Page 127 of Steeling Her
“Haley, not helping,” she comments with a grin on her face but is silently telling her to zip it.
“What? He is—Wait! Are you . . . a virgin?” she whispers the last part and thank God, she has some sense when asking me. I swear, if she asked it while surrounded by people, I would have walked out on them and told them I’d meet them at the dorm.
I nod back at her question and she leans her head back. “I never would have thought,” she mumbles, and I get a little.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask her with a little edge to my tone. This catches her off guard a little.
“I didn’t mean it like that, I swear.” I soften my expression when I know she genuinely didn’t mean it like that. “I just . . . thought you already gave it up? That’s all. You’re a pretty girl, I just thought . . . I’m sorry,” she apologizes and now I feel bad for doing that to her. I just don’t feel so good right now. I easily get embarrassed and I’m not experienced in this area, so it’s extra embarrassing right now.
“It’s okay, I’m just embarrassed. That’s all. I’ve never . . . you know . . .” I bob my head hinting at the thing I can’t even say out loud.
“Had sex?” Danielle asks out loud with no shame, and Haley and I both hit her for announcing that.
“Would you like a microphone while you say it? I’m pretty sure the guys in the kitchen didn’t hear you,” I whisper in irritation at her.
“Sorry.” She holds up both her hands in surrender like I’m holding a gun to her head.
“Can we drop it? Yes, I’m a virgin, and it’s embarrassing to be one in college. I’m pretty sure I’m the only one in this college who is an honest to God virgin right now.” I fidget with my glass of water as I wait for the food to come out.
“Well, at least you’re a rare species.” Danielle giggles, making me smile and Haley laugh too. They always know when to leave it alone with me, and it’s the same with them. I always know when to drop it. So, I’m glad they don’t want to bring it up anymore.
If they did want to speak about it some more, they couldn’t because the aroma of our food being set in front of us was overpowering and it shut everyone up really quickly. The food looked so delicious, it made our mouths water. God that smells good.
The first bite was the best. We all moaned to the taste, but straight after, Haley followed it up with “Fuck off, does she have a tracking device on me or something?”.
I spin my head around to face the door to see the one girl I really don’t want to see or speak to, especially because my lawyers advised me against any contact with her unless it was for self-defense. They’re working on a restraining order against her. It’s leaning towards me, seeing as the college finally coughed up the security tapes thanks to my dad.
The click of her heels makes me rotate back around and ignore her, but I can’t when she comes right up to our table to comment on our eating habits.
“Greasy pizza girls? Shouldn’t you be eating a salad or something a little less . . . heavy?” The way she said that word implies something a little more than what she meant. We all stay silent, not wanting to entertain the thought of actually responding to her and her friends.
While they laugh under their breaths, we continue to eat and not listen to their horrible comments. It’s because of girls like them that eating disorders begin in innocent and self-conscious girls.
“Shouldn’t you get a tic-tac the size of a biscuit before you comment on our food. Your breath is kind of making me nauseous,” Danielle says sarcastically as she rolls her eyes, but continues to eat her pizza. I smile into my food for that quick comeback, one I sure as hell wouldn’t have been able to respond with enough attitude.
“I’m sure that’s the reason why you have a boyfriend. Oh wait . . . you don’t.” She places her hand in her hip and points the slice hovering over Danielle’s mouth.
“Neither do you, you dumb bitch,” Danielle says back with a growl, and I almost choke on my pizza with her brutal retort. That lights a fire in Maya’s eyes as she leans over the table towards Danielle but Haley is on her feet, backing her up and away from us.
“Leave, Maya. Get your food and leave us alone. You’re not going there with us. Not today, not ever, so leave,” Haley speaks lowly to not draw attention to our table, but it’s too late. People are staring at the six of us. All the while, I keep eating my pizza happily; grease and all.
“I have a right to be here, Haley, you can’t make us leave,” she spits back, stepping forward into her space. I stand up and tug on Haley’s sleeve, getting her attention. “Oh, Saint Carter to the rescue,” she comments. I roll my eyes and ignore her childish jab.
I don’t have the time nor energy to even respond to her and her ways. All she wants is a rise from me and evidence to go against me in the restraining order so she can continue to taunt me. That’s not going to happen.
“Don’t worry, ladies, the guys will get bored of you all and come right back to us,” Kelly comments, really pissing Haley off.
Kelly dated TJ in high school for a while, but TJ only did it because she pretty much begged him to. “You’re only the rebound,” Kelly mouths, and that really ticks Haley off. So, she throws a slice of pizza right into her face—smack bang in the middle—and rubs it right in, ruining her makeup. I sit there, wide-eyed staring at Kelly with meat and tomato sauce all over every inch of her face. My mouth falls open.
She just did that. Holy shit, Kelly’s face is smothered in red sauce, and there’s an odd pepperoni hanging on for dear life.
The two other girls behind Kelly gasp and stare at Haley. Then an older man walks over to us. I suddenly know who he is. He’s in a suit and tie, has salt and pepper hair, and looks like he’s really annoyed. I’m just not sure which one of us he’s annoyed at.
“Excuse me, you three need to leave.” To my surprise, he points at the three girls standing over at our table, his thick southern accent evident and tanned skin striking. He’s pointing at the ones who caused trouble and a scene. I, for sure, thought he would ask us to leave because Haley threw the pizza slice at Kelly.
“What? She’s the one who threw the pizza at me! She should leave, along with the other two bitches too!” Kelly waves her fingers at Haley, then to Danielle and me.
But the manager isn’t having any of it. He simply shakes his head and points to the clear doors they came in just moments ago. After a while of just staring at him, they finally decide to leave, but the girl who was serving us meets one of the minion’s stares that I, undoubtedly, picked up on. They both glare at each other for a while, and the dark-haired girl finally leaves out the doors. All of us are watching them as they glare at us while walking back to their car. All of them are unhappy about this not going their way or the way they had planned when they saw us all eating here.
