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Summer's Desire

Page 23

by Olivia Lynde


  As for my clothes: I have my gray ripped jeans on, which look almost as good on me as my skinny ones. I'm wearing a white gauzy undershirt beneath a rose blouse with boat neckline, tight waist, and bell-like sleeves. I also have my gray coat on, unbelted.

  Still, feeling so many eyes on me when I haven't even alighted from the car yet, makes me want to disappear into my seat. My proclivity for making myself invisible has become almost instinct after the past five years, and being the center of everyone's attention instead makes me break out into a cold sweat.

  Seth slips his key out of the ignition and turns to me. Clasping my left hand, he starts to stroke the inner surface of my wrist with his thumb.

  "Why are you so nervous?"

  "I'm not," I squeak, trying to ignore his sensual touch which is already setting excitement to simmering low in my belly. Sweet goodness, this boy has utterly ruined me! He's only touching my wrist, for crying out loud, and I already want to jump him!

  "Sunny, in case you haven't figured it out yet after our many years together, let me tell you now: you can't lie to me worth a damn. So I'm asking again: why are you so nervous?"

  His question distracts me from my lustful thoughts, at least.

  "Well, of course I'm anxious! Everyone will be throwing me nasty looks and whispering about me like on last Friday. You have no idea how awful it was after you absconded from the parking lot!"

  His blue eyes glitter apologetically. "I'm sorry about Friday. Leaving you like that was really crass. But I had to leave so I could cool off."

  I scowl at him. "Yeah, I remember that you couldn't get away from me fast enough."

  "Sunny," he tells me with a light squeeze of my wrist, "it'll be different today. I won't leave your side. Trust me?"

  I sigh, resigned. "Let's just go and get this over with."

  He leans down for a searing kiss, and I savor the brief but oh-so-delicious contact. He's stealing my lip gloss but I don't care, and anyway, my lips will still be wet and glistening after we finish. Our mouths separate at last, then he gets out of the car and goes round toward my door.

  Okay, calm yourself, Summer!Surely there's no reason for panicking. I don't think Seth's fangirls will tear all your hair from the roots for taking Seth off the market... They'll probably leave you with a few single strands.

  I quickly make sure that my ponytail is secure. It is, but maybe the couple of curly tendrils I left free at the side of my face to look pretty weren't the best idea. Oh well, at least I'm starting out with a nice hairdo before I eventually lose my hair and, most likely, have my eyes scratched out.

  Seth has already opened my door and is waiting patiently for me. After another deep breath I alight from the car at last. I fasten and belt my coat, then I clasp his outstretched hand, and together we walk toward the school entrance.

  All the students in the area turn to look at us like a single body, eyes narrowing on our holding hands. The whispers, like a swarm of crazed bees, start immediately.

  Seth doesn't react to this at all. I'm certain he hasn't missed even the smallest detail of everything that's happening—even when we were children, he was always vigilant and aware of his surroundings, and I've noticed this hasn't changed in the slightest now that he's grown up; if anything, his constant alertness seems to have intensified—yet at the same time he seems completely focused on me.

  "What do you have for your first class?" he asks me.

  "Honors English with Mrs. Roberts. What about you?

  "I've got Homeroom this morning."

  "Seth, I have to make a stop by my locker to get some books. Gosh, am I glad that I've kept all my school stuff here, or Jessica would have destroyed it too."

  His hand tightens on me for a moment, then relaxes. "Yes, that was a stroke of luck. I'll walk you to your locker."

  The students around us seem like an endless, churning sea parting to let us through, all of them watching us with expressions ranging from bewilderment to outright shock and, in the case of many girls, envy and resentment—aimed at me, of course. Well, resent me all you want, gals, but he's mine now and I don't plan on letting him go.

  Unbelievably, as Seth and I are walking together, a few shameless vixens actually dare to sashay up to him with flirty smiles. My boy cuts them off with a single deadly glare. Oh, and there are even a couple of guys who seem to be eyeing me lustfully. Am I seeing this right? Yes, I am. Oh, lordy!

  Undiscriminating bunnies, indeed! Last Friday I didn't even register on their (attractive) girl radar. Then today, they're checking me out like there's no tomorrow. I suppose this is typical teenage male behavior? Show them boys a pair of legs and a butt displayed to advantage in tight jeans, and let them figure out that you actually have a waist and breasts underneath your clothes—and they turn to idiots? Hopefully, they'll grow out of it in time.

  I mean, Seth is a hundred times more subtle (and sensually lethal) than all these green high school kids put together. He's the same physical age as they are, but in experience and self-control he's light-years ahead.

  What sets him aside from the regular crowd is, I think, to a great extent just his basic personality—so forceful and self-assured. Of course, his life experiences have also shaped him greatly. Seth was acting like a wise little old man even at seven years of age. He hasn't had an easy life, and it shows in his exceptional maturity.

  And speaking of Seth's forceful character... He's definitely disgruntled at the male attention that's newly focused on me. As we're walking through the crowded hallways, he lets go of my hand in favor of wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me possessively into his side. When I look up at him, I see him aiming some truly chilling stares at the most overtly lustful boys. Confronted with Seth's (even if I do say so myself) awesomely forbidding glower, the poor fools all pale dramatically, swallow nervously, and quickly look away.

  I stifle a very satisfied smile before it shows on my face, but on the inside I'm doing a victory jig. Heavens, I know it's terrible of me to feel this way, but I'm delighted that he's jealous. God knows, I am definitely jealous with him, and the fact that Seth apparently feels the same way about me seems like a balancing of scales.

  Having at last reached my locker, I retrieve my books, and Seth insists on carrying them. In the hallway in front of my classroom, he leans into me and gives me a fleeting kiss. Then, handing me my books: "See you after class, baby."

  I smile at him and enter the classroom, ignoring all the astonished/resentful/admiring glances directed at me. I take my seat next to Marcie who, judging by her frozen expression, has also seen me with Seth through the open door.

  "Good morning," I greet her carefully.

  Her face gradually thaws into a cautious smile. "Hello. Summer, you look amazing today! I really love what you're wearing."

  "Thanks." I grin a little at the sincere compliment.

  She shakes her head. "And here I was thinking that the ruckus you caused on Friday was the most excitement I'd see in pretty much all my high school career. Talk about naive, right? 'Cause today there's gonna be mayhem the likes of which R.-High has never seen before, I'm sure."

  I scoff. "Jeez, Marcie, you're making me sound as if I'm an agent of chaos."

  She raises her eyebrows. "Uh... you can't deny that you've been here less than three weeks and you've already caused a huge hullabaloo." Hullabaloo? How does she come up with these words? "As for what I just saw... Trust me, that'll shake up the very foundation of R.-High."

  "But Marcie, I'm not the one at the center of turmoil! Seth is. Obviously, if Seth weren't so well-known or popular or whatever, we wouldn't be having these problems. And anyway, it was just a little peck."

  She gives me a pitying look. "Umm... it wasn't the peck. That was really kinda tame for Seth; he's been seen giving much heavier smooches to girls." I scowl at her, but she continues, undeterred: "But he's never been seen"—she starts counting on her fingers—"holding hands with a girl, carrying her stuff, and walking her to her class. You
still wanna tell me there's nothing between you?"

  I swallow, a bit nervous. "He's my boyfriend." And it's a little scary how much I love saying those words.

  She gives a bark of laughter. "Wow, that's so funny! Oh, Summer, you're a hoot!"

  I stare at her.

  "You mean it wasn't a joke?" She appears shocked. "Oh crapety, I'm so sorry, Summer. I wasn't laughing at you!"

  "Why were you laughing then?"

  "Well, just the idea that Seth I've-never-been-in-a-committed-relationship-and-really-wouldn't-know-the-meaning-of-commitment-even-if-it-came-and-bit-me-in-my-perfectly-shaped-behind Lewis has gone and made you his girlfriend, just two flipping weeks after you arrived in town, is mind-boggling—you have to agree. How in the world did you two get together? Before Friday, you were never even seen talking in school!"

  What total bullshit! Seth absolutely knows the meaning of commitment: in all our years together, he's always been there for me, caring and protective, and he's never once broken a promise to me. That he has obviously never wanted to commit to any other girl, however... that makes me fiercely glad.

  But how to answer Marcie's question about how Seth and I became a couple? "It's a long story."

  "And you don't wanna share it with me," she says quietly, correctly interpreting my closed-off expression. "I kinda already got that impression when you didn't show up at lunch on Friday, and then ran from Dana and me after Chemistry like you were Speedy Gonzales." She sounds... hurt. Not because she doesn't get to hear the gossip, but because I don't trust her.

  I instantly feel guilty. She's a nice girl and she's been kind to me from the start.

  "I'm sorry, Marcie, it's just that I'm not very good at being someone's friend. Seth and I... we have a very complicated history. But I'll tell you what I can of it, okay?" I give her a small smile, and she instantly grins back, full of joy. Heavens, she's so easy to please.

  The teacher arrives and class starts, and I whisper to Marcie that we'll talk at lunch.

  * * *

  The hours fly by quickly.

  Seth meets me after each class, takes my books and accompanies me, my hand wrapped in his, to my next class. He always leaves me with a light kiss on the lips. The stares and whispers get progressively worse.

  Also, at one point, something odd happens.

  We're walking to my Algebra 2 class when a lanky, tattooed guy with baggy jeans, lots of chains, and spiky hair crosses our path and brushes against Seth's free side. In a blink, I see a little black object changing hands, from the lanky guy to Seth, who immediately slips it into his pocket. This honestly happens so very fast that I would never have noticed it if I hadn't already been watching the guy—because in a sea of gawking faces, he had been the only one not staring at me and Seth.

  I go up on my toes and raise my mouth as close as I can to Seth's ear. "What's with the flash drive?"

  He gives me an amused look. "You don't miss anything, do you?"

  "Well?"

  His lips twitch at my unhidden curiosity. "It's insurance."

  "What kind of insurance?"

  He becomes thoughtful. "I don't want to talk about it. Please let it go."

  I glance at him probingly and see that he's completely serious. Hmm.

  Well, if it were anything that concerned me, he would have told me (probably). And I suppose the fair thing to do is for me to respect his privacy. In some things, at least.

  So... "Okay," I agree, a bit grudgingly nevertheless.

  We've just reached my classroom.

  He smiles. "I have a free period next, so I'll do weight training with Coach. But that usually lasts longer than a normal period, more like 60 minutes, so I can't walk you to lunch. Is it all right if I come look for you straight in the cafeteria?"

  "It's fine, Seth."

  He kisses me gently, then waits until I've entered the classroom.

  Afterward I look back over my shoulder to see him one last time, but he's already disappeared in the crowd.

  * * *

  After Algebra 2, I'm walking alone in the direction of the cafeteria, and I realize just how much being accompanied by Seth earlier had protected me from the worst scrutiny and gossip.

  More girls are giving me openly disgusted looks, and more boys are leering at me. I also catch various snippets of conversation. Unlike when I was with Seth earlier, the kids don't bother to keep their voices down anymore.

  The girls are probably the worst:

  "Who is she? I don't think she's even a student he—"

  "...just some stinky stalker."

  "...totally looks like a prostitute, with those puffy lips and overblown chest." Seriously? I'm just a C cup, not Triple D. Jeez, these girls are mean!

  "...gotta have some real dirty tricks, like a super-slut or something. I mean, why else would Seth Le—"

  "—ver been like this with any other girl."

  "He's never screwed any good girls. Which says it all about this whor—"

  "...out of nowhere and gave it up to Seth after like one second. Like, right there in his car, at the side of the ro—"

  It goes on and on.

  I do stumble across one interesting snippet as well: "—ssica. The bitch finally got what she deserved. Annie said she heard her bawling in the ba—"

  But before I hear more, the student traffic forces me to turn the corner.

  As for the boys, they're plenty bad too:

  "Ooh, sweet pocket Venus! Great legs, sweet ass, ooh sizzling booty..."

  "I'd tap that!"

  "Whatcha say, babe, wanna try on a real man? Heard you like it rough and dirt—"

  "Shut up, man!... Lewis' girl. Do you want to lose your ba—"

  The cafeteria door slams after me with a bang.

  Red-cheeked, I make a beeline for Marcie's table and drop down into my usual seat. All the other students in the room have turned almost in unison toward my table—jeez, is this a cartoon segment or what? Everyone is staring at me.

  My table companions, with the exception of Marcie, are also looking at me like they don't know me. Really, this is like out of a really awful movie!

  Will closes his gaping mouth and unglues his tongue. "Girl, you look hot today!"

  "Will!" Marcie reproofs him in mock-outrage.

  "What? She's hot. I noticed before that she's very pretty, but her getups were kind of distracting. But now, dressed like that and with her hair like that, she looks scorching hot."

  Dana grins widely. "Definitely an upgrade, Summer! Seriously, I'm proud of you. And your old clothes?"

  "All slashed," I tell her darkly.

  She nods happily. "Perfect. Personally, I would've burned them, but your way's good too."

  Robbie clears his throat. He seems both embarrassed and upset. "So, are you like... with Seth Lewis now?" He blushes engine-red.

  The others wait expectantly for my answer.

  "We're together as of this weekend," I tell them and watch their expressions go slack with amazement.

  "Wow!" That's Will.

  Robbie asks suspiciously, "Together how?"

  Huh? Ah, he wants to know if I'm simply his latest fling. Heavens! Is that what they're all thinking? Except for Marcie, that is, to whom I've already talked before lunch. She looks very unruffled now.

  I clarify for the others: "We're together as in he's my boyfriend." Again, I feel a tingle of satisfaction at being able to claim him like this. The others fall quiet once more, seeming astonished, probably trying to process my news.

  I become aware, out of the dozens of stares trained on me, of the intent glances I'm getting from the popular table. The cheerleaders are all present... except for Jessica. Interesting. The jocks are all there as well, except for Seth.

  Oh, and Josh is also absent, thank mercy! Word is that he'll be missing school for a few more days on account of some family emergency. Yeah, right. I hope he's still lying in a hospital bed somewhere, in excruciating pain, the awful scumbag!

  While gazing at
the populars though, I realize that not just a few but in fact all of them keep glancing... at me. Almost as if they're talking about me right now. The little hairs at my nape rise in warning.

  Marcie notices the direction of my gaze. "Yep, that's a real reversal all right, from uh... the natural order of things, I guess. I mean, usually it's us here staring at the popular table. But now, oh my gosh: the whole popular table is staring at us. I mean, at you, really."

  I swallow the knot in my throat. "They're probably just wondering what the situation with me and Seth really is. I don't think anyone's had a chance to really speak with him yet; he's always been with me between classes. Plus, there seem to be some wild rumors circulating about us," I add in major understatement.

  Dana shakes her head. "No, Summer, most everyone sitting at the popular table was in Senior Homeroom today with Seth. That's why they're so goggle-eyed with you, definitely. I heard that Seth announced this morning that you were his girl and basically threatened to cut off the head of anyone who even thinks of messing with you. And coming from Seth Lewis—yeah, that's a seriously scary threat."

  "He did that?" I whisper, wide-eyed.

  Dana nods, cocking her head at me in a searching manner as if she's trying to figure me out. Or more likely, trying to figure out what it is that Seth sees in me.

  "But wait a minute!" I draw my eyebrows together. "If Seth announced our relationship this morning, why did you guys ask me if I was together with him? Didn't you already know?"

  "All this Seth-and-Summer stuff is still very fresh gossip," says Dana. "And there's so many insane stories flying around that it's impossible to separate truth from fiction yet."

  "Anyways," Robbie comments bleakly, "even if Lewis had said that, there was always the chance that he was delusional."

  Marcie, Dana, and Will all give him incredulous looks. So do I. He glowers back at us, defiant.

 

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