Page 57 of Stealing for Keeps
“What did Austin do?” Lacey asks as she pulls a streamer down from the basketball goal.
“What could he do? He ran out of there before my mom woke the entire neighborhood threatening to call the cops. Then she spent the next hour lecturing me on perverted teenage boys.”
Andie snorts a laugh. “I got that same talk from my parents when I started dating Brandon.”
“But it wasn’t like that,” I stress to them. “If anything, I was to blame. I was drunk, and he helped me out of my dress, and I just…I wanted to feel something besides sadness and anger.”
I wanted to feel it with him, but I don’t admit that part.
Lacey looks to Andie. “Two drinks, and she’s tearing off her clothes. Who would have thought?”
My face heats. Maybe it was the alcohol, but it isn’t like I hadn’t thought about it before I drank too much and was all alone with him in my room.
“I am mortified,” I say.
“Why? You’re hot. You just showed him what he was missing.”
“Poor Austin. He must have been so conflicted. Pretend not to notice how hot you are or get pummeled by Vaughn.” Andie and Lacey continue to laugh, but my stomach rolls with unease.
“That’s not all…”
My friends both stop and stare at me.
“I dared him to kiss me.” I want to curl up in a ball and die.
“What?!” Lacey’s voice is shrill, and Andie squeals with excitement.
“He didn’t,” I say. “We didn’t.”
He was going to though. I felt it. One minute longer and my mom would have walked in on a completely different scene. She probably would have called his parents and the school then.
“Have you heard from him today?” Lacey asks.
“He texted last night to check on me, but I didn’t respond.”
They both seem surprised by that.
“If I respond, he’s going to want to talk about it, and I’d rather pretend it didn’t happen.”
“Oh, sure. No problem.” They laugh.
“Do you think I can switch to home school for the rest of the year?” I ask my friends.
“Your mom would love that. Are you kidding? She’dhave you back skating every hour of the day as soon as that boot is off.” Lacey’s tone gives away her feelings on that. But she’s wrong. Now that I can’t skate competitively, I’m not sure she’d see the point.
“Would you really want to spend all day with her?” Andie asks. She’s spent less time around my mom, but she knows enough to realize how torturous it’d be.
“Right now, it sounds better than facing Austin on Monday.”
“It’s fine,” Lacey insists. “It’s not like you slept with him. You didn’t sleep with him, did you?”
“Oh my god. No, of course not.”
“Good, because once you sleep with them, they lose all interest. That’s why this one is still making Brandon wait it out.”
“That is not why.” Andie shoves Lacey playfully before she bends down to pick up more decoration trash from the gym floor. “We’re waiting until our one-year anniversary.” She blushes. “I want it to be special.”
“It will be,” I tell her. “Ignore Lacey. She’s still salty about Zach touching her boobs and then getting back together with Maureen the next day.”
