Chapter 2 2
Travis
Cut to twenty minutes later.
I’m standing at the door of the boys’ locker room, pretending to act natural while playing the role of lookout. The irony is overwhelming, me, trying to act casual for anyone passing by while covering for the guy of my dreams as he fucks his girlfriend inside.
A girl walks past me and nods in greeting. I think we have a class together. I return the gesture with a tense wave. I check my wristwatch again, feeling the weight of every minute. Why the hell did I agree to this?
“Friends are for this kind of thing,” he had said, patting me on the back before pulling Sasha inside. He even added that he’d do the same for me if I ever needed it. Little does he know. He has no clue.
Even near the exit, the echo of the empty locker room betrays their secrecy. I can hear Drake’s heavy breathing and Sasha’s muffled moans. At one point, the sound stops abruptly, as if someone is covering her mouth to keep her quiet. My treacherous mind wanders, but the worst part is that, in my head, I’m the one in her place. I rub my eyes hard, trying to push those thoughts away.
Shortly after, the door opens. Sasha comes out first, adjusting her skirt and hair. She notices me and blows me an air kiss. I reply with an ironic little smile, which she completely ignores before disappearing down the hallway. Drake follows right behind, fixing the collar of his shirt, wearing a huge satisfied grin.
“Thanks a lot, man. You really saved my ass.”
...
The ride back home is in his car. It’s been like this for the last few days, especially when practice runs late or when I miss the bus after helping him with “missions” like today’s.
As soon as he pulls up in front of my house, I get out and thank him for the ride. I’m walking toward the porch when I hear the electric window rolling down. Drake leans his head out.
“Tomorrow’s practice is on the sports court again. If you want, you can sleep at my place again to make it easier.”
Sleeping at his house is never a good idea. His room always gives me terrible insomnia, but at the same time, accepting the invitation is my only chance to spend time alone with him,even if it’s not the way I really want.
“Cool,” I reply, swallowing hard. “I’ll be there by seven.”
He nods, pulls his head back in, and drives off. I stand at the gate, watching his taillights disappear around the corner, wondering how I’m going to control myself tonight. It’s getting harder and harder to be near him without it becoming obvious how much he attracts me.
“What a fucking mess, huh?”
I take a deep breath and throw myself onto the bed. On my phone screen, Tamara stares at me with an expression that mixes pity and disbelief.
“You should tell him,” she says bluntly.
“Tell him what, Tamara?”
“That you’re not even a little bit interested in covering for his hookups, but that you actually want to fuck him, duh!”
I let out a loud laugh. Tamara has no filter. We share some classes and became confidants after I moved here. She’s the only person in the entire school who knows about my crush on Drake.
Before she can keep giving me advice, I hear the gate opening and the front door unlocking downstairs.
“I have to go, my mom just got home from work.”
“Alright. Tell me later how the night at his house went,” she winks.
“Will do. See you tomorrow.”
...
" Hey again."
Drake greets me at his front door with a huge smile. For one shameful instant, that glimpse of white teeth and bright eyes gives me the idiotic hope that he's finally realized how much I want him and decided to reciprocate. But I laugh inwardly at my own stupidity. The illusion crumbles the moment he opens his mouth:
"I've got an unmissable plan for us tonight."
"You do?" I ask, trying to figure out his excitement.
Drake seems extremely pleased with his own planning. I have absolutely no id
ea what's in store for us, until he drops the bomb:
"Sasha is bringing a friend who's dying to hook up with you."
I really wish I could have seen my own reaction from the outside, just to confirm whether my face was as awful as I imagine it must have been. I hide the knot forming in my throat and offer a polite compliment:
"Wow... How great."
He doesn't even notice my complete lack of enthusiasm. He just gives me a friendly shove toward the stairs, telling me to go up and change so we can leave.
In the bedroom, Drake lends me a black shirt. I stand in front of the mirror, staring at the fabric on my body. The real problem is that it's completely soaked in his cologne that woody, distinctive scent. I fall into an internal conflict: I don't know whether to keep breathing it in deeply to get drunk on his smell, or to ignore it entirely, because feeling his presence so close to my skin is already getting me worked up.
Luckily, I end up in the back seat of the car. Sasha has already claimed the passenger seat, right next to my true object of desire.
The first stop is in front of Celine's house. I already knew her by sight, though we'd never spoken before. I remembered catching Celine looking at me with interest in the school hallways a few times. She's pretty attractive, to be honest. I tell myself I should just go with it and try to have fun. After all, I'm not going to have who I really want tonight and probably never will.
Celine gets in the car handing out smiles and greets me with a kiss on the cheek. I smile back, trying to be reciprocal. She quickly strikes up a conversation with Sasha about a cultural fair happening in the city, and I find out that's where we're headed.
