“Jesus, Miranda,” Iris said, “slow down.”
Miranda shrugged. “I’m thirsty.”
Iris rolled her eyes then turned her steely gaze toward me. I’d caved to that look on more than one occasion.
“Fine,” I said, adding a dramatic sigh. Truth was I wanted their advice. The story rushed out of me like a broken facet. I barely took a breath, but there wasn’t a lot to tell I realized. We went to his house, had a drink, sung together, an almost kiss, then he took me home.
“That’s all?” Miranda raised her eyebrows at me. “That’s all you got?”
“He’s a gentleman,” Iris said, leaning against her fist. “Even if he pulled the bad boy card, he’s not going to be a dick to you. That’s a good thing.”
“But he rejected me,” I said. The desperation shook my voice.
“Not really,” Miranda said, squeezing her now empty water bottle. “He admitted to wanting to kiss you, didn’t he?”
I nodded.
“And more?” Iris asked.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s what he said, but he was probably letting me down easy. You know?” I shook my head as the bell rang. One more class and I was out of here. The only thing left was graduation this Saturday. I stared at ceiling for a moment. “One more to go.”
“Crazy, isn’t it?” Iris grinned. “We’re actually done with high school.”
“Rub it in, guys.” Miranda’s eyes welled. “I have to survive another year without you.”
Iris and I tackled hugged Miranda.
“If anyone can survive without us, it’s you,” Iris said. “Besides, I’ll still be around.”
But I won’t be. It suddenly hit me how much I was losing.
The final bell rang an hour later. Iris, Miranda, and I walked out of the building together.
“Need a ride home? I’m heading that way if you don’t mind only going twenty miles an hour,” Miranda said, twirling the keys to the hated moped around her finger.
“No, you’re not, but sure,” I said as Iris tapped my shoulder.
She pointed toward the front row of the parking lot. “I think you already have a ride.”
Dylan leaned against the passenger door of his rental with his arms crossed over his black t-shirt. His jeans rode low on his hips. The black sunglasses and disheveled hair gave him the air of rocker bad boy, but I wondered how much of it was an act. Iris was right, he’d been a gentleman. A true bad boy wouldn’t have given two shits about having sex with me.
“Yeah, I guess I do.” I walked toward Dylan, then spun around and waved to my friends. “I’ll see you guys Saturday.”
“Have fun,” Miranda said at the same time Iris said, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
They burst into a fit of hysterics and my cheeks burned. I dipped my head, not wanting Dylan to see how much that embarrassed me. He’d probably be upset I told my friends about last night. I mean, it wasn’t exactly highlighting his good behavior. Well, it was. God, I didn’t even know. One night hanging out and I was a jumble mess of confusion. When I couldn’t walk any further, I raised my gaze and couldn’t even tell if Iris and Miranda’s words bothered him. Stupid sunglasses.
Dylan pushed off the car and opened the door for me. “What’s Saturday? Are they going to the show?”
“Oh,” I said as I slid into the seat. “I don’t know.” I shook my head but he closed the door. It gave me a few seconds to untangle my thoughts. Dylan climbed into the driver’s side and pushed start, but he didn’t pull out of the parking lot. I cleared my throat. “Sorry, my head’s all over the place. Graduation’s Saturday afternoon. Then it’s over other than the parties.”
“Parties?” Dylan grinned. “I’m down for a good party.”
“No doubt,” I said with a fake laugh. Him at one of my parties scared me to no end. My mind swirled with the possibilities of Dylan doing Hollywood things at a Missouri lakehouse.
“So graduation, huh?” He put the car in drive and merged into the rush of cars leaving the school for summer. “Is that a big deal around here?”
“Well, yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” His tone caught me off guard. It was too chipper, but there was a layer of bitterness beneath it. “Wasn’t yours?”
“Didn’t go.” He shrugged.
“Why not?”
Again he shrugged. It drove me nuts. Not because he wasn’t telling me. We hardly knew each other after all. So why did it bother me so much? I decided to drop the entire subject and watch houses go by. It wasn’t any of my business anyway.
“Dad was on the road somewhere and Mom...” He choked on the last word and let the sentence trail off as he stopped at a red light.
I put my hand on his forearm. Dylan glanced at me, but I couldn’t see past his sunglasses.
“What is it about you?” he whispered before covering my hand with his.
A horn sounded behind us, breaking whatever was going on between us. Dylan yanked his hand away and dropped his other arm, making mine fall. I stopped it just before it landed in his crotch. That was something that didn’t need to happen.
“Anyway, what time is it?” he said, back to his nonchalant self.
“Is what?” Grabbing your crotch? Dylan was the last person whose crotch I needed to grab, accidentally or on purpose. My face burned to the tips of my ears.
“Graduation, Cameron, when is graduation?” He said each word slowly to make it clear to my befuddled mind.
“Sorry, it’s at two.” I finally glanced over at him. He parked in Mom’s spot in the gravel driveway. “Why?”
“Because of the show.” He silently added a ‘Duh’ with his tone.
“It won’t affect the show. I’ll be there on time.”
“Good.” He opened his door and jumped out.
My heart sank. I’d actually thought he’d show up. Why else would he ask? Of course, I should’ve known. The show was more important than some silly ceremony. I needed to
