The Way to Game the Walk of Shame(34)

“Nah, I’m done.” He checked his cell before shoving it back in his pocket. “And everyone should be here soon.”

Nodding, I grabbed a small pretzel bag from the table and practically inhaled it within seconds. I was so excited today when Mr. Peters handed me back the reins for planning Career Day that I had barely eaten any lunch. I did have time to stop and smirk at Lin before leaving the cafeteria, though.

“So…” Brian cleared his throat a few times before continuing. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about Evan.”

“Hmm?” With cheeks still puffed out, I swallowed and reached for another bag—Cheetos this time. “What about him?”

He shrugged. “It’s just kind of strange. I mean, barely two weeks ago, you told me that there was nothing going on between you two. In this same room. And now you’re dating?”

My eyes flicked down to the orange and blue bag in my hands. Did he suspect something? It sucked to lie to him, but I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t tell Brian the truth. “I never said that there was nothing between us. I just said that nothing happened that night.”

His eyebrows rose. “And now?”

“Uh…” Wait, was he asking me if Evan and I had had sex?

Suddenly realizing what he said, his cheeks flushed a dull pink—probably mirroring my own hot face. “No, I didn’t—what I meant was that I’m just surprised you guys are dating. You guys don’t look like you fit together. You’re different.”

Images of Evan and my conversations flashed in my head. “I thought so, too, but he’s actually not that bad.”

“Really? ’Cause he kind of seems like he doesn’t care about school and college and stuff. You know, all the things that are important to you.”

I got quiet at his words. Our relationship didn’t make sense because we didn’t make sense. Brian had me there. He saw things the same way I did. School and Columbia were my life. And even though I’d tried asking Evan about the college applications I had given him a few days ago, he never gave me a straight answer. No matter how many times I brought it up. I mean, he seemed interested at first, but I didn’t know if he’d changed his mind at all.

But none of this mattered, since we weren’t actually in a real relationship. It didn’t matter if we didn’t care about the same things or have anything in common. It didn’t matter that our relationship experiences were on opposite ends of the spectrum. Or that his ex-friends-with-benefits friend was the image of raw sexuality, while I was a little choir girl. A choir girl who was studying to be a nun.

It didn’t, because we weren’t planning to ride into the sunset and live happily ever after. This was just for a contract. A deal.

The high of Career Day planning faded, and my appetite was gone. I crushed the remaining Cheetos in the bag into a fine powder. “We’re just dating. It’s nothing serious.”

Nodding to himself, Brian scooted in and bent his head closer to me. He playfully nudged my elbow with his own. “Still, you have to admit, Evan isn’t exactly the type of guy you bring home to your parents. Can you imagine the heart attack your mom might have?” His mock look of horror made me giggle.

At the thought of Evan hanging out with my parents, I couldn’t help laughing even harder. “No, you’re definitely right about that.”

“Knock-knock.”

We both looked up. Evan stood at the doorway. He had an easy smile plastered on his face, but it wasn’t his normal smile. It was a little forced.

“Maybe I should have actually knocked.” His hand rose and rapped against the heavy wooden door before he walked into the room.

How long had he been standing there? Did he hear us talking? Suddenly noticing how close Brian and I were, I awkwardly slid a few inches away from him. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see if you needed a ride home. I could come back and pick you up.”

Brian crossed his arms and straightened up, almost standing. “No, it’s all right. I can drive her home later. It’s on my way. Don’t want to bother you or anything.”

Evan’s smile widened. “No, it’s cool. Taylor could never bother me.”

“But—”

“Uh, guys?” I waved my hands in both of their faces to get their attention. “I already made plans to go home with Carly. We’re going to the mall later, so neither of you have to drive me.”

“Oh.” Brian sat back down.

“Okay, I just figured I’d ask.” Evan flickered a sideways glance at Brian before coming forward and planting a quick kiss on my cheek. “I’ll talk to you later, then.”

“Okay.” I echoed, feeling like I’d missed something. I wished Carly were here to explain what just happened, because I had no clue what was going on.

*

My physics homework was literally driving me crazy.

Biology was easy to understand, because it was something I could see—although I hated the guinea-pig dissections. I even understood chemistry to an extent. But physics? How was I supposed to see the relationship between the acceleration and mass of an object, much less calculate it?

It didn’t help that I had a sucky teacher, either. Mr. Higgens was famous for two things. One: his pop quizzes. And two: his love for his son, Adrian, the famous doctor. All you had to do was ask about his son, and he’d talk the entire class period. Getting him to shut up was the problem.