Love You Better (Better Love 1)

Never mind that I’m almost eighteen; they didn’t seem to care about that fact.

Mom was working a double and Jacob’s fever was 102, even after I gave him ibuprofen. We can’t afford for her to leave a shift and risk being fired, so I brought him in myself. It took up most of my Saturday for them just to tell me to that there was nothing they could do.

“Give him ibuprofen every four hours and make sure he’s getting a lot of fluids,” they said.

Just keep doing what you’ve been doing, this trip was a waste, is what I heard.

So yeah, I was bitter.

And then I stole the magazine.

But now? Now I’m feeling guilty, and I’m cursing whatever genetic defect it is that makes me so empathetic that I can’t even enjoy the spoils of my thievery. A life of crime is unfortunately not for me.

“Ivy!” I hear Kelley yell from across the cafeteria. I smile, but I don’t bother looking up. I know he’s walking over here with everyone’s eyes on him, and honestly, I absolutely love it when he draws attention to our friendship.

“Ivy,” he says again as he plops onto the bench beside me, draping an arm over my shoulders and snatching the magazine out of my hands.

“Ugh, get off me. You smell,” I lie. “I told you not to hang all over me unless you’ve showered after gym.”

I half-heartedly shrug off his arm and grab back my magazine, setting it next to my lunch tray. He then uses his free hand to steal what’s left of my pizza and shoves it all in his mouth. I’m certain he’s just returning from getting lunch off campus, so how he’s still hungry is beyond me, but I let it slide. I also glance around to see if any of his friends or his girlfriend will be joining us, but he’s alone.

Thank you for going easy on me, Gods of Unwanted Company.

“Here’s your calculus homework,” I say, sliding the papers in front of him. “You got three wrong. I fixed them, but I’ll show you how to do them tonight.”

“Ivy, you’re the best,” Kelley says around a mouthful of pizza. “Can I come over when I get out of practice?”

“Of course. It’ll just be me and Jacob. Mom’s on the closing shift all week.”

Nodding his head, Kelley slides his arm back over my shoulders in a side-hug. “Thank you. Seriously. Whatchya reading?” He makes a grab for the magazine again, but I swat at his hand. He laughs loudly.

“Just a magazine.” I make eye contact, push my glasses up on the bridge of my nose and state matter-of-factly, “I was getting tips for how to give mind-blowing oral.”

Kelley’s eyes go wide, and he coughs violently, so I pat his back and slide him my lemonade.

“You asked.” I shrug.

He chugs my drink and starts to laugh. “What the fuck, Ives? Lemme see.” He grabs for the magazine once more, and I quickly shove it under my butt. I hear the sound of ripping pages and cringe. I hope the single mom with three kids doesn’t mind a few torn pages.

“Leave my magazine alone, you heathen,” I say, and make an attempt to shove him backward. “I don’t want your greasy pizza fingers all over it.”

Suddenly Kelley’s laughter stops, and when I meet his eyes, there’s a slight glare in them, as if he’s angry with me.

“Wait, are you serious? Why are you reading about blowjob tips?” he interrogates, lowering his voice like the topic requires secretive discretion.

“Many reasons.” I shrug and pop a grape in my mouth. “Why do you care?” I ask while chewing.

“I don’t care. I just don’t know why you’d need it.” He lifts a brow at me while his statement trails off. I can guess what he wants to know, but I’m not giving him any answers until he asks the question.

Our gazes remain locked for several seconds, and when he widens his eyes at me, I mirror the expression. Spit it out, Kell.

He scoots closer and lowers his voice to just above a whisper.

“Are you...” He runs his hands through his hair nervously, and his eyes scan the cafeteria as if checking for eavesdroppers. “You want these tips for him?”

I sigh and give a sympathetic smile.

“No, Kelley, I’m not interested in these tips for him,” I reply, my voice at a normal speaking volume, and Kelley visibly relaxes before I catch him off guard with my next statement. “I am interested in these tips for me. Because I would like to be able to give mind-blowing oral. But I’m sure Tyler, my boyfriend, will benefit from it.”