Contradictions (Woodfalls Girls 3)

“Whatevs. One of these days, when you’re least expecting it.” I laughed at his words as his friends cackled with glee. He ignored us, pulling out his wallet. “Give me one,” he said, plopping a dollar on the counter.

“One?” I scoffed. “I wouldn’t put my wallet away, big spender.” My words had barely left my mouth when his one solitary Ping-Pong ball fell cleanly into the narrow opening of one of the glass bowls. To add insult to injury, both his cronies made their shots too. Great, they had a bright future in beer ponging.

“Here,” Chris said, handing me the fish he had just won.

“You don’t want him?” I peered through the glass bowl at the big-eyed goldfish.

“Are you kidding? Mom would kill me if I brought home another pet. Besides, Baxter would try to eat him.”

“True story.” Baxter had followed Chris home from school when he was in first grade. With two dogs and a cat already at home, our parents had been adamant that Baxter would have to go. We hung multiple flyers around town, but no one stepped forward to claim the orange marmalade cat with his squished-in face. Mom and Dad finally admitted defeat and agreed to let Baxter stay. I felt like we’d been played when innocent-looking Baxter turned out to be part demon.

From the beginning, he loved Chris, but seemed to take great pleasure in tormenting the rest of us, including our two dogs. He was a sneaky bastard that would jump out at your feet when you walked by or dive-bomb you from shelves when you least expected it. The other pets in our house didn’t stand a chance with him around. He was always stealing Bailey’s and Troy’s dog beds. Both were too chicken to challenge him, and would instead look at us with sad eyes until we forced Baxter from their beds. With Chris, Baxter was a completely different animal, playing the role of the sweet, innocent, purring kitty that would follow him around. The rest of us agreed that when Baxter died he wouldn’t be chasing birds across golden clouds in kitty heaven. He would be roasting chickens in the fiery pits of hell.

“Maybe if we’re lucky, Baxter would drown trying to get him out,” I teased. I was sure that cat was Satan incarnate, but he was still part of the family.

“Not funny,” Chris said, looking appalled. “You just don’t know him like I do,” he added, turning away from me. “Hey, Trent, did you get the new Batman game for Xbox?”

“The day it came out. I’ve already done the side missions to unlock Robin.”

I tuned them out as soon as they started talking about different bat suits or something like that. I didn’t speak gamer, so pretty much everything they said went over my head.

Eventually, my brother and his friends left when a group of girls snagged their attention. A crowd had gathered around the small stage in the middle of the town square where Mayor Fedderman had revealed who he had chosen for his costume this year.

“OMG. That might be the scariest sight I have ever seen,” I proclaimed as we watched the mayor strutting around the stage, lip-syncing to “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga.

“Well, he nailed the makeup,” Trent commented. “Is it weird that I’m turned on? I mean, I kinda have a thing for Lady Gaga.”

“Hey, if that’s what you’re into, I can introduce you to Destiny from my apartment building. I’m sure you two would have a lot in common.”

“Is she hotter than Mayor Fedderman?”

“You mean, is he hotter than Mayor Fedderman,” I corrected him.

“Ooohhh, now I see—I think I’ll stick with you,” Trent answered, nudging my arm with his elbow.

“Gee, I’m so flattered. You really know how to make a girl feel special.”

“Let’s go,” Trent laughed, slinging an arm around my shoulders. “I better quit now before you start doubting how I feel about you.”

Trent and I decided to head over to the gym where the annual Halloween dance was being held. “My brother really seems to like you. I didn’t know you two knew each other that well.”

“He’s a cool kid. I helped him with his Xbox over the summer. He was freaked-out when he thought the drive had crashed, but I got it fixed for him,” he explained as he held the gym door open for me.

“Of course you did. What can’t you fix? You’ve reached god status if you were able to save his most prized possession.”

The heat of the gym greeted us as we shed our jackets for the first time that evening. I’d forgotten about my costume until Trent stopped midsentence. “What’s wrong?” I asked, feigning innocence.

“I’ve been waiting to see this all night,” he said, letting his eyes slide down my frame.

I was always a bit self-conscious about my body. The costume had me slightly stressed that my hips were too curvy for the low-slung bottoms or that my chest was a little too ample in the skimpy top. The look of desire in his eyes, though, made it clear he was quite pleased with the way the gold outfit fit me. “You saw me in it earlier,” I teased, dragging him toward the dance floor, where a slow song was playing.

“That doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate it again,” he answered, sliding his arms around my bare waist and locking them behind the small of my back.

“That works for me,” I murmured, lacing my arms around his neck. He pulled me closer and I leaned my head into the crook of his shoulder. Our heights were very compatible, almost like they’d been specifically designed for activities that involved closeness. We swayed slowly back and forth to the music. This kind of dancing was foreign to me. I was used to thumping music, urging me to dance harder and faster. If sweat wasn’t dripping off me, it wasn’t dancing. That was my motto up until now.

Even when the music changed and everyone around us moved to the loud rhythmic beat, we remained in each other’s arms, oblivious to everyone but ourselves. We were in our own separate bubble.

19.