensive. "But why does it matter to you—"

"No," he cut me off sharply, extinguishing his cigarette with barely a glance in my direction.

"No?"

"Jesus, Max, your face." Carson looked over at me, eyes narrowing. "You didn't smoke when we first met."

So he did remember. Relief washed over me like a wave. I hated how dependent my mood was on his responses, that desperate craving for approval.

"I don't want to see you picking up a habit like this because of me," he added. "If you never smoked before you met me, you're not gonna start now."

All the words died on my tongue. In his way, he was looking out for me. Despite the chilly air, I felt this warm, fuzzy feeling inside. The alcohol haze and the softness in his voice made me want to cry.

He turned to me, easing into a smile. "You know I could tell you weren't a smoker when we first met?"

"Oh, yeah?" I stifled a grin. "Then why offer me a cigarette?"

He exchanged a smile with me, then shook his head. "I like that you challenged me." There was a hint that he wanted to say more, but he left it at that.