Page 19 of Friend
I was in such shock that I stepped aside as he pushed past me, throwing his arm over Bianca’s shoulders. The brief contact between us reminded me of how much we’d changed. Years ago—when Cory was nothing more than an annoying speck throwing erasers at the girls—we’d been the same size. But now, even though I wasn’t short at all, he was taller. Plus, he had a better form than me.
Though, it didn’t matter if he was bigger. Or if he called me ‘nerd.’ I could still kick his ass.
What was more important, however, was that until this moment, I never really thought about how much larger he was thanBianca. He was a big wolf, and Bianca looked miniscule in comparison.
Still, she didn’t appear to be afraid of his presence—especially considering what happened between them yesterday and our brief discussion about Adrian.
I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
Or maybe it was because she’d seen Cory’s idiot side too many times for any long-term fears to take root.
All I knew was that it was growing increasingly obvious it was not Cory that Bianca feared. Which was incredibly surprising, especially considering their past.
“You’re doing it again. What’s wrong with you?” Her voice was thick with suspicion, and she ducked out from under his arm to face him. “Did a ball hit you on the head? You haven’t even been on the field for five minutes.”
Cory’s left eyebrow twitched before his annoyance was masked over, and it was clear from his nervous glance around the area that he was hyperaware of the curious stares of our classmates. “Maybe I am injured,” he said with a shrug. “But you’ll be able to make it better for me later.”
Bianca turned her chin up, studying him with a perplexed expression. “What are you talking about?”
“When we go on our date,” he said, and from the growing look of confusion on her face, it was obvious that she was as unaware of this development as I. “When we go see that stupid dinosaur movie everyone’s talking about.”
I expected instant rejection. However, my stomach turned uneasily as she pressed her finger to her lips, pondering.
I had underestimated her love for that franchise. “Really?”
“There’s that new burger joint too,” he said. “We can stop there first.”
Bianca’s look of consideration deepened—of course she’d been tempted by food.
“They have milkshakes,” he added with a wink.
My heart pounded as panic began to stir in my stomach. What the hell was wrong with her? Why did it look like she wanted to go? It was a no; the answer shouldalwaysbe no!
I stepped between them, throwing my arms open. “I don’t think—”
“Oh, shut up. No one asked you.” Cory pushed my shoulder, and I could only stare at him in confusion as I stepped back.
What was going on? He’d never beenthisstupid before. Why was he touching me?
Maybe he really had lost his mind. Otherwise, why would he pick a fight with me? Usually, our fights were in the heat of the moment, but, lately, he’d been growing ballsy.
And my dad did bring up a good point, I had been in alotof fights these last few weeks.
Goddamn it. Maybe Bianca was right, maybe he really did have something going on.
If that was true, then I couldn’t just beat him. That would just makemethe bully. Hurting those who were compromised wasn’t really my thing.
“Don’t pick on him!” Bianca’s protest cut through my wavering resolve, and my heart leaped in my throat as she moved in front of the wolf and beat his chest with her tiny fists.
The strangest sense of possession filled me as she glared at him on my behalf.
Even though, at least right now, there was absolutely no way she could take on Cory, she was still defendingme.
This was another reason why I loved her.
“Stop it.” He grabbed her wrist.
He wasn’t being aggressive, nor was he trying to hurt her—he’d only done it to stop her from hitting him. However, I’d become so familiar with her reactions that it was impossible to miss the flicker of panic in her wide eyes.
