Текст книги "Date Me"

Автор книги: Jillian Dodd

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“How long will that take?”

“About an hour.”

“An hour? Are you fucking kidding me? What happened to We'll send in the cavalry? I thought if something happened to me, there'd be people here right away.” All of a sudden, it hits me. “There is no cavalry. You're relying on the necklace, aren't you?”

“Yes.”

“Don't bother sending a car. I'm going off campus, and I'm leaving the damn necklace here.”

“Keatyn, don’t. Don’t do anything stupid . . .”

“I’m not. I’m doing something smart. I’m getting the hell out of here.”

I hang up, go back to Riley’s room, take off my necklace, and lay it on his dresser.

Riley grabs me. “I want the truth. You’re shaking and scared to death. I can see it in your eyes.”

“The truth is I need to leave campus. Now.”

He shakes his head. “No way I’m letting you drive. I don't know what's going on, but you are in no shape to drive.” He gets on his cell. “Hey, Mom, can you call school and tell them I'm headed off campus? Yeah, everything’s fine. I just need to help out a friend. Tell them I have a dentist appointment. Thanks, Mom.” He nods at me and grabs his keys. “Let’s go.”

I get outside the dorm and feel completely exposed. Like I’m naked at the Super Bowl.

“Run!” I yell.

He grabs my hand and we sprint to his car. I dive into the backseat.

“I’m not checking out,” I tell him. “I don’t want anyone to know I’m gone.”

He starts his car, drives down to the entrance, checks out, and drives through the gates.

“Where do you want to go?” he asks.

I want to go see my mom and Tommy, I think.

Which causes an idea to pop into my head. “The movies,” I say. “Let’s go see a movie.”

I’ll hide out in the dark all day then call Garrett later to find out if Vincent got on his flight home.

I decide to text him.

Me: I’m sorry I yelled at you but I assumed that if I needed help it would be there instantly. I know logically that’s not feasible. Please don’t call my mom. I don’t want to worry her. I left school with a friend. I didn’t sign out, so they don’t know I’m gone. I’m sure I’ll get in trouble later for skipping, but that’s the least of my worries. Please let me know if Vincent gets on his flight.

Garrett: I’m glad you left. I sent a man to his hotel and he’s not there. It also appears that he did not spend the night.

Me: So he could have been here? He still might be here.

Garrett: Yes. Where are you?

Me: I’m going to the movies. Not the theaters by school. We’re driving to another town in my friend’s car. Mine is still at school. I hid in the backseat, so if anyone was watching, they wouldn’t have seen me.

Garrett: I’m very impressed with your quick thinking. I’ll keep you updated.

About twenty minutes later, Riley stops the car and says, “In case you’re wondering, we weren’t followed.”

I climb into the front passenger seat, but leave his sunglasses on and the hood up.

He looks at me seriously. “Let’s go inside. Then you’re going to tell me what has you so scared.”

I buy tickets to Mom and Tommy’s latest release. We go inside the theater, but since the movie doesn’t start for almost an hour, we sit on a bench out front.

“Okay,” he says.

I blow out a breath of air. “Remember my meltdown that day in my room?”

“Yeah.”

“My parents moving to France wasn’t the only reason I came here.”

“You did mention something about a guy.”

“I had a relationship, um, go bad.”

“Go bad? Like abusive? You don't seem like you would put up with that shit.”

I shake my head. God, I hate lying to him.

Close to the truth, Keatyn. Close to the truth.

“I would never stay with a guy who hurt me. This was, um—look, you have to promise, swear to me, that you won't tell anyone this—not even your brother.”

“I swear, baby.” He holds out his pinkie.

I laugh. Take it in mine and swear.

“Tell me.”

I close my eyes and think. About Vincent. About his grabbing my arm on the escalator. How I got away from him. How I know he’s found me.

But I have to tell him something. I may not ever be able to go back to school.

I may have to just up and leave like I did at home. I wouldn’t get to see Dawson anymore. Or Riley. Or my friends.

I’d be alone again.

I can't help it. My body involuntarily shudders and tears start streaming down my face.

Riley wraps his strong arm around me, pulls me into his chest, and whispers, “You’ll feel better if you tell me. I need to know if I’m going to help you.”

I can’t look at him. I keep my head buried in his chest and start talking. “My mom has this, um, ex-boyfriend. And he sorta was stalking me.”

“Stalking you?”

“Yes. Following me around when I didn’t know it. Coming to my soccer games. Showing up at restaurants I was at. He was even taking pictures of me.” Even though I'm lying about who Vincent is, I'm telling him a lot of the truth. And it feels good—like it did that day with Aiden in the chapel, so I keep going. “He was older, good looking, and he flirted with me. When I met him, I didn't know he was, um, my mom’s ex-boyfriend.” I sit up and take a deep breath. This part isn’t a lie and it’s the part I’m most embarrassed about. “I was flattered by his attention. I was so stupid, Riley. I always thought I was a good judge of character but I’m not.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“He tried to kidnap me at my seventeenth birthday party. It was supposed to be this magical night. You should have seen my shoes. And my dress. He showed up. I think he caused a commotion. Then he grabbed me. I tried to fight, but he was strong. He was dragging me toward an exit.” I suck in a big breath of air. “He was opening the exit door when I got away. There was a van outside the exit that he was taking me to. Inside the van they found zip ties and drugs. He was going to. To . . . I don't know for sure, but people think that it wouldn't have ended well for me.”

“Was he arrested?”

“For about two seconds. There was no proof he did anything wrong. The van was a stolen rental. It was my word against his. And my word didn’t mean much since I invited him to the party because I didn't know. After they released him, he sent some pictures he had been taking of me to my mom. He wanted her to know that he could hurt me anytime he wanted. At one point, he even put a note in my little sister’s backpack. That’s how close he got to her. I left mostly to keep them safe.”

“Even if they couldn’t prove the attempted kidnapping, stalking is illegal. Why isn’t he in jail?”

“Stalking is really hard to prove and it didn’t help that I thought we were friends. I had dinner with him one night. Let him videotape me on the beach. We couldn't even get a restraining order. My family moved to France. I came here.”

“So that's why you didn't have a Facebook and why you only had like four numbers in your phone?”

“Yes. I just had to leave. Only a few people know what happened. There were rumors at my old school that my parents sent me to rehab. Not long after, the three rehab facilities—where people said I’d gone—were broken into. Their files accessed.”

Riley’s eyes get big. “And here, your file was accessed. Wow.”

“That’s why I’m freaking out. I know he’s found me.”

Riley shakes his head. “No. It's not him. If it was, he would have broken into your dorm last night and surprised you.”

“You're probably right. I don't think he would have waited. But maybe he needed time to plan. Maybe he wasn’t sure I was there. Maybe he sent someone to break in. Either way, now he knows.”

“I keep going back to Whitney. I'm telling you, that girl is evil. I think she was looking for dirt.”

“I’m not worried about her. Hell, I used to be her. Kinda. At my old school.”

“You were Queen Bitch?”

“No. That job was taken by my best friend. But I could be mean sometimes. I got caught up in the whole popularity thing and I really didn’t like the person I was becoming. I swore to myself that when I came here that I wouldn’t be popular. That I would never sit at the popular table in the cafeteria.”

“And my brother has been dragging you straight to that table, hasn’t he?”

“Yeah, but I’ve realized it’s not the table that matters. Just because I sit there, doesn't mean I have to be like Whitney.”

“You are nothing like her. So follow along with my reasoning here. We have major security at school. If this guy broke into the office, he had to get on the campus first. Our campus is extremely secure. If someone broke in, got past the guards, the whole school would have been on lockdown. That’s why I think it was done by someone who was already at school.”

What he says actually makes sense, but I’m not convinced. “I hope you’re right.”

“Come on, our movie is about to start. Let’s get some popcorn.”

We eat popcorn and I get to spend a couple of hours with my mom and Tommy.

Screwed our way around school.

5pm

Dawson: Where are you? I heard you get called to the office. Is everything okay?

I have similar texts from most of my friends.

“What am I going to tell them, Riley?”

“Maybe you should tell them the truth.”

“You won't tell me the truth about Homecoming and why you got kicked out of school.”

“That's cuz it's embarrassing. Epic, but embarrassing.”

“It's been two years.”

He give me a big dramatic sigh and then says, “Fine, I'll tell you. So, freshman year, I come to school thinking I'm the shit. I'd had sex a few times that summer and felt like I was joining my brothers for what was going to be four years full of nothing but girls and sports. So Homecoming weekend rolls around. By this time, I've been with two older girls at school, which has done nothing but up my cockiness.

“You know, the Cave has traditionally been a place that only juniors and seniors get to go to. I talked Cam into letting me come to a party with him. He handed me a flask and told me to find someone to share it with. I shared it with this gorgeous junior. Maybe it was the combination of the fact that I was pretty big for my age and the alcohol we’d shared, but I had her convinced that I was Cam and Dawson's older brother and a college freshman. That even though I had gone to a different school, my parents made me come to support my brothers.

She bought that and proceeded to tell me how she hated that her dad came to Homecoming. How she hated him showing her his old stomping grounds and telling her long, boring stories. She also mentioned she hated her dad, although I forget why. Then she told me she had the perfect revenge. She dragged me to every place he took her that night. The bleachers at the football stadium where he played in the band was the first place we had sex.

“There were about four more places, many of which I only vaguely remember. Which is a surprise because I remember thinking she needed to shut the fuck up about her dad because dads are sort of like cock-blocking.

“We drank more, lost our clothes, and screwed our way around school.

“One of the things her dad was the most proud of was the alumni band float. He always helped plan it. Came in early to work on it. Had even designed that year’s and would be riding on it.

“All I remember is her being really pissed at that point. About her telling me this was the place she wanted to defile. How awesome it would be to watch her dad ride on the float we'd done so many dirty things on. That's all I remember until I was woken up that morning by her father, who had come down with some other band alumi to make some last minute adjustments to the float.”

Riley laughs.

“We were both completely naked and passed out on the float. The float was half trashed and I was in a whole lot of trouble. They threw us each a coat and dragged us to the dean’s office.”

“Talk about a walk of shame,” I say with a giggle.

He nods at me and continues. “I was somewhere between still drunk and majorly hung over. And if getting caught wasn’t already embarrassing enough, our parents sat in while the dean questioned us. By this time, most of our clothes had been recovered and turned in by various people. Granted, in retrospect, the girl was obviously pretty messed up and had some serious daddy issues but I was drunk and horny enough not to consider that at that time.

“She started crying. Thinking she'd get out of it that way. She told them all how I got her drunk and took advantage of her. When they seemed skeptical, she pulled out what she thought was her get out of jail free card. She told them that I was a nineteen-year-old college freshman and that she was underage. That I forced her. The dean stopped and looked at me. Sized me up. Glanced back at my dad. My dad and the dean were in the same graduating class, and I think they have plenty of their own stories because the dean sort of smirked at the girl when he informed her that I was actually a freshman at Eastbrooke.

“She just started going psycho. Yelling at her dad. Screaming at the dean. At me. She tried to attack her dad.

“My parents dragged me out of the room and told me they were extremely disappointed.

“My mom marched off, but Dad slapped me on the back and said, You know you're going to be expelled.

“I was like, Really?

“And then he told me that was the best story he's ever heard and how he hated her dad’s pompous ass.”

I’ve been trying to hold in the laughter, but I can’t anymore.

“See, you're laughing.”

“Because it’s funny. My story isn't funny-embarrassing it’s more scary-embarrassing.”

“At the time, it was pretty embarrassing. Can you imagine sitting in the dean’s office hung over as fuck, listening to the dean explain in detail your being naked on a float. I couldn't even find my pants. I was half frozen.”

“I’m glad you told me your story, but I really don’t want to tell people mine. Maybe in a few years when it’s not so fresh. And if I’m still alive.”

“You really think he wants to kill you?”

“I think he will keep me for a while. But eventually, yes, I think he would.”

“So we’ve seen three movies and I’ve eating two tubs full of popcorn, two boxes of candy, and three slushes. Do you think we can go back?”

I check my phone for the time. It’s after six o’clock. Vincent’s flight doesn’t leave until seven, but he should be there by now.

I text Garrett.

Me: Any word?

Garrett: He’s at the airport.

Me: Oh, good. That’s a relief.

Garrett: I’ll let you know when he’s on the plane.

“Am I going to get in trouble at school for skipping?”

“I think if you do, you should say you were upset about what the dean told you. That you left to handle some financial stuff. To check your account or something.”

“That’s a good idea. Can we go in the mall for a bit before we go back?”

“Are you dragging me to the shoe department?”

“We can go wherever you want. Do you want to look at clothes for you?”

“Not really. Let’s go with the shoes. They seem to make you happy.”

“That they do.”

I try on a bunch of shoes, buy a couple new pairs, and am paying for them when I get a text from Garrett.

Garrett: He boarded the plane and we watched them close the doors and pull away from the gate. I really don’t think he knows where you are, Keatyn. If he did, he wouldn’t be going back to LA.

Me: That makes me feel a little better. But you said he’s a planner. What if he went back there to plan? What if he knows you’re watching him?

Garrett: What do you think?

Me: I don’t think he would wait.

Garrett: Me either, but still be cautious. Pay attention to your surroundings. Listen to your gut. If you feel danger, get somewhere safe. Just like you did this time. And please put the locket back on.

Me: I will.

I grab my packages and we head back to school.

When Riley drops me off at my dorm, he tells me, “I’m sleeping in your room for the next few nights, just to be safe.”

“I think I’ll be fine. He might have hired someone to break in, but I think the rest of it, he’ll want to do himself. And he just got on a plane back to LA.”

“Still, I’m sleeping in there.”

“Riley, he’s strong.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’d have the element of surprise. He wouldn’t expect a guy to be in there. What are we going to tell Katie?”

“We don’t have to say anything to Katie. That girl sleeps like a rock. Dawson has come over a couple times and she never even knows he’s been here.”

When Riley sneaks in my room a bit after midnight, he lays down on my fluffy rug.

“Riley, just come up here and sleep with me. I feel bad you’re on the floor.”

“Don’t feel bad. I love this rug. I just want to keep petting it, and I so want to do Ariela on this rug. That’s how you can pay me back. Lend me the rug.”

Tuesday, October 4th

Total diva.

6am

Even with Riley in the room, I don’t sleep well.

I keep having dreams about Vincent. Him being in my room. Me screaming. How I’m screaming as loud as I possibly can, and even though there are people all around me, none of them can hear me.

When six o’clock rolls around, I get up feeling happy to have survived the night.

Luckily, it’s Pajama Day, so I don’t have to do much with my hair. I just put it in a messy bun, throw on the pink and black polka dot camisole and short set, a black slouchy sweater with a big pink heart on it, a pair of black sweater thigh highs, a great pair of Valentino ruffled lace-up biker boots, and I’m out the door.

I even have time to grab a latte before the Social Committee meeting.

I’m in line for coffee when Peyton cuts in next t0 me. “Will you please get me a hot chocolate?”

“Sure. You look really pretty today,” I say, taking in the long silky gown and matching fur heels she bought this weekend. Her hair is smooth and straight and she’s even wearing a long strand of pearls. “Total diva.”

“Whitney is going to be pissed when she sees me. All of them are wearing silk pajamas. You know, like the kind your mom wears.”

“Were you supposed to wear them too?”

“Well, it was suggested that we all wear them.”

“Are they wearing heels with them?”

“We’ll find out as soon as we get to the meeting. You look adorable, by the way. I love how you combine stuff that doesn’t seem like it would go together and make it look so good.”

I laugh. “This was all together at the store.”

“The pajamas, yes, but they didn’t have them with the thigh highs and the motorcycle boots.”

I look down at myself. “That’s true. I don’t know. I just have weird taste.”

“Well, it works. Oh, there’s my brother.”

“Do you want something?” I ask him right before I order.

“Naw, I’m good,” he says, holding up a bottle of water.

“Your T-shirt is awfully tight,” I tease, taking in his Lorenzini blue and white striped sleep pants, extremely fitted white T-shirt—that I know the girls will be going crazy over—and a pair of driving shoes that are so cool, Tommy would die for them.

“Those might be the coolest driving shoes I’ve ever seen,” I say, commenting on the color-washed, tie-dyed shoes he’s wearing. “My step dad would love them. What brand are they?”

“Alberto Moretti Arfango,” he replies. “I found them online at Barneys. Had to have them.”

“You are seriously a man after my own heart.”

Aiden gives me that stupid grin. Like I just admitted my undying love or something.

I roll my eyes at him and head to our meeting.

After the meeting, I’m leaving the building when Aiden runs up from behind me. “Where are you going?”

“I have to go get my stitches out.”

“Are you going by yourself?”

“Uh, yeah. Everyone says that it doesn’t hurt.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“No, you’re not. I’m fine.” I study his face. “Is it gonna hurt?”

“Sometimes they come out easily. Other times they sort of grow into your skin and it hurts a bit.”

I wince thinking about the possible pain. “I’m kind of a baby when it comes to stuff like this.”

“Really? You always seem so tough.”

“Emotionally, maybe I’m kinda tough, but with physical pain, I’m a wimp. I don’t know how I’m ever going to have kids.”

He gives me an intense look.

“What?”

“I was just thinking you’d be a great mom. Lots of fun.”

I smile. “I adore my little sisters. I think I’ll love being a mom. Pregnancy and birth, that’s another story.”

“Pleasure and pain.”

“Kinda like love in general. It can be really great or just a great big pain.”

Aiden nods his head agreeing with me.

“I was fine before, but now you have me all nervous.”

“I make you nervous?” he asks, moving closer to me in a way that makes me feel a completely different kind of nervous.

Because, hello, I have a boyfriend.

Who I love.

Get that tight-fitting T-shirt away from me.

“What’s with you lately? It’s like your goal in life is to pin me against the wall. I’m not going to fall for your little tricks, friend.”

“What little tricks?” he asks innocently.

“Hammering. Nailing. Screwing. Give me a break. Your tight white T-shirt may leave most of the girls at school panting, but it doesn’t work on me.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because I think there’s a lot more to a person that their looks. And I really don’t like you all that much.”

“Bullshit. You’re afraid to like me.”

“Afraid to like you?” I roll my eyes at him. “Is this a new experience for you? A girl that doesn’t fall into bed with you.”

“I’m not like that.”

“Please. I’ve heard enough from Maggie to know that’s exactly what you’re like. I’m just not interested in a guy that’s a player. I’ve been burnt by that kind of guy. I’ve been lied to by that kind of guy. That’s part of what I love about Dawson. He’s not a player.”

“Except for his summer in whoredom.”

“You’ve heard about that?”

“Hard not to when he bragged about it all during football camp. All the girls. All the parties. All the meaningless sex.”

“He was just on the rebound after Whitney. She broke his heart. He had fun. Big deal. Everyone has rebound sex.” I remember Aiden telling me that Dawson was just a rebound, so I quickly add. “I mean, it’s something guys do. Girls just cry.”

He shakes his head at me. “And what about the party? When he was pawing your shirt? He’s still rebounding. So are you for that matter.”

“You don’t know anything.”

“Keatie,” I hear Dawson call from behind us. “Wait up.”

Aiden and I turn around as Dawson catches up to me. “I’m coming with you to get your stitches out. My hand has recovered. We should be good.”

I laugh at him. “I’ll try not to kill your hand this time. Jake told me this is the easy part. Although Aiden says it might hurt a little.”

“Aiden’s right. Sometimes it hurts a little. And with today being a special day and all, I couldn’t let you go alone.” He throws his arm around my shoulder and pulls me in for a hug. He turns to Aiden. “You going to see the nurse too?”

The tops of Aiden’s cheeks turn slightly pink. “Yeah, I’ve, uh, got a sore throat. Wanted to get it checked out. Don’t want to be sick for the big game.”

Dawson slaps him across the back. “Good plan. We don’t want to disappoint all the alumni. Dean would be pissed off for a week. And you know what happens when he gets pissed off.”

Aiden nods in agreement, but I say, “What happens?”

“He just gets all pissy, which causes the teachers to get pissy, which causes our dorm advisors to pay more attention than we’d like. But we’re lucky we have Aiden. Everyone thinks he’s a good boy. That’s why we always party in his room.”

Aiden grins back at Dawson, but there’s something there. Something fleeting in his eyes.

After a surprisingly pain-free removal of the stitches, Dawson says, “You did good. Let’s go celebrate.”

“We’re going to celebrate getting my stitches out?”

He holds up the passes the nurse gave us. “Did you notice how I distracted her with questions when she was filling these out?”

“You were asking a bunch of dumb questions.”

“Yeah, she’s not a good multi-tasker. See this line where she’s supposed to write what time we left? She didn’t fill it out. That means we can go have some fun. And we need to have fun this week. When you start play practice next week, you won’t have any time for me.

“I like fun,” I say. “And I’ll make time.”

“You know what today is, right?”

“Tuesday?”

“Yeah, what else?”

“Pajama day?”

“Try again.”

“Uh, Taco Tuesday?”

“It’s our anniversary.”

“We have an anniversary? We haven’t even been going out for a full week yet.”

He grins. He’s got his school blazer off and the sleeves of his oxford rolled up. He looks so damn sexy.

“Yep.” He pulls my waist into his. “It’s been a month since our first time.”

“Our first time. As in when we had sex in the Hamptons?”

“That’s a night worth remembering, don’t you think?”

“Is it bad that we’re celebrating our sexual anniversary?”

“I don’t think so. It’s when we got together.”

“True.”

“So I have plans for you after Taco Tuesday, but since we have some extra time now, we might as well take advantage of it.”

“How are we going to celebrate this anniversary?”

“Exactly the way it started.”

He pulls me inside his dorm and pushes me against the door, kissing me. He drops his jacket and backpack on the common room sofa then pushes me against the wall in the hallway. He’s kissing me with that same intensity he did that first night. That night I knew there was no way I could resist him.

We work our way down the long hall. His hands are feeling their way across what’s underneath my sweater.

After seriously making out down the hall, we finally make it to his room.

He pulls my sweater off and takes in my little pink knit camisole set.

“Very cute,” he says.

“Take it off me. There might be something underneath that shouldn’t be categorized as cute.”

He gets a naughty grin on his face and slowly pulls up my cami, revealing a sexy black lace Agent Provocateur push-up bra.

He licks his lips, kisses my cleavage, then slowly pulls down my shorts to reveal the teeny matching briefs.

He stands back and looks at me. Then he literally leaps on top of me, pinning me to the bed.

“You always ruin my plans,” he says, as he strips his own clothes off.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

As he pulls off my panties, he says, “I always think I’m going to be able to go slow. I can’t go slow with you.” He covers my mouth with his and quickly proves his point.

A short while later, we’re dressed and heading to class.

“We’ll go to Taco Tuesday tonight, but we’re leaving early. Gonna do some more celebrating.”

“Where are we going?”

“Back to our lake.”

As in the lake where we parked and did it standing up against his car.

Dawson is like a sexual buffet. I never know what to expect, what’s going to be next in line. But I definitely want to keep going back for more.

Looking like a slut.

Lunch

Dawson and I are in line getting lunch. Whitney and Peyton are ahead of us and Peyton is getting chewed out.

“What is your problem lately? You go on one trip with Dawson’s little plaything and come back looking like a slut. Did she help you pick out those furry heels?” Whitney asks, scowling at Peyton.

I give Dawson a look. Like, what a bitch.

Dawson winks at me, walks past me, and smacks Peyton on the butt. “Looking pretty sexy there, Arrington.”

Peyton jumps slightly from the smack, but her face breaks out in a wide grin. A smirk, really, directed at Whitney.

Whitney doesn’t bite though. “My point, exactly.”

“Whitney, I don’t tell you how to dress. Why would you think you could tell me?”

“Because the five of us have dressed alike for every spirit day for the past three years, maybe?”

Peyton shrugs. “Well, if you were on the dance team, you’d understand. Sometimes you get tired of dressing like everyone else.”

Oh. Damn. She just slammed Whitney for not making the dance team.

Peyton’s bitch is totally coming out.

But I’m worried about her because I know what happens when you go up against a Queen.

You become just as big of a bitch as she is.

I want to tell Peyton it’s not worth the fight. Just do your own thing.

Then Damian’s song starts playing in my head. Just do your own thing, do it up big, rocket to the moon, now everybody sing.

I think maybe I need to get Peyton to listen to that song.

I get my food then go to our table.

“That was sweet of you,” I whisper to Dawson as I set my tray down.

“So you have to help me win Mr. Eastbrooke,” he replies.

“What’s that?”

“It's a contest we have every year. The competition is held during the pep rally on Friday. Each boys’ sport chooses a junior or senior to represent their team. I got picked to represent the football team. It’s a big deal.”

“What do you have to do?”

“Dress up like a girl.”

I laugh. “Seriously? And you want to do that?”

“Of course. It's awesome. So you have to make me look pretty. I’ll need makeup, a wig, heels, and an outfit. We all walk out in heels and wave at the crowd. Then we have to do either a dance or a cheer.”

Bryce adds, “Everyone votes by clapping for their favorite.”

“Hmmm. I just can't picture you as a girl.”

He runs his finger down my arm. “Just think. You can grind all up against me and pretend I’m a girl. Only when you take me home, I’ll have a little surprise for you under my skirt.”

“I can handle the clothes. Do you want me to help you with a dance too?”

“No. Honestly, even though it’s always an option, no one ever dances. A cheer is a lot easier to learn. Riley said Ariela could teach me one.”

I finish up my lunch quickly, then tell Dawson I have some stuff I need to do. What I need to do is work my way around the freshman tables and start suggesting they vote for Peyton.

He’s sweet?

5:30pm

I’m just finishing up tutoring Aiden in the library when Dawson texts me.

Dawson: I’m STARVING and ready to start celebrating ;)

Me: I’m about done. Be there soon. Heart you.

“So I have to get going. A bunch of us are going out for Taco Tuesday.”

“I’m going to Taco Tuesday,” Aiden says. “Riley invited me, but he said it was a guy thing.”

“I’m the only girl that goes, usually. Well, so far, anyway. Dawson and I won’t stay all that long though. He wants to go celebrate.”

Shit. I shouldn’t have said that. Now he’s going to ask what we are celebrating. How we’re going to celebrate.

“I heard him say something about a special day this morning. What are you celebrating?”

“Um, just our anniversary.”

“Yeah, but anniversary of what? You haven’t even been going out a week.”

“It’s been a month since I stayed with him in the Hamptons. That was when we got together. Like, I was done with the Keats guy, and then I sorta started seeing Dawson.”

“And this anniversary of when you sort of started seeing each other, was this your idea or Dawson’s?”

“He remembered it, if that’s what you mean.”

“That doesn’t sound like something a guy would remember.”