Page 76 of Brick Wall
Maggie: Switch me spots.
JT: Not a good idea.
Maggie: Why? Mickey’s your best friend. I want to get to know him.
JT: He’s swirling all the food on his plate into one big pile.
Maggie: Yeah…no. I’ll stay here.
Maggie: Hey, are you awake?
JT: Yeah. What’s up?
Maggie: Nothing. Everything’s fine.
JT: When someone says everything’s fine, that’s a guarantee it isn’t.
Maggie: No, it’s probably nothing. My brain’s in overdrive and I wanted to talk to you.
JT: On my way up.
JT: I’m on the steps. Is your door unlocked?
JT: Did you fall asleep?
I must read through our thread a dozen times, but nothing jumps out at me. I’m overreacting and that’s not like me. I’ve got ice in my veins. I’m cool under pressure. Nothing rattles me. But when it comes to Maggie, all bets are off.
CHAPTER 28
MAGGIE
I haven’t seenJT in almost a week. He had an away game and then I was deep in the study cave prepping for my exam. I had one free night, but of course my uncle kept them for an extra hour and by the time JT messaged that he was free, I was asleep.
I’m here in the library this morning hoping I can convince him to sneak off into the stacks with me. It’s foolish and desperate, but I don’t care. Our texting and sexting isn’t enough. I’ve had so much on my mind lately that I just need an hour in his arms for my world to feel right again.
I also need to come clean with him about some of the things that have me so stressed. Well, one thing, really.
I’m late. So late. But my periods have never been regular, and my boobs hurt like crazy today, so I’m totally sure Aunt Flo is on her way.
But if she isn’t…JT and I need to talk.
That’s hard to do, considering our schedules lately.
He’ll be at Uncle Hudson’s in a few days for Thanksgiving, but it’s not like we can talk then.
Today is our only shot, which is why I’m sitting at our favorite couch waiting for him. I might be a few minutes earlybut I’m nervous and sex-starved, so I’m giving myself a pass. I should probably crack open a textbook while I wait, or embark on another quest on the internet to see if stress can cause you to miss your period…
It can.
But it isn’t the only cause of a missed period.
Not helpful, internet.
Before I can work myself up into hysterics, I spot JT across the room. He’s got a brown paper bag and two white cups, and I could kiss him because I can smell the chocolate from here. And it smells good. It does not make me want to vomit. That’s good, right?
“Hey,” he says, setting his stuff down and taking the seat catty-corner to mine. We’re careful not to kiss in public. We do our best to look like two people who happen to be doing the same thing in the same place at the same time. I think we’ve gotten pretty good at it.
He slides the bag my way and I shoot him a smile. He opens his laptop while I grab my notes. A few minutes pass before a text comes through. I glance at my watch.
