Double Dare(202)

But Jason ignored me, hands sure on the steering wheel, the stick shift, his blue gaze fixed on the road, jaw set.

And by the time we pulled into the campus parking lot, my heart had calmed a little, but only slightly. I shot the big man a swift look before opening the door, slowly maneuvering myself out of the huge vehicle. And when I stepped onto the pavement, the alpha male was waiting, his big form deceptively relaxed, leaning against the front of the hood with a small smile playing around his lips.

“Soon baby girl, soon,” he rumbled, and with that the bell rang, signaling first period. But inside, I was a trembling mess. When? Where? How? All I knew was that I wanted Jason … no, I needed him. So the rest of the day was a waste. I couldn’t focus on anything, could barely see or hear, daydreaming, thinking of nothing but my situation.

But a hissing sound caught me ear during third period, interrupting my reverie.

“Katy,” whispered my friend June, a bubbly blonde who was more annoying than anything else. But we’d been fast friends for a couple years now, in fact June was kind of my only friend at this ritzy school. So I turned to see what the matter was.

“Yo, look,” she whispered again.

And now my buddy was jerking her chin to the left, making odd gestures. Automatically my eyes turned to look and I bit my lip, regretting it immediately. Because Jock McMahon was smiling lasciviously at me, openly sizing up my curves, even licking his lips. Oh no. I should have been excited because Jock was a big man on campus, a star player on the football team and a guy from the right side of the tracks. His dad owned a real estate firm in town that did a lot of construction and development, so yeah, as a girl with a questionable background, I should have been melting with desire, dying to get with him.

But there was just something about the football player that turned me off. Everything other women cooed about made no impression on me, or worse, made me nauseous. His blonde hair? It was okay, but he doused it with so much gel that the small spikes stuck straight up, stiff and shiny. The muscled physique? It was way overblown for my tastes, like a gorilla on steroids. But it was his smile that was the worst. Although other girls melted and swooned when he shot a grin their way, I found his smile to be more of a sneer, a twist of his mouth that never reached those green eyes, more like he pulled his lips into a crescent rather than a real, heartfelt expression of happiness and joy.

So yeah, I wasn’t into Jock, not at all, and it was just my bad luck that he’d noticed me, nodding and grinning. And after class, he made his move.

“Yo Katy,” he grunted, sauntering over to my desk. “How’s it goin’?”

I blushed despite my best efforts but it wasn’t because of his proximity, the lumbering form next to my desk. It was because everyone was watching, silently observing our encounter.

“I’m good,” I said quietly, shuffling some papers around before picking up my book bag. “How about you?”

And Jock smiled that dead smile then.

“Good, good. Listen, you wanna study together sometimes? I hear you’re a smart girl and I need help with this stuff.”

I balked. I really didn’t want to, I didn’t want to go to the library with this guy, spend one minute with him when I could be with Jason or Brent. But there were so many pairs of eyes on me, that I had to do what everyone expected, conform to everyone’s expectations.

“Sure,” I managed in a quietly strangled voice, every fiber in my being rebelling. “Sure Jock, that sounds good,” I tried again with a small smile.

And the big man puffed up with pride, looking like a rooster that had just cornered a pea hen, ready to do the dirty.

“Great,” he cawed. “I’ll see you later then,” he said before striding outside, joining a couple of his football buddies, their heads a foot above the crowd, proud, like a bunch of towering nutcrackers.

I turned to gather my books but not before June came racing up to me.

“Oh my god, Katy, you just got asked out by Jock McMahon!” she squealed.

My heart dropped.

“No that’s not true,” I muttered, head down, hoping no one could hear. “It’s just a study session, not a date.”

But June scoffed at that one.

“I don’t think so,” she singsonged. “I think someone just got asked out and girl, you are going to rock it!” she squealed, not caring who heard.

My heart dropped again. I didn’t want to be in this position, I didn’t want to be seen with Jock, didn’t want to date him, didn’t even want to be within five feet of him. So why didn’t you say no? a voice inside screamed. Because, I shook my head miserably, girls like me don’t get to choose when an acknowledged “hottie” like Jock comes calling. You have to do what people expect.