Jake leaned in. “It wasn’t any fun, just a big crying freak out.”
“Oh, God.” I put my head in my hands, feeling tears wet my palms.
“What’s the matter?” Jake asked. His hand touched my shoulder.
I peeked over at him, my lip trembling. “This is why I knew I shouldn’t drink. My mom just died a month ago and I’m so emotional lately.” I sniffed. “I cried in front of everyone?”
“Oh, no, Cassie. Not you—you were off somewhere with Culter and Tyler. Tyler came back out a couple times, but they were mostly with you. The rest of us didn’t see you again.” His big arms came around me, and he pulled me toward him. “Your mom died? Shit, Cassie. I’m sorry that we were trying to get you to drink.”
I wiped my face. “It’s not like you guys knew. Only Culter and Tyler know—I was trying to start fresh.”
“I get that.” He pulled away only to pat my back. “I won’t tell anyone.”
Leaning into his big shoulder, I said, “Thanks, Jake. You’re a good guy.”
“Oh, no, not that.” He grinned wide. “Damn it! Not the good guy, again.”
Moving away, I laughed. “So . . . I didn’t freak out in front of everyone?”
“No.” He shook his head, before leaning in to whisper, “Lily flipped out—big time.”
“She did?”
“Yeah, she broke my parents’ lamp. Fucking pissed me off. She threw it on purpose. Then she started crying and ran off to my room and locked herself inside. I think she let some of the girls in eventually.” He took a deep inhale and let it out slowly. “I don’t think I’m going to let her over again. My dad is going to kill me.”
“Do you have any pieces of the lamp left?”
He looked up, considering. “I think maybe I still have the pieces in the trash.”
“If you do, maybe we could get a decent replacement.”
“Okay.”
Standing, he walked over to his sink and pulled a trash can from the cupboard under it. “Nasty,” He mumbled as he dug through it. After a second, he pulled a long blue ceramic shard out. After washing it and his hands, he put the shard in front of me.
I examined the piece. A blue and white paisley pattern swirled over the surface. “This is pretty basic. We could probably find one at the mall to match this. Are we still all going shopping?”
“I was planning on it. So, I was thinking of going to Winter Ball stag and stealing you from Tyler.” He gave me a thoughtful smile. “But I’m thinking Culter is going to beat me to that one, huh?”
I let out a slow breath. “Maybe.”
“Good to know.”
Thankfully, he seemed pretty okay with that, giving me a considering smile and a nod. He didn’t look too disgusted or disturbed, maybe just a little disappointed.
I wanted to ask him if things were going to be weird now, if everyone was going to freak out, but I couldn’t make myself. Elbowing him softly, I managed, “I have a spot open for a big, blonde, muscular best buddy, though. You know anyone?”
“You’re really corny, Cassie. But, yeah, I know a guy.” He leaned up next to me and we ate our cereal in silence.
“Mine,” Tyler said, grabbing my half-full sport drink and falling into a chair beside me. He turned the bottle upside-down, draining the blue liquid as his throat worked.
“Take it easy, Baby Fuller. That’s going to come right back up.”
Tyler didn’t listen, and taking the empty bottle from his lips, he belched.
“Gross!” I pushed him so hard that he almost fell out of his chair. Pointing at him, I said, “You owe me a new bottle, butthead.”
He only grinned with a blue mouth and went to get us each another bottle. “You feeling better?” he asked as he slid in next to me again.
“I don’t even remember anything, but Jake says that my freak out was behind closed doors, so that’s a little better.” My cheeks heated a little as I said it.
“Not at all, Cassie. You just threw up a bunch, and then you went to lie down. Culter and I lay down with you and you were saying some funny shit. I was pretty drunk too, so we were just being stupid . . . then you got up and threw up again. Then you cried a little, and texted your aunt a lot; I tried to stop you, but you fought me for your phone and won. Then you passed out.”
I nodded slowly. “That’s not that bad, I guess. I am, without a doubt, never drinking like that again. I didn’t say anything . . . weird, did I?” I grimaced.
He shrugged. “We were all being weird and stupid.” Leaning in, he whispered, “And out here, Lily flipped her shit.”
“That’s what I heard.” I held up the lamp piece. “Jake and I are on a mission to get him a look-alike lamp.”
Tyler took the lamp piece. “That is a mission I will accept.” There was a prolonged silence, and then Tyler looked at me. “So, you and Culter, huh?” He smiled. “Actually, I knew. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t know, because I did.”
“No, you didn’t,” I whispered.
“Like, at the basketball game, you were watching him, and there was this little bit of drool coming down from your lip.” He pointed to his lips.
“You liar!” I tried to cover his mouth, but he grabbed my wrists.
“You’re just not that stealthy. And Culter didn’t try to hide anything.”
Jake shook his head. “Culter wouldn’t, I’m surprised he didn’t come out and say it from the beginning.” He pointed to himself. “I didn’t know, but Spencer said that he knew.”
“Are you going to tell Frank and Jen?” Tyler asked.
“Are you crazy?” I asked.
Tyler grimaced. “Misty said she wasn’t going to tell, but she thinks that one of the other girls probably will. And Cassie . . . Bulvin is a really small town, just saying.”
“Jen is so emotional and my dad is super judgmental.” I chewed on my lip. “If they find out, I’m going to deny, deny, deny.”
“I’ll cover for you two, always,” Tyler said.
“Yeah, Spencer and I will, too.” Jake nodded.
Wow. So, not how I thought this shit would go down. Though, I seriously doubted things would go so well past Culter’s nucleolus of best friends.
Standing, I patted them both on the shoulder. “Obviously, I’ve lost my mind, but I appreciate that you two are on board.”
“Always, Cassie,” Tyler said while pulling my picked through cereal to him. “What the . . .? Where are all the marshmallows?”
Grabbing my drink, I returned to my forbidden boy who still lay sprawled out across the bed where I left him. Closing the bedroom door, I locked it from possible evil monsters, also known as Snow White and her cronies.
Crossing the room, I curled up next to my crazy boy, thinking maybe I could get a little more sleep and wake with the hangover magically gone. Culter’s head came up, and his eyes found mine, though they weren’t quite focused.
“Where did you go?” he asked, as he threw his arm and leg over me, tucking me into him.
My fingers traced over his hand. “I just went to eat cereal and drink sport drinks, and Jake and Tyler informed me of the missing hours of my life that are just this big black hole in my mind.”
“Give me.” He reached blindly for my drink and I handed it to him. After he took a big gulp, he said, “We were just in here talking with Tyler, nothing bad happened.”
“Except you telling everyone that we’re together,” I grumbled.
His arm came back around me. “I didn’t tell anyone that.”
“I beg to differ, Mr. Fuller. That’s part of the night that I definitely remember.”
He kissed my shoulder, gently. “I told them how I felt about you, no one knows about how you feel about me—including me.”
I spun in his arms so I could face him, finding our noses only centimeters apart. “What?” I asked.
“All I said was that I’m in love with you, I didn’t tell them that you’re mine. Though, I wanted to, but I figured you’d be mad as hell
if I did.”
“Culter . . .” I groaned. Seriously, I just couldn’t figure out this boy’s head. “They know we’re together, everyone knows.”
“Fuck if I care.”
I sighed. “You’re so crazy. I wished you told me that you loved me, instead of telling Lily.”
He grinned as his fingers slipped up under my shirt. “I’ve been telling you for weeks, Cassie. I think we both know that. You’re the one who’s stayed silent about it.”
“You didn’t read my text messages from last night?” I whispered.
He raised an eyebrow “I didn’t read your text messages, and that wouldn’t count anyway. I think you know what I want.”
“Sex?” I asked, even though I knew he didn’t mean that.
“That, too.” His hands drifted higher, pulling my shirt up.
I raised my arms so he could pull my shirt the rest of the way off, then I pushed my body into his. “Okay, let’s have sex, Culter Fuller.”
He rolled on top of me, a huge smirk on his face. His hands went to either side of my head. “No way in hell is our first time going to be when you’re hungover, Cassie Michaels.” Leaning down, he whispered right over my lips, “Dream on.” And, then his lips pressed into mine.
Chapter Thirty
I flopped back on the model bed, and Tyler flopped beside me. “Maybe I can just take a small nap break,” I said.
“I am so down, a nap and a doughnut. Do you smell doughnuts? This place smells like a doughnut shop,” he said, closing his eyes.
I sniffed but the only thing I smelled was the scented candle display right next to us. “I think you’re just hungry, Tyler. Always hungry.”
“You’re one to talk.”
Across from us, the department store cashier glanced over, and then glared. “Guys, off the beds, please. Off.” She watched us until we peeled ourselves up and joined Misty and Jake at her register. Turning back to Jake, she scanned in his lamp. “Sixty-five dollars,” she said, smiling a practiced looking grin.
“Oh, I feel so bad. Jake, please let me pay for it.” Misty grimaced, holding out a credit card and bouncing a little as she said it.
Somewhere between when I left Jake and Tyler at the table and when I reemerged with Culter, Lily and the two other girls had left.
From how Spencer and Jake described it, it sounded like the girls snuck out, embarrassed. According to Jake, the girls had gone out his back door and run alongside his house. Spencer had pulled back the curtain and waved at them passing, which sent the girls into hysterics before they rushed out of Jake’s back gate and into their car. The really weird thing about it was that they completely ditched Misty, who’d still been asleep in another bedroom. I get attempting to avoid the walk of shame, but whatever happened to no woman left behind?
Misty didn’t seem to hold a grudge, though, as she held her card up toward the store lady. “Please, Jake, just let me pay for it.”
Jake smiled and gently pushed her hand away. “Misty, it’s fine. If I let anyone pay for it, it would be Lily.” From the tone of his voice, though, I could tell those were just words and he was going to drop it.
We had walked around to three department stores before we found the perfect lamp. The blue and white paisley patterned lamp was either the exact same lamp or damn close. From Jake’s relief, I was judging that parting with sixty-five dollars was worth avoiding his father’s anger.
Jake held up his lamp. “Thanks, guys. I’m going to go find Spencer and Culter, and then probably going to take off from there.”
“Take Tyler,” Misty said, grinning at Tyler. “Cassie and I have to go get our dresses and no boys are allowed.”
Tyler grinned back at Misty, eyes shining. “I’ll have you know that I am a fantastic judge of woman’s formalwear. I can’t go in the dressing room with my cousin, because that’s gross, but I’ll be more than happy to go in with you.”
She giggled. “Yeah, you wish.”
“Come on, Baby Fuller.” Jake used his lamp-free arm to put Tyler in a headlock and literally pulled him from us.
I cupped my hands around my mouth. “Tyler! If you find a doughnut, get me one too. Chocolate!”
“Are you two really cousins?” Misty asked, tilting her head.
“No, that’d be weird,” I said.
Actually, it wouldn’t be at all weird to have Tyler as my cousin, but it would be weird to share a cousin with Culter.
Misty’s gaze ran across my features for one more second as if she was considering something, and then she said, “Oh, okay.” She pointed behind her. “There are some pretty great shops this way. They’re not the ones Lily and the girls are going to, but I like them.”
I followed her into the wide, window-filled atrium in the center of the mall. Voices ricocheted in every direction as grinning groups of people wandered past us, loaded down with bags.
“Um . . .” Misty grimaced, looking at me with a nervous expression.
“Yeah?” I said, bracing to hear something that I wasn’t going to like.
“So, Lily . . . So, the way Lily acted last night to you, I just wanted to say that I wasn’t down for that. But . . .” she turned to me, biting her lip, “you have to understand that she’s not a bad person. She’s just a little crazy. I mean, that’s what we all say. ‘We all know that Lily is crazy.’” She laughed, mirthlessly. “And, I’m sorry, I know that I sound like I’m making excuses.”
“It’s cool; you can be a loyal friend. I’m not going to hold that against you.”
“Well okay, I’ve known both Culter and Lily since we were young. And, they’re both a little—well, they’re just . . .” she gestured, and I think she wanted to say ‘insane’ but she was too nice, “They think differently. And they freak out about weird stuff. Anyway, Lily just sort of had this relationship with Culter in her head. And, all of us knew that it was mostly in her head, but it didn’t help things that they hooked up a couple times.”
I nodded, slowly. Well, that answered that.
Misty waved at me. “Last year, sorry, I should have said that part first. But she can be a little crazy, like I said. She’s really lovable too, and she’s the one who always keeps all of us together.” Misty sighed. “I’m just trying to say that she wasn’t just acting that way for the point of being a mean girl or to embarrass you. Maybe during truth or dare, but I have a feeling that was about Culter, too.”
“Should I be concerned if we’re alone and there are pointy things around?” I asked.
She laughed. “Oh, that’s mean.”
“I’m a little bit serious.” I grimaced as I said it, but I kind of needed to know.
“No,” she patted my shoulder. “She’s not that kind of crazy. Besides, I think she got the picture. Culter didn’t leave much room for doubt on how he felt. I’m not saying that she’ll be nice about it, or that she’ll try to be your friend.” Misty shrugged. “Actually, I don’t know, she might. Lily is crazy.”
“Do you think she’ll tell the school about what Culter said?”
“No. But Mel will.” Misty stopped by the doors of a high-end dress chain that I recognized. “I’m sorry, Cassie. It’ll probably be big news at school. Culter is a huge deal with him being our football star and all.”
I nodded. “Well, you can’t un-cook the turkey.”
She gave a polite laugh at that, though even I didn’t find my joke very funny.
“If I hear people talk about you, I’ll tell them to stop, for what it’s worth.”
“I appreciate that, Misty. I foresee a very interesting Monday.”
“Can I ask you something? You so don’t need to answer me. And, if you answer me, I won’t repeat it, I swear—”
“Ask, Misty. It’s fine.”
“Do you like Culter back?” She gave me a look like she didn’t know.
As I stared at her, I realized she truly didn’t know. I also realized that I could just tell her no and push it all onto Culter. I could say he’s just got this weird
crush on me and that I don’t know what to do. I could be a horrible person that didn’t deserve him at all.
I took a deep breath. “I’m in love with him. We’ve been together for a couple weeks now; I just made him keep it secret. I’d like to still keep it a secret as much as I can, definitely from my dad.”
Her mouth made a small ‘oh’ shape and her eyes opened wide. “Wow.”
“I know.” I nodded. “Let’s go get some dresses, huh?” I pointed to the store, because I had a feeling that Misty completely forgot what we were doing.
Her voice came out breathy and uncertain. “Yeah, sure.”
If her expression was anything to go by, I had a feeling that when the news hit Bulvin High tomorrow, it wasn’t going to blow over easily.
Chapter Thirty-one
Culter stepped into my room Tuesday morning, and leaned against my door frame with a smirk. “Good, you’re dressed. Let’s go so we’re not late.”
I glanced down at my boots, then back at him. “I think I’m sick again.” As I said it, I climbed back into bed and attempted my most pathetic face.
“Nope.” He crossed the room to the bed. “You’re not chickening out again.”
So, maybe I chickened out yesterday, so sue me. I’d only been at Bulvin High School for three full weeks, and I was already about to show up as the focus of probably the most scandalous news in Bulvin High history.
Culter walked across the room and scooped me up before heading for the door.
“Holy shit, Culter! Put me down!” I whispered in a rush.
He put me down, but leaned in and said, “They’re all gone.” He gave me a quick kiss on my lips. “See.”
I hit my head against his shoulder. “Okay, so is the rumor like big or is it like huge? Are people whispering as you walk through the halls, or what?”
He stepped away, shook his head and totally didn’t answer me. Reaching back, he grabbed my hand and threaded his fingers through mine. “Come on, let’s not be late. People will start to guess at all the reasons we’re late. They might whisper about it. ‘What are they doing in their house of sin?’” And the dickwad smirked back at me.
Making Bad Choices Page 26
