BROKEN AND SCREWED(Broken_Part One)(22)

“They paired him up with a girl who’s already on the Court. I don’t have to put my dress on until the dance.”
“Oh.” He sounded disappointed.
“You okay with that?”
“Yeah, whatever.” Ben sniffled and jerked forward.
“Ben.”
“What?” He didn’t look at me.
“Ben.”
“What?” He still didn’t look.            
I sighed. “Are you going to the dance with anybody?”
“No,” he clipped out. His bottom lip was thrust out in a pout. “But, that’s okay. It’s not like it means anything to me. It’s not like I’m a senior too, and I have other friends that I could’ve gone with.”
My eyes closed. He hadn’t other friends. He had two others, but they were younger. Ben might’ve been my coworker and someone who cared about me, but he was seen as an outcast to everybody else. I was the insensitive one who didn’t look at things from his perspective.
“I’m sorry. Would you go with me and Eric?”
He turned in a flash, his smile blinding me. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Oh, thank you! Thank you!” He bundled me to him in a big hug and rocked me back and forth. “You’re so great.”
“Hey.” Someone cleared their throat behind me and I turned around. The smile died and the laughter faded away. Cord Tatum stood at the end of our aisle in a black leather bomber jacket and custom-fitted jeans. He had jet-black hair with the ends sticking straight up and dark brown eyes to match.
Even before I thought about it, I knew this guy was Marissa’s counterpart. She had met her match with him. That was when I tried to remember what he had been like in school two years ago. He graduated the day Ethan died, but I knew he went to Grant West and was on the same team as Jesse. Two basketball stars from the same school was a big thing around our town.
“Marissa told me I could sit with you.” He held his hand out. “I’m Cord. I don’t know if you remember me or not.”
Ethan had worshiped the guy. Now I felt foolish. How could I have not remembered him?
“Hi. Alex Connors.”
I shook his hand. It was firm and steady. He squeezed my hand before he lifted a hand in a wave to Ben. “Hi, I’m Cord.”
“Ben.” His voice came out as a squeak. He seemed mortified and squeaked again as he huddled beside me.
As Cord sat beside me, he pulled out some leather gloves and slipped them on. He shuddered in his jacket. “Man, its cold out here. It’s a little bit warmer at Grant West, by ten degrees at least. I forget how much that makes a difference.” He laughed a little. “I haven’t been back home since last Christmas. I think my mom had a heart attack when I walked through the door. All her biscuits went on the floor. One’s stuck to the ceiling.”
He talked to me as if we were best friends. Was he like this with everyone or had Marissa spoken so much about me he felt like he knew me? My tongue felt heavy as I asked, “So how did you and Marissa get together?”
“Through Jesse.” He grinned and caught my gaze. His eyes were so warm.
My heart stopped. Through Jesse?
“Really?” My throat felt constricted now. “How did that happen?”
He laughed again and hunched his shoulders forward for warmth. “She kept calling the house one night. Jesse was tired of it so he told me to talk to her.”
“She was calling him?”
He nodded and gave me another good-natured grin. “Yep. I told her off. She told me off right back and then I started to take her calls when she would call.” He laughed again. “Man, I can’t believe how many girls throw themselves at Jesse. He’s a big deal around here, huh?”