“Yep, Ms. Clare,” Hayden answered her, surprising both me and her. “We came up with something really good.”
“Really, Hayden? What is it?”
“We’re going to make a porn site.” No. He did not just say that. “Sarah is going to be the main actress.”
I desperately tried to ignore the chuckles and stares, hunching in my chair. I wished I could cover my blush with my hair, but it would look weird.
“Get serious, Hayden. If not, you’re going to fail this subject.”
He shrugged. “I’ll live.”
I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want to beg him to get some sense into that head of his and work with me on this project. I despised him for humiliating me like this.
I already felt like a huge bundle of tangled nerves as I turned to face him. “Please, Hayden. If nothing else, just suggest the theme. Anything is okay. You don’t even have to work on the outline. I’ll do everything by myself.”
“I told you. I want to make a porn site.” He leaned toward me, his lips almost touching my ear. His nearness created shivers that traveled fast down my spine, and I fought to remain in my place so he wouldn’t know how much he intimidated me. “I’ll put your nude photos on that website,” he whispered. “They would be a great addition. I’m sure guys would love them.”
His words disgusted and terrified me at the same time. I didn’t doubt for a second he would really do that, but despite my fear, there was some spark in me that made me speak my next words without thinking.
“Gee, thanks, Hayden. I didn’t know you find me hot.”
I held his stare, pretending I was brave and winning this round. As I took in the stunned expression on his face, my own surprise filled me since he didn’t make any comeback. He looked as if he was dumbfounded by my words.
He broke our eye contact, not proving me wrong, and turned his head back.
I couldn’t believe this.
I actually won .
Chapter 19
THE FIRST THING I DID when I got home from school yesterday was to call Johns’ Corner to tow my Ford to their service. Then I talked to my mother, hoping to convince her that the tire slashing was just a stupid prank. She didn’t seem persuaded, but she also didn’t push the topic. She just wanted to make sure I was going to pay to fix it.
The sad truth was that I wouldn’t have it any other way. Whenever some money issue was brought up, I felt uncomfortable and reluctant to ask for money because she was constantly reminding me that it was her money, not ours . At this rate, my college fund was going to disappear if I kept paying for everything.
After today’s classes, I went to the retirement home on the bus. Melissa was already there when I arrived, standing next to her car. Her eyebrows formed a slight frown when she saw me getting off the bus.
“Where’s your car?” she asked and fell in step with me on our way to the entrance.
How could I tell her the truth without sounding like a complete loser? “Um, I had some issues with it so I had to take it to the car service.”
“Uh-huh. If you want, I can drive you back home.”
“Um, I’m meeting with my classmate, Jessica, after work. We’ll go out for coffee.”
“Oh, okay.”
Maybe I could invite Melissa to come with us because it could be a good opportunity to get to know her better. Hopefully, Jessica wouldn’t mind this. “So how about you come with us?”
“Me? With that Jessica chick and you?”
“Yep.”
She scratched her neck and looked away, insecure, which surprised me because I thought Melissa was self-confident 24/7. “Thanks, but I don’t want to put you out—”
“Don’t worry, you won’t. Come on, it will be fun.”
A radiant smile spread across her face. “Okay, if you’re sure.”
A surprise awaited me in the sitting room, for Jonathan was talking with Adelaine, a seventy-year-old widow who liked playing Angry Birds on her iPhone. She was truly amazing because her interests were the mix between old and new. She liked listening to classical music and watching black and white movies, but she was hooked on her iPhone games. Most of the time, she was sitting alone in a corner, staring intently at the screen of her phone as she tapped her fingers all over it.
Today, she was far away from that lonely corner, in the middle of a hushed conversation with Jonathan, and I couldn’t help but stare at them in incredulity. She looked a bit embarrassed, but her dark ebony skin hid any potential blush. I didn’t know what surprised me the most—her shyness next to him or the fact that Jonathan was smiling .
“So he can smile,” Melissa whispered to me when she noticed them together. “I thought he didn’t have the muscles required for smiling at all! He never smiles!”
“I’m glad he finally found a reason to smile. I was worried he wouldn’t be able to get used to this place.”
“They look cute somehow. That is, if we forget about the fact that they are old, heavily wrinkled, and decorated with a lot of age spots like Swiss cheese is filled with holes—”
“Melissa!” I whisper yelled at her. “That’s not nice of you. Show them some respect.”
“Hey, I’m showing them respect! I respectfully think they fit each other because they are both so old and ugl—”
“Oh, shut up,” I interrupted her, walking away from her.
Her laughter trailed behind me. “Okay, okay! I know that was mean! I’m sorry!”
At noon, Melissa and I took a break and went to the patio. Several minutes into our conversation, Mateo arrived, and Melissa wiggled her eyebrows at me, a beaming smile forming on her face. I almost groaned.
I didn’t forget about his message. There was no way I could when he’d said I looked cute. Ugh. He must have been joking. I was certain of it.
“Hey, girls,” he greeted us and surprised me when he leaned in and actually kissed me on the cheek, the sudden contact leaving me baffled. He winked at me.
I glanced away, my cheeks heated. He was playing with me for sure. Besides, Melissa claimed he was a player, and as far as I could see, he didn’t lack self-confidence or charm.
“How was your week?” he asked us. Melissa replied to him in her usual witty way, but my throat just constricted when it was my turn to answer.
Not good. Why couldn’t I say anything in front of him? I surely looked dull or stupid to him.
“Um, everything was great. Fun.” My voice sounded like I was a heavy smoker.
“Say,” he started and pursed his lips together. “Did I offend you with my message or something?”
Oh no. I hoped he wouldn’t mention that.
“Message? What message?” Melissa was ever so curious.
“You didn’t reply to both of my messages that night, so I thought you might be angry with me.”
Melissa raised her eyebrows at me. “Both?”
“Yes,” I answered her, nettled.
Since I hadn’t responded to his first text, Mateo sent another one asking me if I was okay. I was so surprised and nervous when I saw his texts that I chickened out and didn’t text him back. I’d never received such a message from a boy before, so I had no idea how to act. Playing safe and ignoring him seemed like a best thing to do, especially because I wasn’t sure if he really meant what he said.