The Way to Game the Walk of Shame(10)
Before she even finished her sentence, I dug in my bag and whipped out the cell phone I had found stashed in my shorts pocket yesterday. I leaned forward and tucked it into her hand. “Your friend called a lot.”
“So I heard. Thanks.” After she stuck the phone in her back pocket, Taylor finally looked at me again. Her eyes slowly trailed from my face down to my scruffy gray sneakers. I raised an eyebrow at her. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought she was checking me out, but girls don’t usually check me out with frown lines on their forehead.
I climbed to my feet and stared back. Was this girl really the same person who had danced in the streets with me? It was hard to believe now that she was in front of me. Her long, dark hair was pulled back from her narrow face with pins. She wore casual jeans and a loose T-shirt, nothing low-cut or tight. Her left arm was piled high with books and binders. Aaron was right. She definitely wasn’t my usual type.
I couldn’t help thinking that she still looked pretty, though. Even with the dark, irritated look on her face. I moved a step closer to her.
As though Taylor suddenly realized what I was doing, she jerked her entire body to the right. A bright blush crept up her neck. “I have to go. There’s a quiz in my next class that I should study for, and I don’t know if I—”
I felt guilty for messing with her. Maybe it was the shadows under her eyes or the way she kept chewing on her lower lip, making it even pinker and puffier than usual against her pale face. I wanted to press my index finger against her mouth to make her stop, but I doubted she would appreciate that very much. And I didn’t want to get bitten.
It wasn’t her fault that she was tangled up in this rumor with me. I might be used to the gossip and lies that flew around—mostly because I encouraged them, just to piss off my stepdad—but Taylor wasn’t. And she definitely wasn’t handling it well.
“—never drink like that. Ever. But did we—I mean, I’m positive we didn’t, but I just wanted to make sure … because you know—” She breathed heavily through every couple of words as though they were being wrestled out of her.
“Nothing happened. Between us, I mean.” My voice sounded confident even though I didn’t really know myself. But I was pretty sure nothing happened. My body would have been way more relaxed yesterday if I had gotten some action the night before. “We just slept. Or at least I tried to. You snore pretty loud for a little girl.”
Judging by the way her body slumped forward with relief, that was exactly what she wanted to hear. “Thanks.” Taylor fumbled with her blue backpack strap and cleared her throat. “For letting me know. I guess I’ll see you around.”
When she turned away to leave, I reached out to touch her arm. It wasn’t a grab or even a pat. It was a light touch, but I could feel her skin beneath my fingertips. Soft and warm. A warmth that seeped into my skin. If just a fingertip could make me feel that way, what would it feel like if I curved my entire hand around her wrist?
Despite my curiosity, I shoved both hands back in my pockets before she fully turned around.
“Look, I know this probably sucks for you since you’re, you know, Miss Perfect and everything.” I waved a vague hand in her direction. “But don’t worry about it too much. People will get tired of this and move onto something new eventually. Trust me.” I gave her my best innocent, everything-is-perfect smile. “I mean, who would know more about this stuff than me?”
“You’re right. It’ll be fine.” She turned away, and I could hear her mutter under her breath, “Hopefully.”
*
People continued to point at me as I walked to PE, but I didn’t care. In fact, it was fun to pop in on a strange group or even lock eyes with people and watch their conversations fade into awkward silence. The simple joys in life. It certainly made the school day go by quicker.
I stretched out on the patch of lawn behind the cafeteria for a quick nap. Coach Jill used our PE class after lunch to practice with her cheerleaders before football games. As long as we stayed in sight, she didn’t care what the rest of the class did.
With my left arm cushioned beneath my head, I was about to doze off when a shadow fell over my face. I pried an eye open but could only see the outline of a figure peering down at me. Judging by the red hair and the mouthwatering curves on the figure, I could guess who it was.
“Looking for me so soon? I thought you’re supposed to wait an hour after you eat before you have sex?” I closed my eyes again. “I think I heard that somewhere.”
There was a low chuckle, and Lauren flopped down on the grass beside me. “You and I both know that’s not true. We certainly tested that theory out enough times last year.”
A grin stretched across my face. “Right, I guess we did.”
Despite our big talk, Lauren and I weren’t dating. We did last summer, after she grabbed hold of me at the beach to introduce herself in the most exciting and memorable way possible. It was fun, but we broke up a month after that. Now we were friends who just hooked up once in a while.
I usually made it a rule never to date or even sleep with the same girl twice. Somehow Lauren was the exception. She always had a way of getting under my skin. Or rather in my pants. Besides the awesome sex, she was pretty cool. She was different from the other girls I knew. I liked having her in my life. And this worked for us.