“Why do you say that?”
“Other than the fact that he can’t stand her?”
I nodded. “Well, I think her and Quentin have history.”
“What? How?” This came from Willow, who had been silent until now.
Sheldon ran down the entire story of the day she had met Diana, and by the time she had finished, I was as stumped as I was when I met her.
“Well, you know what they say—if you lay down with dogs, you are sure to wake up with fleas.” I laughed at Sheldon’s apparent dislike for the girl who was intent on making sure she wasn’t liked. My laughter died when I thought of an idea.
“I think I know how to make myself feel better.”
“You do?”
“How?” Willow questioned suspiciously.
“Ctenocephalides canis.”
*
Rihanna’s S&M blasted from the speakers as I made my way to school the next morning with my plan fully formulated. I bounced in the seat to the beat of the music.
All day, I rehashed my plan over and over, and when lunch finally came, I was bouncing with vindictive excitement. I skipped the cafeteria altogether and made my way to the tree where Collin sat with his usual abundance of books.
“Hey, Collin.”
He looked startled as he looked up at me. “H—hi.”
“I kind of have a favor to ask you.”
“A favor?”
“Yes. I know we don’t know each other well and this may be wrong of me to ask but I’m pretty desperate.”
“What do you need?”
“Fleas.”
“Fleas?” He pushed his glasses up his nose and peered up at me. “Why?”
“Revenge,” I answered truthfully. He didn’t react. In fact, he barely looked bothered at all by my answer. Being picked on and ridiculed for the last four years probably stirred similar feelings a time or two.
“Well, it’s winter so they will be pretty hard to get…”
“But I bet you know how, don’t you?”
He reluctantly nodded and then took me by surprise when he asked, “What do I get in return?”
“What would you like?”
“Well… um.” He blushed and ducked his head, which gave me a pretty good idea of what he was thinking.
“I’m not paying for fleas with sex.”
His eyes widened when he looked back up. “No. Not sex. A kiss.”
“A kiss?”
“Yes. I’ve never kissed a girl before.”
I mulled it over and just as his face started to burn redder from embarrassment, I made my decision. “Sure. A kiss it is, but when and where I say. Deal?”
“Deal.”
I sat down to eat lunch with him and to get to know him. If I was going to be his first kiss, then I felt it was the least I could do. In truth, I was honored. I could tell Collin was a good person and maybe with a little time we could actually be friends.
The rest of my classes, including fifth period, were a breeze because, instead of feeling nervous, on edge, and sexually frustrated, I calculated and planned. By the end of the day, I was practically rubbing my hands together.
Before showing up at Keiran’s house, I called ahead to make sure he was at practice, and Diana was apparently being watched by Quentin. Surprisingly, Collin was able to supply me with the fleas right after school. As it turns out, his basement was a museum for various bugs. Go figure. I haven’t paid him his kiss yet, but I’d already warned him it would definitely be a public one. The larger the crowd, the better.
Keenan answered the door, shirtless and dressed only in sweats. He snatched the bag of burgers he made me bring him from my hands before retreating into the kitchen. I called out to tell him I was going to use the bathroom before disappearing up the stairs. He had no clue what I actually came here to do. I was here under the pretense of wanting to visit a friend. It’s not that I didn’t trust Keenan, but I couldn’t risk the chance of him talking me out of it. Besides… who would willingly allow fleas in their house?