Colors of Us

24| Arianne

"Not in the slightest. You don't think I researched everything about herpes?"

She grimaced an ache in her gut. "That's not what a girl wants to hear from the guy she likes. It's embarrassing."

"Only if you let it."

She let out a humorless chuckle. "Welcome to Arianne's life where everything, even her sexual experiences are highly public and up for debate." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a girl point and stare. Cheeks flaming, she covered her face with her hands. "I hate this so much. I want to be with you, but I can't. We can't."

"Says who?" He gently withdrew her hands and kissed her forehead. "The STD is not who you are. Don't let it define you."

"But we can't...you know."

"We can take that day by day. It's not everything."

Unsure, she glanced at his chest, drawing circles on his shirt. "But..."

"What happened to the boss girl who walked into my room and told me not to take crap from anyone? Don't let this STD tell you how to live or who to be. What do you want, Arianne?"

Her throat constricted, the words too big to let out. Choking back a cry, she buried her face against him. He held her there, his embrace warm and so very right. How had she, a girl who had promised never to fall for another boy, end up here? When he smiled, she felt a tug in her chest. She wanted to forget the outside world and get lost in his eyes. Feel the way his skin rubbed against hers. An erotic brush that begged to be explored.

His chest rumbled as he talked. "We don't have to talk about it right now, but I want you to think about it, okay?"

She placed her ear against his heart. It remained a steady beat that never wavered. "What about you? What do you want?" she asked.

There was zero hesitation. "I want to meet you for lunch every day and walk you to class. I want to see in the stands of my baseball game and know whether I win or lose, you'll be cheering me on. I want the chance to get to know you better. To be with you without reserve. Without a weight hanging over us."

She rubbed her cheek against him, enjoying a moment of comfort in the surrounding chaos. "That sounds nice." A smarter person—a better person—would stay away, wouldn't take the chance of infecting of him, but Arianne had used up all her common sense a long time ago.

"It can be a reality, but only if we choose it to be." He kissed the top of her head and released her. "Think about it."

***

After their food arrived, Arianne took out the small notebook has always carried, and turned to an empty page. "Where do we start?" The guys were already shoveling down their food, so she had to wait until they swallowed.

Garrett took a sip of water. "The only way we're going to find the person behind the leak is to figure out where they overheard it."

She gave Garrett and his friends a look. "Assuming none of you told—"

"Which we didn't," Stephan interrupted.

Arianne gave Garrett a look. "Can you be one hundred percent positive no one overheard when you were telling your friends?"

Garrett shook his head, emphatically. "No one was in Stephan's dorm room except us three."

"Not even someone peeking their head inside?"

"No. His room is a rectangle, not an S shape so we would have known."

Arianne let that sink in, her mind turning. "Okay, so chances are then that someone overheard at B-Bash. A baseball player or their date." All three boys' faces turned to stone, their thoughts broadcasting loud and clear.