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and he obviously preferred her type. Amanda was a
lot more sophisticated than Alex would ever be. The fact that he couldn’t even
be bothered to be polite to her anymore, drove that point home.
    Why it surprised her after he hadn’t
even come over to congratulate her at her graduation ceremony, she didn’t know.
It stung, realizing that he cared so little for her. It was her big day.
However, he had made it abundantly clear that he had been there only for Jenny,
not for her. Just as he made it clear that he was now here for Amanda, and not
her. She was so tired of arguing with him all the time. She missed her friend.
If Alex couldn’t have his love, she at least wished she could have his
friendship. Now even that was slipping away. Ty and Amanda were dancing as if
they were the only ones in the room, so absorbed in each other that nothing
seemed to matter but holding one another.
    Dane noticed her eyes filling with
unshed tears as her gaze followed the couple on the dance floor and placed his
arm around her. “Cheer up. He doesn’t know what he’s missing,” he wiggled his
eyebrows in an attempt to distract her.
    Alex laughed at his antics. Dane is a
real sweetheart, his girlfriend is one lucky girl , she mused. Leaning over,
she placed a kiss on his reddening cheek.
    Seeing the kiss, Ty felt as if someone
had punched him in the gut, hard. He wanted to take the kid’s head off with his
bare hands, but knew it would just cause a scene. Instead, he drew Amanda
closer into his embrace and tried to forget about Alex making cow eyes at the
kid.
    “You’re sweet. Thanks for trying to
cheer me up, but I don’t think anything can help. It was nice that you gave it
a shot though,” she smiled, still looking hopelessly at Ty.
    She thought bitterly, Ty won’t be
spending the evening alone in bed judging by the way they’re carrying on .
They had been seeing each other for the last year, and she wasn’t a child
anymore. She knew what went on between a man and woman in the bedroom. She just
hated the idea of Amanda and Ty together in that way. Whenever she thought
about it, a piece of her seemed to shrivel and die.
    “Don’t eat your heart out over him. You
can do much better ya know.” Alex’s face registered her shock. “It’s pretty
hard to miss how you feel, it’s written all over your face,” he stated
sympathetically.
    “I didn’t know it was so… obvious!” she
whispered, looking at Dane.
    “Hey, don’t sweat it! Besides, I don’t
think he’s as unaffected as he pretends. When you leaned over to kiss me, I
think he was contemplating ways to have me killed! And slowly too if that
murderous look was any indication,” he replied softly near her ear.
    Giving her hand a quick squeeze, he
strolled away.
    Not wanting to stand around eating her
heart out, Alex left the living room and walked down the hall in search of some
fresh air in the back yard.
    Passing through the kitchen, she decided
to get a drink of water from the porcelain sink. She opened a white painted cupboard she suspected held glasses and reach for one. Hearing
the swing of the door behind her, she closed the cabinet.
    “Playing with the big boys will get you
into trouble little girl,” Ty’s voice warned coldly from behind her. Seeing her
body go rigid from the tone of his voice, he stormed further into the low-lit
room, grateful they were alone.
    “I know how to take care of myself,
thank you!” Alex stated dramatically. Placing the clear glass on the tile
counter she turned around to glare frostily at him. She raised her chin
stubbornly and crossed her arms over her chest. “If I want to play with the big
boys I can handle it. I’m not a child,” she leaned casually against the
counter, wanting to show him he couldn’t intimidate her.
    Ty stalked purposefully across the short
distance, his gaze sliding down her figure and back up again, a visual touch
that made her body sit up and scream! No one had ever looked at her like