Chapter 368 - Walk of Shame

Chapter 368: Chapter 368 - Walk of Shame

The noise downstairs hit Roxie before she even reached the bottom of the stairs. Mason was yelling at somebody near the kitchen, music was still shaking the floor, Angela was laughing somewhere in the living room, and several conversations were happening over each other.

For half a second, Roxie seriously considered turning around and locking herself back inside the guest room until everyone went home.

Then Zac bumped lightly into her from behind. "Keep walking."

Roxie twisted around and pinched the skin on his side hard enough to make him jerk. "Stop smirking."

"Ow. I’m walking."

His mouth twitched, and there it was again, that tiny fucking smirk he was trying to hide. Roxie reached for him a second time, but Zac caught her wrist before she could pinch him again.

"Fix your face."

"I’m trying."

"You’re terrible at it."

That only made his mouth twitch harder. Roxie pulled her hand free and turned away before she actually hit him because her face already felt hot enough without looking at him. Every step down the stairs made her more conscious of everything wrong with her. Her lips felt swollen, her jaw still ached, and her throat burned every time she swallowed, which unfortunately made her think about exactly why it hurt.

Then there was her bra.

Roxie almost stopped walking when she felt the damp fabric sticking against the top of her breasts again. Saliva had run down her chin and chest upstairs, and now every small movement made the fabric cling against her skin and remind her exactly what she had been doing minutes ago.

God. She wanted to die.

Apparently her shame had simply waited until she was halfway downstairs to show up. This felt like the walk of shame she had somehow never experienced before, except the person responsible was walking directly behind her and enjoying himself far more than he should.

"Babe."

Roxie looked back.

Zac was trying to look innocent, which somehow made it worse.

She grabbed his ear and pulled hard enough to make him laugh through a wince. "Stop making it obvious."

"I’m sorry." He was still chuckling when he leaned closer. "I can’t help it."

"Try harder."

Roxie released him and hurried down the last few steps before she murdered her boyfriend in somebody else’s house.

That was when Mason saw them.

His entire expression changed. "Oh."

Roxie stopped immediately. Mason looked at her, then Zac, then back at her again as his mouth opened.

"No."

Mason blinked. "I was gonna ask if you went to the garage."

Roxie’s face heated even more because she had apparently just exposed herself without him even saying anything.

Karen turned from where she was sitting on the arm of the couch with a plastic cup in one hand. "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing," Roxie said immediately.

Mason stared at her for another second, and this time understanding slowly crossed his face. His mouth curved into a grin.

Roxie pointed at him. "Whatever you’re thinking, keep it to yourself."

"I’m not thinking anything."

"Figures. Bet it’s all air in there."

Mason’s grin widened. "Keep talking. You’re making this way more interesting."

"Mason."

That was enough to make Angela look over. The second she saw Roxie, then Zac standing a few steps behind her trying very hard to look innocent, Angela covered her mouth.

Roxie stared at her while Angela’s shoulders started shaking. "Oh my God. What?"

Angela shook her head because apparently speaking would finish her.

Roxie crossed the room and dropped beside her, squeezing herself into the space between Angela and the arm of the couch like getting as far away from Zac as possible might save what remained of her dignity.

It didn’t.

Angela looked at her hair, then her face, then behind her at Zac. Her face turned red as she tried to control her breathing and the laughter threatening to come out.

"So what’s up?" Angela managed between giggles.

Before Roxie could answer, Angela answered herself.

"Zac."

Then she laughed harder.

Roxie covered her face with both hands, exasperated. She cursed Zac under her breath and herself right after. She knew exactly what people thought when a couple disappeared during a party, and she had still let that bastard talk her into going upstairs with him.

She wanted to shake Angela until she stopped laughing.

The second Roxie leaned closer, another thought hit her so hard that she immediately leaned back.

Her breath.

Fuck.

Could Angela smell anything? Was that even possible? She had swallowed. Could Zac somehow still be on her breath? Why the hell was she thinking about this now?

Roxie swallowed automatically and immediately regretted it when her throat hurt. Then she wondered whether swallowing somehow made the breath situation worse, which was so ridiculous that she grabbed Angela’s cup without asking and took a drink of the piss beer inside.

"Ugh." Roxie grimaced. "That’s disgusting."

Angela stared at her now empty hand before giggling. "Okay. Someone’s thirsty."

Roxie immediately caught the second meaning in her expression and nudged her hard with one shoulder. "Shut up."

Angela only laughed harder.

Karen had been watching the entire thing. She slowly lowered her cup, looked Roxie over, then glanced behind her toward Zac before raising her eyebrows.

Roxie immediately pointed at her. "I’m dying here. Please don’t make it worse."

Karen smiled. "I haven’t said anything."

"You’re all saying things with your faces."

Mason dropped onto the other side of Karen. "Some faces are louder than others." His eyes landed on Roxie. "Yours is screaming."

Roxie grabbed the nearest throw pillow and threw it at him. Mason caught it against his chest, laughing just as Zac finally reached them and stood behind the couch.

Roxie looked up at him. He had managed to get his face under control, almost, until their eyes met and the corner of his mouth moved.

She reached behind herself without even looking and pinched his thigh.

Zac jerked. "Jesus."

That broke Angela completely. Karen bent forward laughing into her cup while Mason stared between Roxie and Zac like they were handing him evidence without even being asked.

"You two are making this way worse."

Karen smirked. "Your faces are basically stamped with just got fucked."

"KAREN."

Roxie could feel the embarrassment from her face all the way down her neck, but then Angela folded over laughing again and something inside her softened. It was the loudest she had heard Angela laugh in days.

Angela had one hand pressed against her stomach, her eyes watering while Karen told her to breathe. Roxie had spent the last few days watching every smile and every quiet moment, wondering what Angela was really feeling underneath it.

Right now there was nothing to inspect.

Angela was simply laughing.

Despite wanting the floor to swallow her, Roxie couldn’t help smiling too.

Angela finally sat upright again. "Sorry."

"No, you’re not."

"I’m really not."

Roxie shoved her shoulder, and Angela shoved her back before Mason pointed at both of them.

"See? This is why I invited everybody. The world is healing."

Karen looked at him. "You invited half the senior class because your parents are gone."

"That too." Mason looked directly at her. "And because I wanted you here."

That immediately got the attention of the people closest to them. Somebody whistled, and Kyle grinned from nearby.

"Mason’s rizz game is stepping up."

Mason’s confidence disappeared so quickly that Roxie almost laughed. His ears started turning red while everyone around them made noises and Karen simply stared at him over the rim of her cup.

Roxie had always thought Mason was shameless. Apparently Karen could embarrass him after all.

That was a refreshing discovery.

Karen finished what was left in her cup before standing and reaching for another bottle. "I only came here for this."

She lifted the empty cup, and Mason watched her start pouring.

"Hey, slow down."

He caught Karen lightly by the wrist.

Karen looked down at his hand.

Mason released her immediately.

That was all the people around them needed. Somebody whistled again while another voice called, "Boyfriend behavior," and Mason’s face got redder by the second.

Karen kept staring at him, which somehow made him look even more uncomfortable. Roxie almost felt bad for him, but Karen poured herself another drink anyway and Mason apparently decided survival mattered more than winning because he reached for the chips instead.

For several minutes, thankfully, everyone moved on. The teasing shifted completely to Karen and Mason, and Roxie could finally breathe without somebody studying her face. Kyle started bothering the two of them, Angela was still laughing, and even Zac had moved over to talk to Dylan behind the couch, although one hand remained casually on Roxie’s shoulder like he needed some part of himself touching her.

Thank God.

They had stopped.

That was enough.

Nobody was mentioning upstairs again tonight if Roxie had anything to say about it.

Her throat still hurt whenever she swallowed, her jaw ached, and now she had become so conscious of her breath that she started wondering whether anybody could smell anything whenever they came close. She finally gave up and headed toward the kitchen for water while Zac wisely stayed where he was.

One thing was certain. Zac was never getting a blowjob again.

Ever.

Roxie made it two steps before immediately reconsidering.

Maybe when they were alone.

She stopped and slapped one hand against her forehead.

Jesus Christ. What was wrong with her?

She grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen and drank nearly half of it. The cold helped her throat a little, and maybe it would help with the stupid breath paranoia too. Roxie breathed discreetly into her palm, smelled nothing, frowned, then tried again just to make sure.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Roxie jumped and found Zac standing beside her.

"Nothing."

His eyes went from her hand to her face, and understanding slowly appeared.

Roxie pointed at him. "I’m going to kill you."

"Babe, I didn’t even say anything."

"Exactly." She lowered her voice and leaned closer. "They think we fucked."

Zac grinned. "You want me to tell them you gave me the best blowjob ever?"

Roxie slapped a hand over his mouth and immediately looked around to make sure nobody had heard him. "Shut up."

His laugh warmed her palm.

Roxie pulled her hand away and walked off before he could make her embarrassment worse.

Zac chuckled and caught up beside her. "I’m sorry."

She rolled her eyes at the apology. She probably would have stayed more irritated if Angela’s laughter hadn’t reached her again from the couch. Hearing it made everything easier to tolerate.

Even this.

Roxie glanced back toward her.

Angela was laughing at something Karen had said while Mason tried to defend himself against whatever accusation everyone had apparently decided to throw at him next.

Then Roxie noticed Dylan.

He stood outside on the patio with his phone pressed against his ear.

That alone made her slow down.

Dylan usually ignored calls during parties unless he recognized the number or somebody kept calling. Now his back was partly turned toward the room, one hand shoved into his pocket while he listened to whoever was on the other end.

He wasn’t smiling.

Roxie watched him rub a hand over his mouth.

Something about his posture had changed too. The loose, relaxed Dylan who had been drinking with everyone earlier was gone.

Someone opened the patio door to come inside, and Dylan’s voice slipped through with the music.

"Yeah, Coach. I saw the email."

Roxie frowned.

Coach?

Dylan listened for another few seconds before rubbing the back of his neck. Even through the glass, Roxie could tell he looked uncomfortable.

Beside her, Zac went still.

Roxie looked at him.

His grin was gone.

He was staring straight at Dylan through the glass.

That caught her attention more than the phone call.

"What?"

Zac never answered.

Outside, Dylan turned partly away from the house again.

The patio door opened when someone else stepped outside.

"I understand," Dylan said quietly.

He listened.

Then his eyes moved toward the house.

Toward Zac.

Roxie felt Zac stiffen beside her.

Dylan turned away again.

"I’ll tell him, Coach."

The door slid shut.

Roxie looked at Zac.

He was still staring through the glass.

"Is this about you?"