Confessions - A Short Story

Scott

Every year it was the same thing; Crystal’s mansion of a cabin out in the middle of nowhere. That’s what spring break meant since we were sixteen. Too loud music. Too much alcohol. Too many girls. It was perfect.

Was.

Now we were twenty and shit like that got old real quick.

My gaze moved to the front passengers seat of Brad’s car. Trent had turned around, facing me with his tongue out pretending to have his way with the seat. Maybe this shit never gets old for him.

“You know it’s funny, asshole,” Trent said. I tried not to smile. “I see you trying to hold back. Your face is as red as your mother’s ass when I get done with her.”

That got laughs—even from me.

I sat back in my seat and faced the window, watching nothing but grass for miles and miles. The only thing that broke up the scenery was a minivan broken down on the side of the road—and a girl leaning against it with her head down and her phone in her hand. I had to do a double-take—the girl looked familiar. She looked like…”STOP!”

Brad hit the breaks so hard Trent went flying back. His ass landed on the floor of the car, his legs on the seat, and his head against the console. I didn’t have time to laugh. “Go back!”

“What?” Brad eyed me in the rearview mirror.

“Go back. We should help that girl out.”

“Girl?” Trent tried to sit up, but it was physically impossible from his position. “What girl?”

“Just go back, Brad.”

So he did. In reverse. For over a mile.

Trent never got up.

“You’re gonna ask her what’s up and then we’re gonna go. We’re not hanging around to help her if it’s more than five minutes.”

“Whatever.” Honestly, I just wanted to make sure it was her, and not just my eyes fucking with my head.

Brad hit the breaks just as hard when we got to the minivan.

She looked up from her phone with her eyes wide. Winding down the window, I tried to act cool when I offered, “Do you need any help?”

The guys groaned in their seats.

Our eyes locked before she chewed her lip and twisted a strand of her. It was that one mannerism—that one movement—and any ounce of doubt fled, it was definitely her. If she recognized me, she didn’t show it. But I wasn’t a surprised; she didn’t pay much attention to me back then. “Um, I’ve got a flat,” she said quietly. “I’m just waiting for a tow.”

“A tow?”

She nodded, but she was unsure.

“You don’t need a tow for flat.” I opened the door and hopped out of the car. My feet were on the ground for no more than second before Brad’s tires spun, and he was gone.

“Good friends,” she mused.

“Yeah.” I scratched my head. “The best.” Then I straightened up and took a step forward with my hand out ready. “I’m Scott.”

A slow smile developed as she took my hand. “I know who you are.”

Tricia

I know who you are. What the hell kind of response was that? I rolled my eyes and mentally kicked my ass.

The instant the window lowered and I saw it was Scott; my heart started to race. It was like high school all over again. He hadn’t changed much. He still had those big brown eyes and perfectly messy dirty blond hair. It wasn’t until he stepped out of the car and that I saw a change in him physically. He was better built now than he was in high school. Much better.

“You do?” he asked.

I inhaled deeply and tried to level my thoughts. “Yeah, we uh…we went to the same high school.”

“I know,” he replied, like I was stupid for bringing it up. My expression must have shown my embarrassment because he quickly added, “I mean; I know that we did. I’m just surprised that you do.”

“Huh?”

“That we went to high school together…”

“Why would I not know?”

“I didn’t think you noticed me.”

Confusion was an understatement. “You noticed me not noticing you?”

“What?”

“Huh?”

His eyes narrowed.

I swallowed my nerves. “I’m Tricia,” I said, just to avoid a loop in conversation.

He smirked. “I know who you are, Tricia. We went to the same high school,” he joked but looked down at our still joined hands. And all of sudden it felt like a ball of fire had been lit in my palm. I swiftly released my hold and took a step back.

His eyes widened, but he didn’t mention it. Instead, he took a careful step closer and asked, “You have a flat tire?”

“Yes,” I confirmed. “Apparently there’s a spare.”

He threw his hand out, palm up, between us. “Keys?”

***

“So you called a tow company?” His head was bent, looking down at the spare.

“I called the rental company; they said they would take care of it. I assumed that meant they were calling someone out.”

“So this is a rental?” He lifted his gaze and caught me watching him.

I quickly looked away when I answered, “Yes.”

“Huh,” is all he said.

A panic set in. “What do you mean huh?”

He grimaced. “I mean that the tire in here isn’t for this car. It has wingnuts, and it’s supposed to have bladescrews.”

“What?” I almost shouted. “I don’t know what that means.”

He shrugged carelessly and started to repack the spare. “I guess it just means that we have to wait for that tow truck.”

“Fuck!”

“Whoa,” he laughed out. “Am I that bad company?”

“No.” I couldn’t help but laugh with him. “But now we’re both stuck here on the side of the road in the middle of Hicksville.”

He shrugged again and took a seat in the trunk of the minivan with his legs dangling off the edge. “Could be worse,” he stated.

I rolled my eyes and took a seat next to him. “Yeah? How?”

He turned to face me, licking his lips as he did. Then his gaze moved from my face and roamed down my body. “I don’t know.” His voice was rough. “We could both be naked; I guess.”

Scott

We could both be naked? What the hell was that? I shook my head slightly and cleared the fog in my brain. Her cheeks flamed red, but she stayed quiet and looked at the ground in front of her. I tried to change the subject. “What are you doing hiring a car like this if it’s just you?”

“It wasn’t just me. It was full of girls, but then the flat happened and a bunch of guys drove past on their way to Crystal’s…they picked up as many girls as they could fit…so that was that.”

“And your friends just left you?”

“Uh huh.” She nodded.

“Good friends,” I mused.

She laughed and repeated my words from earlier. “The best.”

Minutes of silence past—the awkwardness of the situation getting heavier and heavier. She was the first to break. “You still speak to umm…” she trailed off.

I was wondering if we’d talk about this, and I was kind of glad she was the one to bring it up. “Lisa? No. Not since that night. What about you? I mean…not Lisa, but…”

“Chris?”

I nodded.

“No. Not since that night.”

“That was some night.”

She didn’t respond, just continued to sway her legs back and forth.

“You know I saw you at school afterward. I wanted to talk to you about it. But I dunno…” I shrugged. I seemed to be doing it a lot—maybe because she made me so nervous. “It just didn’t seem appropriate…given the circumstances and all.”

“Me too,” she said quietly. “But I guess catching our other halves screwing around at their winter formal after-party wasn’t a good basis to start talking to each other.”

I had to laugh at the bluntness of her words. My girlfriend and her boyfriend at the time went to a school in the town over from us. I’d seen her around at their school functions and parties, but even though we went to the same school, we didn’t speak much. A single word greeting or a small wave here and there and that was it. That’s not to say that I didn’t notice her. I did. Even before I knew that the guy she was dating was secretly banging my girlfriend behind our backs.

“Do you know how long it was going on for?” I didn’t know why I asked that. It was a stupid question. One that I really didn’t care about, but the words were out, and I couldn’t take them back.

“Six months,” she deadpanned.

“Holy shit. Chris told you that?”

She let out a bitter laugh. “Actually, more like bragged about it.”

My head whipped to face her. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Her lips pursed tight, and she shook her head slowly. “No. He said that if I put out more and were as hot as her, he wouldn’t be looking—”

“The guys a fucking dick,” I cut in. “You’re way hotter than her. You always have been.” I didn’t regret saying it. It was all true.

A blush crept to her cheeks, as she looked at me sideways. “You know, Scott, I always had a crush on you in high school.”

Tricia

I had a crush on you in high school? Who the hell says that? Apparently me. I say that.

I tried to hide my embarrassment by squaring my shoulders and using all my energy to try to keep my breathing even while I waited for him to break this awkward silence, hopefully by changing the subject.

He exhaled loudly. “Why didn’t you say anything?” …or he could say that.

Twirling my hair in between my fingers, I eyed my lap, too ashamed to face him. Then I felt him scoot closer until he was next to me. “Tricia,” he whispered. Then moved my face with his finger so we were facing each other. Eye to eye. So close, our breaths merged. “You should’ve said something.”

My insides turned to dust. I pushed down my nerves and responded with a feigned calmness. “What would it have done? I would’ve just been one of the ninety-nine percent of girls that crushed on you.”

He pulled back, allowing me to catch my breath. “That’s an over exaggeration if ever one existed. Besides, you were different.”

“Thanks,” I scoffed.

“Not at all in a bad way,” he assured, but then he shook his head and chuckled lightly. “I can’t believe this is happening right now.”

I let my body relax, thankful for the change in subject. “I know. I called the rental company two hours ago. The tow truck should be here soon. I’m sorry that you’re stuck—”

“No.” he let out a laugh. “I meant that you’re telling me you crushed on me back then.”

My head fell into my hands, trying to hide the blush that filled my entire face. “Oh my god,” I mumbled.

His chuckle would have grated on my nerves if it weren’t so damn sexy. “Hey, remember when I switched schools halfway through freshman year?”

I nodded, lifting my head slightly. “Of course I remember, I was your buddy for the week, I showed you around.”

“Ooh!” he said dramatically. “So you do remember that? Here I was thinking you’d forgotten considering you never spoke to me again after that one week.”

My mouth dropped open. When I turned to face him, he was watching me; eyebrows raised. His fingers propped under my chin to shut my mouth. “But—”

“But what?” He smirked, waiting for me to say something.

“But you made friends so easily, and they were all the popular—”

His eye roll cut me off. “I was butt hurt, Tricia.” He sounded sincere. “I mean, I spent a week with you, I thought we were friends, or at least could be. I liked you. A lot. And then when that week was over you just disappeared.”

My heart dropped and I looked away. “You could have said something,” I mumbled.

“Like what?” he retorted. “Hey, Tricia. Thanks for that one week of faked, forced friendship. Nice knowing you?”

I faced him again and pouted. “I’m sorry, Scott. I just saw that you’d made friends with other people and thought you wouldn’t want to hang out with me anymore. I didn’t think—” I blew out a breath. “I’m sorry; I just didn’t think.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Your apology doesn’t make up for four years of me crying myself to sleep.”

My head threw back in laughter.

“What?” He asked, watching me with a hint of a smile on his face. “You think I’m joking?”

I laughed harder.

“Pretty sure my diary entries went like this for the first year; Dear Diary,” he mocked in a girly tone, “Why doesn’t Tricia like me? I even made sure to shower every morning and wear my expensive cologne Aunt May got me for Christmas…”

I lost control of my laugh and flung my entire body back; half leaning on the back of the seats, holding onto the side of my stomach. “Stop!”

“Dear Diary,” he continued, ignoring my plea, “Tricia walked past me today. I tried to sniff her hair, but she was too fast.”

“Oh my god.” I could barely breath. “Stop.”

He did what I asked, but his gaze never left me. Ever.

My laughter became silent, as his eyes grew darker. And darker. “Tricia.” Then he leaned in closer and my eyes drifted shut. His body covered my side. A moan escaped; the anticipation of feeling his lips on me was too much to handle.

I held my breath.

And I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Then my head started moving backward.

When I opened my eyes, he was hovering above me, his arm outstretched and reaching for the lever to adjust the seat behind me. His eyes remained on mine, unblinking, unwavering. The power of his gaze was so intense I forgot to breathe. Then he blinked once, breaking whatever connection we had. His eyes narrowed as he searched my face. “What?” I asked.

He shook his head. “You’re even more beautiful than I remember you.”

Scott

You’re even more beautiful than I remember you. Fucking lame.

I sat up and shuffled my way out of the minivan. The proximity to her was making my head spin. It’d been years. Years since I felt like this around a girl.

“Scott?” she said from behind me. I heard the crunching of gravel under her feet. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I lied. I wasn’t okay, not even close. I spent years of high school pining over a girl that barely looked twice in my direction. Now we were here. Alone. And I couldn’t get my shit together. “I just needed some air.”

“Okay.”

Then it was silent. No words. No footsteps. I turned to her, but she was looking down at her phone, her mouth turned down into a frown.

“The tow-truck not coming?”

“No—I mean, I don’t know. It’s not that…” she trailed off.

I took the steps to cover our distance, hoping that I wouldn’t freak her out like I did when we were in the van and I was too close to her. “What’s going on?”

Her eyes lifted from the phone, but she wouldn’t look at me. “I lied earlier.”

Confusion set it. “Lied about what?”

“Chris.”

One word and my stomach dropped to the floor. I ignored the rapid thumping of my heart and asked, “What about Chris?” Just saying the asshole’s name made me sick. Her eyes dropped back down to her phone. “Is he bothering you?” I took another step forward.

“No.” She quickly locked her phone screen and shoved it in her back pocket. “I lied when I said I hadn’t spoken to him. I had. I mean I am…speaking to him.”

My fists clenched at my sides, but I tried to rein it in. My reaction wouldn’t make sense to her—especially given that she had no idea how I felt about her. “Oh,” I managed to say, right before my throat closed up. I cleared it and tried to gulp some much-needed air.

“Yeah…he’s at the cabin waiting for me.”

And there went my heart—down to the floor along with stomach. She may as well have sung a song and stomped on it, too. “So you were going there to see him?”

“No,” she said too quickly, but then took a breath and recovered. “I mean yes, no, I don’t really know.”

I took a seat on the edge of the trunk, my body no longer able to keep standing—I guess that’s what happens when you have no stomach—or heart.

“He said he just wanted to see me. And talk about some stuff…” her sentence died in the air, which meant that there was more she wasn’t telling me.

“And?” It came out harsher than intended, but I couldn’t take it back.

She sat down next to me. “And he said that he missed me.”

“Huh.” I rolled my eyes. “So you’re gonna go running back into his arms?”

“No. And I’d appreciate it if you shut up and quit judging me,” she choked out. I’d been around girls enough to know that she was on the verge of crying.

“I’m sorry,” I said sincerely. “I just don’t understand why you’d want to see him after the shit that he pulled, let alone speak to him. There’s obviously a part of you that judges yourself, considering you lied to me and all.” I heard her sniff, and I knew that I’d pushed her too far. I felt like an asshole. Nudging her side with my elbow, I offered, “I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s okay. I upset myself.”

Minutes of silence passed with neither of us speaking. Then a howling came from somewhere in the fields around us. “Holy shit!” she squealed, gripping my arm tightly. “What the fuck is that?”

I laughed at her overreaction, happy that we were no longer speaking about that fucktard. Shrugging lazily, I replied, “I dunno. Coyote, probably”.”

“What!” She gripped my arm with both of hers and held it against her body.

I laughed harder. “It’s not like they’re gonna jump out of the grass and eat you.”

Her eyes went wide in panic. “They can do that?” Releasing my arm, she crawled into the corner of the trunk, pulled her knees up to her chest, and shielded her head with her arms. “Scott, close the door.”

“Tricia they’re not gonna—”

“CLOSE THE FUCKING DOOR!”

“Holy shit,” I laughed out, but did what she asked.

Once the door clicked shut, she lifted her head warily. “I’m sorry.” She held her hand to her heart. “I have this thing with animals and creatures and aliens attacking and chewing my face. It scares the shit out of me.”

Chuckling, I asked, “Just your face? They have an all access pass to your legs? Your ass?”

Her head threw back in laughter. “You’re an ass.”

I folded the seat down so I had more legroom in the tiny space.

“We should crack a window if we’re both going to be in here.”

I turned to her with a smirk on my face. “Why? So that bats can fly in and attack your face?”

Her eyes bugged out of her head. I didn’t have time to laugh, or tease her some more, before she lunged at me. “Why would you say that!“ She’d somehow managed to pin me down, sitting on my stomach with her legs either side. “Now all I can think about are bats eating my face.” My laugh was a slow build up. A chuckle turned guffaw. “It’s not funny!” she yelled, slapping at my head—which just made me laugh harder.

But the harder I laughed, the harder she slapped, until it actually started to hurt. “Ouch. Fuck.” I grasped her wrists to make her stop.

“Sorry I’m not sorry. You should learn to keep your mouth shut.” Her face was flush from exertion. But that’s not what I noticed. During her attack, she’d moved lower down my body. My eyes trailed down to where she sat…on my dick. She must’ve followed my gaze because she mumbled under her breath and tried to get off me, but I still held her wrists and I wouldn’t let go. Instead, I did the one thing I’ve wanted to do since the first day I saw her.

I took a chance.

I pulled her down until she was lying on top of me. And that’s all I did. I didn’t have the next part planned. I wanted to kiss her, but I didn’t know how. Her head fell to the crook of my neck. I leaned my head forward and brushed my lips against the exposed skin of her shoulder. She let out a sigh but did nothing else. She didn’t sit up; she didn’t move to get off me, she just lay there—but that was all the reaction I needed. I pressed my lips firmer against her skin. She tensed, but apart from that, the only thing that changed was her breathing. It got louder and louder. Heavier and heavier. I opened my mouth and let my tongue skim across her shoulder and up to her neck, eliciting a moan from deep in her throat. And then I sucked. Gently. Making my way up to her jaw. This time, she moved. But not in a bad way. She thrust her hips, rubbing my hard-on against her center. “What are you doing, Scott?” she breathed.

“Saving you from face eating bats.”

She laughed softly and her head tilted back. I took the opportunity to kiss across her jaw. She didn’t budge. Just let me take my time, moving my way slowly towards her mouth. My lips brushed against hers and we both moaned. A sound so quiet but so affective in wordless communication. She thrust again, pushing herself harder into me. Her eyes drifted shut; her breaths came out in short spurts through her partially open mouth. I took her bottom lip between mine and moved my hand down her back, and towards her ass. I squeezed once, gently, causing her to push into me again. I nibbled on her lip and licked it lightly. Then her phone in her back pocket chimed, vibrating against where my hand had covered. She tensed. But didn’t make a move to get it. I reached into her pocket and pulled it out, thinking maybe it was the rental company. I brought it closer to my face so I could check it. It wasn’t the rental company. It was Chris. ‘Hey baby…’ the text read, and I avoided reading the rest. I cleared my throat and began to sit up, handing her the phone at the same time. She sat up with me and cautiously read the message, then eyed me quickly with a look of regret. And I knew what it meant. She regretted what she doing. And she regretted whom she was doing it with.

Tricia

He slowly moved from underneath me and I hated that he did. I enjoyed where we were headed and what we were doing. I rolled off him and to the side as my fingers frantically typed a reply to Chris’s text. The look on Scott’s face when he read it hurt to watch. I knew it was Chris from his expression, and I regretted that he had to see it in the first place.

Shoving the phone back in my pocket, I lied back down on the floor of the trunk. “I have a confession,” I told him.

“Yeah?” he said through a sigh, refusing to look at me.

I pulled on his arm, suggesting he lie down with me. He did, but reluctantly. I knew that whatever fleeting moment we just shared was over. He lay down on his back, facing the roof of the car with a solemn expression on his face. “Will you look at me?” I asked, hoping that he’d listen.

He turned on his side and rested on his forearm. “What’s up?” he asked, looking past me.

I inhaled deeply and let out the words I’d wanted him to know since the moment we waved goodbye to each other on graduation day. “After that stuff with Chris, and with Lisa…I saw you at school…watching me.” His eyes narrowed and they finally locked with mine. The intensity in them caused my breath to catch. I swallowed my nerves and continued; “I saw the way you were looking at me, always sad and frowning.” I moved closer to him, but I didn’t think he noticed. “I knew you felt sorry for me…but it wasn’t just that…” His features straightened, but he stayed silent. “I knew you were sad because you lost your girlfriend—and that meant something to me. It meant that you cared about her enough that it made an impact on you. I don’t think Chris walked around his school like that, feeling sad that he’d lost me, you know? I don’t think he cared at all.” I moved closer again, so our bodies were almost flush. “I admit, I was a little jealous. I wanted someone like you—someone that cared enough that they were affected by losing me…” I trailed off. I’d run out of words. Everything I had to say was out there now.

So I lay there in silence and waited for him to speak. But when he finally did, what he said was unexpected. “You’re wrong,” he clipped.

I reared back slightly, surprised by his tone. “I’m wrong?”

He nodded once, placing his hand on my hip and pulling me even closer. It was everything I wanted at that moment. “You’re wrong. I wasn’t sad for me. I didn’t care that I lost her. After what she did, I couldn’t care about her at all. I was upset because I knew you were upset.” He moved in, so we were chest to chest, and straightened his arm out as an invitation. I rested my head on his bicep while he pulled my waist closer to him. “It’s my turn to confess,” he said quietly. “When you left the after party and got in a cab, I got in my car and followed you. I wanted to make sure you were okay. I followed you all the way to your house and watched you step out of the cab, wiping at your face. And then I watched you sit on your porch steps and cry. It was so dark, the only light coming from the moon, yet I could see you. You were there for a good hour, crying. You must’ve been crying so hard because I could see your shoulders shaking.”

I sucked in a shaky breath, shocked by his admission. “Why didn’t you come and talk to me?”

“I wanted to.” He moved his face closer to mine, so close our breaths mingled. “But I was scared.”

Rubbing my nose against his, I asked, “Scared of what?”

“Scared that you wouldn’t want to talk to me. Scared that you wouldn’t know me.”

The air around us got so thick I fought hard to find my breath. He placed his hand behind my head and spoke quietly, “I was as scared then as I am now.”

My chest rose and fell with each sharp breath. “What are you scared of now?”

“Kissin—”

I didn’t wait for him to finish before covering his mouth with a kiss so passionate it made my head spin. He pushed me so I was on my back and he could get on top of me, deepening the kiss with every second. I pulled away, gasping for air, but his kisses never stopped. They moved from my mouth to my jaw, down my neck… I spread my legs, wanting to feel more of him. He thrust into me, his hardness pressing into my center, over and over. Then his hand went under my shirt, over my bra, pulling it down and rubbing his thumb across my nipple. I moaned in response, arching my back towards him. He reached behind me, effortlessly unhooking my bra and setting my breasts free. He pulled back from his kisses on my collarbone and lifted my shirt. Then he just sat on his heels staring at my breasts. I began to raise my hands to cover myself—feeling self-conscious. He stopped my hands from moving. “Nuh uh,” he said, but kept his eyes fixed on my breasts. His eyes narrowed.

“What the hell are you doing?” I whisper yelled, my eyes darting around the van for a weapon in case he’d suddenly turned crazy.

“I’m just comparing them to my fifteen-year-old imaginary version of you. Do you know how many times I jerked off thinking about you like this?”

“Shut up!” I laughed, pulling my shirt down.

He sighed and lay down beside me, holding my hand between us. “I want to do this with you,” he said quietly. “But I don’t want to do it like this.”

“Like what?” I joked. “In the back of a rental mini-van?”

“No,” he bit out. “I don’t care about the car. I care about the threat of coyote’s eating your face.”

I settled in the crook if his arm. “You’re kind of my hero, you know that?”

Scott

After a good fifteen minutes of her letting me hold her, she lifted her head and rested her forearm on my chest. Grimacing, she informed, “I don’t think this tow truck is coming, and even if it is, how will he know to bring a new tire with a screwblade?”

It was my turn to grimace. “About that…”

She reared back slightly and raised an eyebrow.

“There’s actually nothing wrong with the tire…I lied.”

“You lied?” She slapped my chest. “Why would you lie?”

I grabbed her wrists to stop her from slapping me again. “Because obviously I wanted to get in your pants.”

She yanked her wrists out of my hold and began slapping me again, harder this time. “You’re an ass,” she said, but she was smiling.

“Stop!”

She did.

“I lied because I wanted a reason to be here with you. When you told me that you had a flat and that you were waiting for a tow, I knew I could take my time…but then you said it was a rental-car and I took advantage of your cluelessness.” I laughed under my breath. “Screwblades aren’t even a real thing. I made it up.”

She glared at me.

“The tow truck not showing up—that’s just luck—or maybe in our case, fate.”

Tricia

It took him fifteen minutes to change the tire. I should’ve been mad that he lied, but maybe he was right. Maybe it was fate.

“All done!” he said proudly, packing up all the tools.

“Thank you, handsome.”

He chuckled lightly, then leaned against the side of the van, legs spread, waiting for me. I stood between them and curled an arm around his neck, bringing his face down for a kiss.

“You’re my girl,” he said. “I gotta look out for you.”

I rested my head on his chest and smiled into it. “I like that. Me being your girl.”

“Me too,” he laughed. “Maybe we could go steady and you can wear my letterman jacket. I might even ask you to prom.”

My smile got wider. “You’re ruining the moment.”

“Sorry,” he said seriously. “It sucks. I kind of don’t want this moment to end.”

“Me neither.”

I pulled back so I could see his face. He smiled sadly and then eyed the road to Crystal’s cabin. “Shall we?” he asked, taking my hands in his.

“I guess.” The moment was bittersweet. It was the beginning, but also the end.

He pulled me in and wrapped his arms around my waist, softly kissing my neck.

And that’s when it hit me—things didn’t have to end yet. “My roommate’s at Crystal’s.”

He reared back, his eyebrows bunched in confusion. “Okay?”

A slow smile began to spread. I couldn’t contain it if I tried. “Yeah, she’s there for the entire break.”

“Okay?” he repeated, just as confused.

“That means I have a dorm room all to myself for a week.”

His grin was instant. “I’ll drive.”

***

Chris: Hey baby… I’m at Crystal’s cabin. Some people just arrived and said you got a flat and were stranded. Do you need me to pick you up? I was looking forward to seeing you.

Tricia: Hey Chris. So remember when we first started going out junior year, and after a couple of months I wanted to break up with you? I told you that I was interested in someone else and I had been for a while…I told you his name was Scott and he went to my school…? Well, I’m with him right now…and you were wrong about him. He did know who I was. And he wasn’t too good for me. In fact, he’s kind of perfect for me. And you’re an asshole for making me think otherwise.

Tricia: P.S – You don’t get to call me babe.

Tricia: Oh yeah.. I forgot… FUCK YOU.