Her lip curled into a sneer. “I’m not. Bye, then. Asshole.” She gave me the finger and walked away.
Before I could respond, I felt a kick in my ass and turned.
“Hey, hey!” Justin sniggered. “You’re hoarding all the girls! Ya gotta leave some for me, dickhead.”
I narrowed my eyes, feeling the heat shoot through my veins.
“Do that again. I fucking dare you.”
He looked shocked, then raised his hands, palms up. “Someone’s got her panties in a twist.”
I curled my hands into fists, got in his face. “Say that again?”
Justin backed off, looking behind him for help. “I was kidding! Dude, chill.”
“Cam.” It was Caleb. “Cool off.”
I looked down, flexed my fists. What the hell was wrong with me?
The guys were looking at me like I’d sprung a leak in my brain. They weren’t used to seeing my temper. I was usually coolheaded around them, usually shrugged off their ribbing.
But those days had been free of her, Raven. I headed to the shower, turned on the cold water. Even after not seeing her for years, she still had the power to tie my guts into a knot just by a single missed call. What could she want now?
I had changed my number a few times, but she always found a way to get it. My father probably gave it to her just to get her off his back.
“Hey, bro.” Justin tossed me a towel just as I wrapped one around my waist. “Didn’t know you didn’t like your ass kicked. Sorry. About earlier, I mean.” His voice still held r
esentment from what happened, but I didn’t blame him.
“Yeah. Me too,” I said and let it go. I walked to my locker, using the towel he gave me to rub my hair. A sign of peace.
I felt exhausted but not better. I already knew what was coming in the next few days. Dread was already pooling in the pit of my stomach.
“Need a ride?” Caleb asked as I pulled on my pants.
“Nah, I’m good. Thanks.”
The light from my phone sucked the breath out of me, but I saw the screen before I could dismiss it.
Spitfire: I’m in the gym, sicko.
The knots in my stomach started to loosen. As soon as I saw her text, my shoulders released a tightness I hadn’t even been aware I was holding.
“Hot date?” Caleb asked. He saw me smiling.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Really hot.”
And when I saw her waiting on the bleachers, I grinned.
“Hungry?” I called out to her.
“No.” She jumped off the bleachers as soon as she saw me, throwing her backpack over her shoulder. “I want to drop your ass home, so I can do the hundred errands I need to do.”
I wondered if she was even aware that she was still wearing my sweater. She’d folded up the arms a few times, but it still reached her wrists. It gave me a warm feeling in my stomach seeing her in my clothes.
She wasn’t wearing her glasses anymore, but she had her hair up in a ponytail again. It swung back and forth as she walked ahead of me. Damn, how cute was that?
I wanted to hold her hair in my fist, feel the softness of it in my fingers. Did it smell like peaches too?