He blinks, clearly not expecting me to say that. “I’m aware of that, yes.”
I nod, my gaze dropping. I don’t have math until after lunch, but it’s Carter’s next class. “Is that because of Sara?”
Carter frowns and pushes off the locker, appearing out of his element. Whatever he thought I summoned him for, this isn’t it. “No, it’s because I have a brain. I told you that before. You called me here to ask about my grades?”
“I need you to throw the math exam today,” I state, without further preamble.
His eyebrows rise in surprise. “Excuse me?”
This is lower than I want to stoop, but not as low as I could go, so I try to soothe myself with that. “Remember I told you about the school I wanted to go to? Top ten percent isn’t enough for a full ride anymore, only valedictorians and salutatorians get it. If I don’t graduate second in our class, I can’t afford to go. I’ll end up at University of North Texas in Dallas, and I’ll have to commute from home. If I don’t catch up to you, I’m never gettin’ out of this town.”
“And if I bomb the math exam, you’ll catch up?”
“Not exactly. Your damn rally girl is in the spot between me and you, but the counselor thinks I can catch up to her if I work really hard.”
The corners of Carter’s mouth tip up in amusement. “Yeah, she’s a smart cookie. Makes good cookies, too.”
Ignoring him, I go on, “I can’t catch you, though. The AP biology class you took last year puts you ahead of me if you ace all your classes this year, even if I ace mine, too. I need you to get a B in math, which means…”
“I need to bomb this test,” he says, following along.
I nod, not quite able to look at him.
“And what do I get out of it?” he asks.
“The pleasure of knowing that for once, you made a positive difference in my life?” I suggest hopefully.
Carter smiles and shakes his head. “Try again.”
“I’ll name the baby after you,” I deadpan.
He shakes his head again. “Nah. We’ll name him something else. Creeps me out to imagine you calling out my name and talking to a kid.”
I sigh, exasperated. “What do you want?”
“If you have to ask that, maybe you don’t deserve to be the class salutatorian,” he suggests.
I narrow my eyes at him. “You want me to prostitute myself, is that it? You want to fuck me? Fine. Throw the math test, and I’ll let you fuck me. Or not let you, if that’s what you’re in the mood for.”
Carter shakes his head. “Once isn’t enough. Twice, and you’ll be my date to homecoming, which will likely mean a third time. That seems like a fair deal.”
“I’m not going to homecoming,” I tell him. “I’ll agree to three fucks, but not homecoming. I don’t have a dress, I don’t have the money to buy one, and no, before you offer, I do not want you to buy me a homecoming dress.” Lighting up my phone, I see we both have less than a minute to get to our next class. “I have to go or I’m going to be late. Deal, or no deal?”
Carter nods once. “Deal.”
Relief trickles through me and I feel myself soften. Sure, he made me bargain for it, but I sort of can’t believe he’s willing to do this for me. “Thank you.”
Carter smirks and takes a step forward. Bringing a hand up behind me and cupping my neck, he draws me close and bends his head to seal our deal with a kiss. “You can thank me later.”
It’s lunch time on Friday and I am sitting in my car, eating a PB&J and reading the new book I bought to review for the school paper. My cell phone starts vibrating in my cup holder, so I glance at the screen. It’s a phone number I don’t recognize, so I slide a bookmark between the pages and close my book, grabbing the phone and answering it.
“Hello?”
“Hi, is this Zoey?”
It’s a woman’s voice, but not one I recognize. “Yes, I’m Zoey,” I tell her.
“Hi Zoey, this is Angela Mahoney. Carter’s mom,” she offers for clarification.
“Oh. Um, hello,” I say, awkwardly.
“Carter gave me your number,” she explains. “I was wondering if you were free tonight. Carter has an away game, as you probably know. His father and I intend to go, but Chloe gets bored of going to every game. She wants to stay home tonight. Normally I’d just stay with her, but Carter suggested you might be interested in babysitting to make a little extra money. I pay very well.”
I’m floored that she’s calling me in the first place, but to babysit Chloe? I would find it hard to say no to that even without the enticement of good pay. Chloe is adorable, and now that I know she’s technically Carter’s daughter… well, I’m still not sure I’ve wrapped my mind all the way around that, but it makes the offer even more compelling.