Present Perfect(12)

“Brittani!” She squeaked, biting her lower lip.

Backing away from the table, Noah hesitated, and then said, “Um…yeah…Brittani.”

Both girls twisted in their chairs and watched as Noah walk away, staying in that position until he was out of sight.

TI sighed deeply as she turned back around. “He’s all kinds of yummy, isn’t he?”

Beth nodded in full agreement, “Yeah, all kinds.” I shot her another DEFCON 1. “What? Come on, Amanda. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed how hot he is.”

“He’s my best friend. I don’t think of him that way.”

I lied. I do think of him that way. A lot lately. In fact, he has made a few appearances in my dreams. I got goose bumps every time he came within 10 feet of me or I heard the sound of his voice. A few days ago, I saw him mowing the grass in his backyard. He was shirtless, sweaty, and his shorts were hanging low. From the pounding in my chest and the lightheadedness, I thought I was having a heart attack.

TI picked up a napkin and started fanning herself. “That’s not something you think about. That’s something you feel, all over.”

“Yeah, all over,” Beth said, in a dreamy voice.

I sat there silently listening to these two rattle off all of Noah’s attributes. A burning sensation starting in my stomach traveled up to my chest. My entire body started to tighten up the more they talked about my Noah.

“He’s exceptionally hot. He’s far and above any of the guys around here. He could pass for a junior. I mean, look at most of the guys around here our age. They’re covered in pimples, scrawny, and uncoordinated. Arms and legs flying all over the place,” TI said, waving her arms in the air. “I can tell Noah’s body is rock hard. The muscles in his arms are A-MAZ-ING.”

I’ve had those muscles around me. They are amazing.

“He’s a baseball player,” Beth chimed in.

“That explains it.”

“His tan and that dark brown hair are a sexy as hell combination,” Beth giggled. “I want to run my fingers through it. It looks so soft.”

I’d felt that hair across my cheek when Noah hugged me. It was very soft and smelled like oranges.

“Oh god! Beth. Did you see his ass?”

“Um…Yeah. It’s perfect.”

“His ass is mouthwatering.” Resting her chin in her hand TI looked away daydreaming, no doubt about Noah’s ass. “I’m going to crawl all over his body.”

“Like a fungus?” I asked, popping the last of the cheese puffs I had for lunch into my mouth.

She sneered at me. “Ha-ha. I’ll be crawling all over Noah before the semester is up. I guarantee it. Unless you have dibs on him, Beth. I won’t go after a boy if a friend of mine has dibs on him.”

“I don’t have dibs on him.” Beth glanced over at me, annoyance written all over her face.

“Good.”

“What about me?” I asked.

“What about you?” TI narrowed her eyes at me. A smug smile plastered across her face.

“Maybe I have dibs on him.”

“You just said you didn’t think of him that way. It wouldn’t matter even if you did.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked. She and Beth exchanged a knowing glance.

“Noah’s pretty much out of your league, don’t you think?”

“Brittani, don’t,” Beth begged.

“She asked.” TI turned her attention back on me. “I don’t know you at all, but it’s pretty obvious there’s nothing much to you. You’re not ugly, but you’re not very attractive either. You really should try to fix yourself up.”

“Brittani, stop it.” I could tell Beth was getting mad.

“I’m doing her a favor. I mean, look at her- brown blah hair, pale skin, and her eyes are weird. They’re kind of freaking me out. Dull and boring. Maybe if she got some highlights and some sun that might help, but it’s only going to help her so much. It’s not a miracle worker.”

She was talking about me like I wasn’t there.

“On the hotness scale, Noah is a solid ten. He needs to hook up with at least an eight or nine, if not another ten. If I’m being honest, which I always am, you are barely a two, and that’s being generous.”

“Alright, that’s enough. Come one Amanda, we need to get to English.”

I watched as Beth and TI got up and grabbed their things. I just sat there, frozen. I knew I wasn’t anything special and not good enough for Noah. What shocked me was that a girl, who only met me ten minutes ago, knew it too. My eyes started to water.

I would not cry in the middle of the cafeteria.

I jumped up, quickly grabbed my things, and hurriedly walked out. I headed straight to the bathroom, getting there right before the tears started.





When my mother gets an idea or thought in her head it’s there for life. It’s cemented in place, never to be removed. I’ve recently realized that I am one step closer to turning into my mother, because I couldn’t get the thoughts of dreamy light blue eyes, soft dark brown hair, and amazing muscular arms out of my head.





Noah and I were at his house, hanging out in his room, listening to music. After the conversation with Beth and Brittani earlier today, it’s been hard to look directly at him without thinking about, and looking at his perfect ass. Thank god he was sitting at his desk right now, concealing that perfect ass. It was completely out of my field of vision. For added protection I opted to lie on my back on the bed. My feet rested on the headboard. My eyes aimed straight up at the ceiling.