“At home. She was tired.” Reese cracked open a beer and offered me one.
Against my better judgment, I took it.
“Those are cute little PJs you got there, Anna. Are those little hearts?”
Despite matters, I laughed. “Shut up.”
“Want to play quarters?”
“God, no! I don’t even want to be drinking this beer.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“Hiding from yours.” I slid one of my legs underneath my butt.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He sat down on the other end of the couch.
“It means you’re here without Jaime and that makes me nervous. She’d be pissed if she knew, and super mad if she finds out.”
“She’s not going to find out. She never does.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know how you do it. How do you get out of every slippery situation you get yourself into?”
“My irresistible charm.” He smiled broadly. “And luck.”
“How many times have you cheated on her?”
He shrugged. “Honestly? No clue.”
“Reese, that’s awful! Why are you with her if you can’t be faithful?”
He shrugged. “I love her. Now let’s change the subject because this kind of talk isn’t going to help me get laid tonight.”
I glanced at him out of my peripheral vision and guffawed. “You think I’m going to sleep with you? In your dreams!”
“I think you’re beautiful. I always have.”
I stammered, caught off-guard. “Um…thanks, but I’m in love with Pete. And you’re with Jaime.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing.” He inched closer, putting his hand on my thigh.
“Neither do you,” I countered while removing his hand. I shouldn’t have said that. Now I was flirting.
“Just one kiss,” he begged.
“No. You stay right over there, where it’s safe.”
Reese kept the pressure up and even tried to kiss me once, but I stuck to my guns until he backed off. We talked until Jake reemerged forty minutes later, and they left.
Mary prattled on about Jake’s looks, his expertise in bed and how she wished they would become a public item, but it made me sad. How did she not see he only used her for sex? I told her about Reese coming on to me, and she was surprised but not really shocked. We were all getting accustomed to his behavior.
Now four in the morning, we turned in. As I tried to sleep, I prayed Jaime and Pete wouldn’t find out about these post-party visitors. It would look bad. Very bad. Neither Pete nor Jaime trusted Reese. I would never tell, but that only made me feel like more of a liar.
28
Jailbreak
The dreary winter months flew by between schoolwork, cheerleading and hanging out with my friends. Pete and I held steady, but he still weirded out on me sometimes, showing an irrational jealous streak or being mean for no reason. I couldn’t bring myself to break up with him. The rest of the time he treated me like gold.
I hated cheering at the basketball games, and the girls on our squad felt the same. Forced to cheer from the stands rather than the gymnasium floor limited our movements and ability to do it justice. The ball constantly changed hands, challenging us to keep up and making us change cheers mid-chant from offensive to defensive. Add to that the schedule was packed and the games long.
By season’s end, the Titans didn’t have one victory to their name, suffering the worst record in Skyline basketball history. I shed no tears when it ended two months later. Not allowed to cheer for any other sports, my rah-rah duties were on hiatus until it came time to teach the incoming hopefuls for next year’s squad.
My worst problem was now on the home front. My parents expressed concern Pete and I were “too serious” in our relationship. As some warped remedy, they imposed a few restrictions, like limiting the time we could spend together and even monitoring the length of our telephone calls. My resentment for them built, activating every rebellious bone in my body.
My mother poked her coiffed head in my bedroom door, motioning for me to hang up.
I wanted to flip her off. “Pete, sorry, but I have to go.”
“The old battleaxe ordering you off the phone?”
“You got it.”
“See if you call me later, babe.”
“I’ll try. Don’t hold your breath.”
“I love you.” He was trying to get me to say it back in front of my mother.
“Rrrr rrrr rrrr.”
Pete chuckled as we hung up.
My mother pursed her lips. “That call was longer than what we discussed. Don’t make this more difficult than it already is.”
I fumed. “You’re the only one making things difficult.”
She put her hands on her hips. “It probably seems unfair, but your father and I know what’s best for you. That’s all we’re thinking about.”
“I’m old enough to know what’s right for me, Mom. I’m not eight.”
“Do you hear yourself? Do you think if you walked out the door right now you could support, or even take care of, yourself?”
“I’m sure I could manage,” I quipped.
“I know you think you’re in love, but you’re too young to really understand what that is.” She said love with overt sarcasm.
“I am absolutely, one hundred percent in love, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”
She rolled her eyes, uncharacteristic of her. “Watch your mouth, young lady. I’m still your mother, even if you think you’re all grown up and ready to be on your own.”
I glowered. When she turned around and walked away, I stuck my tongue out at her back. I reached up with my leg and kicked my bedroom door shut.
I paced the floor, racking my brain about how I could escape the prison my parents had erected around me. I couldn’t wait until I was old enough to