Dear Aphrodite, I'm Screwed

chapter 03

I glanced away, trying to conceal my suddenly painted cheeks, before letting my hand rest in his. Peeking under dark lashes, I watched as he intertwined our fingers together and began to lead me into the cafeteria. "You're so extra."

"So extra I got detention," he said with a sigh.

I laughed. "Good."

Carter took a large step ahead of me before pivoting on his heel and walking backwards. He swung our arms in unison as he threw me a mischievous grin. "Were you surprised?"

"When you broke into the announcement room?" I asked, trying my hardest not to smile. "Yes."

"And..?" Carter's eyes shone expectantly. "Did you like it?"

I let my free hand rest against my chin as a show of thought, but I didn't know what to say. I hadn't hated it, and maybe I liked it more than I wanted to admit, but that wasn't something I was going to tell him.

"Who knows?" I finally settled on, but his brows furrowed in a sign of determination.

"I think you do," he said as he stepped over a bench seat. He pulled me down next to him before putting his cheek in his palm and sliding his elbow my way. "I have another idea."

"Oh no," I joked. My hands dug through my backpack and emerged with a container full of chopped up fruits and an icepack. I pulled out two little forks and handed Carter one as I stabbed a piece of mango. "Here, I cut them this morning."

He looked pleasantly surprised as he took the fruit fork from my hands and inspected it. With a little grin, he copied my action and swung down on an unsuspecting apple slice so hard it snapped in two. When I gave him an unbelieving look, his smile turned sheepish. "Anyway, my idea," he started quickly.

"I think I might be scared of your ideas," I declared, taking another bite.

"No, no, this one is lowkey." His curly hair bounced as he sat up in excitement. "There's a party this weekend and I thought we should let our presence be known."

Ice overcame my body and I let my eyes drape towards the floor. "I don't know," I mumbled after a slight pause. "I haven't gone to a party in a long time."

"Since Jase?"

I recoiled in surprise. "How do you know about Jase?"

I didn't mean to sound accusatory, but maybe I was, just a little.

Carter's eyes drifted away from mine as he did a lazy scan of the cafeteria. Then he let out an awkward laugh as his hand came in position behind his head. "This is a K-12 school," he started. "It's not that weird to know who's dated who."

Something about his reaction made me want to press further, but his explanation made sense. I didn't want to make a big deal out of nothing and knew I was just a tad too sensitive when it came to my ex.

Carter's beaming face washed away my worries and I sighed. "I guess that makes sense. But yeah, since Jase."

"Well, you're with me now." He brought a piece of mango towards his lips. "We can even do a cleansing ritual."

My eyes crinkled with a laugh. "What? A cleansing ritual?"

"Because you're a new woman!"