by L. J. Stock
“Oh.” I felt my cheeks heat, and looked back at my locker, feeling guilty.
“That includes wanting to show you off,” said Meg softly, nudging me with her science book. “He’s lucky to have you, and he knows that. He’s also crazy about you.”
“I’m crazy about him,” I admitted, fighting the urge to bang my head against my locker repeatedly. “Of all the people in this school, he was the last person I thought I would ever date. And here I am like a crazy person watching him from across the corridor, while he argues with his fake girlfriend.”
“Well, yeah. Only you could get yourself in a fucked up situation like that.”
“Shut up.” I laughed, peering over my shoulder before directing my glance back at Megan.
“You know it’s true. Just remember it’s you he wants, and not that…” She trailed off and looked at me apologetically. “Shit. She’s coming over, and Dustin’s right behind her.”
“What?”
“Don’t. Move,” Megan hissed through her teeth, plastering a fake smile on her lips.
“Megan,” Libby said from the other side of me, while my eyes widened at my best friend.
“Libby.”
“Who’s your friend?”
“This is my best friend, Miki. Miki,” Megan’s eyes met mine and nodded toward the space behind me, “This is Libby.”
I turned slowly and offered a half-smile to the gorgeous girl looking down on me like I was something stuck to the bottom of her shoe, her lip curling as she spoke.
“Hey.”
The one word was an echo of her earlier statement, just without the injected venom. I was perfectly capable of being civil and returned the same word with a small nod of acknowledgment, hiding the fact that I was counting in my head to keep myself from freaking out.
“Do you think you and I could talk?” she asked, while Dustin growled behind her and shook his head, encouraging me to say no.
“It’s a free country,” I replied coolly. I knew that I wasn’t helping the situation, but suddenly faced with Libby, I wasn’t feeling all that charitable or cowed, which is what I guessed she’d been aiming for. She was only an inch or so taller than me, with blonde, shiny hair that gleamed like melted gold. Her frame was tiny, with narrow shoulders and thin arms. I think if the two of us got into a physical fight, there was a chance I would break her. But Libby didn’t fight with her fists. She was far too clever for that. I was the one who had to remember herself here.
“Not here.” Her voice was sweet enough to rot my teeth.
“Leave her alone, Libby,” Dustin warned her, his tone acidic.
“Hush now, lover. Let the girls talk,” she cooed patronizingly, waving her fingers over her shoulder in an attempt to dismiss him, but from the glare he gave her, this wasn’t a new move on her part. “Go and do your boy things.”
I raised my eyebrows, surprised at my own anger rising rapidly. Gritting my jaw, I looked back at Dustin and smiled sweetly before drawing my eyes back to hers and slamming my locker shut. I’d dealt with women much worse than her. My dad had a certain prerequisite for the women he invited home with him these days, and some of them would have made Libby look like a doormat in comparison. I didn’t like confrontations—hated them, in fact—but that didn’t mean I couldn’t defend myself when the occasion arose
“Sure thing, Sugar,” I replied in the same simpering tone she’d given Dustin. “Lead the way.”
Ignoring the grunt from Megan and the look from Dustin, I allowed Libby to lead the way to the closest restroom and let the door swing shut behind me, not so much as flinching as Libby pushed the stall doors open while she checked for an audience. Once satisfied, she spun around, her hands on her hips, and her eyes narrowed at me.
“Stay away from Dustin, little girl.”
“Stay away from him?” I asked sweetly, heading to the sinks and leaning against the closest one, my hands gripping the lip of the porcelain as I leaned back. “What makes you think I’ve been near him?”
“Don’t play coy with me. You think I don’t know that you’re encouraging the way he looks at you. You are a nobody, and yet here you are in a low cut shirt so he’ll look at you. You’re body flirting with him,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest and pushing her breasts up.
“I’m what?” I snorted in derision. I was honestly perplexed. I’d thought she’d figured out that Dustin and I were together and she was attacking me for something completely different. She was more of an idiot than I’d given her credit for.
“Body. Flirting.” Pushing her hair over her shoulder with a flick of her head, she raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at me. “You’re flirting with him by the way you carry yourself and the looks you give him. I see those smiles you aim his way, you little slut. I invented those smiles. You do the same with Troy, too.”
“You’re insane.” I was trying my best not to laugh out in surprise and add fuel to the fire.
“No. I’m possessive of what’s mine, and Dustin is mine. I don’t know who you think you are, kid, but this is your first and last warning to stay away from my boyfriend. If I see you so much as looking at him again, I will make your life miserable. So miserable you’ll wish you were never born.”
In possibly the worst move I could have made, I broke my self-control and started laughing in her face. The only way she could make my life miserable now was to take Dustin and Megan away from me, and that wasn’t ever going to happen through her invention. My life had been a mess since I’d lost my mom, and I had learned I could survive anything if I put my mind to it. Her threat was an empty one.
“Well, good luck with that,” I said, too sweetly for the sentiment to be sincere. “Dustin is his own person with his own mind. Your mistake has always been that you’ve taken him for granted. You’ve always assumed he would be there waiting for you, worshipping the ground you walk on. He’s definitely too smart for that, and you constantly underestimate him. He and I are friends, but you’re even too insecure for that, aren’t you?”
I headed toward the door, my hand closing around the cool metal handle as my anger simmered. I hated denying my relationship with him, but she was pushing my buttons, and I was in danger of giving her too much. People like Libby always won. They were backed by the totem pole of popularity, all of those under her, lifting her and standing at her back when she needed the boost. I believed with all of my heart that she’d never had someone respond to her the way I just had. She’d always been given her way, and she would suffer for that oversight eventually.
“You can’t force someone to love you, Libby, and you can’t buy love, either. This is Dustin’s life you’re playing with. Pull your head out of your ass for just a second and look around. You’re not as hot a commodity as you think you are.”
I pulled open the door and gazed over my shoulder at her contorted face. She looked angrier than I felt, which only made my wrath hurtle into a place that was too dangerous for me to stay. Before I could turn around, she sneered, her lip curling.
“Funny for you to say that when you’re a nobody,” she spat, crossing her arms tightly under her chest. “Stay away from Dustin. He’s my boyfriend, and he doesn’t like you stalking him.”
“It’s better than blackmailing him,” I shot back and turned, freezing when I saw half the school on the other of the open door. Dustin, Troy, and Megan were standing closest to me. Dustin’s expression was unreadable, Troy looked like he was about to laugh, and Megan… she reached forward and grabbed my hand, knowing the warning signs she saw in my eyes. Without further thought, she towed me away, the crowd of students parting around us as she went.
I let her take the lead as the horror rushed through me. I’d inadvertently revealed that Libby was blackmailing Dustin, and in front of the entire school, too. Without even trying, Libby had followed through with her threat, and she’d made me condemn myself. She had played her part beautifully. I didn’t care that the school would undoubtedly think I was stalking Dustin in som
e misguided crush. Those rumors would eventually pass like they always did. I was more concerned with the look in Dustin’s eyes when I’d turned around.
Megan pulled me out of the school and then pushed me into the passenger seat of her car carefully, closing the door and leaving me to stare dumbfounded out of the windshield as she headed to the driver’s side. As she climbed in, her lips puckered and cheeks ballooned as she exhaled all the air in her lungs out.
“Wow. That was intense,” she said, turning her engine over.
Ignoring the commentary, I turned my head and leaned my cheek against the material of the headrest. “Where are we going?”
“For a Blizzard. Then I’m taking you to the old tracks so you can scream out your frustrations.”
Giving her a ghost of a smile, I rolled my head back, so I was staring ahead at the other cars in the lot. The acrid smell of the cars first blast of heat stung my nose as my mind caught up with what happened. I really hoped I hadn’t damaged what Dustin was being forced to do, and I truly hoped he would forgive me for what I’d said. Before I even tried to apologize, though, I had to get my head on straight and put my thoughts back in order. My scathing temper had been one of the few things I’d inherited from my father and, like him, I needed time to cool down before I faced the problem and attempted to right the wrong.
Chapter Ten
Megan and I had only skipped two periods in my bid for some calm. Our trip out to the abandoned tracks on the outskirts of town had helped, just like it always did. Knowing exactly what I needed was one of the benefits of having a friend who knew you almost better than you knew yourself. Standing there on a cold day with an ice cream in my hand, I’d screamed to the abundant rolling fields all the things I really thought about Libby, and exactly what she could do with her claims on Dustin. I think I even surprised Megan with my colorful language—something else that could be attributed to my father and his assortment of guests who made their way through his home.
Once the ice cream was gone and my throat hurt from screaming, I knew I had to talk to Dustin before the situation became an awkward thing between the two of us. The sooner we talked this stupid faux pas out, the sooner I could move on from the guilt and nervousness that was eating me alive. Searching the school for him had become fruitless, though. Megan and I had come back in the middle of the period before lunch, and he hadn’t been where he was supposed to have been, which meant he was in one of two places. If I knew him like I thought I did, he’d have had the same idea as I did and would be waiting for me where we could talk about what had happened.
The cooling breeze tangled in my hair as I straightened from my climb to the roof of the gym. The strands whipped against my face as a gust swept past me, carrying with it the dulcet tones from a country station on the radio. Apparently, I knew Dustin better than I thought I had. When he was feeling upset about something, he always reverted to country music. Garth Brooks, in particular. The only difficulty now was figuring out exactly what he was upset about.
Standing and listening to the closing bars of the playing song, I knew I had to be the one to approach him and make apologies. So, I sucked in my breath and marched across the gravel, knowing full well the sound would give away my approach as the small stones popped and rubbed against the others under my steps.
Not bothering to knock, I pulled the door of the shack aside and peered in, finding Dustin sprawled out on the twin bed in just his jeans, one arm flung over his eyes. The warmth from the small space heater made the air in the room oppressive, but he barely seemed to notice. Dustin looked amazing half-naked, and I took all the time I had available to drink him in while I waited for him to acknowledge my presence.
“I feel your eyes on me,” he finally said in good humor, his arm dropping until his palm was resting against his chest. He held out his other hand in invitation, his eyes pleading for me to take the olive branch.
I didn’t hesitate.
I couldn’t, not when he was offering me solace and comfort after I’d been the one to lose my temper with Libby. The moment my fingers slid against his palm, his hand closed around them and pulled me to him, locking both arms around me as I landed on his front, my chest finally settling against his.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
“I figured,” I admitted, pressing my cheek against his warm chest. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to lose my temper with Libby today, Dustin. The last thing I wanted to do was risk the deal you have with your dad. I just got so mad. She…”
“Wait. You think that’s what I’m upset about?” he asked, one of his hands moving to the nape of my neck and tangling with my hair. He pulled my head back gently and met my eyes. “I don’t give a shit about Libby or what she feels, Mik. I was upset because I couldn’t defend you. I couldn’t tell the people standing around and listening that you’re the one I want in my life, or that she and I are the lie. More than anything, I hated that I couldn’t follow you when you rushed off with Megan because the girl who is pretending to be my girlfriend gave me a threatening reminder of the deal she made with my father when I turned to follow.”
Dustin rolled so we were both on our sides, him hovering over me only the smallest amount, but enough to make me feel overwhelmed by his presence. One of his legs nested between the two of mine, an easy and familiar position for us both.
“I was pissed at myself because I was too much of a coward to call her out then and there like I should have.”
I couldn’t help the overwhelming sense of love that washed over me as I looked up into his eyes. He’d wanted to protect me. He’d wanted to comfort me. He wasn’t upset with me, and he understood me enough to know why my need to flee had arisen. The only thing I hated was that he felt upset with himself over the misunderstanding.
“I was jealous,” I admitted, flopping to my back and looking up at the ceiling. “Everything she said ate away at my self-control until I had only two choices.”
“Walk away or slap the shit out of her? She has that effect on most people.” Dustin rolled until he was completely hovering over me, his amusement now lighting his blue eyes. “The thing is, she’s jealous of you, Mik. She confronted you because she knows you’ve got more class and grace than she could ever have. You’re more beautiful; you’re sweet, kind, and pure-hearted. Even Troy adores you, and he’s never liked her. Libby knows these are her golden years. She knows she will never mean this much to this many people again and she feels threatened by that. She has no idea how little you want that kind of adoration. She just sees competition. She can see how much I want you, and she tries to eliminate the challenge before anyone else notices.”
“I only want one thing she has,” I whispered, reaching up and brushing my fingers along his jaw. “And that’s you.”
“You already have me.” Dustin kissed me harder than he normally would at school. The kiss was filled with promises and declarations, passion and need. This was a kiss filled with love, even if he hadn’t said the words aloud. He didn’t need to say them. I understood. I felt my love for him and his love for me in the very depths of my soul.
Heat flooded my body, channeling through my veins and pooling in the pit of my stomach. When he eventually slipped his body between my legs and rocked against me, I knew we were about to take this further than we had before in this little shack of ours.
Piece by piece our clothing came off until we were skin against skin, our breathing ragged and needy as the magnetism between us fell into place. Sex was now inevitable and welcomed. I needed to feel him as much as he needed to claim me, so I gave myself over like I always did.
I must have fallen asleep after we’d made love. That was fast becoming a habit for the two of us as we exerted ourselves, bleeding every last ounce of energy from one another until we collapsed, spent and limp-limbed. My favorite thing to do was wake up tangled with Dustin, my body aching and flesh tingling. Only this time we were at school in the middle of the day, the distant sound of gym class trickled in throug
h the window.
“Dustin.”
“No one knows we’re here,” he whispered into my hair, already figuring out what I was panicking about. He was always so intuitive when I least expected him to be. His gentle kiss on the crown of my head had me relaxing infinitesimally. He and I were the only two with a key, and we were safe, even if I did feel really strange knowing I’d had sex with a class full of freshmen and juniors below us in the gym.
Dustin ran his fingers up and down my bare arm in slow, languid strokes as we lay there together in a comfortable silence. My thoughts were miles away from the screaming match I’d had with Libby, but as much as I hated to admit it, I would have to see her sooner or later. I wasn’t sure what to expect from her, but the slip about blackmail had more than likely tipped her off to the fact that I knew more than I should. When I felt Dustin’s slow inhalation of breath under my fingertips, I assumed that he had been thinking along the same lines, but he surprised me.
“What are you doing for Thanksgiving?” he asked, he stubbly chin catching some of my fine hair.
“Thanksgiving?”
“Yeah. It’s only a week away.”
I gave a small shrug, my fingers pausing momentarily before continuing the lazy pattern they’d been idly making. Thanksgiving was normally spent at the Hern’s house. They ate at around one and then we all took a nap before the football game started. That’s when Megan and I escaped as quickly as humanly possible. She may have enjoyed high school football, but that was her limit when it came to sports.
“I eat with Megan and her family every year.”
“Your dad doesn’t do Thanksgiving?” he asked, surprised.
“I stay away from the house on Thanksgiving. I might even sleep here. He has a party rather than the small gatherings he usually has. Fights are the norm.”
“Damn. Can I meet you here?”