Page 75 of Best I Never Had

“Anyway,” he says, a little too confidently considering everything he just told me. “How’s my Natty doing?”

My Natty. The possessiveness in his voice makes my blood simmer. As if she could ever behisNatty.

“She’s great,” I answer. My voice is strained, restraint barely holding back the urge to punch the smug smile on his face.

“That’s good to hear.” His smile grows wider. He’s completely ignorant, thinking that he’s making Natalia’s boyfriend jealous. But even though I’m not her actual boyfriend, the overprotective impulse makes my body tingle in an effort to defend her. To stand up for her and let this asshole know that Natalia isn’t wasting a single moment thinking about him, not even on their anniversary, which I assume he doesn’t even remember.

“You know, I do miss that little minx from time to time,” he says, placing a hand on my shoulder and squeezing it. “She knew how to get parts of me excited in ways I’m sure you’re aware of.”

The crack of my fist hitting his jaw is all I hear. The rumble of people gasping and clamoring comes next before Dexter rushes to my side, his splayed hand grazing my waist. I watch Matteo stumble to the ground, taking a stool or two with him as he grasps for something to catch his fall. I can almost see the stars circling above his head as he stands, all clumsy and staggered.

Dexter’s hands are still on me, ready to hold me back in case a second swing is in order. Matteo wipes the blood leaking from the corner of his mouth before he scoffs and looks at me. My hand vibrates at my side, numb from the adrenaline forcing the pain at bay. As I stand there, watchingMatteo gather his bearings, it starts to burn. My knuckles start to throb, but my focus is on Matteo, the anger cutting through his flared nostrils and glaring eyes.

“This isn’t fucking worth it,” he grumbles. He starts to walk away, storming past me toward the exit, but stops when he’s inches away from my face. “You can have my sloppy seconds.”

I struggle against Dexter’s now firm grip, ready to bury another fist into his nose, but stop myself. What good is this going to do? Pummeling his face into the ground to…what? To threaten him and tell him to stay away from mygirlfriend?

“What’s going on over here?” Both Dexter and I turn to face the bar, where the bartender stands in front of us with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Nothing!” Dexter answers. “That guy just bumped into us and tripped over the chairs. Probably too drunk or something.”

He nods before walking away, and Dexter turns to face me.

“Who was that?” he asks.

“Nat’s ex.”

“Why were you punching him?”

I wince from the pain that’s starting to shoot up my arm now that the adrenaline has abated. I look down and notice the redness and swelling that’s starting to puff up my knuckles. I shake my head, my face grim and angry. Sofuckingangry. “It’s nothing.”

28

Natalia

senior year

“If you want,I can rough him up a bit,” Tyler offers, half joking, half serious, with his arm loosely wrapped around Yuri’s shoulders. Yuri sits across from me, a large bag of sour cream and onions Lay’s Potato Chips sitting between us.

I finally told both of them what happened after prom when Alex dropped me back at home. I was hesitant, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention. But when all I could think of was Alex’s rough hands gripping my knees open a little too forcibly and his tongue pushing its way into my mouth after I had firmly pursed them closed, I needed to tell someone. Someone that I could trust.

While I knew that Yuri would have held my hand through the wholeordeal, I didn’t expect Tyler, Alex’s friend, to take my side, even offering to use physical aggression to scare him.

“It’s fine,” I say, attempting to reassure them both. I’m starting to move on, relieved that all that came out of it was the gradually fading memory of the incident and the yellowing bruises on my thigh. What bothers me the most, but shouldn’t, are the rumors that Alex is spreading around school calling me a cock tease and that I’m hiding a chastity belt under my clothes. Tina and a small group of her friends didn’t even bother to hide their snicker when they approached me in the girl’s bathroom, asking how I was going to use the toilet without a key to unlock my“celibacy contraption.” I shudder, thinking about the encounter when I scurried off as their laughter echoed off the tiled walls.

“Are you sure?” Yuri asks, her eyes concerned. “I mean, not about Tyler beating him up but maybe talking to someone else about it? Like the police?”

“No!” I gasp. “That’s so unnecessary. Really, I’m over it.”

Yuri’s eyes downturn even further.

“Or…I will. Get over it. Eventually,” I add. Eventually…but for now, I’m making myself sick thinking about those acute details I’ve tried to erase from my mind.

Yuri opens her mouth to say something when Lucy sinks into the seat next to me. Shestarts opening one of the two frosty Coke cans she brought with her, the aluminum seal letting out a sharp crack as she lifts the tab.

“Oh! We got sour cream and onions today?” Lucy squeals. She giddily reaches for a handful of chips as I eye Yuri not to say anything, my silent plea moving on to Tyler as I give him the same look. So instead of carrying on our conversation, Yuri and Tyler turn to face each other, their doe eyes holding a far-off look as they smile and whisper something I can’t hear over Lucy’s loud chewing and even louder gulping.

I look across the cafeteria and see Hayden walk in, his backpack slung on one shoulder and Jenny following close behind. She struggles to keep up while hedoesn’t even bother to look back to make sure she’s still there. His face looks tense, tight, as his eyes level over the crowded room. He sits in his seat along the long bench surrounded by other members of the football team, Jenny still trailing him like a puppy dog as he settles with his backpack on the table.

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