After physically pushing away the nerves, I finally said, "You've really been about Lakyn."
I hated how insecure the line sounded to me, but maybe that's how I felt... Insecure.
Karter wasn't exactly helping me feel that secure right now with the way she was acting.
Karter smiled slightly, "Babe, are you serious right now?"
I narrowed my eyes, remaining completely serious—clearly, Karter thought this was some jealous fit, but the reality was, I wasn't even worried about Lakyn.
This was simply just about Karter's behavior today.
"Yes, I'm serious. You invited her to slushies, then to our group bakeoff, and when our plans changed, you also invited her to the party," I explained, easily making Karter's smile slowly fade. "It feels like you've been all about her even here at the party—and while it's not flirting, it feels like you're being a little too friendly."
Karter furrowed her brows, "So you're jealous?"
I let out an irritated sigh, hating the word she decided to use—and on top of that, she barely acknowledged one thing I had just said.
"Not necessarily. This isn't about Lakyn—seriously, it could be any girl down there right now. This is about how you've been acting since you met her," I said, hoping that I was somewhat making sense.
Karter sighed slightly, "How have I been acting?"
Is she actually that oblivious?
"Well, for starters you seem to only want to talk to her—you barely even acknowledged me tonight. And then during beer pong, you kept giving her pep talks, meanwhile, you only corrected me," I pointed out.
I feel like I sound crazy. Am I being crazy?
Well, clearly I'm not since Karter decided to say, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was making you uncomfortable."
I felt my body relax slightly, realizing she wasn't going to get defensive over it. She even used the perfect word to describe how I felt right now.
Uncomfortable.
Not even just with her and Lakyn, but with this entirely new life that I seem to be living now. Everything felt different now that we were here, and it completely blindsided me.
It was like I was so excited all summer to begin this new chapter, but now that it really feels like a new chapter, I suddenly don't like it.
I'm having a hard case of growing pains.
Karter slid her arms around my waist, staring down at me as she said, "I honestly was trying to help her make some new friends... I just knew if it was me, I'd want someone to do the same, y'know?"
I nodded slightly, trying to see where she was coming from. "Yeah, it was just a little fast-paced for me, and then the way you were acting wasn't helping."
Karter pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, "I didn't mean to neglect you tonight, I could just feel how standoffish Cher was, so I was trying to make Lakyn feel a little more welcomed," she explained, leaning down to press a fleeting kiss to my cheek. "But I'm really sorry, and I can always tell her that this whole introduction was a little too quick for the group."
I shook my head, knowing that Lakyn wasn't even the problem—it was just Karter's behavior.
"No, no. Lakyn's nice, and of course, Cher will need time to come around since she doesn't know her like that, but once she does I think everything will be perfectly fine," I said, causing Karter to raise a slight brow.
