Dear Aphrodite, I'm Screwed

chapter 02

The smells of cinnamon buns, churros and funnel fries did laps around the cafeteria. There was an idle hum of chat, as just a few students lingered back to snack on foods that were only available "after-hours". It wasn't uncommon to hang out here, especially on week-days when you had to get approval to explore the city a few miles away.

My eyes scanned the room, looking for curly brown hair and tanned skin, before landing on my target. Carter's eyebrows rose as I came closer and with a mischievous grin, he pushed a paper cup full of mozzarella sticks my way.

"Want one?" He asked, looking gleeful as ever.

The alarms in my head rang out "no!". Do not take his offerings or his bribes. He's black-mailing you!

But the tiny, tiny voice inside my head spoke up. Mmm, cheese sticks.

"So what's the deal?" I asked after taking a bite. I sighed in peace as the cheese stretched with a pull.

He decided to pass the marinara sauce, too, before replying. "I'm about to make your dreams come true."

"What?"

Instead of responding, he gestured to come closer. Confusion in tow, I did. Then he gestured again and again until I had popped the rest of the snack in my mouth and was close enough to his lips that he could whisper.

"You get to be my girlfriend."

It was like I'd been punched in the throat and suddenly, I was choking. I imagined I looked like one of those dolls whose eyes get bigger when you squeeze them, except I was making weird noises, too.

Carter rushed to grab his water bottle, but I tapped my hand against his arm and his head spun in my direction.

With effort, I managed to choke out some words. "What did you say?"

He must've realized I would live because the small smile he tried to hide didn't go unnoticed.

I couldn't believe him.

"You almost killed me!"

This time, his eyes got wide. In an extravagantly overblown voice, he replied. "How dare you accuse me of such a crime!"

"Don't say things like that! What do you mean girlfriend?" I asked, unable to hide how appalled I felt.

"Okay, okay," he started, his hands in the air. When I didn't react, he grinned and handed me his water bottle. "Maybe I came off a little strong. Drink this and let me give you some background information."

I frowned, but took a sip nonetheless.

"Now you know I attract the ladies," he said, his grin looking smugger than usual. "But there's a certain girl who seems to like me a little more than most. Her name is Nala. She, um, writes me a love note every other day and puts it in my locker. She's probably tried to get with me, like, twenty times through you. Sometimes she'll mention me on the announcements, or send me chocolates."

My mouth hung open. I mean, Nala? Really? She was part of student council and had been close with Seidon for years, so the idea that she was borderline obsessed with Carter seemed unrealistic.

But as I thought about it more, it was true. She had sent a lot of requests for him and once in a while would mention him over announcements if she had the chance (which was odd enough), but I never realized it was to this extent.

His eyebrows started furrowing as he continued. "I've told her a few times that I'm not looking for anything like that, but she refuses to take no for an answer. Right now, I'm safe. She's doing a study abroad thing and isn't coming back til later. So, I was thinking..."