To have my way
With that beautiful butt.
What I actually wrote:
Mr. Bat says to hang up my skates…
Because I’m the worst fucking skater in the United States.
CHAPTER 13
Past
Our very last study session before Nina’s final exam rolled around. There would no longer be an official excuse to spend time alone with her on a consistent basis, and it was seriously bumming me out.
Clutching her books in one hand and a plate of muffins in the other, Nina appeared at the doorway. She looked incredibly sexy in a short wool skirt and leather boots.
“I made some banana muffins for our last time.”
“Ah! I thought I smelled something baking in the kitchen. Trying to butter up the teacher?” I grabbed one and took a bite. “Mmm…fucking good.”
“It doesn’t take much, apparently.”
I shook my head with a grin. “No, it doesn’t.”
“Thanks a lot, by the way.”
My mouth was full. “For what?”
She handed me the entire plate and sat on the bed. As usual, I stayed at my desk and propped up my feet.
“You know what!” she said.
“Actually, I don’t.”
“Really? Baby Got Back? Ring a bell?”
Oh, snap. I’d actually forgotten about that.
Heh heh.
A few days ago, I programmed a ring tone that played Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot into Nina’s phone.
“You didn’t get a single phone call for three days? How are you only realizing it now?”
“You text me all the time, but the only person who really calls my cell is my dad. He rang me in the middle of class. Everyone thinks I’m a freak now.”
“A freak who likes big asses.”
“According to you, yes. Thank you.”
“Hey.” I winked. “It takes one to know one.”
Even though she was trying to pretend my prank made her mad, she couldn’t contain her laughter. One of the things I loved about Nina was that she really got my strange humor even when it was at her own expense. She took everything I threw at her in stride.
I grabbed another muffin and opened up my laptop. “We’re sprinting to the finish now, Kennedy. You ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“I think we need to make this a late one, work overtime. What do you say?”
She handed me some worksheets. “Can we start with probability again? That’s the easiest for me. It’ll get me warmed up.”
As always, I looked over the sample she gave me and changed the variables to names of things Nina could relate to.
“In a group of 200 people, 36 have donkey asses, 52 have asses that are flat as a pancake, and 126 have average-sized butts. Out of all the people, half have muffin tops. If one of these 200 people is to be chosen at random, what is the probability that the person has a donkey ass and a muffin top?”
“How fitting,” she said.
About an hour later, we were deep into solving an equation for a different word problem when Ryan walked in.
“This box came for you, Jake.” He clumsily threw the package on the bed, and it fell on the ground. Then, before walking out, he gave Nina a look that I didn’t appreciate.
“Well, isn’t he especially charming tonight,” she said.
Picking up the box off the floor, I realized it contained some art supplies I’d ordered. “He’s fucking miserable. I don’t know how your brother ever got along with him.”
“They didn’t always get along.”
“I thought you said they were best friends.”
“Toward the end of Jimmy’s life, they were the closest they’d ever been. Ryan was by Jimmy’s side when he died, actually.” She took a deep breath to compose her thoughts. “Since childhood, our families were close. He and Jimmy had their ups and downs over the years. There were times, though, when my brother and he weren’t even on speaking terms.”
“Really…well, I can’t say that surprises me, considering what an asshole he can be sometimes. What did he do to make Jimmy stop speaking to him?”
Nina pursed her lips and seemed reluctant to answer. Then, she finally said, “Ryan dated his sister.”
At first, it didn’t register.
His sister.
I felt the banana muffins coming up on me.
Nina was Jimmy’s only sister.
Ryan dated Nina?
Fuck.
Nina and Ryan.
I think I finally understood where the term “blinded by jealousy” came from because I could have sworn my vision blurred as my brain processed the shock of hearing those words.
“What? You and Ryan?”
“Yes. Ryan and I briefly dated when I was sixteen.”
My stomach sank when she confirmed it. “And you never thought to mention this before?”