“I know,” I whisper as my thumbs wipe away her tears. “No matter what.”
“No matter what,” she says, still nodding. Her smile melts me.
Suddenly, a blaring horn slices through the silence. We both turn to look at Ryan standing on the driver’s side with the door open and his hand pressed down on the horn.
“Nice!” I shout back to him.
“I wanted to do it ten minutes ago, so you should be thanking me.”
“Guess our party is over.” She gives me her gorgeous smile. “Plus, if you don’t call your parents soon, there will be a search party out for you.” Her smile is enough to give me the strength to get off the swing. Then I lace my fingers through hers as I walk her back to Ryan’s car.
“Dude, a swing? Really?” Ryan says with a shake of his head and a sarcastic smile.
“Don’t knock it till you try it.” I give him a sly smile that I know will drop the subject quickly. After all, Ashley being with me is one of his least favorite subjects.
“Get in. I’ll give you a ride back to school. Nice kick, by the way.”
I turn back to him, ready for a fight. I can’t believe he just said that.
“What? I was talking about on the swing. Calm down.”
I smile and shake my head. “Asshole.”
“You know you love me,” he says, smacking my back as I try to get into the cramped back seat of his classic Mustang. “Awesome. Now I’m a chauffeur? Tonight just gets better and better.” He smiles, sliding into the driver’s seat.
“You know you love me.” I pat his shoulder and then lock my fingers with Ash’s. She’s right where I need her to be—next to me.
Chapter 13: Monday
ASHLEY
I find myself alone in the bathroom with RTS. Could this Monday get any worse?
“Ashley, Ashley, Ashley, this bathroom is reserved for seniors. The freshman bathroom is in the basement. Maybe you forgot?”
“Maybe you forgot I’m not a freshman.”
She rolls her eyes as if my presence is an annoyance. “Well, you’re not a senior.” She looks me up and down quickly. “I guess I should be nicer to you since you are going through a traumatic break up.”
“Don’t do me any favors.” I hate that her of all people thinks we are broken up.
“It’s about time Todd came to his senses. He’s just doing you a favor, really. I mean, he’s always been too good for you.” She rips off a paper towel with extra emphasis. “It’s a miracle you even lasted this long, and I still can’t even believe you’re related to Ryan.”
“You know, you’re right; I’m really lucky.” I continue to wash my hands and think for a second I should just walk away, but I can’t do it. “I guess I’m also lucky that Todd liked me enough to kiss me in public.” I can actually see the red crawling up her face like a vine. It brings me great pleasure. “Guess, you’re right; I have a lot to be thankful for.”
“You’re a real bitch, you know that?” Her face is now as red as the shirt she’s wearing.
“I was just standing here, minding my own business, honestly. And then I agreed with you … How does that make me the bitch?”
“Well, I’ll be the one kissing Todd every afternoon now.”
Don’t let her get to you.
“Is that so?”
“Oh, what, he didn’t tell you? He got the lead in the school play, and guess who got the lead opposite him?” She raises her eyebrows in question.
Why didn’t he tell me? God, I hate her.
“Well, since he’s my ex-boyfriend, as you so graciously pointed out, I don’t really care.”
My phone buzzes, and I’m grateful for the distraction. I take a deep breath to try to calm myself down as I check my phone. I don’t need to get in trouble at school right now, although maybe that will prove to my dad the break up isn’t a good thing. At that thought, I remember what Rebecca and I were talking about—the break up.
I see Todd’s name staring back at me, and I can’t help the smile that forms on my lips.
Not missing my smile, Rebecca chimes back in with her grating voice. “At least you still have a friend.”
I quickly put my phone back in my pocket. She doesn’t need to see who the text is from. I know, and that’s all that matters, so I push through the door to leave without looking back at her.
“And don’t use this bathroom anymore. This is for seniors only,” I hear her voice trailing behind me as the door shuts. Then I pull my phone back out to read his text.
Change of plans. Meet at Mark’s truck in SL for lunch.
I feel the flutter of butterflies at just the thought of him and lunch. Unfortunately, it is still hours away.
***
As expected, time ticked by incredibly slow until lunch. It feels like it was years ago when I got Todd’s text, but it’s finally time.
As I walk up to Mark’s truck, I see Todd and Mark standing outside of it. It’s strange that Mark is joining us for lunch. I try to hide my disappointment.
“Well, hello, little Taylor.” Mark gives me a head nod with a smile then he turns to Todd. “She’s all yours,” he says as he pats him on the shoulder and drops his keys in Todd’s hand. “Take good care of my, baby.” He slides his finger along the top of his truck bed then winks at Todd.
“Bye, Mark.” I shout out to him as he walks away. Once he’s out of earshot, I turn to Todd. “Why exactly are we meeting at Mark’s truck?”
“Because it’s not mine.”
“Right, I got that.”
“Well, no parents will recognize us, just in case.”
“Still not following.”
He gives me a crooked smile. “That’s why I love you, Ash. Get in.” He opens the door for me, and before he shuts it, he smiles. “Never skipped before, huh?”
My stomach flutters at the thought of skipping with Todd, but the practical side of me knows this is a mistake. However, my whole body knows this is one mistake I want to make.
I slide my fingers into his once he puts the truck into drive. “Where are we going?”
“Where else? As long as we’re back in time for our next class, we’re good.” He hands me a paper bag. “Here, I know lunch is important.” There’s that crooked smile again.
I open the bag, and of course, there is the infamous sloppy PB&J. “Do you know how to make anything else?” I ask, trying to hide just how happy I am.
“Oh, I see how it is. I’m sorry, but last I checked, you are also capable of making a sandwich.” He squeezes my knee, the smile never leaving his lips.
“Actually, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Our field is closer to school than where we live, so we are there within minutes.
“Wow, you ate that fast,” Todd says, looking over as he parks the truck.
“I wouldn’t want to waste our lunch time with something like food.”
He laughs as he presses his lips to mine.
“Don’t you need to eat?” I ask, secretly hoping the answer is no.
“I had a big breakfast. I knew what we were doing.” He gives me the slyest of smiles, and I swear I’m about to lose myself right here. “Come on,” he says as he opens the truck door.
Before I know it, we are lying in Mark’s truck bed, which is covered in blankets.
“We have twenty minutes,” Todd says breathlessly between kisses. “That gives us five to get back. So we’ll need to run to class.”
“I can do that now that I ate.” I can’t help pressing my smile into his.
His tongue twirls with mine, and then we are in full make-out mode. I cannot believe we are doing this out in the open. I mean, luckily the park is empty and the truck bed has sides, but I can still fully see the blue sky above us. It’s actually incredible. There’s something more intense about being surrounded by sky and trees, not to mention the risk of getting caught.