I froze.
“You’re doing the Sext Me line because of money, right? If you want me to give you some, I don’t mind. You can give up the Sext Me thing, right? I mean, I know it’s how we got close in the first place, but I wouldn’t feel too good if you kept it up, trust me, money isn’t a problem for me.”
Again, I gaped at her. Did this girl really not realize that we were in public? And that people were walking around us as she spoke? Her voice wasn’t even lowered, people who didn’t want to listen in would still hear her. Besides, when did we ever get close? Why was she acting as if it was a foregone conclusion that we’d be dating? We only ever met up for sex, and it was paid for!
Shit.
Murmurs grew around us, and when I checked, more people were looking our way. They whispered to each other, pointing, and it was spreading. Some even had their phones out. Fuck. I knew about this trend. Before long, everyone would know I was behind Sext Me. I’d be lucky if no one spread it to the professors.
“Is that not enough for you?” Blanc said, her voice way too loud. “Don’t tell me you’re still fucking other girls. Are you doing it for laughs? Are you going to meet one of them now?”
I turned a glare at her. Even though I’d never hit a woman before, right then, I really wanted to slap her. She was getting even louder in her agitation, making a scene on college grounds, as if she didn’t realize we’d both have to deal with the gossiping later.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I asked. I felt like screaming in rage and laughing at the same time, and I didn’t know which to do first. I couldn’t help but think that Sara was going to kill me once she heard the gossip going around. “Did you really have to say all that out loud? And do I need to remind you that what I do is none of your business?”
“No way,” I heard someone say.
I looked around and noticed a couple of girls. I’d seen them when I was with Sara one time. Alicia and Caroline, though I didn’t know who was who; they were former friends of hers and the ones that told her about the Sext Me line. In a way, I owed what I had with her to them, but I didn’t like the expressions on their faces.
“I thought those two were boyfriend and girlfriend,” the blonde one said. “The way they’ve been going around together a lot recently. But it turns out he’s the Sext Me guy?”
They laughed snidely, and I knew why they weren’t friends anymore.
“Sara had to pay someone to fuck her, and go out with her, too?” The other one said and giggled. “That’s priceless! No wonder she didn’t want to say…”
They weren't silent, either, and Blanc heard them, too. She shot a frown at them, before looking back to me.
“What are they talking about? You’re not seeing anyone besides me, right?”
I scowled. “I never saw you in the first place,” I hissed. “What part of ‘I’m not interested’ is so hard for you to understand?”
The other two girls just listened to us and continued giggling; they weren’t even hiding that they were eavesdropping. I was about to turn to them and start shouting when my phone vibrated in my hand. Dad had texted me back, saying that they were already having breakfast in the hotel and were waiting on me.
I felt exhausted, even though the day had only just started. I ignored the three girls as I turned to leave campus. I had more important things to do than stay there with these crazy women. All three of them.
Somehow, I had to deal with the issue of my dad becoming a con man, and hope the rumors wouldn’t spread too much, or at least that people wouldn’t believe them, or I wasn’t sure how I would explain things to Sara later.Chapter Thirteen
Sara
Friday morning found me seated at breakfast with Mom and my new stepdad. If I hadn't deliberately woken up and made my way to the hotel, I would have wondered what I was doing there. I barely said anything, I just watched the two of them chat. Mom would occasionally throw a question my way, and I would murmur or nod at appropriate moments, but I didn’t say a word.
Apparently, we were waiting for one more person. From what Mom had said, he was at my school, too, and I couldn’t help but wonder who it was. Either way, I knew it would feel awkward if I ran into him at school again from now on.
Have I met him before? Do I know him? Is he in the same age as me, or older?