by McKayla Box
“I saw them as we were running,” she says. “So I grabbed them.”
“You rock. Did you guys make it out okay?”
“Yeah, barely,” she says. “Nick got us all out of there before they pulled up and blocked the lot. How is your knee?”
“Totally fine,” I say.
“And you guys made it out of there?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Where did you go?”
“To his hotel.”
“His hotel?” she asks, glancing at me. “The Veranda?”
I nod.
“You made it up the stairs?” she asks.
“He carried me. I was too slow.”
“All the way up? Jesus. He's super human.”
“Uh huh.”
She glances at me again. “What?”
“What what?”
“The way you just said that,” she says coasting to a stop at the light. “What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Now I know you're lying,” she says.
I laugh. “How?”
“Because I can tell,” she says. “Spill it.”
“He didn't tell me the hotel belonged to his dad,” I tell her. “We snuck in and I was freaking out. And then we went into this suite and I was losing my mind. Then he finally told me. Asshole.”
She laughs. “Oh my god. I would've been freaking, too. And I can't believe you got to see the suite. I've never even been up there. It's like his secret den or something.”
I thought that Archer might've been exaggerating when he told me that no one else had been up there. But apparently not.
“Well, I saw it,” I tell her. “And then some.”
The light turns green and she pulls away from the line. “And then some?”
I don't say anything.
“Oh my god,” she says. “Did you sleep with him?”
“I fell asleep after.”
She reaches over and grabs my arm. “Oh my god! How are you? Are you alright? And I totally wanna ask how it was, but I don't wanna be super gross so I won't ask!”
I laugh. “It's fine. I'm fine. I wanted to. And it was great. Until it wasn't.”
“What does that mean?”
I hadn't planned to tell her anything, but now I feel this burning need to get it all out of my head, to share it with someone. And I trust her.
“It means it was great in the moment,” I explain. “But it didn't end great when he took me home.” I explain to her about the conversation and why I got mad.
“Ugh,” she says, frowning. “That sounds about right. A guy has sex with you and then thinks you belong to him or something.”
“It's either that or they pretend it didn't happen, I guess,” I say. “Not sure which I dislike more.”
“Seriously.” She squeezes my arm again. “Nola, for real. Are you okay? That has to suck. You have this...moment with him, and then it blows up. I'm sorry.”
I nod. “Yeah. It does suck. One moment, I'm thinking this is the greatest guy I've ever known, and then the next, I never want to see him again.” I shake my head. “I don't know. I'm a little bummed, but I'm not going to be some toddler that he can tell what to do.”
“Good for you,” she says.
But I'm not sure it's good for me. I spent the whole night tossing and turning in my bed, reliving both the conversation and the time in the suite. I don't think I overreacted, but maybe? I know, though, that I hated hearing him talk to me like I was his possession.
“Please don't say anything,” I tell her. “Not even to Brooke and Dylan yet. I'm just not ready for all of that.”
“Totally,” she says. “I won't say a word. I swear. And you could've called me last night.”
“It was late.”
“So? If you need to talk, you can always call. Even in the middle of the night.”
“Thanks.”
“Chicks before dicks,” she says, smiling at me. “Always.”
I nod, grateful that she's my friend.
“And I know it has to be hard for you,” she says. “You're here without your parents and I'm pretty sure you don't want to talk to your grandparents about it. I don't know if you talk about that kind of stuff with your mom or not, but—”
“No,” I say quickly. “Not ever.”
“—so you can always call me,” she says. “Always.”
“Thank you,” I say again. “Seriously. Thank you.”
We get to school and I make it through the first part of the day without any drama. Archer isn't in class with me and I'm relieved because I know it'll be awkward. I get through classes and I'm finally able to relax by the time we get to lunch.
Until I walk out to the courtyard.
I see Mercy and Brooke sitting on a bench and I walk over to them. Dylan comes up behind me and gives me a hug.
“Where'd you go last night, ya sneaky bitch?” she asks. “We barely made it out of there.”
“We made it out, too,” I tell her. “Lucky, right?”
“Totally,” she says. She puts her hands on her hips and looks at Brooke, then back at me. “You two ready for this shit?”
“What shit?” I ask.
“Homecoming shit,” Brooke says.
Right on cue, Rebecca jumps up on the stage in the middle of the courtyard with her mic. “Alright, Vikings. Here we go. You know what time it is. I need all of the senior court up here pronto! Hurry, hurry!”
Brooke stands and puts her arm around me. “Come on. It's mostly painless.”
I drop my bag with Mercy. “Mostly?”
“Mostly,” Brooke says, as we walk. “We're like fish in the fishbowl this week. We have to do all this dumb game stuff. It's mostly for show and to get people fired up for homecoming.” She makes a fist and punches the air. “Rah rah and all that shit.”
As we get closer to the stage, my stomach knots. Reese is already up there.
And so is Archer.
Nick is standing next to him and they both look bored. Archer's arms are folded across his chest and he's watching me as we climb onto the stage. Brooke, thankfully, stands between Reese and me.
Heath is the last one to make it up and his face is a mess. He's got several cuts around his mouth and bruises that look like bad blush on his cheeks. His left eye is puffy. He stands next to Nick and none of them acknowledge the other.
“Alright, alright,” Rebecca says. “Here we go. Jenna, can we have the balloons, please?”
Another girl pops up on the stage with a huge garbage bag full of blown-up balloons. Two more girls I don't recognize follow behind her.
“Okay, here's the game,” Rebecca says. “We're gonna pair you up, and your job is going to be to pop as many balloons as you can in two minutes. But you won't be able to use your hands and you'll have to work together.”
The crowd cheers and I just want to run away.
“First things first,” Rebecca says. “Let's get you paired up.” She holds up a small cup. “Ladies, pick your guy.”
Reese frowns, then reaches inside the cup. She pulls out a small piece of paper and unfolds it. “Heath.”
The crowd cheers and Heath forces a smile.
Reese doesn't even try.
“Your turn, Brooke,” Rebecca says, holding the cup out to her.
Brooke pulls out a slip of paper and reads it. “Nick.”
The crowd cheers louder.
“Which means our last team is Nola and Archer,” Rebecca announces. “Excellent!”
The crowd cheers some more and I want to throw up.
“Okay, guys and gals, get with your partner so that you're facing each other,” Rebecca instructs.
We all shuffle around the stage until we are standing across from our partners. Brooke is on my left, Reese on my right.
And Archer is across from me, his arms still crossed, staring at me.
“Now, each team will have a helper,” Rebecca explains. “She'll put the balloon between you guys and once you pop it, they'll replace it
with a new one. Everybody got it?”
The crowd cheers.
“Where is the balloon going?” Brooke asks.
“So glad you asked!” Rebecca says. She grabs a balloon from the garbage bag and holds it between Brooke and Nick. She motions for them to move closer until the balloon is wedged between their stomachs. Rebecca looks at the crowd. “What do you think, guys? Should we go a little lower?”
The crowd roars and she moves the balloon down until it's below their waists.
Brooke laughs and shakes her head.
“And I'm going to make one change here,” Rebecca says. “I know I said no hands, but I think we're going to let you use your hands. But...you can't touch the balloon. Only the other person.”
The crowd goes wild
“So put your hands on each other's hips,” Rebecca says. “And we'll get a balloon in there and get started!”
The crowd cheers again.
I sigh and look at Archer.
And the corner of his mouth is turned up just a tiny bit.
Then he raises an eyebrow. “I hope we know how to do this.”
“Shut up,” I say.
He holds his hands out. “Cool if I just put my hands...” He puts his hands on my hips. “...here?”
It's not, but I know if I make a big deal about it, it's just going to bring more attention.
I put my hands on his hips. “Sure.”
He chuckles and I want to punch him in the stomach.
One of the girls wedges a balloon between us.
“I hope we know what to do,” Archer mumbles.
“I do,” I say. “But you may struggle.”
“Really? I don't remember—”
“Everyone ready?” Rebecca shouts into the mic.
The crowd responds with more cheers.
“3, 2, 1, go!”
Archer immediately thrusts into me but the balloon stays in place.
“Same time,” I yell at him.
We wait a second, then pull each other toward the other.
The balloon pops and the girl kneeling next to us quickly wedges another one in between us.
The whole thing is utterly ridiculous, six of us up there, thrusting into one another, trying to pop the balloons.
And I can't help but laugh.
Archer and I have found our rhythm and are popping the balloons fast now. I have no idea if we are in the lead, but at least we aren't struggling. His fingers dig into my hips and each balloon is now popping with one thrust from each of us.
A buzzer goes off and we all stop. I'm breathing hard and I immediately take my hands off of him. His fingers linger on me for a moment, then fall away.
Rebecca huddles with the balloon girls as they tally up the popped balloons.
“I'm sure Archer and I would've popped more,” Reese says in my ear as we wait. “We've got practice.”
Her words sting me and I'm not ready for them.
“Shut the fuck up, Reese,” Archer says.
She cackles and wiggles her eyebrows at me.
“Okay, folks,” Rebecca announces. “We have our count. In 3rd place, Reese and Heath.”
Reese glares at Rebecca and storms off the stage. Heath follows her, glancing back at Archer.
“In second place,” Rebecca continues. “Oh, this was close. Second place is...Brooke and Nick!”
Brooke raises her hand in mock victory. Nick just shakes his head.
“And that means our winners this year are Nola and Archer!” Rebecca announces.
The crowd in the courtyard cheers. I see Mercy and Dylan toward the back of the ground, giving me a thumbs up. I'm happier than I should be at winning a dumb balloon contest.
I turn around to say something to Archer, to maybe cut the tension between us and figure out exactly is going on between us.
But he's already gone.
Chapter 39
After school, the girls want to get burritos and head down to the beach. I'm starving because I didn't eat anything at lunch, so I agree to go. We stop at a place called Alejandro's and sit outside on their small patio to eat our food.
“Archer left in a hurry at lunch,” Dylan says, as we eat. “What was that all about?”
I don't say anything and focus on my burrito.
“Archer being Archer,” Mercy says. “You know how he is. Probably thinking he was too cool to be up there.”
I know she's covering for me and I appreciate it.
“Reese certainly didn't like any of it,” Brooke says, smiling. “Was hoping she'd trip on her way down the steps.”
We all laugh.
“No, I know Archer doesn't really do that stuff,” Dylan says. “I was kind of surprised he even showed up. Would've totally been like him to blow it off.” She looks at me. “But then you and he won and I just thought he might act like...I don't know.” She shrugs. “I mean, you guys really fucked those balloons. I thought he'd at least be happy you beat Heath and Reese.”
We all laugh again.
“It totally looked like you knew what you were doing,” Dylan says, elbowing me and laughing.
“We did,” I say.
They all laugh and then keep their eyes on me. I don't say anything else. Mercy eyes me and tries to look distracted by her food. It starts to dawn on the other two as to what I'm saying.
“Wait,” Dylan says, her eyes going wide. “What? Does that mean what I think it means?”
I look at her, then shrug.
“Holy shit! Dylan says. “You and Archer? Hooked up?” She grabs me by the arms. “You have to tell me. He’s huge, right?”
I laugh. “I’m not going into details.”
“He is,” Dylan says. “I know he is. Wait. When the hell did this happen and how are we just now finding out?”
“Last night?” Brooke asks. “After the police?”
I nod and recount the same details I shared with Mercy.
“You sneaky little bitch,” Dylan says when I’m done. “And I mean that in the best of ways. I am so envious.”
“It wasn’t planned,” I say. “It just happened.”
“Not gonna lie,” Brooke says. “I’m more envious that you got into that suite. I’ve wanted to see that thing forever. I offered Nick all sorts of sexual favors to get up there, but he declined.”
We all laugh again.
“So what the fuck is his deal then?” Dylan asks. “Why did he bail so fast at lunch?”
I make a face. “Didn’t end great.” I shrug. “He started making assumptions and I didn’t like it and it just went to shit.”
Mercy touches my arm.
“Well, shit,” Dylan says. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I answer. “Is what it is.”
But it's not really okay. I wanted it to happen and then it was better than I even imagined it could be. I want everything to stay like that.
But then it didn't and I was awake all night, questioning everything, and then being with him at school and having him disappear into thin air just made all of it hurt a little bit more. It is the best thing that's happened to me since I moved to Del Sol and it's also the worst.
How can that be?
But I’m not sorry that I’ve told my friends. In my head, I feel like I'm making up for lying to them about my family. Which I know isn't really true, but I'm trying to spin it that way.
We finish our food and then leave the car at the restaurant to walk down to the beach. We're several blocks away and the walk through town and down to the parking lot feels good. There's no wind, the sky is clear, and the sun feels good on my skin. The girls chatter as we walk and by the time we get to the beach, I'm feeling better. And I'm trying to work up the courage to tell them about my parents and why I'm really in Del Sol, but I'm not quite sure how to bring it up.
I'm thinking about all of that as we cross the parking lot and hit the stand.
And then I look out at the water and I stop, like I suddenly realize the sand is made of broken glass.
&
nbsp; Knee deep in the water, Archer is standing there. His skin looks like melted chocolate in the sun and his board is floating next to him.
And Reese McClure is standing in the water next to him.
Chapter 40
“What in the fuck?” Dylan says.
Which sums up my thoughts perfectly.
Reese has her hand on his board and is maybe a foot away from him. I can't see his face, but they're clearly having a conversation.
Bree and Fallon are sitting on a towel closer to the water. Bree turns around, sees us, then says something to Fallon. She turns around to look at us, then smirks. Bree stands and walks across the sand toward us.
“Go away,” Dylan says.
Bree smiles at her and lifts her middle finger. “Fuck off, Dylan. What are you whores doing here?”
“We heard there was a sewage leak,” Mercy says. “Looks like someone just saw you guys.”
“Ha,” Bree says. “You're funny like a disease.”
Brooke shades her eyes with her hand as she looks at the water.
“You like what you see?” Bree asks.
“Literally, there is nothing here that I like,” Brooke says, not even looking at her. “Everything I see makes me gag.”
“How about you?” Bree says, turning her attention to me. “Do you like what you see?”
I don't say anything. I'm fixated on Archer and Reese in the ocean. She runs a hand through her hair and I swear she arches her back to push her boobs out toward him.
And it infuriates me.
“Looks like his fascination with the new girl is over,” Bree says, eyeing me. “Must've decided he saw something better.”
“Or he went fucking blind,” Dylan says.
“Can't she talk for herself?” Bree asks. “What's the matter, Nola? Too shocked to talk?”
I hesitate, then start toward the water.
“Nola, wait,” Mercy says, reaching for my arm.
I shake free of her and keep walking.
Right into the ocean.
The water splashes around my legs as I march out toward them. They both turn in my direction. Reese's lips are pursed together and she looks excited to see me coming, like it's what she was hoping for. Archer has an eyebrow up and seems more confused about my being there. Reese puts her hand on his arm and leans closer to him like she has something to tell him, but he leans away and pulls his arm away from her.