That Boy (15 page)

“About what?”

“Jake. He's here with another girl, and she's
all
over him. It's pretty obvious it's a date.”

Phillip touches my arm gently and tells me this news in hushed tones, like a doctor who just lost a patient would tell the family.

“Shut up, Phillip. You're just in on the twin's big joke, right?”

“Princess, I'm not joking. When did you and Jake break up anyway, and why didn't you tell me?” He looks at me closer and says sweetly, “You look gorgeous, by the way.”

I melt slightly because that is
exactly
the look I was going for, and then I say very seriously, “Phillip, we did
so not
break up. I am, or was, supposed to meet him here tonight. We spoke about it just a few hours ago. I mean I didn't tell Jake, but I decided
tonight
is
the
night.”

But in my mind, I wonder. I really don't think Phillip would joke about something like this. Honestly, he would probably tell me about the joke, so I could play along. I look at the ground, the reality of what this could be is sinking in. “You're serious?”

“Come over here.” He takes my hand and guides me away from the keg and everyone's ears.

“Let me get this straight. He
didn't
break up with you? He told you to meet him here and
then
brought another girl to the party? That's it. I'm going to
kill
him.”

“Phillip, calm down. Are you sure he brought her?”

I'm thinking this can't possibly be true, yet at the same time there's this sinking feeling in my stomach. “Maybe she's just over there trying to pick him up. That happens sometimes. Girls like Jake. I'll just walk over and see what's going on. Surely, there's a logical explanation for this.”

I turn to walk toward Jake. Phillip grabs my arm. “There's
not
a logical explanation for this. They came here together, I
saw
them. The boys up front were really pissed about it, but they thought you must have come to your senses and broke up with the loser. They figured he brought her to try to make you jealous. Plus, he's been kissing her like crazy.” He sighs. “Well at least
one
good thing will come out of this.”

“What's that?”

“You
NOT
doing it with Jake.”

I roll my eyes at that boy. He has always been very much against my doing it with Jake. He told me if I wanted to lose it that bad, I should do it with a friend, a guy that would at least treat me right, but I can't go asking Joey or Dillion to just do me.

How awkward would that be?

So then Phillip made me a pros and cons list, well I should say a cons list, I had to add the pros because he couldn't come up with any pros for Jake.

Maybe he was sort of right after all.

“Where are they, anyway?”

He leans next to me and points, “Over there, on the other side of the bonfire. Can you see him?”

I follow his point with my eyes and say sadly, “Yeah. God, she really does have big boobs.”

Phillip looks at me sympathetically. “You know what? He's not worth it. Let's go, get you out of here. We'll go get some ice-cream, or pizza, or something.”

Like ice cream could fix
this
mess. Well, it can fix
just about
anything, hmm. You know, it might be worth a try.

No. I need to get to the bottom of this first. Plus, that wouldn't be fair to Phillip. Even though he's going to Prom with Carrie Sadler, I know he was hoping to hook up with Megan Masters tonight.

“Phillip, let me be clear about this. I'm not going
anywhere
until I talk to Jake.”

I think.

“Why would you do that?” Phillip asks me, like it's the stupidest thing he's ever heard in his entire life.

“Because I think I deserve to know what the hell's going on. Don't I? Wouldn't you want to know?”

“What do you want? Some big confrontation? You screaming, or crying, or making a fool of yourself, while he sits there with that eat shit grin of his, ogling his big boobed date? Who, I might add, has the reputation of being the biggest slut in the whole fricken county.”

I throw my full cup of beer down on the ground in frustration, stomp my foot and say, “No! That is
not
what I want.”

Shit.

I need to think.

“I'm gonna go for a walk, Phillip,” I tell him, as he walks over to pick up my cup. He could never litter.

“Good, lets go,” he says, following me.

“I thought you wanted to hang out with Megan tonight. And it's not fair for me to mess up your plans just because my boyfriend is a jerk. Well, ex-boyfriend, I guess.”

Phillip grabs my hands again and says in that smooth adorable voice of his, “Princess, there's no one I'd rather hang out with more than you. You know that.”

I look at him and feel warm inside. He really is the sweetest friend.

And I really don't know how to deal with all of this, so I'm not even sure what I should tell him.

I need to think.

“Um, I'm just gonna walk out to Lisa's car, grab my lip-gloss, and think about this.”

Phillip looks at me like he's not sure he believes me.

“Just give me 15 minutes. If I'm not back, you can charge out on your horse and rescue me.”

I stop and give Phillip a hug. “I love you, Phillip. You'll always be my best friend. And you must be a very good friend if you are willing to hang out with me, over getting laid. Especially when we know I'm going to do nothing but sob and complain about my stupid, cheating boyfriend. So I just, I, um, I appreciate it, okay?” I back up and punch his shoulder lightly. “I'm just shocked and need to figure out what to do. I promise, I'll be back and hopefully when I come back, I will have some sort of a plan. Just don't go killing anybody yet, okay?”

He nods.

I kind of lower my head and look at the ground, scoffing the dirt with Mom's strappy sandals because I'm not so good at this part. You know, the admitting I might have been wrong part. “Thanks for telling me. I'm glad I didn't go charging over there.”

So I start walking to the car.

In my mind are a bazillion questions.

How could I have been so stupid? Has he been cheating on me the whole time? Some of the time?

What am I going to do? To say?

How could Jake do this to me?

What an asshole.

Okay, Jadyn James Reynolds, pull yourself together.

What's your plan?

SHIT, my plan so far is......

Get to Lisa's car.

Have a big, quiet, temper tantrum.

Maybe scream silently and cry my eyes out, somehow without messing up my mascara.

Darn! I knew I should have worn the waterproof kind.

Then I will put on some stupid lip-gloss and go back into the party. I may even confront Jake. I will hold my head up high and stand up straight and tall. Grandpa used to tell me to do that.
Walk into the place like you own it, JJ, and people will think that you do.
Of course he also said,
If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit
. Which I have to admit, I am kind of good at. People tend to underestimate blondes. They just naturally think we are dumb and well, on occasion, I may have used that to my advantage.

But back to Jake.

Can I convince him that the slut doesn't bother me?

Can I walk in there like I own the place?

I can't let him know he's upset me, that's for sure!

I'm almost back to the entrance and am about to walk past Gary and Larry, when I see three guys heading our way.

I'd know that strut anywhere.

What to my wondrous eyes should appear?

Danny!

I can't believe it! He's here! As a quarterback, he's known for his perfect timing, and I'm so glad it's boiled over into my life. His timing couldn't be perfecter. Because he's just the guy I need to see tonight. Hanging out with Danny is practically therapeutic. I get so wrapped up having fun, competing or conspiring with him, that I forget about everything else. I think I may need that tonight! And the fact that he brought a couple of hot friends, I mean it's pretty much a given, doesn't go unnoticed by me.

So I try to forget about Jake and Boobs and remind myself that I look damn good tonight.

If Jake can enjoy himself, I think, well maybe I can too.

Two can play that game, right?

Maybe one of Danny's friends will think I'm cute. Maybe I can make Jake jealous.

Do I want to make Jake jealous?

Yes.

Do I want to make him apologize and beg me for forgiveness?

Yes.

Will I take him back if he asks?

Absolutely not.

Hmm.

I'm almost sure of that.

I walk up next to Gary and Larry, who stare at me with concern. I don't say anything to them. I just raise my arms high in the air and yell loud.
“So what? You've had enough of hot coeds and wild fraternity parties and just wanted to drink from a keg in a cornfield?”

Danny hears me and starts running toward me at full speed. I'm afraid for a moment that he's going to tackle me, but he stops on a dime in front of me and pulls me into a big bear hug.

Then he pushes me out to arm's length, looks me up and down and says, “Jay. Damn! You look.....
hot?
”

He says it in a way that is half statement and half question. Like looking hot is unusual for me.

Okay, so it is.

“What are you drunk already? Danny, I know spring practice is over but…”

“
Sexy as hell
,
actually
.” Danny interrupts me, nodding his head and grinning lasciviously at me, finally deciding that I indeed look good.

Wow. Maybe Lisa is right. Maybe I should dress this way more often.

“This is John and Michael,” Danny says, introducing me to his hot, muscular friends. “John, Michael, this is Jay. I don't think you've ever met.”

Did I mention that John is quite cute?

“THIS is Jay?” John says. “WOW. The way you talked, I thought Jay was a dude.”

“Definitely not boys,” Danny grins, his eyes running lazily up and down my body, “
Definitely not
.”

Hey, stop that! You're making me nervous.

“Where's Jake, anyway? I'm surprised with you looking like
that
,” and he looks me up and down, again! “that he's not attached to your hip.”

Before I can answer, Danny turns to Gary and Larry, gives them high fives and slaps on the back. “How the hell are my two favorite linemen?”

The twins grin proudly.

Crap. Skip the part about picking up one of the friends and trying to make Jake jealous.

I can't do this.

Can there be quicksand in a cornfield?

I didn't think it was ecologically possible, but I'm pretty sure I'm sinking into some right now.

No, JJ, you're just losing your mind. No biggie.

Well that's reassuring.

I've got to get out of here
.

So I announce to no one in particular, “Jake and I broke up.”

“Sweet. When? Why didn't you call me, Jay?” Danny smiles and turns back toward me.

“Tonight
apparently
, when he brought some other girl to the party.”

Danny's face has questions written all over it.

Questions I'm not prepared to answer quite yet.

And do I really want to tell Danny my humiliating story in front of two hot guys?

Uh, no.

“Um. The Ringling brothers here,” I say with a nod toward Gary and Larry, “can give you all the gory details. I gotta go.”

And I just walked away. I must be more upset than I realized because I just walked away from two college hotties.

But yeah, I actually did it. Just walked away.

You'd think Lisa's car was my salvation. I just need to keep it together until I get there.

God, this sucks.

First, I was confused about whether to do it with Jake, then I FINALLY make the decision, and he does this.

I officially need to give up on him.

Granted, I probably should have a long time ago, but God, what am I gonna do now?