I was mostly surprised that the words “caveat emptor” came from his mouth. I laughed a little and Wesley lifted the clutch and tore out of the parking lot.
We got to his house and Wesley offered me a drink but I declined politely. I sat down and pulled out my Spanish text. I heard the refrigerator door shut and the clink of bottles. Wesley came into the living room with a brown bottle and a glass of soda.
“I didn’t know what you wanted, so I brought you some pop,” he said, sitting down next to me. I thanked him and leaned to my side. We were sitting shoulder to shoulder. His leg was pressed against mine.
“The—the exam’ll cover chapters twelve and thirteen,” I said, opening my book and flipping through the pages.
Wesley groaned quietly and retrieved his book bag from the front door. He sat close to me again and I inhaled deeply. His scent was mixed with tobacco and beer, and he looked at me from the corner of his eye. I stared at my textbook and took quiet, deep breaths.
“Ms. Harper said there’ll be a lot of vocab on the test, so we better go over that, and also she said to study verb tenses,” I said, finally finding chapter twelve after flipping through the pages aimlessly. Wesley watched me as much as he looked at his textbook, and I felt nervous under his constant gaze.
We had reviewed chapter twelve and most of thirteen when Wesley yawned and suggested we take a break. He stretched his arms over his head and then sat back with his beer and lit a cigarette.
“We’re—we’re almost done, so let’s just finish up chapter thirteen, okay?”
“All right,” Wesley moaned, setting down the bottle and picking up the textbook.
We went through the rest of chapter, doing some of the suggested exercises in the outline. He had a good accent, pronouncing syllables like a native speaker. I was better at reading and writing than speaking and on occasion, Wesley would correct me if I mispronounced a word. I was surprised that I was actually learning something from him.
When we had finished chapter thirteen, Wesley put his hands behind his head and held his cigarette between his lips. I took another sip of my soda and began putting my things in my bag.
“The test is gonna have a lot of vocab on it, so you should go over that again once or twice.”
“You’re leaving already?” Wesley asked. He sat up on the edge of the sofa and rested his cigarette in the ashtray.
My heart started beating faster and I swallowed hard. “Yeah. I’ve—I’ve got a lot of other homework to do.” I was having trouble fitting the textbook into my book bag.
“Well, that can wait a while. We just finished studying; relax a little.” He inched closer to me, leaving his cigarette burning in the ashtray. “Besides, I still have to thank you for helping me.”
I felt the warmth of his body next to me and he neared his way closer to my lips, teasing me with anticipation that I desperately tried to conceal. He brought his hand to my chin, turning my face to him. He still had a grin on his face, but it was a little different. With his thumb, he pulled my chin down and kissed me. His lips were chapped but they were soft too. He caressed my cheek and I closed my eyes. His kiss radiated through my entire body.
He said he wanted to “thank” me for helping him study. Was that why? Because he needed help with schoolwork and he thought this was how he could repay me? I pulled back and looked down into my lap.
“You… should make flashcards,” I whispered absentmindedly, feeling for my book bag.
“Hunh?”
“It’ll help you memorize the vocab,” I said. I could feel tears welling in my eyes and I pushed them back. “I have to go. Sorry. But I have to go,” I said, grabbing my book bag and rushing to the door. Wesley stared at me and said my name once, but he didn’t follow me.
Chapter 4
I WOKE with sticky sheets and morning wood that almost hurt. The dream faded quickly with consciousness, but I remembered the feel of Wesley’s kiss and I met the throbbing ache between the sheets.
I sank back into bed. My cheeks reddened as I pulled back the covers and saw the result of my dream. I stripped the sheets, balled them up tightly, and stepped out of my bedroom, nearly bumping into Alycia. She jumped back and her small breasts jiggled beneath her white tank top. She furrowed her brows at me.
“What the hell, Toren? I just did laundry the other day!” she complained, seeing the bundle of sheets in my arms. My cheeks turned a deeper red and she arched her eyebrows knowingly. “Nuh-uh. You gotta wash out your own DNA—new house rule,” she said and disappeared into the bathroom.
I shook my head and hoped this wasn’t an indication of how the rest of the day would go. I felt nervous already; I didn’t know how to act around Wesley. I didn’t know if he’d told everyone about what happened, if I would be made a laughingstock. My shoulders slumped and I sighed heavily.
“Hey, move it! Or you’re gonna be late!” Alycia shouted, walking past me. “Why are you just standing there?” She looked back at me and touched my forehead. “Do you feel all right?”
Maybe I could stay home; no, there was the Spanish test. “Yeah, I’m okay.” I shifted the load in my arms and Alycia patted my cheek.
“All right. Well, hurry up. You want a ham sandwich for lunch again?”
I nodded and Alycia trotted off to her room. I dropped the sheets into a laundry basket and figured I’d wash them when I got home. I
