After what seems like an eternity, we finally stop at a strip mall in a nearby city. I don’t recognize anything appealing. A dollar store, a ma and pop coffee shop, a nail salon, and a … roller skating rink. Oh shit. We’re going roller skating. Damn. I should have worn my helmet. Knee pads. Elbow pads. Butt pads. I can’t skate for shit.
“
What do you think?” His smile is too cute.
I can’t possibly tell him skating scares the crap out of me because every time I’ve tried it, I’ve had to recover from a broken ass for weeks. “I can’t wait.”
Quinn holds my hand on the way in and pays for both of us. I didn’t expect him to, but he’s obviously a gentleman. Or gentle … boy. He’s done everything right since he picked me up. He chatted with my mom. He held my hand, opened my door, and rested his palm on my neck. He’s super sweet. The least I can do is fake it. I’m going to give an award-worthy performance. He’s going to believe I’m thrilled about skating.
This is crazy. Truly crazy. I have my ugly brown rented skates on, and the thought of taking a whirl around the rink scares the shit out of me. I’m just going to take it slow and hug the rail. I don’t care if I look like a jerk.
“
Let’s go,” he says, taking my hand and whisking me off at a pace way too fast to hold onto the ledge. The wind blows my hair and chills my face. My stomach feels like it’s turned upside down and back again. But I’m skating. Okay, maybe I’m being pulled. But I’m upright. I’m not laid out on my ass. “You having fun?” he calls out to me.
My teeth are chattering I’m so nervous. I nod with a wide smile.
After several laps around, I’m finally skating on my own. I’m actually using my feet instead of being towed. I’m not fast or anything, but I’m doing it.
We take a break to have some nachos and a Diet Coke. We chat a little about school, about our friends, and about how close we’re getting to college applications and graduation day. It’s still insane to me that this time next year, I’ll be knee deep in applications and essays.
The music slows down when we get back to the floor. Quinn reaches out to me and I tangle my fingers with his. As we skate in circles, he brushes his thumb back and forth along the back of my hand. I have to fight back the giggles at first since it tickles. But once I get over that, I’m in awe. He is way too good to be true.
On our way home, he pulls through a drive-through at Starbucks. He orders something I could never repeat if I tried. I pass. I’m really itching to have a Slurpee. Maybe I can convince my mom to take me and the girls to get one later. If we go on another date, and I really hope we do, I’m going to have to request a 7-11 run instead of coffee.
The ride home doesn’t seem so long. We actually pull up to my house a lot faster than I was hoping. I’m not ready for our date to be over. I know I was thinking I’d rather stay home and veg out, but this turned out great. I can skate now. No butt pads needed.
“
Wait right here,” he says. He jumps out of the car and jogs around to my side. The door opens. “I’ve always wanted to do that.” He smiles. He offers me his hand and when I take it, he pulls me up and his mouth is on mine before I can register what’s happening. His lips are soft, and I allow myself to kiss him back. His strong arms wrap around my body and the tight embrace makes me hot. Not sexy hot, just temperature warm. This is a little too much. I’m not into getting this heated with him so quickly.
I try to relax and enjoy the kiss. Quinn does the same. His arms go limp and I can breathe again. But now I can feel his fingertips on my hips, and they’re on the move. Little by little, they move to my sides. Then I feel his thumbs trace my ribs…
He better not. He is
not
going for my boobs. He can’t. My mind crowds with these thoughts when I feel his grip tighten on my tits.
Whoa. Wait a minute.
I push on his chest to back him off, but he doesn’t budge. I swipe his hand away, only to have him press his hand harder on my breast. This time, I scoot away from him so quickly, it’s like I’m jumping out of my own skin. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.
“
What’s up, Meg?” he sneers, throwing up his hands.
I cross my arms over my chest. “Um. It was just a little much.”
He steps toward me and hangs his finger through the belt loop of my jeans. “Not really. I like you. You like me. We had a good time tonight. Let’s finish the evening with a bang.” He dips his head, trying to capture my mouth again, but I dodge him.
“
Excuse me?” I hope he’s not talking about the kind of
bang
I think he is. “I had a good time, Quinn. Thank you. But I’m going to go inside now. Thanks for everything. I’ll call you.”
“
What the fuck? Why are you getting all rigid on me?” He pulls me closer. Even though I back away, he still has a grip on me. “Come on. We’re not done yet. I wanna kiss you some more. Just relax.”
“
Oh. Okay. Like I can relax now. You just cussed at me and now you’re acting like an ass. Thanks for taking me skating. But just because we had a good time, it doesn’t mean I owe you anything.” I push away from him again, and move out of his reach. “So if you want to play ass grab and touchy-boobie-feely, you’re gonna have to do it with someone else. Better yet, why don’t you go home and curl up with a nice bottle of lotion and a sock. We’re done.” I walk away from him as fast as I can before he can grab me again.
When I’m almost to my door, I hear him mutter, “Bitch.”
I whip around and shout, “No. You’re the bitch. You’re a little bitch!”
Not sticking around to hear anything else, I push open the door to my house and slam it behind me. I lean against the door taking deep breaths and fight the urge to cry. How could my perfect evening end so horribly wrong? Why would he think he could put his hands all over me after just one night? Okay, so maybe some girls are okay with that, but I’m not. I would have been totally cool with him if he would have just been like, “Okay, no problem. We can just kiss.” But no. He turned into a total jackass and scared the shit out of me. What a dick!
Fifteen
By the time Keesh and Steph show up, I’ve already changed into my Berkeley hoodie, some sweats, and I’m missing Alex terribly. This kind of shit would never have happened if he was here and we were together. I don’t know what made me think of that because I know the chances of us getting back together are slim, but I just feel like I need him right now. Okay, maybe I don’t need him, but it would be nice to talk to him. And share one of his perfect hugs. So perfect I don’t have to worry about him attacking me or cussing me out because I don’t want to let him feel me up.
“
What’s up, Meggie?” Keesh says, ripping open a bag of Hot Cheetos. “You’ve been quiet ever since we got here.”
“
Yeah, I thought you’d be dying to hear about our dates,” Steph says, pulling her hair back into a ponytail perched high on her head. “I can’t wait any longer to hear the details about yours. You looked so cute walking out of your house holding hands. He was such a sweetheart.” She flops herself down on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn.
They obviously had a better time than I did. Ugh. Where do I start? “You tell me first,” I say, taking any chance I can to delay my sob story.
“
Not much to tell.” Steph shoves a handful of kettle corn in her mouth with a shrug. With food spilling out into the bowl, she continues, “It was nothing special. We went to the movies. And got ice cream. We couldn’t find much to talk about. When he dropped me off, he gave me a side hug. Didn’t even try to kiss me. Total friend zone.”
“
Well, we don’t need any more of those. We still have two goofballs we can’t shake,” Keesh says of Josh and Travis. “I wish Jesse wouldn’t have tried to kiss me. His breath was kickin’. And I can’t even blame it on our dinner. We just had coffee and walked around the mall.” No wonder she’s almost finished with the family-sized bag of cheesy goodness. “I can’t believe he had the nerve to go for a big smooch after a long night of chillin’ at the mall. Not exactly my idea of a romantic time.”
Steph and I shake our heads in agreement. And then Steph starts laughing. “Romantic? Jesse’s in high school. Boys aren’t romantic. They can barely keep their hands from scratching their balls every five seconds. There will be no romance. If we’re lucky, we’ll find guys who may surprise us with something semi-romantic when we’re older but probably not. My dad says that chick flicks have ruined it for men. We all have these false expectations of what men actually do in real life.”
“
That’s depressing,” I tell her. “No wonder our moms are so willing to travel all over the country to get a piece of their boy band love.”
“
Exactly.” Keesh balls up her empty bag and heads to the kitchen. I can hear the opening and closing of the trash can. When she comes back in, she’s eyeballing me. “So, how was Quinn? I bet he was far better than our lousy dates.”
Scrunching my nose at them, I shake my head. “Nope. Not at all.” I think about skating. “I take that back. It started out great. He took me skating.” Steph and Keesh both gasp. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking at first, but I did it. I learned how to skate and we had a really good time.”
“
But…” Keesh is leaning forward as if she doesn’t want to miss a thing.
“
When we got home, he was a little too touchy and he got all pissed when I told him to stop.”
Steph reaches for my hand. “He did stop though, right?”
“
Oh hell yeah. He’d still be laid out in pain on my curb if he didn’t.” I let out an uncomfortable chuckle.
“
What happened? What did he say?” Keesh asks.
“
We had a great time at the rink. We talked a lot. He was super sweet. When we got home, he kissed me as soon as I got out of the car. It felt a little weird. He held me tight, which made me feel odd. Then he started feeling all over my side and belly. And he tried to squeeze my boobs.”
Steph grimaces and Keesh scowls.
“
So what did you do?” they both ask.
I fill them in on the story and by the time I tell them he called me a bitch, Keesh is already on the phone screaming at Jamie. “Tell your fucking brother if he ever cusses at my friend again or tries to touch her, I’ll kick his ass. And when I’m done with him, so will Steph. And then about ten other people will be lined up to do the same thing.” She pounds on her phone to end the call. “That’ll take care of that.”
We stare at her in stunned silence before we bust up laughing. “You didn’t need to do that. Poor Jamie had no idea what he was answering the phone to,” I tell her.
“
Yeah, he probably shit his pants,” Steph says, laughing.
Keesh unfolds her legs and stands. “Well, something needed to be said.” She rubs her belly. “I need more food. You guys want anything?” Steph shakes her head and I hold up my empty bottle of water for a refill.
So much for a hot night out with some cute boys. What a freaking bust. “I thought we’d be closer to double timing boys this year, not working double time to find some decent ones.” I crack off another piece of my KitKat and chomp on it.
“
Oh, honey, you’ve been double timing for quite a while.” Keesh snickers as she gets comfortable again, this time with a bowl of chocolate-covered popcorn.
“
You’re crazy.” I throw a pillow at her.
“
Am I right?” She looks at Steph for clarification.
Steph nods. “Sorry, Meg, but yeah. She’s right.”
I chuck a pillow her way too.
“
Uh oh, pillow fight,” Mom says, as she comes in. I didn’t even hear them get home. I look at the clock. Wow. Way after midnight. They must have had a good time.
“
Yeah, they’re ganging up on me,” I tell her, pointing at my two offenders.
“
Why?”
Keesh and Steph giggling. “We’re just talking about how your daughter has been double timing two boys and she doesn’t really need to add any more victims to her list.” I can’t believe Keesh.
“
Oh, honey, Alex and Travis aren’t enough? You need more attention?” she says, mocking me with a baby voice. I toss a pillow at my mom this time.
“
Ha ha, you all are so funny,” I say.
Dad takes this very inopportune time to make an appearance. “What’s so funny?” he asks.
Yeah, right. Like I want to have this conversation with my dad.
After my date from hell, I didn’t think things could get any worse. But here I am at soccer tryouts. Again. Third year in a row. And the third year in a row I’m bitching about it. I don’t know why I keep subjecting myself to this torture, but I do. Once the season starts and my body doesn’t feel like one gigantic Charley horse, I’ll be okay. Until then, it’s a long road. Filled with my overabundance of complaints.
Keesh doesn’t have to try out this year. She and a few others have a solid spot on varsity, so they’ve already started practicing. I, however, still have to go through all the drills feeling like I’m being watched through a wall of plexiglass at the zoo. Or maybe I should say watched like a rerun of
America’s Funniest Home Videos
. I know I can’t play well, but at least I’m entertaining.