Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Tannen

I sit back and look at the woman beside me with new eyes. No wonder she didn’t want anything to do with me. She thought I fucked half the girls in the school. And now she’s telling me things have been strained between us, that she felt uncomfortable around me. It’s like a knife being driven into my heart.

“Maybe…we could do something about that this year.”

“Like what?” I think I spot a glimmer of hope in her eyes, but that might just be me imagining what I want to see there instead of reality.

“Well, we could…” stop pretending we can keep our hands off one another and start fucking in the car right here and now, “try to let all the old stuff go.”

I say that instead of the fucking thing, feeling that it will go over better.

“Maybe try to start over, try to be nice to one another.”

I scoot closer to her and talk low like I might be sharing a secret with her, she copies the movement by shifting towards me as well.

“Start over?”

“Mm, pretend we don’t know each other as well as we think we do.”

“How?”

“Well, if we were just two people who met at the Lounge, what would happen now?”

“If we just met, you wouldn’t be in my car. You could be some serial killer or…”

This time I laugh and have to fight from putting my hands all over her. “Alright, alright. I’m really glad to hear that but say we did know each other a little bit. Enough for you to be sure I’m not a serial killer. Enough for you to be comfortable enough to let me take you home. What then?”

“Um…I…well, uh, I don’t know.”

I’m almost certain I heard her breath out the word ‘shit’ in between the spluttering and nerves. Why is she so nervous? Is it me? Maybe she doesn’t want to start over with me.

“If you went on a date with some guy and he brought you home, what would you do?”

I’m trying for a kiss and she’s looking like I’m about to drag her from the car and put her on death row.

“I…I don’t know. I’ve never…went on a date before so I don’t know what would happen.”

She goes on explaining but my brain is still chewing on the words she gave it seconds ago. She’s never been on a date. Does that mean…?

“I only know what I’ve seen on TV.”

“You…never went on dates in high school, Peach?” She stiffens and pulls back from me but I stop her by putting my hand on the back of her head to hold her in place. “No! Don’t pull away from me. I’m asking, not making a shitty remark. You’re a beautiful woman, you can understand my confusion and I really want to understand. That’s all.”

“I’m a nerd, Tannen. I was then and I am now. I prefer books to people and I’m awkward as fuck.”

“You might be a nerd but you're sexy as hell, Marley.”

She scoffs, “You’ve lost your mind.”

“You’re…” I stop myself short before I can tell her the absolute truth. She’s the thing that has been driving me crazy for years. Fucking years.

“Besides, we’re not dating, Tannen.”

We’ve been getting closer and closer to one another and I’m more determined than ever to get my kiss when I notice her attention is taken from me. Her brows draw together, and her focus seems to be on something out my window. I turn around to see what it is and spot the shadowy outline of my mom on the other side of the window.

“Are they kissing or not, Kate?”

That is not my mom’s voice. It’s her mom’s voice.

“I don’t think so, Ruby, but the windows are so fogged up. I can’t tell for sure.”

“Oh my god!” The whisper is followed by a soft groan and Marley sits back away from me.

“Maybe we should…” I start to make a suggestion but Marley answers before I can finish, both of us knowing our mom’s too well.

“Yeah, before they start filming us.”