“Aw, come on. Why not?”
“You told me three days ago that you're still in love with her.”
“Oh yeah, that.”
“Yeah, that. If I’m gonna date a guy, I want him to like me, not be wishing I was someone else.”
“Still. You're fun, and I really haven't thought about her much the last couple days.”
“Then you’re making progress.”
“And how’s your progress going?”
I sigh. “He used his special powers to stare at me today.”
“You have it bad for him, don’t you?”
I look back at Dawson, who is gorgeous, and think, no, I don’t. Why would I want a stupid player boy, who will do nothing but break my heart, when I have sweet Gorgeous sitting here next to me? I’m going to help heal his broken heart, remake his image, and then I’m going to keep him for myself.
I grab the front of his shirt and pull him into a kiss. It’s the first time I have ever initiated a kiss with him.
Then I say, “I think I’m making progress too.”
At halftime, Riley plops down next to us. “Oh. My. Gosh. She’s driving me freaking nuts!”
“Audrey?” both Dawson and I ask.
“Yes. Fine. We hooked up. That doesn’t mean I want to be tied to her for the rest of my life.”
“It’s been three days.” I laugh at Riley’s drama.
“It feels like a lifetime.”
“I sure hope you used a condom, bro, or it might be.” Dawson slaps him on the back.
“Well, that’s one thing you taught me. Thank God!”
“You should be flattered,” I say. “You must have been good, and she wants more of you.”
“Honestly, it was not good. I repulse myself.”
“Dude, it’s about quality, not quantity,” Dawson says.
“Oh, you’re one to talk. What was it you called the beach this summer? Your whoredom?”
“Shut up,” he snarls.
“Like your kingdom, only your whoredom? Oh, that’s cute,” I tease.
“I was brokenhearted, what can I say?”
“Well, I don’t really care about that. Just tell me how to get rid of her! Seriously, she meets me after class, walks me to my next class, shows up at my room and leaves cookies. Dallas won’t eat them. He’s afraid she drugged them or something.”
“My little bro has a stalker, how cute is that?”
Dawson laughs. I don’t.
But then I know that stalking is really not a laughing matter.
“You’re not helping, either one of you,” Riley complains.
I feel bad for him, so I say, “Well you have a few options. Ignore her. Tell her. Find someone else fast.”
“Shit, here she comes. Pretend we’re talking about something important. And ignore her. Do not talk to her!”
She walks up, sits down next him, and, of course, the first thing out of my mouth is, “Hey, Audrey, what’s up?”
Dawson pulls me back between his legs and snickers. Riley groans.
She says, “Hey! How come you guys weren’t at the party Saturday night? It was so much fun. I was a little drunk, but we had fun, didn’t we, Riley?” She hooks her arm through his and smiles at him like they’re an old married couple with a million stories like this. “Although, oh my gosh, I was so hung over on Sunday. It was awful. I threw up at church.”
“We really didn’t need to know that,” Riley growls.
“Oh, sorry. Yeah, well, anyways, how are you doing, Keatyn? I got to talking to Katie. She seems really nice and, oh my gosh, to have made the dance team, that’s super cool.”
She drones on . . . and on . . . and on.
Riley drops his head down into his hands, like he can’t go on any longer.
I look at Dawson, bug my eyes out at him and then at her, thinking this is a time he could actually help his brother. Make them closer.
He squints his eyes, trying to figure out what to do. Finally he says, “Hey, Audrey, shut the fuck up. We’re trying to watch the game.”
She gets a shocked look on her face and looks at Riley like he should stick up for her.
Instead he says, “Look, Audrey, we hooked up, but I really don’t want to hang out with you. We’re not dating. We’re not anything. So why don’t you go sit with your friends?”
Then it’s me who gets the big eyes. I can’t believe he just said that!
Tyrese says, “Damn dude, that was harsh,” as Audrey stomps down the stairs.
Riley shakes his head. “I know. I’m not usually that mean. I just couldn’t take her babbling on anymore!”
Dawson slaps him on the back. “That was legit, bro.”
Riley beams at the compliment.
And I just felt a little bit of brother bonding. I smile at Dawson and snuggle up between his legs. It’s starting to get cold, and this little tank top is not doing it for me.
“You have goosebumps,” he says, running his hands down the sides of my arms.
“I know, I should have brought a jacket. I’m fine. The game’s almost over.”
“No, hang on. I’ve got a sweatshirt down in my football locker.”
He gets up, jogs down the bleachers, and disappears. A few minutes later, he comes back up with a big Cougar Athletic hoodie and pulls it over my head.
It’s huge and snuggly.