Denying the Bad Boy:Tattooed and Pierced, 2(9)

Chapter Five



Holy. Shit. Mary walked quickly to the OSU library on 18th Avenue,  trying to get her mind off other things, but only being able to think  about her little meet-up with Alex. It had taken a hell of a lot of  strength on her part not to look over her shoulder. She had felt his  eyes on her so palpably it was like he had been actually touching her.  She was rather proud of herself for at least acting semi-normal, but  toward the end it had been damn hard when she had felt the way he looked  at her, like he wanted to do really wicked things to her body. It was  also a little unnerving and distracting when she noticed his erection,  which he either didn't care that she saw, or thought it was something  that would go unnoticed. Even now, just thinking about the way his  biceps had bulged underneath his t-shirt, and of the way his abdomen  muscles had been clear as day through the thin material, had goose-bumps  forming along her flesh. She must be a masochist, because the only  thing Alex would be sure to give her was a broken heart. There had been  plenty of girl talk around campus, and she would have had to be hard of  hearing not to catch all the horrid details of the hearts he left in  tatters. Mary found it all rather ridiculous that the girls around  campus knew how Alex Sheppard was, yet they still ran up to him like he  was some rock star. The red stone, arched entryway building came into  view. When she reached the entrance she pulled the door open and walked  inside.

Taking a seat at an available computer, she started searching titles for  her courses, but concentrating on anything was pointless, especially  when all she could think about was how her parents would react when she  brought Alex to Margo's wedding. A lot of eyebrows would raise, a lot of  gasps would sound, and slightly covered mouths would be obvious as they  whispered how scandalous it was that she brought "trash" to their  uppity little gathering. Maybe it was a bit childish to want to shock  the lot of them, but all her life she had felt like an outsider, like  the square peg trying to be shoved into the circle slot. A small part of  her also grew warm at the idea that Alex agreed to go with her. For a  wealthy community that her family ran in, they were worse than the ones  they looked down on. They lifted their noses to the lower class, had the  most scandalizing secrets, and stabbed each other in the back. But  face-to-face they were all smiles and catty humor. Mary wanted to show  them that it didn't matter how much money a person had, or what they  looked like. They were still human beings and deserving of respect.  Hearing her mother repeatedly ask about bringing a date, her sister's  nagging about what she should and shouldn't do, and the overall anxiety  that seemed to plague her on a daily basis made her feel unsteady and  out of place Inviting Alex to join her had seemed like the perfect  release.

Release.

Such a simple word, but it meant so many different things. The one  meaning she was currently thinking about was the sweet release that she  knew she would surely have by being with Alex. Mary wasn't a virgin, but  she certainly wasn't an expert on sex. Alex on the other hand was, and  that could be very intimidating. But no, Mary couldn't go there,  wouldn't. She wasn't in the habit of letting her heart get broken, and  she also wasn't the type to have random sex. Emotions were always  involved, for her at least.                       
       
           



       

The vibrating in her bag drew her out of her thoughts. She reached for  her phone, and the number that flashed across the screen had her  stopping mid-stride. Why was he calling her? The only plausible  explanation was that something was wrong. Anxiety immediately took root  in her belly, and she slid her finger over the screen to answer the  call.

"Hello?" She grabbed her stuff while balancing the phone between her  shoulder and ear, and started walking out of the library in quick steps.

"Hey." Lance's voice was calm and unhurried, so all of her anxiety  vanished. If something was wrong surely he wouldn't be so collected. But  then that thought was followed by why her ex-boyfriend was calling her  in the first place. She must have paused a little too long in  responding, because he cleared his throat and started talking again. "I  know, you're probably wondering why I'm calling you."

Yeah, she was. She found an empty bench outside and sat down, waiting for him to get to the reason he had called her.

"I was just seeing how you were doing."

Mary felt her eyebrows knit. There were a few students down the way  laughing rather loudly, a dog barking somewhere in the distance, and the  noise of someone's bass beating an angry tempo, but none of those  things even held a candle to the loudness of her heart pounding in her  ears.

"You called to see how I was doing?" Now it was his turn to be silent  for a moment, but that might have been because her tone was a bit crass.  Mary pressed forward, because this conversation had gone on a little  too long. "Why exactly did you call me, Lance? I know it wasn't just to  check up on me."

It had been over two summers ago since she had last spoken to Lance, and  the memories were less than favorable. Anger, hurt, and betrayal mixed  inside of her, and she was pissed at herself for still feeling this way.  Those unwelcome emotions had been buried deep inside of her, and she  thought she had moved past all that, but hearing his voice had brought  up the memory of how he had pushed her away so easily, and made her feel  like what they had shared was really nothing at all. He sighed  dramatically, and she heard the sound of sheets rustling in the  background. Had he called her right after he screwed someone, or maybe  she was still lying beside him in his bed? It wouldn't have surprised  her either way. She should hang up, yet she didn't.

"I did call to see how you are doing. It's been years, Mary. I still  care about you." Mary didn't bother hiding her snort. She should have  been way past this, had in fact, but then all it took was one little  phone call to drag her bag to that place. "We are adults, have matured  and all that."

Dead air filled the space between them, and she glanced at the ground. A  pigeon landed a few feet from her, pecking at the cement and then  fluffing out its wings.

"Are you there, Mary?" She gritted her teeth, not about to let him gloss  things over. She might have been a pushover back then, let him get away  with things that were inexcusable on every level, but not anymore. She  didn't need to prove herself to him, his family, or even hers. Mary was  now standing on her own, and living her life, and because of that had  grown in more ways than one.

"Yeah, I'm here." She didn't bother hiding the iciness in her voice. "To  be honest, Lance, I don't have much to say to you. I think your parting  words back then were adequate."

He sighed again, which pissed her off even more. He had left her  heartbroken and humiliated in front of all of the people she had thought  were her friends, yet here he was trying to act like that had been so  long ago, and it wasn't even a big deal.

"Listen, I already apologized for how I acted back then, and don't  really know why you haven't moved past this. That was so long ago. There  isn't any reason we can't be civilized to each other. Our parents are  best friends."

Mary pinched the bridge of her nose. Why she was still on the phone with  him was beyond her. She should have just hung up already. "Lance, I'm  not getting into this with you, especially on the phone. You calling me  out of the blue doesn't do anything but piss me the hell off." She felt  her face heating at how angry she was getting.

"God, Mary, going to a public university has changed you. Here you are  swearing like some kind of sailor." She rolled her eyes even though he  couldn't see her. He had a lot of nerve thinking he could talk down to  her. Had he thought she'd forgotten how he used to treat her? The time  that had passed was nothing in the grand scheme of things. Right when  she was about to tell him she was done talking he started to speak  again. "Your mom told me you're coming down before the wedding. I was  thinking we could get together, maybe before for lunch on Saturday? I  know you have the rehearsal and all, but for old times' sake?"                       
       
           



       

She wasn't surprised he knew when they were having the rehearsal, not  when he probably knew every aspect of what was going on in her family's  life.

"No." The word came out so quickly and harsh that she was surprised with  herself, but then again she was furious that she was still talking to  Lance, and that she allowed herself to continue to do it after  everything that happened between them. "Things are done between us. I  don't need or want to be your friend, even if our parents are close.  I've moved on, started my life, and am not thinking about the  relationship we had. You decided on what you wanted to do back then, and  so did I."