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Martin leaned towards her, sincerity and questions in his eyes. “You tell me.”
***
“So,” Justin was sayingas he walked with Katrina to the bus stop, “we’re officially freshman.”
“You’re officially lucky I no longer find you annoying,” Katrina quipped in return.
“You don’t find me annoying because of who I’m friends with.”
“What?” Katrina frowned, wondering if she was as transparent as Justin perceived her to be.
“You’ve got a thing for Cade.”
“His name is Lorenzo.”
“Fine, but you’ve still got a thing for him. You didn’t have to snap when he asked if we were twins, by the way.”
“That’s because we’re not. You don’t turn fourteen until next summer.”
“Yeah, but I’m smarter than you and kill you academically.”
“Keep talking like that and there won’t be anything left of you,” Katrina teased with an easygoing smile. “Remember, no dating anyone on the cheerleading squad.”
“No cheerleaders, got it.” They were the first to arrive to the clearing between the two properties where Emily and Lorenzo would meet them for the bus, only to see Lorenzo walking alone towards the stop.
“What gives?” Justin called out to him. “Emily missing her first day of high school?”
Lorenzo merely shook his head, and Katrina knew that she had been driven. She’d already raised hell with her parents about having to take the bus to begin with. She must have won that battle. Still...
“Why didn’t you get a ride with her?” Katrina asked, and one side of Lorenzo’s mouth twitched up in a smile.
“Needed my fix before school,” he answered.
Fix of what she wanted to say.
Instead, she remained silent as he pulled out a half pack of cigarettes and his zippo from the inside pocket of his leather jacket. He lit one cigarette and passed it to Justin, who happily accepted and then it was passed to Katrina. She inhaled long and slow, letting the smoke out as she passed the cigarette back to Lorenzo. They could hear the bus making its way up the road, so he quickly extinguished the cigarette, tossing the rest of it aside before the bus was in full view.
“Feel better?” she asked, and Lorenzo gave her a half smile.
“Loads,” he replied. “What’s this?” His fingertips grazed her shoulder where the strap of her black spaghetti strap tank set.
“It’s called clothing.”
“It’s called you didn’t pay attention to the dress code,” Justin interjected.
“I’m protesting,” Katrina corrected him, her head held high. “Girls’ shoulders aren’t something that need covering all the time. And besides, objectification is the problem of the person thinking whatever impure thoughts are... don’t laugh at me, I’m being serious.”
“Here.” Lorenzo eased the leather jacket off his shoulders and down his arms before holding it out to Katrina. “The bus is here, Trina. Take the jacket.”
“Whatever,” she muttered, taking the jacket from his hands and putting it on. It was large on her and heavy, the smell of cigarette smoke and Lorenzo enveloping her senses. Her stomach dived even before he put his hand on the small of her back, urging her to go onto the bus before he did.
“Judith! Just the person I’ve been wanting to see,” Justin said smoothly before sliding into the seat next to her. Katrina took the seat behind them and scooted over for Lorenzo, who hesitated briefly before taking the seat.
He smells amazing, she thought.
I get to smell him all day long.
“Did you get into sociology?” Judith asked as she turned towards Katrina.
