Sloan hated that scar. Boyd couldn’t walk forever, and she’d have that ugly scar… forever. It didn’t seem fair.
Ray’s fingers lightly drug across the raised skin on her cheek. It always made her self-conscious when he did that. Ray was as cute as ever with his big blue eyes and California-blond hair. He hadn’t changed. She wished she could say the same for herself.
“I don’t think it’s hideous. Sticks out more today, though.”
She moved back, and his hand fell away. “I didn’t have time to put on my heavy-duty foundation. This is it in all its glory.”
Ray leaned toward her and gently kissed the scar. Her breath caught, and her eyes fluttered. She hadn’t been kissed since her incident. The self-conscious part worried about how she looked up close. The human part, the girl in her, swooned a little. His breath tickled her skin in a very good way.
“Finally. Been wanting to do that for a while.” He grinned down at her.
So close. So close.
Now she knew why he’d been so nervous. He’d had that planned all along. She couldn’t think of any coherent words to say. She liked Ray. She really did. But she liked Aaron too. She didn’t want to pick. Why couldn’t things stay like they had been? Why couldn’t they all three just stay together and do things together and not have to change? She’d changed enough for a lifetime.
“It was just a kiss, Sloan,” Ray said, reading her mind. “I’m not asking you to marry me. I wanted to show you the scar doesn’t bother me.”
She tried very hard to smile. It probably came out all wonky. “I know. It bothers me though.”
People streamed past them, watching and gawking. They weren’t the first two people to kiss in school — most did worse. But they were the only two doing it at the moment. Plus, since her big falling out with Boyd, people tended to think they deserved to know every ounce of her love life — or lack thereof.
“Thank you though. For the kiss.” No need in him going off to his next class upset or thinking she was mad at him. She wasn’t mad. Well, she was. She was mad at herself for acting like an ungrateful, depressed person when Ray had done something so nice for her.
“You’re welcome. Well…” He backed up and put his hands in his jean pockets. “So… red.”
“Red. Red dress.”
“Red flower.”
She raised a brow.
“Flower. Corsage. Not like the weird flowers in your car… which were also red. Yeah. I’m going to stop now. See you later.” He left before she could say anything.
The bell rang, forcing her to move into the classroom. This had seriously been the weirdest day.
The weirdness got better. Thankfully. Lunch with Mackenzie and Ray went fine. Neither mentioned the kiss, so Sloan tried not to read too much into it. In high school terms, a chaste kiss on the cheek meant squat. It wasn’t like they’d made out in the old boiler room. She eased around Ray and got back into her old, comfortable rhythm. No need to get worked up over something as simple as a peck on the cheek. Still, she could do worse than Ray.
Much to her over-joyment, the three o’clock bell rang, and she got ready to go home. Ray met her outside sixth period class and walked with her to Senior Hall. “Wanna come over tonight and work on our Biology homework?”
“Yeah. I can I guess. It doesn’t seem too hard. The worksheets are the easy part. The dissecting the pigs…” she shivered. “I’m glad you’re my partner, my non-squeamish friend.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” He smiled. “Want me to wait for you?”
She placed her fingers on the combination lock on her locker. “Nah. I’ll grab some burgers for us and meet you at your house.”
“Tired of my cooking?”
She laughed. “No. Just tired of not contributing. You feed me much more than I feed you.”
“Yeah, but you bless me with your company, so I’d say it’s even.” He leaned down and placed his lips on her forehead. “See you at home.”
He strolled away, leaving her there all dumbfounded. Two kisses in one day. Ray better not be getting serious about her.
She didn’t know how long she’d stood there staring like an idiot because when she snapped out of it, she was the only one left in Senior Hall. Groaning, she twisted the combination to her locker and yanked it open. Sitting on top of her books were four long-stemmed roses, their stems wrapped in a black ribbon and tied with a bow.
“How in the world?” she whispered in awe. How could anyone have known her combination to her locker? Who knew it but her? And why four roses this time?
A white piece of paper slid out when she pulled the flowers from her locker. Neatly folded in four perfect pieces. Sloan unfolded the paper and read the note.