Chapter 48 CHAPTER 48: Catching the wrong eyes
NANCY’S POV
That was the first thing I asked, and Diana’s response was- "You didn't ask."
Now hold on, did I have to ask before anyone would tell me anything around here?
Actually, let's forget that for a minute.
After Mason made the introductions, the girl nodded briefly at Diana, barely acknowledging her.
Her focus remained on me, and for a second, I couldn't help but touch my hand to my face, wondering if I had something smudged on it.
Her focus stayed on me.
“Nancy,” she repeated.
Something about the way she said my name felt… off.
Oh, for sure, it was off. I verified this when she smiled at me, then said, "I'm Vanessa."
I didn't even know her, so her smile shouldn't have felt so threatening, but it was.
"Hi," I mumbled back in an attempt to be polite, and she smiled again, but it still didn't reach her eyes.
I'd seen one too many movies and read a bunch of novels in my teenage years to know what that was and what that look in her eyes meant.
It was a facade. I was sure that if the others weren't here, she wouldn't have even bothered to exchange greetings with me.
"I don't think I've seen you around before," Vanessa said, still acting all smiley.
"Oh, you haven't," I replied with less enthusiasm, "I'm new here."
Her gaze ran over me once more, not in a curious kind of way but more in a way that served to assess, "I see that."
I think Diana noticed the masked hostility she was giving off, too, because she drew closer to me and then said, “Vanessa, relax.”
Vanessa did the opposite. She stepped towards me, and when Diana gave her a deterring glance, she stepped even closer.
"Mason doesn't usually bring new girls."
There was an underlying question behind that, and it asked what made me different.
And of course, she just had to say that to me.
Mason was right there. Why couldn't she just ask him?
In a minute, I completed my own assessment of who Vanessa was and came to the conclusion that she was very territorial, very much the kind of person I would advise myself to stay away from.
When that thought settled in, I was no longer inclined to talk to her, but for Mason's sake, I kept the appearance up.
"Nancy's a friend," Mason cut in smoothly, and I glanced at him, unable to hold back a scoff.
Well, yeah. A friend had deigned to tell me he had a girlfriend. It wasn't like I was interested in him, but I felt the right thing he should have done for someone he just called a friend was to tell her he had a girlfriend.
But somehow, he had just chosen to omit that.
There was a round of silence that was heavily laden with discomfort, and then Vanessa smiled again and said in a sing-song voice, "Enjoy the party."
She stepped to where Mason stood, then wrapped her arms around his neck before inching close to plant a kiss on his lips, "I'll see you later, baby."
Mason nodded, and then she walked away.
"You should wipe that off," I gestured to where her lipstick had left a stain on his lips, grimacing when I recalled what just took place.
Diana rolled her eyes at him, then said something along the lines of "You should keep your girlfriend in check."
I didn't know her clearly, but I sure was curious to know why she said that, so I asked, whispering in a voice that only both of us could hear, "Why should he?"
"Oh, right, you don't know Vanessa," Diana responded, not bothering to lower her voice in the way I did. She stared straight at Mason while she said that, too.
Mason sighed after, “She’s...complicated.”
My face crinkled at that.
Why would he call his girlfriend complicated?
Mason hesitated for a minute, and then he added, "Vanessa's very protective of me."
"I figured," I murmured.
"Protective is an understatement," Diana added with a snort.
“So, does that mean she thinks I'm competition?” I asked.
Mason glanced at me without answering, and I couldn't tell what he was thinking.
"Oh, she for sure does," Diana answered.
I shook my head slightly. “I literally just got here.”
Yet somehow, trouble kept finding me.
First, Mr Landon, and now a woman I hadn't seen a day in my life, who stood across the room, watching me like I'd stolen something of hers.
A while later, I declined when Mason asked to dance with me, not because Vanessa was still watching, but because I wasn't really in the mood to twist my body to music.
Dancing was the last thing on my mind.
I remained in my seat and brought out my phone instead, beginning to aimlessly scroll through it while Diana tried to get me to drink something, claiming it would help me loosen up.
For a while, I rejected her offer, but she was incredibly persistent, leaving me no choice but to agree.
I took a glass of white wine from her and downed it with one huge gulp, then flipped the glass over, "Satisfied?"
She grinned at me, "Very."
After that, she left me for a while and went to dance with some girls she had a friendly interaction with.
I remained where I was, and a couple of minutes later, Mason, who had left earlier, found me again.
He dropped into the space on the couch that Diana was occupying earlier, then sighed, "I feel like it's my fault that you aren't enjoying this party."
"What do you mean? I'm enjoying myself."
"Yeah, right," he mocked with sarcasm.
"No, really," I said, all serious now. "I'm having fun."
He pointed at my screen, which had gone dark now, "This is fun?"
"No," I shook my head, "I'm not saying this is fun, but it also isn't..."
"Okay, enough, come with me," Mason cut in, giving me no chance to finish my sentence.
"Where?" I asked.
He didn't respond; he just reached out and grabbed my arm, then pulled me up with it. "Come on, you'll see when we get there."
"Mason, wait, I..."
He, however, had stopped listening to me.