The Way to Game the Walk of Shame(18)

“You’re lying, right?”

“Why would I lie to you? You’re not my mom.”

Her eyes narrowed in confusion. “But how is that possible? I heard you don’t even go to half of your classes. You weren’t even at school today!”

“Don’t believe everything you hear. I only miss about a fourth of my classes. And the classes I do go to, I do damn good in.”

“Well.”

“What?”

“You do damn well in instead of good.” She gave me a bright smile. “I guess English isn’t one of the classes you have a B in?”

Huh. The more I was getting to see the snarky side of Taylor, the more I liked her. “I guess you can say that. So like I was saying before you rudely interrupted me for an impromptu grammar lesson, I don’t need to be there to understand what’s going on,” I said with a shrug. I could probably homeschool myself, if I didn’t have to worry about seeing Brandon’s face all the time.

Taylor continued to stare at me with an uncertain expression, as though she wasn’t sure if I was joking or not. I got this skepticism a lot when people found out that I was more than a playboy bum. I wasn’t a closet nerd, either, but it wasn’t hard to put a bit of effort into my schoolwork. Okay, a little more than a bit. I didn’t want my stepdad’s satisfaction regarding my bad grades to prove that he was right all along. That I was a no-good deadbeat like my dad. Don’t know what’s wrong with being a deadbeat, though. It sure beats being a pompous ass like him.

I leaned back in the chair, tapping the ground with my left foot. “So what else you got?”

She gnawed on her lower lip before snapping her fingers. “How about college? I could help you with your college applications. It’s kind of late to apply, but with my assistance, you could still get into any school you want.”

“Any?”

“Any … within reason.”

With a smirk, I gave her a thumbs-down. “Sorry, as appealing as that sounds, that’s not going to work. I don’t care about college.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “How could anyone not care about college?”

“I don’t know. It all seems so far off.”

“Uh, we’re halfway through our senior year. There’s barely any time left.”

“It’s not even February. There’s plenty of time. And besides, I just don’t think college is for me, so why bother?” I was lying. I had thought about college a couple of times. But I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do yet. Going to college would get me out of my house and away from Brandon, but not going to college would infuriate him. Something that I had devoted years to doing.

It was a hard decision to make.

Taylor twirled her empty glass around in her hand and crossed out a couple of things on the list next to her. She gave me a quick glance and scratched out a few more things with a frown before crumbling the first sheet entirely. “No, that wouldn’t—nah … how about…”

I was kind of curious to see what other reasons she’d put on there.

Finally, Taylor let out a sigh. “Well, this is a long shot, but aren’t you getting tired of having girls throw themselves at you all the time?”

I snorted. “Do you really expect me to answer that?”

She looked a little uncertain, but she continued anyway. “Seriously, you’ve probably had a string of girls just chasing after you your whole life. And sure it’s fun at first. All the sex and whatnot. But after a while, it has to be tiring. Every girl just like the last. Faceless conquests and sleeping partners.” Her lips pursed together, and she gave me a pitying look. “When do you get to be alone? To be treated as a person instead of as a piece of meat all the time? To just be Evan?”

She had to be kidding. I swallowed back the laughter and struggled to keep a straight face. “And what do you think I should do about this problem?”

Her face lit up at my question like it was a green light of encouragement. “Well, if you had a steady girlfriend, you wouldn’t have to worry about all those other girls anymore. Someone who could be a shield, a defense against getting hit on all the time.”

Ah, there it is. “And that someone would be you.”

“Well, I am here and willing.” At her words, I couldn’t help gazing up and down her body again. Nice and slow this time. Now, there was a thought. Even though Taylor was more sweet than sexy, there was something about her. I was drawn to her for some reason. Maybe it was like Aaron said. She was an untouchable ice queen, and I was tempted to know what I would have to do to make her melt.

Finally noticing where my eyes were looking, she snapped her fingers in front of my face before crossing her arms to cover her chest. “Not in that way, so don’t get any ideas.”

“Too bad. I was thinking that things could get pretty interesting.”

And just like that, she was flustered again. God, this was fun. I grinned and scanned the document again. “Okay, let’s say I’m considering it. It says here that while we’re in this deal, I can’t date or have any inappropriate interactions with the opposite sex unless approved by you.” I couldn’t keep the amusement out of my voice. “Is this a fancy way of saying that I can’t cheat on you?”

Taylor moved away from me and back to the counter like it was her safe haven. One hand clicked her blue pen against the countertop while the other traced the flowers and leaves etched on the wooden edge. “Of course. I mean, that would just cause more gossip.” Click. Click. “And the whole purpose of this arrangement is to lessen that. I promise I would do the same thing. It’s a totally reasonable request.”