Why You Shouldn't Lend A Bad Boy Your Clothes

Chapter 31

I walked back to the gate slowly, taking my time to look around and greet the old woman who had come here to tend to her husband's grave.

By the time I was back in the car, I didn't know what to do. Originally, I had planned to just go home afterwards, but now the thought made my skin crawl. I couldn't be there alone, not today.

In the end I instinctively drove in the direction of the school, even though I had no intention of actually going to class.

The first four periods were already over and when I rolled onto the parking lot the break was coming to an end, the few people who had spent it outside already filing back into the building.

I turned the engine off and stayed in the car, unsure of what to do now, when from the corner of my eye I noticed someone leaving the school and hurrying across the parking lot. Only after a second I realized that it was Hunter, his head bowed and the hood of his jacket pulled into his face as he opened the door of his car.

Getting out of the car wasn't even a conscious decision; one moment I was sitting in the driver's seat and the next I was leaping onto the concrete and rushing towards his Audi. I could hear the engine come to life, but before he could drive I managed to rip open the door and slide into the passenger seat.

Hunter's head whipped around almost instantly, the look on his face as if he had just seen a ghost. He blinked a few times, then his hand slowly twisted the key and the engine stopped. In the sudden silence, his soft voice rang loudly. "Jules?"

"Hey," I breathed. "We need to talk."

Hunter dropped his hands into his lap and nodded silently, his eyes never leaving my face.

"Uhm..." I broke off, suddenly at a loss for words. I had imagined this conversation dozens of times over the past few days, but now that we were actually about to have it, I didn't know how to say what I needed to say. "Listen, I... I've been thinking-"

"Are we breaking up?"

I stared at Hunter in surprise, realizing that the look in his eyes was fear. "What? No- no, that's not what I wanted to say. I just... I really missed you. So much. And I... I want to be together with you so bad," I said. Now that I was talking, my voice sounded surprisingly firm. "But there are some questions that I need answers to first. Is that okay?"

He nodded immediately, that same hopeful little glimmer in his eyes that I had seen every time we had met over the past two weeks. Only this time I was determined not to chase it away.

"Okay," I muttered. "First question: Where did you want to go just now?"

"Home," he replied and uneasily tugged at the collar of his shirt. "I was going to skip the rest of the day, because I, uh... didn't really sleep last night. And the night before and the one before that..."

"I couldn't really sleep either," I quietly admitted, "Uhm... second question: Was that kiss with Victoria the only time you kissed someone who wasn't me? You know, since we've been together?"

I dug my nails into the palms of my hands, dreading the answer to that question, but Hunter just nodded. "Yes. I... You have to believe me, I would never do that," said. The look in his eyes was genuine fear that I wouldn't believe him, so I quickly nodded.

"Okay. I believe you." I was surprised how sure I suddenly was.

I opened my mouth to ask the next question, but before I could speak a word, Hunter suddenly said, "I have to tell you something because I... I don't want to lie." I sent him a questioning glance but he averted his eyes, staring down at his hands instead. "Victoria wants to meet me more often. I met up with her three more times since that night because she threatened to call your parents. I didn't kiss her again or anything like that, I just... I thought you should know. And I want you to know that it's okay if you don't want to be with me because I still have to see her. I understand if you don't."