We got to Winnie’s house for about half an hour after we picked up Laura and Harvey. Well, they made the ride a lot noisier. Nick still didn’t talk the whole time. It was just me, Harvey, and Laura that were making conversations, but I thought it wasn’t a problem. Just when we parked on the side of the road of Winnie’s mansion, Harvey started saying stuff about not going.
“Are you sure about this?” he said.
“Why? What was that thing you three idiots were talking about the other day about Winnie?” I turned to see him. Of course, I wanted to know more about that.
“That’s nothing!” he laughed and tried to make a joke out of it. He just laughed while Nick, Laura, and I remained in a silent curiosity. Somehow, the atmosphere became serious.
I just thought for a second and I tried to get Harvey alone, “Nick do you mind escorting Laura in first? I think I have something to talk to him with.”
“Why? What’s up?” Laura interrupted.
“Okay, Liyah. You’re really making a big deal out of this.” Nick said.
“Nick.” I faced Nick. “Please?”
“Fine.” Nick rolled to his side and opened the door out. “Come on, Laura.”
“What’s this about?” Laura was confused. Of course, she knew nothing about what we were talking about.
“I need to talk with your boyfriend for a sec, Laura.”
“Well, he’s not my boyfriend.” She corrected.
“What? Really?” Harvey reacted to Laura.
“Well, not yet.”
“I thought you were my girlfriend since our first date.” Harvey stated.
“So, this wasn’t your first date? How come I didn’t know about this?” I claimed. Some part of me rushed, like I wanted to see Alexander as soon as possible.
“Because you were busy having sex with Nick.” She kidded with her slut voice. That didn’t really offend me since Nick didn’t hear… hopefully.
“Shut up. Get the hell out. Nick’s waiting outside.” I pointed her out the door.
“What fuck!” then, she decided to obey and just get out.
“Why the heck are you serious about this?” Nick closed the door as soon as Laura went out.
“Hell, I’m serious. What happened?”
“About what?” He laughed and sounded completely like he was hiding something.
“What the hell were you talking about Winnie the other day?”
“That’s fucked up.” He continued laughing.
“Okay. I’ll just ask Alexander about this.” I rushed to get my phone just on top of the drawer.
“Hey, don’t! Sander’s gonna think I’m such a dick if he’d ask Winnie about that, and it’ll spread!”
“What will spread?”
“All right.” Harvey sighed. So, I was able to confirm that it wasn’t just my exaggeration. Something DID happen between them. “But you must promise not to tell anyone. It’ll kill me.”
“I’ve kept a thousand secrets. Tell me.”
“Okay.” Harvey took a breath as I sat better. “You probably don’t know that I had a huge crush on Winnie since I was in elementary.”
“Really? You do?”
“Yeah. And I more than like her.”
“You’re in love with Winnie?” I asked. Somehow, that sounded convenient probably because that can possibly get in the way of Alexander and Winnie just in case.
“Yes. I’m serious about it.” Harvey started to sound serious. I haven’t seen him talk like a man before. I guess I was too judgmental. “I never had a crush on any other girl. Even if the other girls including Laura look so hot, I never want to hold anyone else more than I want with Winnie.”
“Oh my God.” I reacted. Harvey suddenly was this keeper guy. “Are you lying? That doesn’t sound like you at all.”
“Hey! Guys aren’t normally supposed to talk like this.”
“Well, that’s true.” I agreed. “Go on.”
“Well, Winnie had this birthday party last year. I don’t think I saw you there.”
“No. I wasn’t there. I lacked the motivation to go.”
“Since I got a bit closer to Winnie back in junior high, she asked me a favor to bring Dante Parker to her birthday. He’s Winnie’s crush, and she was too shy to invite him.”
“Dante Parker?” I reacted with disgust. Dante Parker was one of the quarterbacks of Neptune High. He was a popular senior back when we were in junior high. He was really popular for being good at football and being good-looking at the same time. All the girls wanted one of those popular and muscular quarterback boys as boyfriends. Well, not me. Anyway, Dante already graduated though.
“Yes. She asked me to bring him to her last year’s birthday, and I promised to bring him.”
“You didn’t, did you?”
“Of course, I didn’t. I can’t stand to see the girl I love cuddle with some guy that barely even knows her! Anyway, I still made her think that he was coming.”
“How?”
“I told her he would be running a little late, so she anticipated his arrival ‘til the end of her party.”
“She waited?”
“Of course. There were a lot of people there, so she was pretty occupied, but she kept asking me again and again if Dante was ever there. Since he wasn’t coming, I kept saying that he wasn’t there yet.”
“Then?”
“Then, she was starting to worry that Dante wasn’t coming. I kinda’ figured something out so she’d stop worrying, so when the party ended, I said I had a surprise for her.”
“What surprise?”
“The 10-minutes-in-heaven game… ever heard about that?”
“No.”
“Jason, Samuel, and I told her that she’d go in a blind fold in her closet and Dante was going in with her for ten minutes.”
“Oh, that scheme. She believed that? So, what happened?”
“She was blindfolded. She thought the guy who went in was Dante.”
"Oh my God.” I reacted. “Did you make out with her in their closet?”
“Yes. I made out with her. It was the best kiss of my life. It wasn’t just that. She was getting a little hot, and we started to get a little dirty.”
“Did you have sex with her in our junior high in a closet at her birthday party?”
“Well, yes. In a way, no. She thought I was Dante, and I pushed it a little far. You know, how guys aren’t able to stop their urge to have sex when a hot girl is there?”
“No. I don’t know that feeling at all. What else happened?”
“I did what I could to keep her blindfold on.”
“You two got naked, and she didn’t even bother to get her blindfold off?”
“Well, we weren’t naked.” His voice sounded a little shy when he continued, “I pulled her panties down.”
“You are so dirty!” I felt a little angry though I didn’t really care that much.
“I’m sorry, okay?” Harvey said. “I couldn’t help myself back then! It’s not like you’re able to resist having sex with a guy that you like so much.”
I was a bit stunned. What he said was true. I probably wouldn’t be able to resist sex with Alexander. I just tried to understand him and just appreciated that he told me something, “Okay. I understand. Thanks for telling me.”
“You’re welcome.” He made it sound a little sarcastic.
“So, how did she know it wasn’t Dante having sex with her?”
“I thought she wasn’t going to know, so I never told her it was me.”
“Idiot!” I said. “How did she know it wasn’t you?”
“Well, she kinda’ talked to Dante before his graduation, and she found out.”
“You should have told her. She could have understood how you felt only if you had explained.”
“Yeah.” He nodded and stared. Then, he started talking again, “But I guess she can never accept me after she started thinking that I raped her.”
“Well, you did.”
“I know, and I wish I could have turned things around.” Harvey really seemed sorry for Winnie. I could see the regret in his face. His sad face resembled something, like Nick’s expression when I broke up with him.
I was a surprised. I never expected a guy like Harvey to be someone so serious about a girl. I was wrong about him, and I definitely admitted it. My hands clenched as I processed my thoughts. I felt so left behind. After all those time that I thought I was so mature in love, Harvey was something more. I hated myself for thinking that. I felt so below everyone.
“I’m sorry,” was all I could say.