Chapter 10

Andrew

“What the fuck, dude!?” I spin around to look at the source of the commotion behind me.

PJ is staring at Jake, who still has his towel wrapped around his waist following the post-training showers, or more specifically, at Jake’s toes.

Which are painted bright red. A lazy grin spreads on Jake’s face. Drew leans forward to get a better look.

“What? Not my color?” He wiggles his toes against the tiled floor. The boys snigger. “Seriously though, this is because of you shitheads.”

“How is you exploring your feminine side our fault exactly?”

I slip my shirt back on and slick my hair out of my eyes.

“You guys all managed to piss George off on the weekend, so I had to appease her with my body.”

He chuckles, then points at PJ. “You better have apologized to her, or she’ll do my fingernails tonight to match. Plus, she’s warned me and you guys off her friends.”

PJ laughs and nods. “Yeah, I got you, man, no worries. She said she’d come to the party Friday night too.”

“For real?” Jake high-fives him excitedly.

“Well, she said she’ll see.” PJ smirks. Jake looks slightly less excited.

“And don’t worry about staying away from the blonde sharks; I think all of us have been bitten enough by that trio.” Drew laughs.

“I don’t know, dude? I’m kinda digging Katy after Friday night.” PJ rubs his hands together, biting his bottom lip. Drew chuckles.

“Hey, how come you give me shit for my be-yewtiful toenails, but don’t say shit to him about the girly moisturizing?!” Jake turns to me, motioning toward PJ, who, as usual, is covering his dark skin in shea butter.

“Because, my ignorant white friend, have you never heard the phrase black don’t crack?” PJ smirks and slings an arm around Jake’s shoulders, who nods. “Well, that’s because we moisturize, son!”

***

“Oh. My. Lord. Yasss!” Jake stretches out on my navy-blue bedspread, his hair spread around him like a brown halo, his arms and legs straight until his back clicks.

He relaxes his arms and legs, trailing them off the side of my bed. We spent the last two hours battling some little pissants in an online CoD match, which we won, of course.

My little sisters were both occupied in their bedroom across the hall from mine, deep in a very involved game of dolls.

Jake quickly got used to watching his language when he came over, but him calling out fudge all the damn time sure makes me hungry.

I lean forward to get a better view into their room before nudging Jake’s leg.

“Hey man, you know you said earlier that you had to appease Gina with your body?” Jake props himself up on his elbows so he can see my face, a smile playing on his lips.

“Yeah?”

“So…I mean…are you two like friends with benefits?”

Jake snorts. “God no!” He starts laughing.

I wait for him to calm down and pull myself up to sit on the bed next to him. “It’s not that stupid a question, though, right? You guys are together like ~all~ ~the time.”~

“When I say she gets my body, I mean she gets to do shit like paint my nails or braid my hair. And she extorts things like ice cream and back rubs outta me.” Jake shrugs, a smile still on his face.

“So she gets all the sappy boyfriend shit out of you, but you don’t get the good girlfriend shit back?” I smirk.

“Nope. She gets all the best friend stuff from me, and I get all the best friend stuff back from her.” Jake sits up and scowls.

“This isn’t some cheesy teen rom-com where the two best friends actually both have crushes on each other. I love George to bits, but she’s like my sister. She’s the best person I know.”

I scoff.

“Dude, I get you two don’t like each other, but lay the fuck off her, ok? She’s not had it easy.” He checks the time on his watch and scoots off the bed, grabbing his backpack from the floor.

“Hey, Jakey! I’m sorry, all right?” Jake pauses in the doorway. “I’ll try and be nice.” He sighs, and the side of his mouth quirks up into a half-smile.

“Knew you loved me enough to get over yourself.” He throws me the peace sign over his shoulder as he walks out. “Peace ~oot~!”

***

“Please, please, please save me?” Jake climbs onto the bench next to me, his long hair loose in his eyes, and tries to duck behind my shoulder.

Drew and PJ wander over, laughing. Wednesdays, I have a free period before lunch, so I always go pick my boys up a Subway meal, and Drew sits, quickly devouring his cookie.

“Shit!” Jake runs off again in the direction of the library, and Drew shrugs and picks up the cookie from Jake’s lunch. PJ shoots him a look.

“Wha…?” He grins through a mouthful.

“What’s got him in such a spin?” I ask.

“She has.” PJ nods toward the cafeteria doors, where I spot Gina standing with the worst of her blonde groupies.

Macy is looking around the room, and once she spots us, she starts walking determinedly over. “She’s been practically stalking him. Waiting outside the classrooms for him…”

“She ambushed him when he came out of the bathroom,” Drew adds, slyly starting on a third cookie.

“She’s been all over his Instagram pics.” PJ clears his throat and tries to look interested in his sandwich as Macy reaches us.

“Hi, guys,” she tries to purr, sitting down a little too close to me for comfort. PJ and Drew both willfully refuse to make eye contact with her.

“Hey, AJ…have you seen Jake at all?” She slides a pointy fingernail up my arm, and I try not to shudder for fear that she would think it was lusting, not loathing.

“Nope.” I move away from her.

“Hey, Macy, Jake just texted me that he was looking for you. He’s waiting at the library.” Gina taps something on her phone.

Macy smiles widely and flounces out the way Jake had just gone, leaving a strong perfume stench in her wake.

“That’s hella cold, girl.” PJ shakes his head. Gina winks at him and steps to the side, revealing Jake crouching behind her.

“Nah, man. George would never sell me out.” Jake grins, standing and pressing a kiss to her cheek. A blush colors her cheeks. He sits and pulls her down next to him.

“So are y’all coming Friday?” PJ points between the two of them. Gina shrugs and looks down at her phone again.

“Hells yes, I’ll be there! Heard all about your parties from AJ. They sound wild, man.” Jake jiggles excitedly in his seat.

Gina scoffs and rolls her eyes.

“Oh, sorry if our little house parties aren’t up to your high standards, princess,” I snap.

“Sorry if watching a gang of horny, sweaty boys pushing up on my friends and seeing an endless river of vapid girls coming out of your hook-up room isn’t my idea of a thrilling evening,” she snaps right back.

“I’ll see you at home, Jake.” They hug, and she sends a little smile toward Drew as he waves goodbye.

Jake takes a big bite of his sub and shrugs. “Looks like I might have to wait a bit longer before getting to experience one of your parties, dude.”

“You’re gonna let that little bitch dictate if ~you~ can go to ~your~ friends party?!” I point in the direction Gina stalked off in.

“Andy, what the fuck did I tell you about talking about her like that, huh?” Jake glares at me, all the usual humor gone from his eyes.

He pushes his sandwich away and sits back, staring at the table. Drew and PJ look uncomfortable. I roll my eyes and start to apologize, but Jake cuts me off.

“Nah, man. I’m…I’ll just catch you later.” He mumbles and walks off, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans.

“Well, that went swimmingly.” Drew pulls Jake’s discarded food closer to him. “Looks like AJ has some serious groveling to do.”

***

Jake ignores my efforts to apologize for the rest of the day.

He sends me a text the next morning saying he will grab a ride with Gina rather than me picking him up early so we can go to the weight room before class like we have started doing.

I pull into the parking lot and slide my Jeep into the empty space next to Drew’s shitty Mazda. My two friends are leaning against the hood, engrossed in something on PJ’s phone.

Probably a nudie shot from another random girl. All of our phones receive at least one a day.

The girls around here are so fucking desperate it’s sickening. I mean, they must know we share this shit, so why send the same photo to multiple guys? It’s fucking beyond me.

Gina’s blue Bug pulls into the car park, some bullshit Selena Gomez song blasting through the open windows.

Katy and Gina get out of the front, and I see Jake in the middle of Robyn and Macy in the back seat.

They pile out, and Jake spots us, trying to extract himself from Macy’s iron grip. I notice Gina grimace as Macy leans up to kiss Jake’s cheek.

PJ chuckles next to me as Jake wipes his cheek, not so discreetly, with the sleeve of his hoodie as he walks over to us.

“S’up, dude.” Drew claps his hand and hugs him, slapping Jake’s back lightly.

PJ holds his fist out for a bump, which Jake returns. Then he turns to me.

“I’ve decided that being pissed at you is not worth the torture I’ve just endured, so it’s all good, man.” He flashes a lopsided grin, which I return widely, pulling him in for a quick hug.

“Who’da thought Macy would be so useful in bringing friends back together?” I quip.

“I never thought that journey would end. Honestly!” Jake grimaces and shakes his head slowly.

“For a start, it’s like she fucking bathes in that horrible perfume of hers. Then the god-awful pop shit they insist on listening to and singing along with. ~Really~ ~fucking badly, I might add.~

And then she wouldn’t stop touching me. It was more invasive than the time I got strip-searched at the airport!” His eyes are wide, selling the story until he falls about in infectious laughter, the rest of us joining in.

We walk together to our lockers, easily throwing the usual banter back and forth.

Jake shoves his stuff into his locker, slamming it shut with a triumphant grin before it can spew its contents back out onto the floor.

I lean on the door next to him. “So, are we really cool?”

He shoots me a look through a sheaf of hair and shrugs. “Look, I get that you two have this academic rivalry and whatnot, but you don’t even really know her, and yet you judge her against how she acts with her shitty friends.”

He rakes his hair back with his fingers and ties it into a ponytail with a band from his wrist. “Just cool it with the shit-talking until you know her.” A smile creeps across his face.

I smile back and nod. There is no way in hell I am ever gonna get to know Gina. I already know exactly the kind of girl she is, even if Jake is blind to it.

I just have to get him to see her in her true light.

~Little Miss better than everyone else.~