I continue to glare at Johnny until he’s out of sight. “Did he give you a ride today?”
She twirls a stand of hair around her finger, leaning against my locker. “Well, he lives like right down the road from me.”
“So?”
“So, it was convenient.”
“Convenient, huh,” I mutter under my breath.
I grab my anatomy book and slam my locker shut. Sloan laughs and pinches the side of my face. “Aww, baby. Are you jealous?”
I nod away from her and take off down the hall.
“Perry, don’t walk away,” she calls after me. “You’re acting like a dick.”
This stops me in my tracks. I take forceful steps back to her and stop directly in her face.
“I’m a dick? How would you like if I had some chick in my car? You want me giving random girls rides?”
She shakes her head.
“So why is it okay if you do it?”
Her eyes widen and she tries to take a step back, but we’re too close to the lockers. “It doesn’t mean anything,” she whispers.
I laugh once. “That’s your problem, Sloan. You think you can do whatever you want and I’m just supposed to be cool with it. I let that shit slide at the lake, but I’m done having you walk around making me look like a fucking fool.”
“I’m not—I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I tilt my head down to her and speak in a low growl. “If you’re with me, Sloan, then you’re fucking with me. I don’t want you taking rides from any other guys.”
“Okay, I won’t,” she says quickly.
She turns to walk away and I grab her arm. “I’m not finished yet.”
Her eyes land on me with anger, but she doesn’t try to pull away.
“This shit with Johnny ends now.”
“There’s nothing going on,” she cries defensively.
“And there fucking won’t be. You walk down the hall, and he’s coming toward you, you look the other way. Do you understand?”
She nods.
I shake my head, leaning in closer. “No, you fucking say it Sloan.”
The tears are pooling in her eyes, but I don’t care right now. All I can think about is how that douchebag thinks he can hang out with my girlfriend without any consequences. I’ll deal with him next.
“I’m waiting.”
She struggles to hold it together, but manages to get the words out. “I understand.”
I release her arm and she walks away from me without looking back. As soon as I see her disappear around the corner, I know I was too harsh. But it’s too late to take it back now.
Later at lunch, I don’t see her in the cafeteria. Walker and Jeremy are having a particularly heated conversation about the game this weekend and don’t seem to notice anything else. I toss my fork down to my plate and let out a deep sigh. Walker finally looks over at me and grins.
“What’s up?”
I lean across the table at him. “Have you seen Sloan? She should have been here by now.”
His face falls a little. “Oh, yeah. That.” He pauses, clearing his throat. “Well, she was crying in Bio this morning. I thought you knew.”
I slam my fist on the table. “No, I didn’t fucking know. Why was she crying?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. She wouldn’t even talk to me.”
I stand up from my seat and scan the lunchroom for her. The loud chatter makes it impossible to distinguish her voice from anyone else’s. That’s when I spot her. She’s walking towards me carrying a can of Diet Coke.
I walk over to her and place my hands on her arms, speaking in her ear. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she says, shouldering past me. She takes her usual seat beside mine and I raise an eyebrow.
I scratch my head, but retake my seat, turning toward her. She opens her soda and takes a small sip.
“You hungry?” I ask.
“Nope.”
“You sure? You should probably eat before cheerleading practice tonight.”
She keeps her eyes focused on the can rested between her hands. “I will. Later.”
I brush her hair back and kiss her cheek. “I’m sorry.”
She looks over at me but doesn’t say anything.
“Sloan, please say something,” I whisper. I can feel Jeremy and Walker watching, but I don’t care.
“I’m fine,” she whispers back.
I shake my head. “You’re not okay.” I take her hand in mine and rub small circles in her palm. “I shouldn’t have acted like that this morning. I just hate that guy.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “It doesn’t mean I would ever cheat on you. Don’t you trust me?”
That’s a loaded question, and one I must answer quickly. In the many times that we broke up, both of us have messed around with other people. Her list includes Johnny, which in my opinion makes him now off-limits in terms of friendship or basically anything.
“Yes, of course I do.”
“Then start acting like it,” she shoots backs.
I grab both sides of her face and kiss her softly. “I love you.”
It takes her a minute, but she finally smiles and kisses me back. “I love you, too.”
“Aww,” Walker croons from across the table. “True love does exist.”
I throw my banana at him and he catches it before it hits him in the face. He proceeds to peel it and take a large bite. “Thanks, man.”
Jeremy remains annoyed, leaning forward across the table. “If you two are done, I have an announcement to make.”
I place my hand on Sloan’s knee and face him. “Okay, let’s hear it.”
He clasps his hands together and his irritation turns into a large grin. “Tess will be sixteen in two weeks and I think we should have a surprise party for her.”
This gets Sloan excited and she claps her hands together in delight. “I love surprise parties. I can help.”
Walker and I exchange a look. Sloan is not exactly Tess’s favorite person, but she looks so happy to help I don’t have the heart to tell her she can’t help. I kiss the side of her head instead.
“That would be great, baby.”
Sloan smiles triumphantly and Walker grins.
“Okay, it’s settled. We’ll all meet at the garage later and come up with a game plan.” Jeremy takes a drink of soda and smiles to himself. “This party will be epic.”
11
Bittersweet Sixteen
Tess- Then
The guys were acting strange all week. Now I know why. I’m currently riding in the back of Walker’s jeep—blindfolded. Some may find this kinda kinky, but my brother and Perry are in the front seat. They said it’s a surprise and didn’t trust me to keep my eyes closed.
I feel a hand on my knee and I jump. Walker’s laugh fills the backseat and I smile. “Easy, babe. I was just going to tell you that we’re almost there.”
“Is this really necessary?” I complain, reaching for the fabric covering my eyes.
“Yes!” Perry and Jeremy call from the front.