My head started to spin, and I bit my lip while he kissed my chin and along my throat. “I’m new to this. I-I can’t juggle both of you guys. I-it’s not f-fair to either of y-you.”
He licked my collarbone, his hand slipping under my shirt again, his fingers shifting beneath my bra. “All’s fair in love and—”
I twisted my head away and slapped a hand over his busy mouth. “Stop it! I don’t need you quoting some dead guy’s words to me.”
He actually licked the inside of my palm! I dropped my hand and made a show of wiping it on my shirt.
He backed off. His nails lightly scraped my chest and stomach as he removed his hand from under my shirt. He had a sneaky look in his eyes. “Pam doesn’t have a problem running around with two guys. You should ask her how she does it.”
“What the hell are you talking about? She and Toby are exclusive.”
He snorted. “She’s screwing around, and Toby doesn’t have a clue.”
“Tell me.” I lifted my hands in a plea. “This is my best friend you’re talking about.”
He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “Maybe for a price.”
He is such a son of a…. “I can always ask Pam.” There, let him get out of that.
“You could. But I bet she won’t tell you. If you say I know something, I’ll deny it. I have a way with women where they believe anything I say.”
Not this woman! “Just because I won’t make out with you in some closet while my boyf—”
He sandwiched me against the wall. His fingers dug into my arms. “No way is he your boyfriend. You deserve better. I’ve decided us being just friends isn’t working for me.”
My lips trembled, and I blinked back tears. “Why are you ruining everything? I thought we’d agreed we would—”
He cupped me behind my neck and leaned toward me. I moved my face to the side, and he kissed my cheek instead. Grunting, he rubbed his lips there. His hand traveled down my back until his palm landed over my butt.
My stomach flipped again, and I gagged, trying not to hyperventilate. “L-let me g-go.”
“You’re shaking. I never meant to scare you.” The dazed light in his eyes disappeared. “I just wanted to, fu—”
His mouth snapped shut, and he shook his head.
I laid my palm to the middle of his chest. His heart raced. I needed to get away and fast before he lost it again. “I think we should get back to the group. By now they know we’re missing.” My stomach turned, and it wasn’t from the amount of candy I ate.
I moved off to the side, ready to run. Dylan didn’t stop me.
“Lay off the booze next time,” I stammered, kicking myself for sounding so weak.
“This isn’t over, Wonder Woman,” he whispered.
I stopped before I turned the corner. Dylan appeared sexy, all rumpled and angry. “You don’t have the right to call me that. Only Pete does.”
I bolted, and he cursed. I didn’t go into the bathroom or the auditorium but outside to catch my breath. I stood there, hidden by bushes, while I wiped the tears from my cheeks.
I felt like I had the flu. I was shaken up and sweating like crazy. My heart raced as if I had just gotten off a rollercoaster.
On one end I had a handsome, yet egotistical, over-the-top aggressive boy who wanted me and no other. I’d never noticed him staring at other girls like he did with me. I couldn’t figure out this sudden change in him and how he almost attacked me. I couldn’t understand my own reaction.
On the other end was Pete, my dearest friend, who I needed more than anybody else. It would destroy him if he found out how I felt about Dylan. Not having Pete in my life would kill me.
Dylan was getting out of control, and his jealousy was very ugly. Why me? I had a bad feeling I wouldn’t be the one to suffer, but Pete would be the victim in all of this. I had to remain strong for him and not give into the temptation Dylan offered.
Chapter Sixteen
I hurried inside the auditorium, but no one seemed to notice anything strange. Not Pete or Pam or anyone else. Dylan stayed on the other end of the room, talking to other people. I went over to Pete and gave him a hug. Dylan smiled at me and winked. I ignored him.
“What’s wrong?” Pete asked with concern and patted my back.
“I’m not feeling too well. I threw up all the candy I ate,” I lied.
“You okay, Wendy?” Christina asked. “You’re pale, and your eyes are bloodshot.”
Megan just frowned at me.
Pam and Toby had just finished dancing. She continued swaying to the music, and Toby went over to talk to his friends. “Sorry I left you in the bathroom. I had to take a call. If you were going to be sick, I would’ve held your hair back for you.”
I rubbed my face against Pete’s shoulder. “It’s okay. I knew how important your phone call was.” I gave her a pointed stare she would understand. Her eyes widened, and she started rummaging through her purse.
Gotcha!
“I don’t think I’m going to make Rocky Horror.” I peered up at Pete. “Is it okay if we leave?”
“Sure. Let’s go.”
Pete went over to get my broom and bag. He started talking to Toby. Anthony sat there with his arms crossed and gave Pete a disgusted eye roll. Glancing at me, his eyes softened. There’s no way I was the object of his affection. He must be staring at someone else.
I glanced over my shoulder, expecting to see some girls, but only Conner spoke with two guys from the soccer team. Before I could figure out who Anthony was googly-eyed for, Pete returned.
I gave Pam a hug. “We need to talk. I’ll call you tomorrow,” I whispered into her ear.
She nodded.
Pete and I said our good-byes. Holding hands, we walked across the floor. I scoped out Dylan. He stood there with his arms crossed, wearing a reserved expression on his face again, and observed Pete. I shivered.
We exited out into the cool October night. I wanted to lie in his arms and forget about tonight from the amount of candy I ate to the boy who’d given me soul-sucking kisses that made me want more.
He dropped me off at my house and gave me a hug. But he didn’t kiss me. If he tried, I would’ve stopped him because it wasn’t right for me to have the taste of another in my mouth.
“I’ll see you in a few?” Smiling softly, he drew away a few stray strands of hair that had fallen over my eyes. His flushed face was such a welcomed sight.
“Definitely. I might just fall asleep right away. I’m not feeling all that great. I think I need to throw up again.”
He backed away with his hands up. He hated anything to do with vomit. “Let me get ready for bed. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of. Maybe if you ask nicely, I’ll rub your stomach.”
Smiling, he stepped back, watching me, then ran across the street and into his house. He would be awhile. His parents were like mine. They would want to know about tonight.
I went inside, leaned against the door, and took some deep breaths.
“Wendy, is that you?” Mom called from the TV room.
“Yeah it’s me.” I sighed and went to tell my parents a few more lies like I’d told Pete.
***
I sat up straight in bed, shaking. My hair covered my face. I touched the empty space next to me. Pete wasn’t there. The nightmare gave me a scare even though I couldn’t remember any of it.
He sat writing at my desk. I said his name. He turned, dropped his pen, and came over to the bed.
“You’re shaking.” He pulled me in for a hug.
I held him tight and hid my face against his shoulder. Tears wet my cheeks, leaving his shirt damp.
He cupped my cheek. “Bad dream?”
I pressed my face deeper into his palm. His hand was so warm, yet rough from stocking shelves, moving boxes, and lifting weights. I loved his hands on my face. His touch made me feel safe and protected.
“Yeah. I’m better now.” My heart calmed down. I motioned with my head at my desk. “What are you doing up?”<
br />
He let me go and snagged a brown leather book off the desk. Sitting next to me, he caressed the cover with his hand. “It’s my journal.”
“You’re writing one of your short stories?” I wiped my nose and leaned against my headboard. “Having trouble sleeping?”
He patted his book and smiled. “I guess I have insomnia. Blame the excitement on tonight. I’m not writing a story. This is where I write about my life, things that happen to me. My thoughts and desires.”
“Am I in there?” I went to grab his book.
He held it away and dropped it on the floor near his backpack. “Sorry, Wonder, this is for my eyes only.”
“If I’m in it, I think I should see what you’re saying about me.”
He chuckled softly. I fell against him, resting my head where I could hear his heart beat. He played with my hair. I peeked at his backpack, trying to think of a way to get his journal and read it.
“Nice try. If you let me read yours, then maybe I’ll let you read mine.”
I poked him in the side. “I don’t keep a diary. I’m not the type to write.” I yawned again, feeling sleepy.
He spoke against the side of my head, his mouth warm and damp. “I know. You have so many other talents.”
I smiled but couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. “Why don’t you tell me some of them?”
He laughed. As he told me what great talents I did have, I fell asleep with his hand rubbing my stomach, this time without any dreams or nightmares.
Chapter Seventeen
Whenever I try to stay away from someone, that person seems to know and pops up everywhere. I really didn’t want to be the type of girl who’d end up dating two guys at the same time. Pete would be devastated, especially since we weren’t just sharing kisses, but engaging in some heavy duty make-out sessions where we’d gone as far as undressing down to only our underwear. It wouldn’t be right for me to be with him that way and then with Dylan the same way. He would take things much further than just kissing and touching.
After Halloween, I made sure never to be alone with Dylan and always in a group when he appeared. He tried his best to catch me alone, and those times he did find me by myself or sat next to me, he touched me or whispered some very sexual things. At first I was flattered, but then it became annoying and finally too much and close to sexual harassment. I did my best to ignore him.
The Thanksgiving holiday was almost upon us. Pete would go away with his parents to his grandmother’s up in Maine for the long weekend. Those four days without him would be the longest ever. It would feel like I lost a piece of my heart. I guess that was what falling in love was like.
Wednesday before the holiday, we biked in the park. He wanted to get in one last ride before he left. It was almost four in the afternoon and a nice chilly thirty-five degrees.
“We’re not doing this anymore until spring. I’m freezing out here,” I yelled at him. We shot down the street circling the park.
“Wimp!” Pete flew by me.
I was done. I craved a cup of hot chocolate and both of us snuggling under a blanket in my bedroom.
I was trying to keep my red wool cap on my head from blowing away but then I paused, noticing Pam across the street. Strange. She never came to the park and wouldn’t be caught out in this weather. She hated the cold more than I did.
“Hey, Pam!” I waved my red wool mitten-covered hands in her direction.
She turned but didn’t come over. From where I sat on my bike, I could see her eyes were red. She’d been crying and huddled in her gray pea coat. She looked like she might run away but then she crossed the street.
Pete sat near the bottom of the hill, waiting for me. I waved for him to go on. He nodded and pedaled away.
“Pammy?” I said her name in concern as I got off my bike.
“Wendy, I’m—” She began to sob, and I placed my arms around her in a tight hug.
“What’s the matter? Did you and Toby have a fight?” Things had seemed more strained between them. I couldn’t help but remember what Dylan had told me on Halloween.
“No. Things are okay with him.” She moved away and wiped her eyes. She wasn’t wearing any mittens or gloves, and her hands were red and chapped. I took mine off and handed them to her.
She pulled them on. “Won’t you be cold?”
“Nah. I’m fine.” My hands would feel like ice in a minute. I stuffed them in my pockets and watched Pete ride down the hill. “He’s going to get himself killed one of these days.”
“Who?” she asked.
“Pete. The way he flies down that hill without steering his bike worries me. He’s going to end up bashing his head in.”
I sighed. The big, careless lug was all mine. I almost told Pam then that Pete and I were together, but she seemed like she might burst into tears again.
“What’s wrong? You’ve been out of it for a few weeks.”
She nodded. “I did something stupid, and I have no one to talk to about it.”
I was offended and told her so. “Hello? You’re talking to your best friend here. What are you hiding?”
“What makes you think I’m hiding anything?” she asked in a defensive tone.
“It doesn’t take a genius to know you’re doing something shady. Plus, I’ve known you forever. You go out of your way to avoid me. Plus, you aren’t returning any of my calls. So, what gives?”
“Hi, Pam. How’s it going?” Pete sounded out of breath. His nose had turned red. He cupped his hands together and blew into them.
“Hi, Pete.” Giving me a scowl, Pam moved her face down farther into her coat.
“Um, Pete, is it okay if I walk Pam home? It’s getting late, and I’m freezing anyway.”
He nodded. “Sure. Want me to walk back with you?”
I wanted to smack my head. Men were so dense sometimes.
Pam let out a loud sigh, and her lips twisted into an ugly grimace.
“Why don’t you go ahead? We’ll be okay. We need to talk about girl stuff.”
The light bulb came on in his head. “Oh. Okay.” He waited, as if he expected more from me. I think he wanted a kiss, but I wasn’t going to give him one with Pam there. He shrugged, leaned over, and patted my shoulder.
“Catch ya later, Wonder Woman. See ya, Pam.” He turned his bike around and took the path out of the park.
I rolled my eyes. “Guys can be so oblivious.”
She didn’t seem to find the humor in it. “Can we go?”
“Sure. Did you drive here?” She lived on the other side of the park, so there was no real reason for her not to walk.
“I didn’t drive. I wanted to clear my head and thought no one I knew would be here to bother me.”
“But here I am.” I pushed my bike across the street with Pam beside me.
“Yeah. I never knew you came to the park so much.”
“Pete loves to bike and takes me along for the ride.”
She didn’t respond and remained hunched in her coat. I almost recommended we go to my house, but then Mom would know something was going on and would ask a million questions. I didn’t think Pam was up for Marie Wyman grilling her.
No one was at Pam’s home. Her parents must have gone to pick up her older sister and brother at college for the holiday break. Pretty convenient to have two siblings at the same school.
“Your parents picking up Dex and Luce?”
She nodded and grabbed a box of hot chocolate from the cabinet and put two mugs of water in the microwave to warm up. “Is hot cocoa okay?”
“Great. I’ve been craving it for an hour.”
Pam took off her coat. I did the same, and we sat at the kitchen table. She didn’t say a word. The ticking of the clock on the wall broke the silence.
“I’m going to get to the point. Is there another guy?’
She didn’t yell or look offended. Tears formed in her eyes, and I got up to get some napkins to hand to her.
“I…I love Toby, I really do. Bu
t we’ve been together for so long. I’m too young to be with just one guy. He talks about us going to college together and getting married.” She shuddered.
“Have you told him it scares you to talk about your future like that?”
“No. Every time I try to, I feel so bad. He’s such a great guy, Wendy.” The microwave pinged and she took out the mugs.
“You like someone else?”
She brought over two mugs and the hot chocolate. As we fixed our drinks, she blew her nose. “You could say that. I…I can’t tell you who. Please don’t ask me. I’m not ready to say yet.”
“Okay. It’s not Dylan, is it?”
She snorted. “Ah, no. I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“Hey, if you want to go for him, he’s all yours. But you should—”
“Not with him. Thank God. Can you imagine me fooling around with Toby’s cousin? It’s bad enough.…”
“Huh?” I shook my head, trying to keep track of what she was saying.
She stirred her drink. “It’s not just me liking another guy. I…cheated on Toby.”
“Oh.” I took a sip, trying to think of what to say. “Um, when you say cheated, do you mean making out or more than that?”
Her face reddened. “More,” she mouthed against her cup.
“As in you needed to use protection?”
She nodded and began to cry. I moved my chair over and placed an arm around her shoulders.
“When?”
“The first time was at the end of September.”
I was beyond shocked. “The first time?”
“Yes. I’ve…we’ve done it more since then.”
“Oh, Pam.”
“I know! I’m a horrible person!” She cried harder, and I handed her another tissue.
“Does that mean you and this guy, uh…Toby and you have…?”
“Yes. We’ve had sex. We’ve been together since seventh grade, so what do you think?”
I didn’t want to think anything. Oh, boy. If this got out, the crap would hit the fan big time.
“Does he have any idea?”
“No. He’s clueless. I guess I’m a good liar.”
I stared down at my mug, suddenly feeling antsy. “Okay. You’re worried about Toby finding out. What about this other guy? Does he want you to break things off with Toby?”
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