Don't Catch Me

CHAPTER 7

“Do you want to leave?” Sara asked.

I sat frozen staring daggers at Jack. If he were to look at me, he would feel the daggers cutting into his skin.

“No, I just need to talk to him,” I looked at Lauren, who was worried like heck. “Better drink up.”

I grabbed my beer and chugged down the rest. I got up and my head went crazy. My body protested each movement, but I kept on. He talked first.

“Air, I need to talk to you,” Jack pleaded.

“Give me five minutes, and then meet me in Wallis’s room,” I turned around, almost throwing myself off balance, before he could say anything back. If I was going to do this, I needed more to drink.

My hand hovered over the door knob for almost a minute. Do I really want to do this? I started to sway uncontrollably. Before I fell, Jack walked into the hallway and saw me falling. He caught me just before I hit the ground. If he weren’t so disgusting, he would be gorgeous. If you couldn’t smell the alcohol on his breath, you would want to kiss him. But none of that was possible for me. I just knew him too well. But today, in this moment, he looked different. There was something about his smile: it seemed genuine. It made his eyes sparkle. Or is it just the alcohol that is making me see this?

“Let’s get you something to sit on,” Jack smiled.

I cocked my head to the side. That smile made no sense to me.

He picked me up to my feet and put an arm around my waist, guiding me into the room. I get one last glance at the not-so-heavy party scene, and locked eyes with Lauren. Her expression was pained, mine was empty.

“You can sit here, I’ll stand,” Jack said, being, strangely, a gentleman. He started pacing back and forth.

“Spit it out,” I say.

“I know you saw me with Ms. Carrie. I need you to promise me not to say anything to anyone. It’s just one thing. That’s it,” he gave me a pained look, and all I saw was Lauren’s face.

“I heard you two after class. Wasn’t very smart of you to think I was still sleeping,” I give him the death glare. I can’t believe he wants to talk about this. He winced at my look, or my statement.

“You did? Oh god,” His hands went to his face, and he took many deep breaths.

“And Lauren was in the closet with me in the boiler room. We saw everything,” I say in a low growl.

“I want you to forget everything that Ms. Carrie said,” Jack stated.

“What about what you said? You lied to her!”

“I did not! I do love her.”

“That wasn’t what I was talking about,” I stood up and walked towards him. “You don’t love her. You never will. You wanted to hook up with me, and then I find out that you’re with the English teacher. Pathetic.”

Our faces are only inches away from each other.

“I love her,” Jack said, placing his hands on my hips.

His eyes flick from my lips to my eyes.

“You want to kiss me though,” I remind him.

I put my arms around his neck, and run my fingers through his hair.

“Why on Earth would you think that?” Jack said coldly.

He steps closer.

“Just kiss me,” I whispered.