“What do you want me to do?” Drake asked.
The question took her completely by surprise. She closed her eyes but felt him get closer.
“Don’t,” she said as he put a hand on her shoulder.
“I don’t like seeing you like this. You think this is easy for me as well? I don’t know what the hell I’m doing anymore.”
She lifted up and put her hands on his chest, hoping to find some kind of comfort just by holding him. After opening her mouth to speak, she closed it.
“Don’t say anything,” he said. “Neither of us can make a decision right now. I’m not going to hurt your best friend.”
She snorted.
“For the past month, I’ve kept my word. You think this is easy for me?”
“I know it’s not,” she said.
The stolen moments were starting to wear on the both of them.
“I just wish for once I could be selfish,” she said.
“Selfish how?” he asked.
It was on the tip of her tongue to say but she smiled. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Pru, we’ve spent a lot of time going over this.” He pulled her close and she just wanted to sink into the warmth of his embrace. “I’m going to worry about you.”
He ran his fingers through her hair and she breathed a sigh of relief at his touch. It meant a great deal to her just to have him here with her. Wrapping her arms around him, she closed her eyes, breathing him in.
“Now, tell me what you want me to do,” he said.
“I don’t want you to do anything but hold me.”
“That’s the easy part.”
She laughed. Pulling away, she stared up into his eyes. For so long, she was used to anger and rage staring back at her. Right now, she only saw concern and it meant the world to her. Placing her palm against his cheek again, she stroked her thumb back and forth.
“Come away with me this weekend,” he said, surprising her.
“You want me to come away with you?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want it.”
“Wow,” she said.
“You didn’t see that one coming, did you?”
She chuckled. “We’re sneaking around and no, I didn’t imagine for even a second that we’d be doing something like this. It’s crazy.” She whispered the last bit.
“Yeah, well, I’m tired of all the sneaking around. There’s only so much a guy can take and well, I want to be with you without looking over my shoulder. You think we can do that?” he asked.
She nibbled her lip. “Going away together is a huge step.”
“It is. One I think we can take. Remember, we only live once and well, our time is running out. You know we’re on a countdown.”
There it was.
Their time was running out fast.
They weren’t going to remain together once school was finished and that upset her more than she cared to admit.
“Come on, come away with me. You know you want to,” Drake said. “You and me.”
“No one else.”
“No one.”
“Okay, then we’ll do it.” She wasn’t about to tell him this weekend was her birthday. Her parents had already apologized for not being able to get off work. The thought of not being alone all day was far too tempting, and well, any time with Drake where they didn’t have to pretend to fight was also a relief. “Wow, I can’t believe we’re going to do this.”
“Yes, we are.”
She was about to kiss him when she saw the door about to be pushed open.
Without thinking, she quickly shoved him into a stall, flicking the lock into place. Drake sat on the toilet and lifted his feet up.
He laughed and she pressed a hand against his mouth in the hope of trying to contain his noise.
He didn’t make a sound.
“Ugh, I hate math so much. It’s, like, so boring. Why do we even need it? It’s what accountants are for anyway.”
Pru couldn’t make out the voice.
“Since when do you know a thing about accountants?” another said.
“Since my daddy has been telling me that they are pissing away his money again. I mean, I get it, they deal with taxes and shit, but I’m so bored.”
There was silence after a couple of giggles.
Pru had managed to sit on his lap and keep her feet from being seen.
“So, are you going to tell us about your night with Drake?”
She tensed up and even Drake frowned.
“Oh, please, a girl never tells. You know that.”
Again, she had no idea who these girls are.
“Shut up, you’ve been trying to get with Drake for over a year and he finally paid you some attention.”
“I know. He shut my locker as he walked past. It had to be love.”
Now, she couldn’t help but smile. Drake stroked her back and rolled his eyes.
“We could make out,” he said, mouthing the words.
“Well, I went around to his house last night and you know he lives in that big mansion of his, it is so amazing. So huge as well. He has a pool…”