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“FOUL-MOUTHED SLUT?!” Shanna roared.
Kevin stepped back, eyes wide. He obviously had not anticipated the fury he had unleashed.
“You ball-less, dickless asshole – oh, and speaking of balls, dicks and assholes – ”
I knew exactly what she was thinking of: Derek. Her little rant had just reminded her of the whole rubber ball escapade in the grocery store.
And I knew exactly where she was going with this.
She was going to ‘out’ me .
I grabbed her arm.
“I’ll handle this,” I whispered to her.
“…okay,” she said, stunned – and then she winced. “Just – leggo, will you?”
I didn’t realize I was holding on that tight.
“Sorry,” I said as I released my fingers.
“Damn, that’s gonna bruise,” she muttered as she shook her wrist.
Kevin was looking at us like we’d been replaced by pod people. “What’s going on?”
“What’s going on is you’re going to apologize for calling her that,” I said sternly.
He smirked. “I’m not going to – ”
“Or you can go get in your car and drive back to Syracuse.”
“Yeah,” Shanna nyah-nyahed before I shushed her with a look.
Kevin stared at me. I didn’t normally take stands like this, and I’m sure it was throwing him for a loop. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
“I left at six o’clock last night, spent $30 on a crappy hotel room, skipped all my classes today, and drove fifteen hours to see you, to be with you – ”
“And to apologize, right?” I snapped.
He looked sheepish again. “…yeah.”
“Well, you can start by apologizing to Shanna for what you called her.”
He erupted in outrage. “She called me a ball-less, dickless – ”
“Yeah, after you called her a slut.”
“A foul-mouthed slut,” Shanna added angrily.
Kevin looked unhappy about it, but he mumbled, “Sorry,” as he averted his eyes.
“What? Couldn’t hear you,” Shanna said, cupping her hand around her ear.
Kevin looked at me like Come ON.
I crossed my arms. “She couldn’t hear you.”
He gritted his teeth, and I could see he was actually considering getting back in the car.
Then he looked her dead in the eye. “I’m sorry I called you that.”
Shanna glared at him, but she seemed satisfied.
“Now can we go someplace to talk?” he asked in an irritated tone of voice.
I looked over at Shanna.
She sighed loudly, like she was the most put-upon person in the world. “Fine. It is Friday night… I could hook up with somebody and crash at their place…”
Kevin raised his eyebrows at me like WHY did I have to apologize, exactly?
“HEY!” Shanna shouted and pointed at him. “Stop judging me!”
“Judging you for being… what, exactly?” he asked snidely.
“Keep it up, asshole, and I’ll stay here all night – in my room, in my bed – and listen to the loudest, crappiest music I can find on the internet!”
His face went pale.
“Okay, sorry,” he said hastily.
Actually, I was kind of hoping she’d stay in all night and listen to loud, crappy music.
That might forestall the inevitable ‘talk’…
…and reunion …
…and sex.
“Fine,” Shanna seethed, then unlocked our room. “Let me get ready.”
The bang of the door as it slammed shut behind her was loud, brutal… and final.
36
“I missed you,” Kevin said softly as he moved in and kissed my cheek.
Despite all the unpleasantness of the last few minutes, his body against mine felt good… like home. His lips were safe and familiar.
When he put his arms around me, I melted against him and laid my head on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I was a total jerk. I’m really, really sorry.”
“…okay,” I whispered back.
We stayed like that for a long time, me nuzzling against his body, his arms wrapped around my shoulders.
He finally kissed my neck and pulled back, a big smile on his face. “I really am so glad to see you.”
I smiled back at him… though I couldn’t return his level of enthusiasm. “Me too.”
He frowned slightly. “Where were you? I was waiting for, like, two hours.”
My stomach froze. “Uh… we were eating at a friend’s of Shanna’s house.”
Technically, it wasn’t a lie.
Although calling Ryan ‘a friend of Shanna’s’ was stretching it.
Kevin’s brows knit and his eyes clouded over.
