Page 27 of Redemption
When I get in, she has her arms crossed and is pouting as she glares out the window.
“Oh, come on. You can’t seriously be that angry with me.”
She doesn’t answer, just flips me a very obscene finger gesture, and I have to tuck my lips between my teeth to keep from laughing. That would only make the situation worse. But I almost choke, trying not to laugh at the thought of the once sweet and innocent girl sitting beside me turning into a rebel.
“Come on, MJ,” I say, sliding across the bench seat so I’m closer to her. “You can’t stay mad at me forever. Why are you actually mad at me? Eric is a jerk, and I just saved you.”
That catches her attention. Her head flies my way, and I get a whiff of her shampoo as she does. It smells like vanilla and coconut. I know because every time I give her a ride, it seeps into my seats and drives me crazy for weeks.
“Saved me,” she screams, reaching a decibel I’ve never heard before. Then she begins to laugh, and it turns a little maniacal. I can’t lie—it unnerves me.
“Saved me,” she repeats. “No one asked you to save me. I knew what I was doing—or at least I was learning. Between you and Langston, I’m never going to go on a date, let alone have my first kiss. So, I decided to take it into my own hands. That is until you showed up.”
There’s a wild look in her eyes, and at the thought of her kissing Eric, there’s probably one in mine, too. I feel wild—like I might burst at the seams any moment—and it’s the only explanation for what I do next.
Leaning in until our faces are inches apart, I say, “If you wanted to learn to kiss MJ, all you had to do was ask.”
Then her lips are on mine, and she sighs into me like I’m giving her the very air she breathes.
My hands come up and frame her face, kissing her like this will be the last time because, let’s be honest, it probably will be.I shouldn’t be doing this now. If Langston finds out, he will kill me, but the thought of her sharing her first kiss with anyone else drove me to the brink of my sanity.
A car door slams on the other end of the parking lot, and I jerk away, looking around us to make sure none of the other football boys saw me lip-locked with Langston’s little sister. When I see that the coast is clear, I return to MJ.
Her face is flushed, and she’s touching her lips like she can’t quite believe what just happened.
Join the club because I can’t either. Now that she isn’t taking over all my senses, reality is soaking in, and panic settles into my gut.
What did I do?
“I’ll uh—I’ll take you home,” I say, watching her closely for signs of regret, but that’s not the emotion I get. Instead, hurt flickers through her eyes right before a mask of indifference shutters over her features—the face of the rebellion.
“Fine,” she says, leaning back and looking back out the window.
Clearing my throat, I scoot back over to the driver’s seat, and as I drive her home, I pray that Langston never finds out that I’m in love with his little sister.
Chapter 9
Mallorie Jade
I’m wearing the blazer my mother bought me and attending an interview she scheduled.
What is wrong with me, you ask? My mother said please. That’s what’s wrong with me.
I left here determined to do the opposite of everything she wanted for me, and now I’m back—following a line she’s drawn. But somehow, I don’t hate it like I did when I was sixteen. I think it’s because, in her own way, she’s finally seeing me.
My shoes pound against the pavement as I pick up my speed. I’m not late—I’m just not early. My inability to be on time for anything used to drive Hayes crazy when I’d tag along with him and Langston. He never made me feel bad about it, but there was always a twitch in his eye that would get worse with each minute I ran behind. I used to do it on purpose just to watch it.
The A/C blasts me in the face as I open the door and step into a school that holds practically no fond memories for me—besides one, but that was in the parking lot, not the school. Plus, I’m not sure if I view it so fondly anymore.
Chatter comes from the office door to my right, and I pivot to head in that direction, gearing myself up for an interview I’m not ready for.
It turns out I’m not ready for more than the interview, though, because when I step into the office, a familiar tall blondegreets me with a smile so fake I want to gouge my eyeballs out from just looking at it.
“Hi, Mallorie Jade. It’s nice to see you again.” It’s what her mouth says, but her eyes say, “I was hoping I never had to have a second encounter with you.”
Same, Lily. Same.
Pasting on my best socialite smile—I guess that Southern Belle training came in handy after all—I step up to the counter she’s standing behind.
