The Way to Game the Walk of Shame(24)

“Well, I like the sea,” he said after a while.

“Right, ’cause you’re a surfer.” I tried to sound supportive but knew I failed miserably when he snorted.

“I mean, the real sea. The animals. The plants. You know, stuff like that. Did you know that most of the life on earth is underwater? Or that the sea is so large that we’ve barely discovered less than 10% of it? The rest is unseen and untouched.”

I couldn’t stop staring at Evan. Not because he was gorgeous (although he was), but when he spoke about the sea, his face filled with so much excitement that it practically lit up. He glanced over at me and I flushed, forcing myself to look away. “That’s really cool.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what I like. Maybe I thought about being a marine biologist or something.”

“Wow. A marine biologist?” I didn’t mean to sound so shocked, but the truth was that I was. I didn’t know what answer I was expecting from Evan, but a marine biologist was definitely not on the list at all. Catalog model would have been higher. “I didn’t think that you would be—I mean, not that you’re—”

“Why? Do I look like I’ll be an accountant or something?” Evan flicked down the visor and pretended to fix his hair in the mirror. “It’s stupid, though. I doubt it’ll work out. I guess I’ll have to settle for just being handsome.”

“What I meant to say was that I don’t know anyone who wants to do that. Everyone else wants to go into business. Or be a doctor or dentist or a—”

“Lawyer?” He laughed when I punched his arm, not flinching at all. “Like I said, it’s just something I thought about. I haven’t really decided on anything. For all you know, I might just become a typical doctor, dentist, or businessman myself. Not a lawyer, though. God, I can’t stand them. Bunch of vultures.”

Smack! I hit him again. Harder this time. “Anyway, I thought you said you never even thought about college or the future. That it wasn’t for you.” I couldn’t keep the smirk off my face.

Evan grinned and shook his head in defeat. “Okay, you win. I have thought about it, but it doesn’t mean I’ll actually do anything about it.”

“I don’t know why. I think being a marine biologist would be awesome. I don’t know what colleges have that major, but I think the counselor would know.”

“Yeah.” He shrugged as if he didn’t care either way and slowed the car. “Well, like I said, there’s still time to worry about that later. The only thing we have to worry about now is school, because we’re here.”

He was right. We were in front of the school yard. And early, too. None of the buses were even here yet. There were only a few students lounging around on the steps as they waited for their friends.

Evan concentrated extra hard on parking, as though he would win a prize if the car was perfectly straight. Finally, he killed the engine and turned toward me, touching my arm when I opened the door to get out. “Wait.”

“For what?”

He leaned over my lap to pull the door shut. For a few seconds, his broad chest and arms were in full contact with my body. Even though we had at least four layers of clothes between us, I couldn’t help sucking in my breath. My heart pounded so hard in my chest that I was sure that he would feel it. I pressed as far back into the cushions as I could.

Evan didn’t seem to notice that anything was wrong. “I think we should go together. We could walk hand in hand to homeroom. You could carry my books, buy me lunch, you know, all the things a good girlfriend should do.”

“Ha-ha.” Despite the books-carrying and the lunch, that was a good idea. He was really getting into this.

“Yeah, I know,” he replied as though I had said the thought out loud. “Here, you should wear this.”

It was a necklace. An old silver coin about the size of my thumbnail hung on the end. It had been twisted with pliers or something into a strange shape, vaguely resembling a number eight. He handed it to me to examine. “My dad gave me this.”

I touched the smooth surface of the coin.

“I don’t even wear it to the beach in case I lose it, so you better take good care of it. Even your life won’t be able to replace this. You can give it back to me when this is over.” Without waiting for my answer, his index finger made a circular motion in my direction. “Turn around.”

I handed the necklace back to him, but I didn’t move.

Evan let out a loud sigh when I hesitated. “If I wanted to do anything to you, I would have done it when you were in my bed.” He jerked his head away when my hands shot out to cover his mouth. “Sorry! I forgot I wasn’t supposed to mention the incident.”

The chair squeaked as he leaned forward and draped the chain around my neck. He was so close that his breath grazed the back of my neck. It was … nice, even though my nerves practically crackled with electricity. Then his fingers were on my neck, gentle as he clasped the latch tightly. His fingertips traced the chain and my skin for a brief moment. It was warm and it tickled. I involuntarily shivered, and just like that, his touch was gone before the electricity could get out of control.

Embarrassed, I waited until he was settled back in his seat before I turned around. I occupied myself with putting on my coat and hat. “So … how many girls have seen this necklace?”