“Hey,” he said in a general greeting to the table as he slid in next to me. Shawn flashed me a knowing grin and my cheeks pinkened.
“Hi, Bryan,” Bronwyn replied. She quickly introduced him to Angelique.
Angelique tucked a lock of her short dark bob behind her ear, drawing attention to her long graceful neck and gave him a smile that managed both flirty and pouty at the same time. “Hello,” she said, “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. I would have remembered.”
I ground my teeth together. Do guys really go for such obvious flirts? Yes, actually, they do.
Not Bryan though. As he said, “Nice to meet you,” he gave my shoulder a light squeeze, giving the not so subtle hint that he was already taken. I warmed at the brief touch. Angelique’s stupid grin faded and she turned her attention back to Shawn.
“So, are you going to be able to get your dad’s car, or will I have to drive us?” she asked Shawn.
“I’ll ask,” he replied gulping a big swig of milk from the carton. “I’ve had my license for a month already and he’s still afraid to let me drive.”
I don’t think I blamed Mr. Cole for not wanting Shawn to go off alone in his Lexus. Let’s just say that Shawn passing his driving test must be proof of divine intervention.
A couple of senior girls called out Angelique’s name and waved her over. “I have to run. Meet me by my locker after seventh period,” she said to Shawn before rushing off.
“So you’re taking Angelique to Homecoming?” Bronwyn asked. “What happened to Carlos?”
Carlos Espinoza was a really cute senior that Shawn had been “talking to” for a while.
Shawn rolled his eyes. “Who knows? One minute he acts interested and the next he avoids me like the flu.”
“He’s a jerk,” I said.
Shawn sighs. “No. No, he really isn’t. It’s just that he’s closeted with his family still. How they can’t tell is beyond me! That queen can set off gaydar alarms ten blocks away.”
“Sometimes parents don’t really want to see their kids for who they really are,” Bryan said, twirling his fork to roll the long noodles up into a bite-sized nest.
“I know mine don’t,” Bronwyn agreed. “My parents still think I’m ten years old.”
I smirked, remembering the dollhouse Bronwyn received for her fifteenth birthday. The miniature hand-carved furniture pieces were cool and everything, but what was she supposed to do, play with it? It’d been taking up a whole corner of her bedroom ever since.
“So,” Shawn said, obviously wanting to change the subject, “you two are going to Homecoming, right? If my dad won’t let me have the car, maybe we can double together.”
A shot of fear hit my chest like a bolt, and I realized it was coming from Bryan, whose knee was resting against mine. I glanced up to see him biting his lip and looking pale. What was the big deal? Why didn’t he just tell Shawn that he hadn’t had a chance to ask me? It’s not like I wanted to go anyway. I’d rather have him come over to watch a DVD or something.
“Um…well…” Bryan hedged. “I’m going…but not with Cady.”
I felt like the bench I was sitting on dropped out from under me, sending me into free fall. A pained look crossed his face as he tried to explain to me, but his words made no sense. Girlfriend? Flying in from Portland? Planned months ago?
My belly roiled and the smell of the ranch dressing was making me want to hurl. I mumbled an excuse and left the table, dropping my lunch —tray and all —into the garbage can.#p#分页标题#e#
I burst through the bathroom door, nearly hitting some girl in my rush to get to a stall where I locked myself in and sat down hard on the seat. What in the hell just happened? I asked myself, hot tears dripping onto my lap. How could I be so stupid? Here I thought Bryan was this great guy, but really he’d been playing me. He has a girlfriend back in Portland? Don’t you think he could have told me that before ramming his tongue down my throat? I sobbed silently, feeling my life slide back down into the shit-pile it had been ever since my sister died. Maybe this was karma’s way of biting me back for trying to be happy before my sister was even cold in the ground.
When I heard Bronwyn come in asking if anyone had seen me, I tucked my feet up out of sight until she left. Girls came and went from the bathroom through the rest of the lunch hour. I knew there was a line waiting to use the toilets —I could sense their impatience —but I refused to vacate my stall. The bell rang indicating the end of lunch. Five minutes later it rang again signaling the start of sixth period. I was alone at last.