AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not even for … revenge?” Jamie taps the wine glass with a fingernail, eyebrows raised once more.
“What are you talking about?”
“Tell me this,” Jamie says, leaning forward. “What’s the sweetest revenge you can think of?”
“Oh, look at you, talking about revenge and stuff,” I say with a giggle. I like this side of Jamie; I always knew she had it in her.
“Tell me,” Jamie says, leaning in. “Tell me what your ultimate revenge would be.”
I take a deep breath and finish off the rest of my wine, then nod. “Making their lives as miserable as they made mine, that’s my only goal right now.”
Jamie nods, biting her lip, then grabs a notebook from my backpack on the floor and opens it up, pulling that pencil from behind her ear.
“Let’s brainstorm.”
I laugh. “Brainstorm how? I could never be the bully they were to me, Jamie. I’m not that kind of person.”
I know you’re not,” says Jamie. “But maybe there’s something you can do in a different way to make them jealous, or hurt.”
Silence settles over us as I ponder this, thinking of Matt’s cold, brooding expression, of Dereck’s arrogant jock ways … and Bryce, Bryce the halfway decent, dorky guy who never had the balls to tell the other two off. He’s just as guilty, even if he might not think he is.
“Dereck already asked you out,” Jamie muses. “And Bryce tried to apologize, but you blew him off.”
“Yeah, well, he deserved it. They all do.” It must be the wine, because I feel frisky suddenly, like nothing can bring me down. Not even the three stooges.
“What about Matt?” Jamie asks. “Has he approached you?”
“No, not really.” I’m surprised to feel a hint of jealousy in the pit of my stomach at the thought. Matt hasn’t approached me, hit on me, or even tried to apologize to me.
Not that I’m surprised. Matthew Nelson has always been the alpha of the group. Brooding, quiet … intense. If he does something, it has to be his idea, his rules. It’s always been that way.
I used to fucking hate him for it. I still do.
“I guess the first step is figuring out how you really feel about Jason,” Jamie says, picking up her glass for another sip. “He’s pretty smitten with you, I think, if he’s taking you out on a date tonight.”
“Jason is a good guy, we already know that.” I shrug, trying to remember if there was any moment in class that I’d been next to him and felt something … or anything at all. “I like him,” I say earnestly. “But as of right now, there’s no real attraction. He’s just a friend, I guess. Tonight could change that, though, right?”
“It doesn’t matter, because this is your first date,” Jamie says matter-of-factly. “So you’re not his girlfriend. You’re allowed to have feelings for other guys.”
I shake my head and take another sip, feeling exhausted suddenly as the wine hits me all at once. Before I can open my mouth to say anything, the doorbell rings downstairs, and Jamie’s eyes pop with excitement.
“Come on,” she says, grabbing my hand to pull me to my feet. “Your knight in shining armor is here.”
I follow Jamie downstairs, trying to keep my breathing even as the doorbell rings again. I’m trying not to fall down the stairs in these pants, because if I do, they’d probably split open and expose, well, everything.
“Smile!” Jamie hisses as I step forward. “Jesus Christ, this isn’t a funeral.”
I plaster on the cheesiest smile that I have and swing the door open.
“Hi, Ja—” My voice trails off, and my jaw drops nearly to the floor. Standing on the front porch, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his football jacket, is none other than Dereck fucking Denny.
