Hearing Todd’s voice was incredible, but seeing him today is really what I need.
“Somebody is anxious to get to school,” Ryan says as he opens his car door.
“Yeah, yeah, just drive,” I answer as if he’s crazy, but it’s true. I have been sitting in his car for the last twenty minutes.
“Yeah, yeah,” he mocks as he pulls out of our driveway. “You talk to him this morning?”
“No. You?”
“No. Guess still no phone.”
“Mr. and Mrs. H. suck even worse than Mom and Dad. I can’t believe how much I hate them right now.”
Ryan doesn’t make a joke, only glances over with a sympathetic look. Then he takes a deep breath as his eyes meet the road again.
When we pull into the SL, I see Todd. He’s already here, leaning against his car and talking to Mark.
I swear, if it wasn’t for my seat belt or my brother sitting next to me, I would open the door and jump out while the car is still moving. But my parents would probably just blame Todd for any broken bones, and then we would never be able to see each other again.
As soon as Todd sees us, he comes over to Ryan’s car. Before I know it, I’m in his arms again and can finally breathe. Everything feels right with the world when his hands meet mine.
“I love you,” he whispers in my ear and then kisses me with so much passion I forget we are standing in the middle of the SL, surrounded by people. This kiss is full of everything I am feeling: hurt, pain, love, longing.
“Our parents made them break up,” I hear Ryan say, explaining the fact that neither of us are coming up for air. “Nothing to see here, folks,” I hear him say to passing students as he tries to block us with his body. Then MC joins in, and luckily, he’s a giant of a person, so he’s more successful than Ryan. Normally, Ryan would walk away, so he must really feel bad for us.
“Hamilton, you might want to get a room,” I hear Brian’s sarcastic drawl in the background, and then Blythe says, “What?” She sounds as appalled as I feel, so Ryan must be explaining what happened. None of this makes us separate, though.
I feel his hands slide over my arms and move down my back before they push through my hair. My lips are starting to get raw and burn, but I can’t stop, and I know Todd feels the same way.
“Teacher,” Ryan warns as he clears his throat. Then both Ryan and Mark say, “Teacher coming,” through coughs.
Todd must register it and what will happen if we get in trouble and have our parents called, because he abruptly pulls away. We both start to straighten out our clothes, and when I look up, I see Ryan, MC, Brian, and Blythe have made a human wall around us. This single act speaks volumes, and I know they have our backs.
Mrs. French passes our group, with just a nod and a smile. Phew.
“Thanks, guys,” Todd says as he wipes his mouth and grins at me. Both of our lips are red and swollen. Man, our parents should make us break up more often—that was amazing. Wait. What am I thinking?
“You need to be more careful,” Ryan says, taking on a parental tone. He eyes me and Todd, and I see the concern. I know without him saying anything that he cares. As much as he hates us together, he doesn’t want to see us apart.
“You’re right,” Todd agrees, dead serious. Then he turns to me. “He’s right, Ash. If we get caught, and they know we’re still together …” He shakes his head. “They can’t know.”
I just nod.
“I still don’t have my phone, but you know where to meet up, right?”
“Yup,” I say with a grin.
“I don’t even want to know.” Ryan shakes his head with a smile then turns to walk away.
***
I nonchalantly walk up to the janitor’s closet and knock twice, as if this is a perfectly normal thing to do. The door instantly opens.
Two knocks is our signal; it means the coast is clear.
Todd’s hand quickly pulls me into our closet where the smell of bleach fills the air. He brushes his hands over my hair and pulls me farther into him.
“I missed you.”
“I know. Breaking up sucks,” I whisper back with a smile.
“Tell me about it.” He leans down to kiss me. “We have twenty minutes. Charlie said he’d cover for us at lunch. He doesn’t need anything in the closet since this is his lunch break, too.” I feel him wrapping my hair around his finger as he talks through the plan. “So every day at lunch, we can be alone.”
“We can take turns packing lunches,” I interject.
“Sure.” He pulls me closer. “Or we don’t have to eat.” He gives me a sly, crooked smile.
“I, personally, need to eat,” I say with a kiss at the end of each word.
“Oh, yeah?” He returns each kiss as his lips float down my neck.
“Or I’ll never make it through swim practice.” I run my fingers through his soft hair as his wisps of breath send chills through my entire body.
On my words, I feel his body tense and his kisses stop, but his head remains resting near my neck, so his breath is still caressing my skin.
“Have you talked to him?”
“No,” I say, continuing my trail of kisses. I will not allow Casey to draw a wedge between us. “And I’m not going to.”
He stops and pulls back. “Don’t tell him what happened, Ash. Let’s not tell anyone the truth. This should just be between us.”
“I wasn’t planning on it, but I’m pretty sure Ryan told everyone this morning to explain why we were mauling each other.”
His eyes are locked on mine, his hands cradling my jaw. “Yeah, I know, but I’ll talk to them. The more people who know, the better chance of word getting back to our parents. We need to act like we’re not together. It’s you and me, same as always, but people shouldn’t know. I think everyone needs to think we’re broken up. I’ll talk to Ryan and the guys. You talk to Sid, Blythe, and Shane if he knows.”
“Done.” I can’t stop kissing him. I can’t get enough. I feel like he’s going to be ripped away from me at any second. “But wait. What about Casey? Do I tell him we broke up?”
“Shit. Casey.” Todd clenches his fists at his side and then runs them back through his hair. “I guess you need to tell him, or maybe just don’t bring it up. Let him think we’re still together. Don’t say one way or another.”
My heart starts to pound at just the thought. Casey is tough to get anything past. I know he won’t stop trying to figure it out if he thinks something is up.
“Look at me, Ash.” He pulls my chin up so our eyes lock. “We can do this; just until we convince our parents they’re wrong. Remember that I love you. You. No matter what.”
“You, too. No matter what.” I step up on my tiptoes and kiss him to show him just how much. Then we hear the muffled sound of the bell ringing and know our time is up.
After Todd opens the door and peeks outside to make sure the hall is empty, he looks back to me and then drops my hand.
“Here we go.”
***
I have been dreading seeing Casey. I want to punch him myself. I know he has no idea how much trouble Todd got in after their fight or what happened, but in my heart, I blame him for everything. Now I need to try to hide all of that and act like everything is fine. I know he’s going to see right through me, though.
I am the worst liar.
My heart is slamming against my chest, and I feel like I might vomit. Good thing I didn’t eat anything for lunch today. Damn, I didn’t eat anything today at all. This practice is going to be rough.
“Here goes nothing,” I whisper to myself.
“What?” Janice asks.
Wow, I really need to stop talking to myself out loud.
I give her a fake smile. “Oh, nothing. Sorry.”
“Hey, how was homecoming? Your boyfriend is so cute.” She giggles.
Fake, fake, fake, I think to myself.
“It was great,” I say with a plastered smile as we approach Casey and the rest of the team.