Chapter 10
We drove around for a bit and I got the same rush from being on a bike as I did last time. It was almost like a roller coaster but you didn’t have to wait in line for hours to ride it. I briefly wondered if George would buy me a motorcycle if I asked. Not that I ever would but hypothetically speaking, would he?
I mentally shook my head as we slowed down and turned into the parking lot of a convenience store. Gabriel pulled into a spot far away from any other cars and I reluctantly peeled myself off of him as the bike came to a stop.
“You okay?” he asked me when I’d climbed off the bike.
“Yeah,” I said, pulling off my helmet. “You?”
He shrugged, not meeting my eyes. I set my helmet on the bike and felt my hair. My bun had come loose and was hanging awkwardly, pulling a few strands of my hair painfully. I tried to tighten it but only made it worse. I sighed and pulled the elastic off, letting my hair fall down my back.
I hadn’t really been focusing on anything but suddenly I felt the weight of someone’s gaze. I looked up to see Gabriel staring at me, his eyes not entirely focused. “Gabriel?” I asked, and he shook himself, focusing on my eyes.
“Why do you do that?” he asked as I refastened my bun at the base of my neck.
“Do what?”
“Tie your hair like that. You look really good with it down.”
I swallowed as his compliment made something inside of me melt.
I shrugged. “My hair is really hard to manage when it’s loose.”
He frowned at me for a second. “I guess it’s a good thing,” he said his frown turning into a scowl. “More guys would be acting like that idiot at the carnival around you if you let your hair down at school.”
I sent him a scowl of my own and planted my hands on my hips. “That idiot only hit on me because your girlfriend started a bunch of rumors about me being a slut! She told everyone that I’ve slept with the entire soccer team and I’m currently trying to steal her man. That’s you, in case you didn’t know.”
“What?!” He shouted, leaning over his bike, bringing his face close to mine.
I didn’t back away. “You heard me.”
“She’s crazy,” he said as he backed away and started pacing. “And she’s not my girlfriend,” he said as his eyes locked onto mine and I could see the honesty in their dark blue depths.
I shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
“I’m serious, Evelyn.” He stopped pacing and leaned close to me over the bike again. “She is nothing to me.”
His eyes bored into mine and there was something in the way he was looking at me that made me nervous. It was kind of like that time in his kitchen after the macaroni incident.
I looked down, shattering the tension that was growing between us. He leaned back but before he could pull his hands off the bike seat, I grabbed the left one.
“Oh my god, Gabriel! Doesn’t this hurt?” His knuckles were raw and bloody and a couple of them were pretty swollen. I cradled his hand in both of mine, leaning close to inspect the damage. “Do you think it’s broken? We should probably go to the hospital. Don’t you agree? Gabriel?” When he still didn’t reply, I looked up at his face. He was staring down at our hands with a frown on his face. “Sorry,” I said, letting go suddenly. His hand dropped back to the seat and he winced at the contact. “I’m sorry!” I said again moving to touch him once more but stopping before I did, not wanting to cause him any more pain. “I’ll go get some disinfectant,” I said, spinning around and heading to the corner store.
He still didn’t say anything and when I came back outside, he was standing in exactly the same position, looking at his hand.
“I got some,” I said, coming to a stop in front of him.
“What?” he asked, his voice dazed.
“Disinfectant.” His eyes connected with mine and confusion was written on his features. “For your hand.” I gestured to his injured hand and he shrugged.
“It’s fine. I used to get into fights all the time. I’ve had way worse. Don’t worry about it.”
I raised my eyebrow at him. “Is that why everyone at school thinks you’re such a bad guy?”
He just shrugged in response, not meeting my gaze.
I sighed. “It’s not fine. It’s my fault so let me see what I can do, okay?”
He nodded grudgingly and put his hand flat against the bike seat. I lightly brushed the dried blood away with the wet paper towel I’d gotten from the restroom and once it was clear, I inspected the cuts. They weren’t that bad and he could move his fingers so I didn’t that anything was broken.
I lifted his hand to bring it closer to me as I brushed on some disinfectant. “What would your boyfriend think if he saw us like this?”
I jerked my head up and frowned at him before looking back down at our hands. His big hand was covering mine and to the outside observer it might look like we were holding hands. It would also kind of look like I was about to kiss his knuckles which would be majorly weird.
I brought my gaze back up to his and gave him a half smile. “He would probably wonder why the hell I’m kissing your knuckles.” I laughed but stopped suddenly when he pulled his hand from my grip, his eyes going blank and his mouth setting into a firm line. “I wasn’t done yet.”
“It’s fine. I wouldn’t want your boyfriend to get the wrong idea.”
I frowned again. “What boyfriend?”
“The one who would wonder why you were kissing my knuckles.”
“He was hypothetical.”
“What?”
“I don’t have a boyfriend, Gabriel.”
He rolled his eyes at me. “C’mon Evelyn. You just admitted it yourself.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did.”
I clenched my fists and glared at him. I wanted to stamp my foot but I resisted the urge. “Why won’t you believe me?”
Suddenly he was leaning over the bike again, his face so close to mine that I could feel his breath brush across my lips. “Why wouldn’t you let me drive you the other night when you went to meet that guy? Why would he be so protective if you weren’t dating?”
“We’re just really good friends, okay?”
“I don’t believe you.”
Frustrated, I pushed on his chest but he didn’t budge. “Why do you care so much, anyway?”
He grabbed my hand before I could remove it from his chest and opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut again before any words came out. Letting go of my hand, he straightened and I felt a quick surge of disappointed at the loss of contact. “I don’t. I just don’t like it when people are embarrassed to be seen with me.” He shrugged, avoiding my eyes and running his uninjured hand through his already messy hair.
“I’m not embarrassed, Gabriel.”
“It’s okay, Evelyn, I understand. Your friends and especially your parents would not approve of us hanging out. I get that. It just pisses me off.”
I looked at him for a second, considering. “I think it’s about time I stop caring what my parents think,” I said quietly. His eyes met mine and for a second, he looked so handsome that I felt a sharp pang in my chest. I ignored it and said, “Can you give me a ride home?”
“Seriously?” he asked, his expression disbelieving.
“Yeah,” I said sending a lustful glance at his bike.
“You’re just using me for my bike, aren’t you?”
My gaze shot back to his and a wide smile broke across my face. “Yes.”
He laughed and tossed the spare helmet at me again. This time I caught it without fumbling. “Hop on.”
We took the long way to my house and I was lost once again in the feel of being on a motorcycle. I sighed and relaxed, letting my head rest on Gabriel’s back as I watched the scenery fly by. By the time we reached my street, my heart was beating fast from the ride and just maybe, from having my arms wrapped around Gabriel for such a long time.
“It’s that one, on the left!” I shouted over the roar of the bike pointing at my house just as a car pulled up from the other direction. We stopped in front of my driveway and I watched as my mother, George and my sisters got out of the Jag.
“Are those your parents?” Gabriel asked as he cut off the engine.
“Yeah,” I said, sliding off the bike and handing my helmet to Gabriel. I could feel my family’s eyes on me as I stood there awkwardly, not looking forward to the lecture I was going to get.
“You said you didn’t care what they think,” he said, frowning at me.
“I don’t,” I said, standing up straighter.
He smirked at me before getting off the bike and waving at my family. I cringed, not looking back. He looked down at me with laughter and maybe a bit of anger in his eyes. “You care.”
Suddenly I was sick of arguing with him and since I knew that he wouldn’t believe me no matter how many times I told him, I decided to show him.
I placed a steadying hand on his chest and he sent a startled glance at my hand before bringing his eyes back up to mine. “What are you doing?”
I ignored him and stood on my tiptoes, bringing my face closer to his.
“Evelyn?”
Before I lost my nerve, I moved closer, making our lips touch.
His lips were softer than I expected and for a second I forgot where we were. Time stopped when I touched my lips to his, enjoying the sweet pressure as I pressed a little harder, wanting to get closer.
Before I totally lost my mind and started making out with him in front of my family, I stepped back, feeling a little shell-shocked. I’d just given him the tiniest peck, it had lasted about three seconds but for some reason my whole body was tingling. My cheeks were burning and even though I wanted to run away without making eye contact, I couldn’t seem to stop myself from looking up.
His eyes were open wide and he was staring at me as if I’d just grown an extra head. His mouth was slightly open and he didn’t seem to be breathing. I couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across my face as I took in his stunned expression and almost immediately, his lips widened into a crooked grin.
After a second, he blinked and his grin disappeared. “What was that?” he asked.
I shrugged but inside I was a little hurt at his blunt tone. Was I that bad a kisser?
“I was just trying to prove a point,” I muttered, looking at my feet as my face turned beet red.
“Then at least do it right,” he said after a long pause, placing a finger under my chin and lifting my face so that I was looking at him again.
“What?” I asked.
He didn’t respond. Instead, he swooped his head down and claimed my lips with his own. This was no innocent peck. He slanted his lips across mine and rubbed his tongue along my bottom lip until I opened for him. I sighed as his tongue darted into my mouth and retreated again. He groaned when I let my tongue do a little exploring of its own and his hand left my chin to wrap around my waist, pulling me tighter against him. My hands slid up his chest and clutched his leather jacket as I lost myself in the feel of his lips on mine.
I forgot about everything around me. It didn’t matter that my mother was watching this along with her husband and my step sisters. The only thing that mattered was this kiss and everything inside of me was praying that it would never end.
Gabriel was the first to break our contact. He pulled back and stared down at me with a smug smile on his now slightly swollen lips. “Now that was proving a point,” he whispered.
I blinked up at him and vaguely heard someone calling my name from far away.
“I think your mom wants to talk to you.” He loosened his grip on my waist and I had to force my hands to unclench from his jacket. “I’ll see you at school,” he said bringing his lips back to mine for a quick kiss before hopping on his bike. He revved the engine extra loudly as he drove off but I didn’t even blink until my sisters were suddenly squealing in my ears.
“Oh my god! You lucky bitch!” Chrystal screamed, jumping up and down as she and Francine dragged me towards the house, wanting every detail. I was still in a bit of a daze but when my mom said my name in a stern voice, I snapped out of it and we all stopped moving.
I turned to face her and the two girls let me go. “You are not to see that boy again, do you hear me?”
“Why?” I asked without thinking. Suddenly, I was so sick of tip-toeing around my mother. No matter how silent and nerdy and good at school I was, she still treated me like crap so why should I care anymore? From that point on, I decided to stop hiding behind my fake glasses.
She stepped up to me. “Do you have any idea how a boy like that can damage the reputation of our family?”
I took a step closer to her and a part of me rejoiced when her eyes widened in shock. “Why should that matter? You’ve already made it abundantly clear that I’m not really a part of this family anyway.” My voice was quiet but firm as I looked her dead in the eye.
Her blue eyes darkened in anger and before I knew what was happening, she’d slapped me across the face, nearly making my glasses go flying. My cheek was stinging and I put my hand over top of it as I stared at her in shock.
“Oh my god, Evie. I’m so sorry, sweetie.” She reached out to me but I stepped back. I just stood there for a moment before I whirled around and ran inside. I didn’t stop until I got to my room and closed and locked the door.
I was breathing heavily as I sat down on my bed. I gingerly poked my stinging cheek and decided it wasn’t going to leave a mark. For some reason, I wasn’t mad at my mom. Today, in my driveway, I’d not only kissed the hottest guy I’d ever spoken to, I’d stood up to my mother and for one sparkling moment, I hadn’t been that invisible girl, I’d been me.
And I planned on being me from here on out, no matter what my mother or anyone else said or did.
I took off my glasses which had been such a part of me for so long. I held them out at arm’s length and looked at the heavy frames and clear lenses that did nothing. They were ugly and useless and I couldn’t believe that I’d been wearing them for so long.
I put my hands over both lenses and gradually applied more and more pressure. Eventually they snapped in half and the cracking sound was like a shotgun. I jumped as my heart rate picked up speed.
I grinned at the broken glasses in my hand, feeling a sense of freedom wash over me. I laughed as I dropped them into the garbage can beside my bed before flinging myself onto the mattress.
After today, invisible Evelyn no longer existed.
Starting from this moment, there was only me.
“Evie, is that…do you…” Francine trailed off as she looked at me.
“What she means to say is you’re really…” Chrystal tapped her chin for a moment, eyeing my outfit.
“You have a figure!” They both burst out at the same time.
I laughed and turned to face myself in the mirror. I was wearing a pair of ripped and faded jeans that hung low on my hips combined with a black t-shirt that showed just a tiny bit of my belly and had the words, “There are things known and things unknown and in between are the doors. Jim Morrison,” written on it.
“I guess so, huh,” I said turning away from the mirror with a shrug.
“I don’t get it, Chrystal said, circling me. “Why did you always dress like such a nerd? This look totally works for you!” She’d made it all the way around me and now stared at my eyes. “And did you ever even need glasses?”
I shrugged. “My eyesight just got better okay?”
“And now you can see that your wardrobe was hideous?” Francine asked.
We all looked at the pile of khakis on my bedroom floor and burst out laughing.
“Let’s burn these,” I said, grabbing a bunch of them and stuffing them into a garbage bag.
“No way,” Chrystal said, grabbing the bag from me. “These can be donated to goodwill. Your unfortunate fashion sense is some 70 year-old homeless lady’s new outfit.”
“Glad I could help,” I mumbled, sitting on my bed as Chrystal and Francine stuffed a bunch of my clothes into garbage bags.
There was no going back now.
“Hey Evie,” Chrystal said, not looking up from her work.
“Yeah?”
“Sorry we were mean to you.”
I frowned. “You were never mean to me,” I said, staring at my step sisters.
Francine shrugged. “We never went out of our way to include you in anything.” She looked at her sister and they shared a guilty look. “And we saw how your mother treated you but neither of us ever said a word.”
“We just liked having a mother around and we sort of…forgot about you.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine.” They both stared at me with tears in their bright blue eyes. “Oh no,” I said raising my hands as they took a step closer to me. “We had our moment of bonding, there’s no need to take it any further.” They ignored me and rushed at me, throwing their arms around me in a tight embrace, Chrystal on my left and Francine on my right.
I patted their backs awkwardly as I felt wetness trickle onto the back of my shirt. “Okay, we good now?” They backed up and nodded, sniffling.
“Let’s be real sisters!” Francine said, jumping up and down in enthusiasm.
“Yes!” Chrystal said, joining in the jumping.
“Um, what exactly does that entail?” I asked.
“Shopping.”
“Parties.”
“Movies.”
“Secrets!”
“Secrets!”
I didn’t like the glint in their eyes when Francine repeated that word. “What do you mean?”
“You know secrets! Like how long have you been dating Gabriel Halen for?” Chrystal asked grabbing my arm and taking a seat beside me.
“Tell us!” Francine said, sitting on my other side and grabbing my other arm.
“I’m not seeing him.” I sighed and flopped back onto my bed. The both leaned on their sides and propped their heads up to look at me. “We work on a school project together and we just…get along better than I’d expected.”
“What about that kiss?” Chrystal asked.
I groaned and covered my face. “You can’t tell anyone about that, okay? He was just doing that to prove a point. No big deal.” I gave them both a stern look and they nodded.
After a bit Francine said, “It didn’t seem like he just did it to prove a point.”
“Definitely not,” Chrystal quipped.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“He was like, way into it, you know? We were pretty close so we could see everything. First, you went and gave him this little peck on the lips.” Francine scowled at me.
“Seriously, what was that?” Chrystal said, sending me an identical look.
I shrugged, feeling my cheeks heat.
“Anyway,” Francine continued, “that seemed to totally work for him because he was staring at you all moony eyed and love struck while you looked down at your shoes.”
“It was so cute,” Chrystal said, a dreamy look in her eyes. “Big, bad, drug dealing, street fighting Gabriel Halen was staring at our step sister like he’d never seen anything so adorable.”
“Oh my god, get out,” I said, shooting up from my position on the bed. My face was about a hundred shades of red as I pointed to the door. My sisters just grinned at me and ignored my outstretched arm.
“Then, he got this determined look on his face and I think he looked just a tiny bit nervous but he put his hand under your chin,” Francine said, putting her hand under Chrystal’s chin who looked up with her eyes huge and batted her long eyelashes a few times for good measure.
“I did not bat my eyelashes,” I mumbled.
Francine ignored me. “He whispered some sweet, sweet words to you and leaned in,” the girls leaned towards each other. “And fireworks erupted!”
“It was the best thing I’ve ever seen,” Chrystal said, backing away and fanning herself dramatically. “He yanked you closer and you went all melt-y in his arms.” Chrystal sighed, clutching her hands to her chest. “It was so romantic.”
“Please shut up,” I muttered, putting my hands to my burning cheeks.
“Okay we’ll stop,” Francine said as she rose from my bed and stalked towards me. Resigned, I didn’t bother moving away. “If you tell us exactly how it felt.”
How it felt? Well it felt like a bomb had exploded in my chest. It was like the world stopped spinning and time stood still and for that moment, everything was perfect. I could still feel his lips molded to mine and I could remember the exact feel of his tongue as it sweetly slipped into my mouth and touched mine. God, it had been amazing and perfect and…
…clearly he’d had a lot of practice and he was a total player and the new Evelyn was not about to get all moon struck over some guy just because we’d shared a spectacular kiss.
“I’m not telling you anything,” I said, returning to stuffing khakis and piles of cardigans into a garbage bag.
They badgered me for the next half an hour but my lips were sealed. Before I knew it, the day was almost over and I still hadn’t faced my mother since she had slapped me yesterday.
“It’s time for dinner,” Chrystal said as she moved towards my bedroom door. “You coming?”
I swallowed and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be right down.”
When I walked into the dining room, I was greeted with total silence.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Chrystal and Francine sent surreptitious glances at my mother, wanting to see her reaction to the new me.
I swallowed and took my seat at the table. “You look great, Evie,” George said and I smiled at him noticing that his warm brown eyes were lit with kindness and a bit of guilt.
“Thank you,” I mumbled, reaching for the carrots. My eyes landed on my mother as she stared at my t-shirt.
“Is that the kind of music you listen to?” she asked, her voice flat.
I shrugged. “Sometimes. I’m more into Bob Dylan than the Doors.”
Her lips stretched into a taut line as she wrenched her gaze from me. She stared at her plate and I watched a muscle in her jaw tick as she tried to compose herself. “I wasn’t aware,” she whispered.
I knew why she was taking it so hard. John had told me that her band had loved to play Bob Dylan when they were together. Some nights, her and my dad would take turns singing verses and would spend the entire night, staring into each other’s eyes and getting lost in the music.
Everyone ate in silence and after a while my mother began to relax. She avoided my gaze through dinner and by the time we were finished our meals, I was feeling strangely depressed.
“I’ll get the dishes,” I said, standing up to grab everyone’s plates. I made my way into the kitchen and piled the plates into the sink. I sighed as I turned on the tap, checking the temperature. I guess it didn’t really matter what I wore after all, I was still invisible to my mother.
“Evelyn,” I jumped as she spoke from behind me. I whirled around, banging my hip on the counter as I did. I winced but didn’t take my eyes off of her. She was dressed in designer clothes, her jeans and blouse were perfectly pressed and her hair and make-up were neat and tasteful. She looked every inch the high society woman and I couldn’t help but compare this version of her to the one who worked in a diner doing double shifts and forgetting to eat. Her now perfectly toned arms were once thin and frail looking and her clothing had at one time been out of date and tattered.
“I wanted to apologize for yesterday,” she said, her voice flat and even. There was no emotion there as she said the words almost as if she were reading them from a script.
“It’s okay,” I said, turning back to the sink and shutting off the tap. I didn’t want to hear her say she was sorry unless she actually meant it. Besides, it really was okay. I had stood up to her and I could finally be myself.
“It’s not okay,” she said and I heard her moving closer to me. I flinched as she awkwardly placed a hand on my shoulder. “I have never hit you before and I never intend on doing it again. I guess I’m just not used to you talking back to me, is all.”
I glanced up quickly and I could see the discomfort in her eyes as she pulled her hand back from my shoulder.
“All right,” I said, dunking my hands into the water so I didn’t fidget with them. “I forgive you.”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw her nod and without another word, she turned away. I breathed a sigh of relief, letting the tension seep out of my shoulders.
“Evelyn?” The tension returned when she spoke from the doorway.
“Yeah?” I responded, not looking back.
“That boy from yesterday…”
“Gabriel,” I supplied.
“Gabriel,” she said his name with distaste and I felt my spine straighten. I felt the odd urge to yell at her and tell her not to use that tone when she spoke of him.
I managed to suppress it.
“I don’t want you to see him anymore.”
I gripped the dishrag under the water and squeezed hard. “I will see whoever I choose to, mother,” I said through clenched teeth.
“I want you to think about how it looks to have you roaring up the street on the back of a motorcycle.”
I shook my head, releasing the dish cloth and spinning towards her. “Why does it bother you so much what other people think?”
“I am grateful for the life I lead now and I don’t want you to ruin it for me like your father ruined my youth!” She blinked as she shouted the words at me and surprise clouded her features.
“That’s it, Mom, say what you’ve been wanting to say to me forever. Tell me about how having me ruined your life, kept you from attaining your dream and forced you to work at a diner doing a job that you hated,” my voice was acidic and low as I took a step towards her.
“Evelyn, I─”
“No Mom, don’t apologize now, let’s get this off our chests, shall we? I want to move on and I think you do too. We don’t have to be the Gilmore Girls but please, let’s try to act civil around each other.” I took a deep breath and let it out. “I am not my father. My father was a junky and he was weak and he ruined your life. I look like him but I am not him. I’m a straight A student and I have never once touched a drug. I don’t plan on it either.”
“I don’t see you that way─”
“Yes you do.”
We stood there, staring at each other and as I watched, tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill out.
“I’m not going to hide from you anymore so you’re going to have to get used to seeing me for who I am, not who you think I am, okay?”
She just stared at me as a few tears ran down her face. I nodded and moved past her, heading out of the kitchen and up to my room.
“Oh god, I can’t do this,” I mumbled as we pulled up to the school in Chrystal’s red convertible Mercedes Benz.
“Yes you can,” Francine said as she opened the door and got out of the car. “You coming?” she asked as she tilted the passenger seat forward to let me out.
“No.”
She just laughed and grabbed my arm, yanking on it until either I lost the limb or I got out of the car.
As soon as I was out, Francine let go of me and her and Chrystal were immediately surrounded by cheerleaders and football players. Basically, all the beautiful people in our school were currently making me feel really claustrophobic. I beat a hasty retreat and breathed a sigh of relief when I made it into the front doors of the school.
I walked down the hall and no one even looked at me. Everyone had that glazed, Monday morning look in their eyes as they walked like zombies to their destinations and I began to walk with more confidence. I saw Cynthia walk towards me and was about to say hi when her eyes made contact with mine but the word died in my throat when her gaze slid to the side without acknowledging my existence. I stopped walking and stared at her as she continued past me. She was right beside me when something must have clicked and she whipped her head back to face me.
“Holy shit!” She exclaimed, her kohl rimmed eyes going wide with shock. “Evelyn, you’re not wearing a cardigan. Or khakis!” She looked me up and down, taking in my worn jeans and band t-shirt. Today, it was classic Floyd and it covered my entire belly. My hair was also down and fell in waves nearly to my waist. Every once in a while, a strand of it would go across my field of vision and the slight red highlights in my otherwise brown hair would catch the light.
“You look great!” she exclaimed as she linked her arm with mine and dragged me towards the girl’s bathroom. “Really Evelyn, you look awesome but I was just going to look for you. Don’t you ever answer your phone?” Before I could respond, she continued, “Never mind, it doesn’t matter now anyway. I don’t want to beat around the bush here, so I’m just going to come out and say it. There’s a horrible rumor going around that you’re a big hoe bag and you slept with half the student body, girls included.”
“That part’s new,” I mumbled feeling a half smile tugging at the corner of my mouth as I took in her serious expression. “They’re really creative aren’t they?” My smile tugged up a little further as she stared at me.
“Okay, who are you and what have you done with Evelyn Taylor.”
I laughed and rested my hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eye. “Remember when everyone was talking about you and how you got pregnant and you walked into chemistry like you didn’t give a shit?” She nodded. “Well, I want to be just like you, Cyn.” I thought about it for a second. “Except I don’t want to be pregnant.”
A small smile broke across her face and she punched me lightly in the stomach. “Shut up.”
I let her go and leaned against the counter. “I heard about the rumors at the carnival this weekend.”
“You went to the carnival this weekend?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t ask. Anyway, basically, I already knew everything when I walked in the doors this morning. Well, I didn’t know about the lesbian part of my sexual exploits but I knew that I got around.”
“Is that the reason for the new look? Were you hoping no one would recognize you? Because it might work,” she said giving me a quick once over.
“That’s just a side benefit. I decided that I would break out of my shell once and for all.”
“So you’re going to tell everyone that you’re in a band?”
“No, definitely not.”
“Then you’re not really breaking out of your shell.”
“Haven’t you ever heard of baby steps, Cyn?”
“In seven months I’ll know all about that,” she said, patting her still flat belly.
I slung my arm around her shoulders as we walked from the washroom into the now busy hallway. “Cheer up will you? Today, we get to listen to people mock me for being a slut even though I’m still a virgin.”
“You’re a virgin!” Cynthia exclaimed loudly, making a few people turn in our direction.
“Jeez, announce it why don’t you.”
She got a calculating look in her eye. “Maybe we shou─”
“No.”
“Yeah, that might make it more embarrassing, huh?”
“You think?” I replied sarcastically.
As we made our way to my locker, a few people made rude comments and a couple guys did that thing where they put up a peace sign in front of their mouth and wagged their tongue. I just rolled my eyes marveling at the maturity level in this school.
“Okay, I’ve got to get to class. You going to be okay?” Cyn asked once we arrived at my locker.
“You know it,” I said waving as she turned and walked away.
I put my bag in my locker and started pulling out my books.
“So I’ve been thinking,” Gabriel said, making me jump. He was leaning against the locker next to mine and I don’t know if it was because he surprised me or if it had something to do with the way his t-shirt fit nicely across his pecs but for a second, my heart stopped beating.
Finally, it started again and I managed to say in an impressively steady voice. “That’s new for you.”
“Ha ha,” he replied as he looked me up and down. “You look different.”
I blushed a little and looked him in the eye. He was frowning at my outfit and then my hair and I couldn’t stop the surge of anger that pulsed through me. “You don’t have to scowl at me. I don’t really care if you don’t like it.”
I slammed my locker shut and began walking towards homeroom. He hurried to catch up to me and lightly grabbed my arm, pulling me into an alcove. He opened his mouth to say something to me but stopped as he took in his surroundings. “There’s something familiar about this situation, isn’t there?” He grinned down at me and my traitorous heart started to beat faster again.
I rolled my eyes. “You were thinking…?”
“Right, I was thinking,” he cleared his throat and ran a hand through his already messy hair. I watched as he swallowed making his Adam’s apple bob. I clenched my hands to keep from reaching out to him. Jeez, what was wrong with me? So the boy was cute, that did not mean I had to jump him every time I was alone with him. I glanced at his lips and suddenly all the memories from that hot kiss came flooding back to me. Oh man, I needed to get out of there before I did something seriously stupid.
“I was thinking, and I think we should hang out more.”
I felt my eyebrows scrunch together as I tried to figure out what he was saying. “What do you mean?”
“I think we should hang out more,” he repeated. I just stared at him and he sighed. “I’m not saying we should get married or anything, Evie. It’s not that complicated to understand.”
I leaned against the wall and looked up at him, meeting his blue eyes squarely. “Okay but we hang out sometimes for school and whatnot, why would you want to hang out even more?”
I frowned at him as he leaned his arm against the wall behind me, bringing his face a little closer to mine. “Because Evie, Catherine is driving me insane and there’s all these rumors flying around about how you…well, you know and I just think we could benefit from each other’s company. We could walk down the hallways together and I could pick you up for school in the mornings. Think about it, Evelyn, you could get a ride on the motorcycle every weekday.”
My eyes glazed over a bit as I thought about the exhilaration of being on Gabriel’s bike.
“Besides,” he said, anger entering his gaze as his eyes focused on mine, “you stopped dressing like an 80 year old woman. It’s highly likely that the sort of thing that happened at the carnival will happen again. I just think it would be a good thing if I was with you more often, just in case.”
“You want to protect me?” I asked, batting my eyelashes rapidly and tucking my chin down, playing the role of helpless damsel.
He laughed. “No, I just want an excuse to get into some fights.”
“Oh,” I said, dropping the act. “Okay,” I deadpanned.
His eyes widened. “What?”
I shrugged. “Okay.”
We just looked at each other for a bit before he cleared his throat. “About that kiss…”
“I know, I know, you were just proving a point. I get it so don’t worry about it,” I said, sounding sophisticated and aloof but for some reason, I wanted him to tell me that I was wrong, that he didn’t kiss me to prove a point and that my sisters were totally right with all their stupid, romantic notions about us.
He didn’t say anything for a bit as he scowled down at me. Our eyes were glued to each other and I couldn’t seem to look away. “Isn’t that why you kissed me first?” he asked, leaning in even closer.
My head bumped lightly against the wall as I tried to move back. “Y-yes,” I stuttered.
Suddenly he straightened. “Then that’s exactly why I kissed you. C’mon, let’s get to class.” He grabbed my arm and dragged me from the alcove. We walked down the hallway together and people definitely turned and stared but I didn’t get any rude gestures.
I smothered a laugh as I caught sight of Gabriel sending a murderous glare at Brad Deeds when he stared at me and licked his lips. When Brad’s eyes connected with Gabriel’s, he turned away so quickly that he smacked his head into his open locker door.
Gabriel sent me a smug look and I let out a quiet laugh, shaking my head at his macho display. His lips twitched into one of his lopsided smiles when we stopped outside of my classroom. His eyes were on mine and he was staring at me with a slightly dazed look in his eye. I kept thinking about Brad’s head knocking into his locker door and my grin kept getting wider.
“God, you’re pretty when you smile,” he whispered and my gaze shot to his in surprise. He seemed to shake himself and he sent me a quick smile as he stepped back. “I’ll see you after class,” he said as he turned away from me and disappeared around a corner.
I stood outside of the classroom until after the bell had rung, clutching my books to my chest, trying to slow my heart rate down.
I eventually made my way to my desk and vaguely registered the teacher beginning the lesson.
After about twenty minutes of my mind replaying Gabriel’s words over and over, I inwardly sighed. I might as well admit it to myself, at least.
There was a chance that I had a crush on Gabriel Halen.