Excerpt from Landry in Like

Excerpt #2

“This is going to be so much fun!” Devon said as she opened the door. We all walked in and instantly my head felt weird and I tripped. My eyes had to adjust to the light as it was way darker inside, and everything was outlined in neon and lights. It was like a huge warehouse, and it was noisy and crowded. I wanted to turn around and call Mr. Allen to save me from this big, scary mob. But the other girls were all smiling. Even Peyton. Great, I was the only one wetting my pants in fear. Liv saw some guys she knew so we walked over to watch them play pool. Almost immediately a group of boys came over and bought sodas for Kendall, Liv, Valine, India, and Devon. I went to say something to Peyton when I noticed she had a soda in her hand, too.

Just then one of the guys bumped into me. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you there,” he said.

“No worries,” I said. I’m just the invisible soda-less one. Don’t mind me, I wasn’t thirsty anyway.

Kendall glanced at her phone. “My brother texted me that he and Vladi are here already. Do you want to go find them?” I nodded.

“Does he know I’m here?”

She shook her head. “No, I wasn’t sure if you were coming or not when I talked to him, so I just told him you might be coming. They usually hang out over at the air hockey table.”

I tried texting Ashanti again, but no response. Was it too loud in here for her to hear her phone, or was she too busy having fun to care? Liv and Peyton came with us to go look for Steve and Vladi. Liv spotted them over by some couches. Vladi was sitting on the edge of an ottoman and a red-haired girl was leaning over and whispering in his ear. He was nodding and looking around. She put her hand on his arm and leaned forward.

“Oh man, that does not look good,” Liv said.

“He doesn’t seem interested in her,” Kendall said. “He’s looking everyplace but at her. I’ve known him for years, and if he likes a girl then he has razor focus. Trust me.”

I felt a little queasy when she said that. How many girls had she seen him be interested in?

Peyton put her hand on my arm. “It does seem like she’s more into him.” We watched as Vladi pulled out his phone and started texting.

“See? You don’t text when you’re with someone you like,” Kendall said, folding her arms. “That would just be rude.”

The redhead moved closer and now had both her hands on his upper arm. My eyes stung with tears.

“Clingy, much?” Liv said. “She’s, like, a stalker.”

“Do you want me to go over there?” Kendall asked. I shook my head, willing myself not to throw up on the floor.

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