Double Time (7 page)

The game gets underway and immediately I can tell it’s going to be a lot more difficult with two more people on the mat. When all of us have both hands and feet down, it’s pretty squished. Licha has the next move, and I’m fairly certain she bumps me on purpose. I try to keep myself from falling, but I can’t. I take out Alex and Ethan with me. Off goes my second sock. I lost my other shoe and sock in the first game. Alex takes off his belt and Ethan kicks off a shoe. He’s the only one who started the game fully clothed. Lucky him.

We get back into place, and on the next move Travis sends Alex, Ethan, and Marissa tumbling. Alex sheds his shirt, but he has a wife beater on underneath. Ethan takes off another shoe. And Marissa whips out her ponytail holder from her hair. Good thinking. I’m going to have to remember that the next time we play. Damn me for wearing my hair down.

It seems like every spin causes another domino effect of falling bodies. This time it’s my turn to start the chain reaction. Shit. When I stand up, I take a second to consider what to take off. This game was a lot more fun when I was tossing off shoes and socks, but now I have to decide between showing off my tits or my ass. I’ve never been so happy to wear a matching bra and panty set before in my life. In fact, this is a rare occasion. Thankfully, I didn’t wear my granny panties tonight.

Instead of mulling it over more, I whip off my shirt like a Band-Aid. I hear the cat calls and goose bumps emerge all over my body. Yay for padded bras or I’d poke someone in the eyes. It’s so cold out here I could cut glass with my nipples.

“
Looking good, babe,” Alex says.

Ugh, I sigh. I didn’t comment on his stunning muscular chest. He looks more than good and my girl parts twitch a little. Maybe more than a little.

Licha takes off her shirt too, but she has a camisole on underneath. Thank you. I so did not want to be this naked at the same time as her. I start to shiver as everyone gets back into position. Travis runs his hands up and down my arms and I lean in to his bare chest to gather warmth.

“
You go first,” he says.

I bend down to get my hands and feet on the right colors and find myself tangled against Licha and Ethan. Alex is on the other side of the mat. Travis settles in on top of me.

“
There, now you’re covered,” he says.

I turn my head to the side to smile at him. “Thanks, Trav.”

“
What the fuck, man?” is all I hear as Travis comes crashing onto me. My face is plastered to the mat, and my side aches as one of his hands is jammed underneath me. Someone’s knee is on my ankle, and someone else stepped on my hand.

It’s like one big dog pile and I’m at the bottom of it. Little by little, I feel the relief of bodies coming off of me. Travis finally gets up on all fours and flips me around. “Are you okay, Meggie?” he asks.

I spit my hair out of my mouth. “I’m fine. I’m not cold anymore, that’s for sure. About four hundred pounds of body heat will do that to you, I guess.” He smiles.

“
Get off of her, you idiot,” Alex says, pushing Travis. He stumbles, but I catch his arm to break his fall. He stands up quickly and pushes Alex right back.

Oh shit. This is not happening. Alex ignores him and turns to me. “Are you okay, babe?”

“
I was until you started acting like a jackass. And I’m not your babe. So stop calling me that.” I stick out my hand to Travis and he tugs me up to his side. Steph hands me my shirt and I put it back on. “I’m done. I sure as hell am not taking off my pants.”

“
Well, that’s too bad,” he elbows Ben in the side and mutters, “cause that tight ass belongs to me.”

Bam. Alex is on the floor, and Travis is shaking out his hand. Omigod. That’s what it sounds like when someone’s nose is broken. Crack. Like a ball hitting a bat. Blood is gushing down Alex’s face and a couple of the other guys start to say something. Ben waves them off and says, “It’s Alex’s fault. If Travis hadn’t beat me to it, I would have hit him myself.”

I ball up Alex’s hoodie and hold it to his face. “Get your ass up and come with me,” I tell him. He starts following me toward his car. He leans on the hood and I start in on him. “What the hell is your problem?”

“
I think your boyfriend just broke my nose and you’re asking me what my problem is?”

“
He’s not my boyfriend, and you deserved it. So what’s going on?”

He removes the bloody material from his face. His eyes are starting to swell and he looks like he’s been crying. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“
I miss you, Meggie. I want you back.”

“
Why?”

“
I … I … I just…” He can’t even give me a reason why?

“
Well, that’s convincing. You want to get back together, but you don’t know why. Makes a lot of sense, Alex.”

He shakes his head. “I know it sounds lame, but I miss talking to you and having you around.”

I roll my eyes at him. “You’re just lonely and I’m convenient. You had no problem meeting people when we were together, you shouldn’t have that problem now. And you can’t just treat me like shit and then say you want me back. That’s insane.”

“
But it’s true,” he says. “And you’re not convenient, you’re special.”

Did this shit really work before? Yes, it did. But that’s when he wasn’t acting like an ass. It’s like an evil twin showed up tonight. And I don’t like him or care to him see again. “If I was special, you would’ve had more respect for me and stopped calling me
babe
when I asked you to. And you wouldn’t have made that comment either. It was rude.”

“
I’m sorry, Megan,” he says. “I really am.”

“
Well, keep up this asshole routine and not only are we never getting back together but we’re not going to be friends either.”

I take a few steps away from him before I run into Ben and Travis standing in the shadows.

“
He’s all yours, buddy,” I tell Ben. He hugs me and walks away.

“
Did I just hear you tell Alex you’re never getting back together with him?” Travis asks me with a grin.

“
Yes, you did.”

“
You do realize you said
never
, right?”

I smile at him. “Yes, I do.”

“
You mean it.”

“
Yup.”

He scoops me up in a big bear hug and nuzzles his face into my hair.

My arms wrap around his neck, but I tell him, “This doesn’t change anything, friend.”

Resting his forehead against mine, he says, “I know, friend. I know.” And then he kisses me on the cheek and sets me down.

I’m finally cozy in my sweats and hoodie, trying to gather warmth after the late night naked fest, when I get a text from Alex.

I need to see you. Can I come over?

As much as I want to tell him to eff off, I can’t. Instead, I tell him to meet me in my front yard. I don’t want him to come inside and get comfortable. If we’re outside and cold, we’re less likely to be out there all night.

My parents are asleep, so I creep out of the front door, careful not to make noise. Alex is already here. He must have sent the text from my sidewalk.

“
Hey,” he says, reaching out at first, and then backing away.

“
What’s up? How’s your nose?”

“
I’m fine. I don’t think it’s broken after all.”

“
That’s good.”

“
I didn’t come to talk about my nose.” He sits on my front steps and offers me his hand. I’m so weak when it’s just the two of us. I put my hand in his and sit next to him.

“
So what did you come for then?”

“
I wanted you to know I’m really sorry. I should have never made that comment about seeing your ass. It was rude, and I feel like such a dick. I’m sorry, Meg.” I know he’s sincere. I can see it in his eyes. They never lie to me, even if his words have in the past.

“
Thank you for apologizing,” I tell him, looking away. “But why are you being so mean? It’s like you’re trying to make some kind of point, calling me babe every five seconds. You didn’t even do that when we were together. I don’t get it.”

“
I don’t know. Us not being together has made me a little crazy. You know I’m getting all A’s now. I’ve even taken on more units. I completed a lot during the summer too. If I keep it up at this rate, I could actually graduate early, or at least be able to come home for the summer.”

“
That’s great. I’m really happy for you. See, getting rid of me was good for you.” Saying it makes sense, but the reality of it still stings.

“
That sounds horrible. I didn’t get rid of you. We just needed to take a break,” he says, putting his arm around me.

“
And look at how good that worked out for you. You got rid of your distraction and your grades are up …”

He turns me so we’re face to face. “Stop saying it like that, Meg. Like you’re some piece of trash I threw out. Breaking up was about your age and about school. It wasn’t about getting rid of anything. I’d never want to be rid of you.”

“
Call it what you want, but nothing has changed. I’m still three years younger than you and you’re still in college. I don’t understand why we’re even talking about it.”

He brushes my hair away from my eyes and cradles my face in his hands. And then he kisses me. Our lips press softly together and there’s no denying it. Sparks still fly, tingles still soar up and down my body, and I just melt into him. His soft lips on mine give me all the warmth I need.

When he pulls back, Alex gazes into my eyes with a smile. My eyes are wet with emotion, and he kisses my nose before wrapping his arms around me.

“
It’s still there, isn’t it?” he says in my ear.

“
Yup,” I say into his neck. His scent clouds my thoughts and I feel like I could stay here all night, breathing him in.

“
But we’re still not going to get back together, are we?”

“
Can you tell me why we should?”

“
Because I love you. Because I’ve never felt this way about anyone else in my life. Because I love your smile, the way you laugh. The way you hate Coke in a can, but love it as a Slurpee. Because you’re an amazing friend to me and to the rest of the group. Because I love to watch you dance when your favorite songs come on. And the way you smile when you talk about your mom and dad. Because you always loved me and knew we were meant to be. And because you loved me enough to let me go when I needed to get my grades up. You understand me just like I understand you.” His eyes are pleading with me, and as much as I’d like to kiss him again, I can’t.

“
But you’re not understanding me or us right now at all.”

“
What if I do, but I don’t want to? I miss you, Meg. I miss you. I miss the way we used to say goodnight to each other every night.” He buries his face in my hair again, and I understand exactly how much he misses me. I know all too well how that feels.

“
I know you do. I miss you too,” I confess.

“
But you still don’t want to get back together?”

I inhale his familiar scent one last time before I back away. “It doesn’t matter what I want, or what you want. I don’t see how we can. It doesn’t make sense to.” I know he still loves me, and I know I still love him. No matter what the hell else is going on in my life, and no matter how I feel about other people, I can’t fight the love I have for him. But like I said earlier, nothing has changed. I’m still in high school and he’s in college. He can’t be distracted by me, and I can’t worry over a guy who’s almost hundreds of miles away. So no, I don’t think we can get back together. “Things are good for you. And they’re good for me too. You said you wanted me to have the whole high school experience. Well, I am. If we get back together, it won’t be right. No matter how much we want it to be.”

He pulls me into him again and says into my ear, “I’m gonna go. And when I see you again, I promise I won’t act like a dumb ass. But someday, I’m gonna come back for you, Megan. We’re meant to be. I know we’re gonna get back together. Maybe not today. But someday.”

Someday. There goes that word again.

Eight

“
Word in the hall is Travis knocked King Alex out,” Ms. Gelson says. “Is that true?”

“
Depends,” I tell her.

“
On what?” she asks.

“
If Travis is gonna get in trouble.”

“
Alex is an adult and he didn’t press charges. It was off campus at a private party in the mountains on private property, right? So I don’t see how he’d get into trouble.”