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CHAPTER 13
Blake
TWELVE YEARS GO
“Well,that’s it, our last physics project … ever,” Loren announces as we put the finishing touches on our latest assignment.
“Seems like they got easier as we went,” I comment. “This one only took us a couple of afternoons.”
“Yep. Less time you have to spend with me.” She smirks, sitting cross-legged on the floor in my room.
“Aw, Reed. I guess you’re not so bad. At least not when you’re helping me get an A.” I lower myself to join her.
She chuckles. “As much as I hate to admit it, partnering up might have been a decent idea.”
I raise my eyebrows, surprised at her confession. It’s a good sign. “Maybe we make a good team.”
“As much as I hate to admit that, too, I think you’re right. When it comes to physics, anyway. Still, I’ll be glad to get this class over with.”
“No physics for you in college?” I ask, although I know the answer to that question.
“Heck no. Give me all the British Lit. I’d rather write a dozen essays in exchange for a single math problem.”
“And now I know who to call to write my essays when I’m too busy partying at LSU,” I remark, putting my hands behind my head and leaning back against the bed.
She huffs and tries to sabotage me by pulling one of my arms out from behind me, causing me to lose my balance and fall over her, and my head lands on her thighs. Our eyes meet for a second before she tries to wiggle out from beneath me.
“Dude, why are you so heavy?” she asks as she struggles to shove me out of her lap.
“It’s my huge brain,” I retort, trying to keep a straight face.
“Sure, your brain, not all of these useless muscles,” she says, punching me in the arm and immediately cringing and shaking her hand out.
“Hey, they come in handy … with football, baseball, girls,” I defend myself.
“Unlike your big brain.” She rolls her eyes, but not before they dart over to check out my useless muscles again.
“Yeah, since you’re the only girl around here interested in me for my intellect,” I say, testing her.
“Perhaps, and now that I’ve used you all up, they can go back to fighting over your muscles.” She clears her throat after a minute and moves to push herself up from the floor. “I should get going. No reason to stick around.”
It’s always like this with her. One of us makes a suggestive joke, the other may offer some witty rebuttal and a hint of innuendo, and just when things start to get good, she pulls away. I figure it’s a defense mechanism, but I wonder whether she has any idea that I’m so into it, that back-and-forth thing we do. It seemed pretty obvious after the first time we met to work together. I hadn’t exactly done a good job of hiding my attraction to her that day, and it nearly cost me a physics partner. But I apologized afterward, and she reluctantly agreed to continue working together, under the condition that we do everything at my house.
I’m still not sure why she’s so keen on keeping me away from her place. She claims she’s trying to avoid any more conflict between Landry and me, though he and I have always been able to get along when required. I figure she’s trying to protect us both from an uncomfortable situation brought on by her mom’s addiction, but I’ve known about that for years, despite their family’s attempts to keep it quiet. I also suspect that she doesn’t like having me in her bedroom, for whatever reason. Maybe it’s just too much exposure for her, or maybe I broke her trust when I made that regrettable comment about hanging out in her bed. It was supposed to be one of those times when I made her happy by making Landry mad, but it backfired on me.
I grab her arm, instinctively pulling her back down. “Loren, before you go, there’s something I want to say.”
“Okay.” She stares at me expectantly.
“Do you remember Trent Manuel’s thirteenth birthday party?”
“Duh.”
“I’ve always felt like I needed to clear the air about what happened.”
She presses her lips together in a hard line. “Clear the air? Or apologize?”
I laughed shortly. “Both?”
