Page 55 of Lovesick
I can practicallyhearher grinning. “Youarea scaredy cat!”
I lift my head in defiance. “Fuck yes, I am! You expect me not to be afraid of a demonic-ass woman? Nobody’s head should bend at that angle. It’s not anatomically possible.”
Still cradled in my arms, Merit laughs before gently picking a piece of popcorn out from my hair. “No, no. I get it. Your reaction is valid.”
God, I want her so badly. None of this is fair. I could continue holding her like this, and nobody would notice. Why am I even considering my scruples right now? The world threw me into a tough position, and it can’t be mad at me when I do everything in my power to look for a fail-safe.
I glance down at our unplatonic predicament. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be…”
“I don’t mind,” she blurts out. “It feels nice.”
It feels better than nice; it feels like I’ve got the best thing in the universe right here within arm’s reach. My missing rib—a part of me that was never supposed to be separated, and a part of me that I refuse to be away from any longer.
I adjust my embrace so she’s comfortable, my lips twitching into a grin. “Does this mean I can hold you for the rest of the movie?”
“Nice try, Casanova. Ten minutes tops.”
“Fuck it, I’ll take it.”
16
ANYTHING BUT CLOTHES
MERIT
“Hold still,” Irelyn grumbles, poking her tongue against the inside of her cheek as she pulls the caution tape tighter on my body.
“Why couldn’t I wear a sheet or something?” I grouse, suddenly very self-conscious about how snug this electric-yellow tape is.
Irelyn, fashioning a very sophisticated dress made of playing cards—a project she spent all week slaving over and, in the process, became an unfortunate cautionary tale about the misuse of hot glue—glares at me from beneath feathery lashes. “Because this is Sig Chi’s notorious ABC party. And Crew Calloway practically asked you to be his plus-one. The whole school is going to be there.”
Ah, yes. An ABC party, short for an Anything but Clothes party. The one time when it’s socially acceptable for guys to go slinging their dicks around. When I initially agreed to go with Crew, he failed to mention Sig Chi’s strict theme adherence. If I’d known that I would be parading around in flimsy plastic the whole night, I would’ve politely declined and scheduled a one-on-one date with me, my couch, and a tub of Ben & Jerry’s.
I narrow my eyes at my well-intentioned—though entirely misled—best friend, trying to ignore the way that my chest sets aflame from the unsubstantiated insinuation. Or maybe it’s just heartburn.
“I’mnotCrew’s plus-one. We’re just going as friends.”
Irelyn snorts. “Yeah, friends with benefits.”
“No. No benefits. Friends. F-R-I-E-N-D-S,” I say, not above drilling the message into her head as many times as I have to. I’m not sure who I’m trying to convince at this point.
Why does Crew have to be so…him? Why does he have to have such irresistible hair and unlimited charisma and a body carved from pure marble? God, and the fact that he’s going to most likely be half-naked when I see him? It’s like the world is setting me up for failure.
Speaking of failure, I might as well be dead to my parents if they ever find out I was imitating a poor man’s Lady Gaga. While Irelyn has made sure to cover the needed areas, she still leftplentyof skin showing on my midriff. Not to mention that the hem of this so-called “dress” doesn’t pass below the curve of my butt, and she’s created some kind of tube top contraption that pushes my boobs up a whole cup size.
My movie night with Crew was perfect. Even though we weren’t actively conversing with one another, I still felt closer to him than ever. And the way he held me? I never wanted to leave the drive-in.
“Says the woman who went on a movie date with him,” Irelyn points out.
She’s got you there.
“It was hardly a date!”
“Keep telling yourself that, Mer. But trust me, Crew Calloway has got it bad for you. He took you to the drive-in, for crying out loud. That’s the most romantic place in all of Maple Grove, and rumor has it that he doesn’t date. Some of the Alpha Phi girls in my ethics class said that Becky from Kappasaid that Michelle on the cheerleading team said that Crew has never been with the same girl twice. At least, not at his old school. You somehow domesticated the biggest man whore at MU.”
Crew isn’t a man whore—he’s just protective of his heart.
I slide my ring up and down the crease of my finger joint. I wish I didn’t have to wear it tonight, but if my parents get any sneaking suspicion that I’m up to no good, it’s lights out for me. They were already suspicious about my midnight movie rendezvous, which resulted in yetanotherlie that has become increasingly easier for me to tell.
