Parker looks back at me with wide eyes and shrugs. “Sorry, babe,” he tells me and though he’s far away, I can still make it out.
I shrug my shoulders back at him and give him an apologetic smile as if to say ‘Oh, well. Maybe next time.’ I flick my gaze across to Jesse who has witnessed the whole thing, only now, the calculating look is gone and is replaced with understanding. And just like that, I realize he knows exactly what went down between us.
He gets up from his seat and tilts his head, indicating for me to follow him. I don’t want to go, especially out the doors that Nate had just gone, but I have a feeling he’ll just come back in and drag me out with him. “I’ll be back,” I tell Brooke who’s completely oblivious to everything that’s just gone on.
She nods and I get up out of my seat before following Jesse out the door.
I find him leaning against the wall and he instantly puts his arm over my shoulder and leads me away. “You fucked him, didn’t you?” he questions.
I let out a sigh and hang my head. “Don’t say it like that,” I tell him.
“Like what?” he defends as he pushes out the doors and leads me down the corridor of the junior’s lockers.
“You make it sound dirty.”
“Wasn’t it?” he questions.
I shake my head as he comes to a stop beside his locker. “I didn’t think it was until this morning,” I admit.
He presses his lips together and nods in understanding as he puts in the combination for his locker. “He left, didn’t he? He hurt you. That’s why you weren’t there this morning.”
I nod my head as he gets his locker open and reaches in to pull out an apple. He hands it over and I reluctantly take it. “I never would have done it if I thought he was just playing me. I mean, I’ve never felt so used before. He just turned me into one of his conquests.”
Jesse closes his locker and leans back into it while giving me a sad smile. “Do you need me to kick his ass?” he asks.
At that, a grin finally crosses my lips. “No,” I laugh. “If anyone is going to kick his ass, it’s going to be me.”
“That’s the spirit,” he says. “Why don’t you come back to my place? We can chill out and watch a movie.”
“Netflix and chill?” I scoff. “You’re not trying to get into my pants too, are you?”
“What? No,” he laughs. “No offense, I think you’re fucking hot, but I’m not into you like that. I just see you as one of the guys who’s a lot nicer to look at. Though, if you’re offering, I’m not going to say no.”
“Gross,” I laugh with a sigh of relief. I don’t know If I could handle that kind of attention from both of them.
“What’s it going to be?” he asks as he reaches into his locker again and pulls out his keys. “Are you coming?”
“Nah,” I say as I lift the apple to my mouth. “I can’t ditch two afternoons in a row, and besides, I’m trying to avoid Nate as much as possible right now. Walking straight into the lion’s den would be stupid,” I explain. “I’ll see you later.”
“Alright,” he says with an eye roll before grabbing his things and closing his locker. He takes off down the hallway and pushes through the door at the other end without so much of a goodbye.
I shake my head to myself as I walk back into the cafeteria eating his stupid apple. Happy that while my heart is hurting and my world seems to be falling apart, I still have a good friend in Jesse, even though it’s his brother who has caused all this pain.
Chapter 16
I get home from school and collapse down into my bed. I close my eyes, taking in the feel of laying in my own bed. A bed that isn’t tainted with Nathaniel Ryder.
I haven’t heard from Brooke all afternoon, but I’m not surprised after I was such a bitch today. I’m going to have to make it up to her, though I’m sure she’s probably out screwing Maxen right about now, so that will have to wait.
I get my homework sorted and get through the things that I missed yesterday while I was busy skipping and having the time of my life with Nate. I get myself something to eat, force it down, and before I know it, I’m right back on my bed with nothing to occupy my mind except for my night with Nate.
Why did it have to be so good? If he was just playing, why couldn’t he have made it boring and disappointing? Instead, all I want to do is go back for more and see what else he can do with that body of his.