“Yes,” I say. “My prize. You do owe me. That lucky rubber band was stolen by Molly’s stinky hair.”
“That’s on you, Bree.” The way he says my name pulls me, kills me, grips my heart something crazy. “You better get that back.” He grins. Then he does a sideways lean into me from the passenger seat. He slides his hand down my hair, then beneath my ponytail at the nape of my neck. His lips press against my bottom lip and my body sighs. My lips melt into his. It’s like tiny sparklers are shooting around inside my body. I try to keep my breathing steady although my heart races as his hand moves down my back, probably leaving fire-prints beneath my shirt. His lips are smooth and light across mine. He inhales deeply as he slowly pulls away.
Exhaling, he says, “I guess I better go. Before my mom comes out here asking if we want a snack or something.”
“See you in school Monday?”
“Yep. Maybe I’ll give you a call tomorrow too, if that’s okay?”
“Yes. Have a good night,” I say to his back as he exits the car.
He turns and winks, “You too, Breezy.”
He waves one last time before going into his house. My lips stretch into a smile that lasts me all the way home and into Sunday morning. Best. Night. Best. Weekend. Ever.
TWELVE
Still inhaling the glow left over from my time with Sean, this morning has me refreshed and ready to conquer my phone call with Kallie.
“Finally, you call me back,” Kallie says without even saying hello first.
“Well hi to you, too.”
“Hi. What’s up?” Kallie asks.
“Kal. You called last night and didn’t leave a message. You go first.”
“Okay, but only because it’s been a while since I’ve said it first.” She half whispers, “Sorry.”
“Who said that? Do you have a tiny little mouse over there? I barely heard the guy. What’d he say?”
“Omigod Bree,” she laughs. “I’ll kill you. You heard me.”
“I know, I’m kidding. I’m sorry too. Really.”
I think we both sigh into our phones at the same time.
“So,” I say, not wanting to get into anything good or off topic until I spit it out. “I have to tell you something.”
“Ugh. I already know. Todd told me.”
“Really? About Jane?”
“You mean Molly. Yep. He said you guys were at Monroe’s Friday and she was all over him and you probably saw. Todd said you guys were all pretty wasted so he hoped you didn’t get the wrong idea. It was all Molly. It might’ve looked bad but Todd swears he didn’t touch her. I believe him. I should believe him, right?”
“Um, yes and no.” I take a deep breath and begin pacing my bedroom. “What’re you doing right now? Wanna come over? I bet I can get my mom to make us pancakes?”
“I can’t. I gotta work. I swear every kid and their cousin has a birthday party this weekend. I need to get in early and help set up.”
“Okay, well …”
“Dude,” she says. “Just tell me.”
“Okay, first thing, you’d tell me if your mom was sick right?”
“Omigod, of course. I’m not like you, Bree. If shit’s going down, you’ll hear about it. My mom’s fine. What does that have to do with anything?”
“I know. Here’s the thing, I didn’t have anything to drink at the party, just so you know. But, I heard Todd tell, okay, well, Todd and Jane were talking and … Okay, not so much as talking but—”
“Wait. You mean Todd and Molly, right?”
“No. I mean Jane. Jane fucking Hulmes. So, I overheard them and apparently they have a thing going on.”
“Wait,” Kallie’s voice cuts through the phone. “Todd and Jane would never have a thing. He can’t stand her. He’s always talking about how crazy and bitchy she is. He actually avoids hanging out anywhere she’s at. Plus, what about Molly? She’s still in love with him. Jane knows that. Best girlfriends don’t fuck with each other like that. C’mon—I think you’re reaching here,” she says.
“No, I’m not. I heard them. Jane doesn’t care about girl code and I’m pretty sure they had sex and Todd told her that your mom’s dying so he can’t break up with you.”
“Bree, that’s nuts. Todd would never say anything like that about my mom. It’s psycho. Did you actually see them together?”
“Not exactly, but I heard them.”
“Right. There were so many people there and it was someone else. Jane probably sleeps with a lot of guys and I wouldn’t put it past her to be screwing someone else’s boyfriend. But not mine.”
“No, it was def—”
“Listen, I gotta get going. I’ll ask Todd if you want, but I know you’re wrong. I feel like you think the worst about people just because of who they hang out with. Todd actually likes you.”
“Well, why would he be calling me yesterday then?”
“Because of me. You know what? He told me you and Sean Mills were hanging out at that party, and are, like, dating, or something. It was real shitty to hear that kind of news from someone else besides you. Because, since Todd is such an evil person, he said you and I shouldn’t be fighting. And that we should call to see if you guys wanted to double date.”