Chapter 11. Big Girls Don't Cry

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Taytum's POV

I'm so ashamed of how I acted Saturday night. I spent all of Sunday thinking about what we said and did. Chance made it clear he didn't want to be with anyone or get too attached to someone. Does that mean we can't even be friends? I'm about to find out. I cross the distance between our cars in the parking lot of the school. Chance's back is turned. He hasn't even noticed me yet. Just as I'm about to tap him on the shoulder, he spins around. He jumps slightly in surprise. "Oh, hey," His tone surprised.

"Hi," I blush slightly. I'm generally not shy or nervous. "Can we talk?" I asked as I fidget somewhat. He leans against his driver's side door and lights a cigarette.

"Sure," He shrugs.

"I'm sorry about Saturday," I murmured. He stares at me, confused. "You gave me a good reason why you don't want to be with anyone, and I pushed anyway. I hope we can at least be friends."

He sighs and looks away. When he looks back at me, he takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. "When I came here, my plan was to just keep to myself. I don't like getting attached to people. I wasn't even planning to make friends, and that didn't happen either. It's really not a good idea, Tay," He said. My pulse quickens at the rejection. I want to cry and run away, but I'm a big girl. Aunt Laura says big girls do not cry. The only problem is I want to cry more often than not over this boy. Tears begin to build in my eyes, and I'm about to walk away, but he grabs my arm, pulling me closer. "We can try to be friends, but I seriously want you to think about it, Taytum. I'm not going to be here long. Six more months at best. Don't you think the closer we get, the more it's just going to hurt?"

Any amount of time with him is better than none at all. "I have thought about it. It's all I think about." The words come out without me really thinking about how they sound. If that doesn't sound like the words of a crazy infatuated girl, I don't know what does. He drops his arm and lifts his head a fraction. His eyes cloud for a moment, but he looks away quickly.

"We're going to be late," He muttered. I spin around, and we head into the school. As soon as we begin coming down the hallway, people greet him. I ignore the girls that try stopping him, to talk to him. He brushes them off, which surprises me. His gaze meets mine before he heads to his locker to grab his books. A small smile spreads across my face as I head to English.

The day flows by quickly. Chapin and I begin to head out of the gym. When the weather is nice, we practice outside by the field. Chapin is apparently going to Jayden's to watch movies after practice. Chapin said it doesn't really count as a date because a bunch of his friends will be there. I laugh at her irritation on the situation.

"That is pretty close to a date, Chapin. At least he invited you and not some other girl," I pointed out.

"Fine. You have a point," She muttered.

A hand grabs my arm I turn in surprise. It's Chance. Chapin stops and looks at us, confused. "Um, I'll meet you over there," I said to Chapin. Chapin sprints away from us. I turn back to Chance curiously. "Coming to watch practice?" I teased.

He chuckles. "Watch you shaking your ass sounds kind of amusing. I better not." My lips part in surprise at what he said. I bite back the smile that threatens to spread across my lips. "Everyone is going to Jayden's tonight to watch movies. Do you want to come?"

"I wasn't invited."

Chance rolls his eyes. "I just invited you, Taytum."

"Oh," I murmured. "Um sure."

"See ya later," He said and backed away, slowly staring at me. I turn around and sprint toward the field.

***

Apparently, I'm going too. Jayden and Chance are picking us up from my house. From what I heard, there are other guys with dates, also so it's a group thing. I've never been to Jayden's place. Chapin said she hasn't either. What I've heard, though, is that Jayden's parents are wealthy. Jayden's dad owns a record company in Nashville, and his mother is a designer.

A horn blares Chapin and me head downstairs. I lock the front door before continuing down to the car. Chance brought his car. I go around to his side. He has the seat flipped forward for me. Chance's car is a two-door. I get into the backseat with Chapin. Chance backs out of the driveway.

Jayden's place is on the more luxurious side of town. I'm not surprised when we pull up to a set of gates. We head down the driveway, and a mansion appears. The mansion is made of stone from the look of it. "Wow," Chapin breathes. I can't help but agree with her. I've never been in this big of a house.

Jayden chuckles in response. There are other cars in the driveway. We get inside and head down to a basement. The basement is fully furnished. It has to big sectional couches. There is a large TV on the wall in front of them.

Matt is sitting by a girl we go to school with her name is Lindsay. She is a pretty girl but shy, and I don't know her that well. Gavin is sitting with Claire, a girl that used to go to our school, but she switched schools for some reason. Alec is sitting with Kylie, a girl that used to be in dance, but she got angry at Mary and spit on her. Now I always kind of admired Kylie. She's tough. She doesn't take any shit, which got her kicked out of dance. Mary is a bitch, so I don't blame Kylie. Some days I want to spit on Mary.

Chance and I sit near the end of one of the sectionals. Matt, Lindsay, Alec, Kylie, Gavin, and Claire are sharing one sectional. They have the footrests up. We're sharing the other sectional with just Jayden and Chapin. There is still actually plenty of room for more people. Chance leans over me to put the footrest up. I sink down into the couch as Jayden presses play. The first movie we're watching is the IT remake. I've seen the original fil and horror movies don't scare me much.

The screen goes black, and so does the room for a moment. My knees are bent up, and so are Chance's. His thigh is pressed against mine. The closeness to him sends my heart into overdrive. Maybe this was a bad idea.

Chance suddenly places one of his hands on my bent knee and slowly slides his hand down my inner thigh. My breathing hitches. By the time the movie starts, his hand is resting right between my legs. The pulsating between my legs makes me clamp my thighs together. I look up at Chance. Chance is staring intently at me. He traces circles on my thigh with his thumb. Before I can get too lost in his eyes I quickly turn my attention back to the movie. 


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