it .“ Yo u’ re nice . ”
“ And I bet yo u’ re bad, huh ?” Jake replied, teeth flashing.
“ Bad for you . ”
“ Yo u’ re good at pretending. Ever thought about joining drama club ?” The grin was only widening.
“ Blow me .” I said, my tongue out.
“ What else are you good at ?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.
A slut has to keep up appearances, even one who only ever kissed a boy.
“ Sex . ”
“ Is that all ? ”
“ Pian o … ” I said, looking down at the floor. Dad used to play piano with me, back befor e …
“ I play guitar, and bass .” Jake said.
“ What, no trumpet ? ”
“ Thought that was your thing .” Jake said grinning.
“ Do n’ t get any idea s … ” I said, smiling back.
“ I can see right through you . ”
The words shook me. He could see through my facad e… I turned away, trying not to lock eyes again. Principal Clark popped back out of his office .“ Sh e’ ll be here in a few minutes, if I were you Katie, I’ d think about how yo u’ re going to explain yourself. Mr. Stone, please, come in . ”
Mr. Clark disappeared back into the door. Jake took a moment shuffling in his bag before standing up and walking past. His foot kicked my chair lightly, hand flicking a small piece of paper toward my lap.
“ Call me sometime .” Jake said quietly, still in motion.
“ Sometime is a stupid name .” I replied, listening to his chuckle as the door clicked shut behind him.
Chapter 2: Soon
The look on my mothe r’ s face could have turned a lesser girl to stone. She was n’ t happy, and especially hated the fact I’ d stolen liquor from my stepdad. Screw him though, he was a stupid alcoholic. Did n’ t stop her from grounding me for the whole week. She did n’ t take away my phone, thank god. I did n’ t have many minutes left to talk, but I sure could text.
Oh boy could I could text.
“ You up Sometime ? ”
I hit send, my finger tingling as I hit the button. I had n’ t felt this way in a long time. Not since Sean, maybe not since even before that. Jake was n’ t like everyone else, he seemed to see right through me.
“ Sure. Wha t’ s up ? ”
“ Still stuck in my room. Save me ? ”
“ Sure, let me get my do n’ t shoot me hoodie . ”
I giggled. W e’ d been at this for days, just chatting back and forth. Jake was my almost-boyfriend.
“ You get the mp3s ?” I asked. He was quick to reply .“ Yeah, listen with me ? ”
It was n’ t long before my room throbbed quietly with the sounds of Massive Attac k’ s Mezzanine. W e’ d been sharing music back and forth for days, trying out each othe r’ s favorites. I imagined him across town listening to the same tracks, letting the sound move him like it was moving me. This had always been one of my favorites, it set a mood, it was sexy, it was slut music.
“ Got a surprise for you. Look out the window . ”
I stared at the phone, the throb of music pulsing through me. Out the window? What in the hell? My fingers pierced the blinds, giving me a view of the street below. Bathed in the streetlights was a dark colored mustang convertible, and Jake was in the drive r’ s seat, waving.
“ You coming ?” My phone asked, the light glowing in the darkness. I glanced over at the clock. 11:22 PM, mom would kill me if she found out. My fingers did n’ t hesitate, lifting the window open and popping out the screen. Quietly I scampered out onto the lawn, making my way out to the street and jumping into the car. What mom did n’ t know would n’ t hurt her.
“ My her o … ” I said, smiling.
“ Anything for m’ lady .” Jake said, leaning back and throwing the car into first gear, launching us down the cul-de-sac.
“ This is a pretty awesome surprise .” I whispered, trying to put on my seatbelt as we barreled around a corner.
“ This is n’ t the surprise yet. I got something special . ”
“ I ca n’ t be gone long .” I whispered, thinking about how many