Double Time (19 page)

And now I’m just exhausted and I have to rally for ninety minutes while we lay the smack down on our rival soccer team. Tomorrow finals begin and for three days I’m going to go insane taking tests and waiting impatiently for winter break. By the time the game is over, Keesh has scored three goals and we held them to one. Same story, just a different game. We’ve been kicking ass this year, not that I’ve been a giant help or anything. I haven’t been bad either, so that’s a good thing.

Andi’s team won as well. Even with the win, I’m still riding back to school on the bus with a bloody thigh. It burns like hell, but at least I stopped a goal from happening. I fought one of their strikers for the ball just before she was going to take a killer shot on goal. I got the ball back and started dribbling away from her when another girl came at me with a slide tackle. I would’ve been impressed if she got the ball but she got a piece of me instead, and I went flying off my feet and slamming to the ground. Their field was so torn up that I skinned my leg on a jagged rock. Not good. My skin looks like ground beef.

I’m so glad it was an away game. I’m not gonna lie. It hurt like a bitch and I got a little weepy with the pain. There’s going to be one hell of a bruise, and a nasty scar too. I just want to get home and let my mom take care of it. Maybe she’ll get me some ice cream or something. Hey, I’m injured. Better yet, maybe I can get out of finals. Fat chance, I’m sure.

“
Mom, I need you to pick me up from school. We’re on our way home on the bus. Meet you in the parking lot in fifteen minutes.” I hope she gets the voicemail in time. The throbbing pain is killing me and the heat coming from the wound is making me a little woozy.

When we pull into school, my mom is waiting for us. I can count on that woman for anything. Gotta love my mom. My gimpy ass makes my way to the car while Andi and Keesh trail behind me with my bag along with their own gear. Oh no. The look on my mom’s face changes from cheerful to pure panic as she becomes aware of my leg. It looks a lot worse than it is. Dried blood snakes up and down my leg. Once I take a shower, it will look a lot better. But the way my mom is coming at me, you’d think it was amputated.

“
Baby, are you okay? What happened?” She rushes to me with a hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes. There’s no doubt where I get the perpetual waterworks from. My mom is even more sappy than me.

I try to walk straighter for her sake. “I’m fine. It’s just a little scrape.” Moments ago I would’ve described it as a battle wound, but now that I have my mom worried, I have to tone it down a notch. Or two.

“
Oh my gosh, it doesn’t look like that, Megan. What happened? Do you need to go to the E.R.? Look at all this blood.” She rests her hand on my back as she guides me to the car. She opens the passenger door, waits for me to get in, and closes it. Then she pops the trunk so the girls can toss their stuff in. “Get in, ladies. I’m taking you home before we go to the hospital.”

“
Mom, I’m fine. No hospital. Watch, once I wash up, it will look much better.”

She starts the engine. “Okay, we’ll see if that works.”

Twenty One

Just like I thought, my leg looked a thousand times better once I showered and cleaned the earth from my wound. Mom was still concerned and debated whether to take me to see a doctor. While it didn’t look like I needed stitches, she was still afraid of infection because some parts were a lot more raw than either of us liked. But I don’t really have time to sit in a waiting room all day just to get some antibiotic ointment. The over-the-counter stuff is just as good.

Josh and Travis pick me up for school so I don’t have to hoof it at a snail’s pace. Even though I put some stuff on my five-inch cut (not exaggerating), my leg is still sore and it hurts to walk. When we get to school, Travis drags along with me to keep me company.

“
You sure you’re okay?” he asks. “Let me carry your bag.” He reaches out, but I shrug him off.

“
I’ll be fine. Once I get home, I’m going to take some pain meds and go to sleep. I can hang for four hours.” At least I think I can. I couldn’t sleep for the life of me last night. I couldn’t get comfortable on my left side, and the constant throbbing burned through my leg all night.

“
Okay, text me if you need anything. Good luck. I’ll see you after school.” He bends down and kisses the top of my head. I close my eyes and relax into his touch, even though I know I shouldn’t. Alex’s words replay in my head, but I’m too tired to have this chat with Travis. And I don’t know that I ever will. Some things are just better left unsaid.

By the week’s end, I’ve managed to hobble around campus and take all my finals. With Travis, the girls, and my mom hovering over me like I might fall over any second, I haven’t been able to do much else. I go to school, take my tests, then come home and rest. Now that finals are over, I feel like I can breathe.

I prop up my leg on my pillow, lean back against my headboard, and fish my cell out of my bag.

Ur not still mad? Right?

NO. I already told u I’m not MAD.

Sore loser. What a butthead. Brody is still pissed even if he says he isn’t. All caps. Come on. People who aren’t angry don’t text in all capital letters.

Idk y ur being a butt. Ur the 1 who made me study so hard. Ur stuff worked.

Brody pushed me so hard I knew every answer on that test. I was the first one finished and I didn’t doubt I had any question wrong. I aced that sucker with 100 percent. The Brodester got a 98, and he’s ready to explode.

He needs to get over it. I think for a second or two before I text him back.

U better snap out of it or I’m never gonna be your fake girlfriend again

A minute passes before I get a response:

Fine. Next time I’m charging you for my study guides.

Oh. Ok. Next time I’m charging u a GIRLFRIEND fee.

Ok. Free study guides for you.

That’s what I thought.

Christmas came and went quickly. My parent shocked the hell out of me with a new phone. I’ve made it to the world of smartphones. That’s right. I’m in the big time now. Nothing can stop me. The only thing I don’t like about my phone is its size. The thing is giant. There’s no way I’m going to be able to fit this sucker in my pocket. I’m probably going to get arthritis from holding it. My hands will get cramped and will forever be stuck in the grasping position.

But… I love it. Forward-facing cameras are the best thing since the invention of Slurpees. I love being able to use it as a mirror. Oh, the joy of technology.

Since I was able to switch my mini memory card over from my old phone to the new one, I’m sitting here flipping through my pics, trying to decide if I should delete any of them. I mean, really, how many pictures do I need of Steph, Keesh, and me making goofy faces at the camera during lunch? I’d say about ten will do. I guess I can nix the five hundred others we took. Okay, so I’m exaggerating, but they’re all starting to look the same. Maybe I should just put all these on my laptop and start fresh with my new smarty party phone.

Just as I pop out the old memory card, my phone chimes.

Keesh and I are coming over. Be thr in 5.

Cool. Maybe the girls can help me take my mind off tomorrow night. I’ve been trying everything to keep me busy and it’s not working. My new phone can only entertain me so much.

The girls fly into my room with a few shopping bags each. They both look like they’ve been in a marathon. Their hair is all out of place and their cheeks are flushed.

“
Whoa, I’m glad the tornado missed my house.” I wave my hand in front of my nose. The girls are stinky too. “What the hell happened to you guys? You look and smell like shit.”

Keesh tosses the bags down and whips around to glare at me. She places her hands on her hips and raises her brow. “Don’t even go there after all we’ve been through.”

“
What are you talking about?” I flop back down on my bed and wait for their story. I know it’s going to be a good one.

Steph grins and waggles her brows at Keesh. Uh oh. Now, I’m nervous.

“
What did you guys do?” They look guilty as hell.

“
Just relax, Megster.” Keesh waves me down. “It’s all good. We’ve got a surprise for you.”

I cover my face with my hands. “Oh shit. I’m afraid to look.”

“
Don’t be, girl. We got you covered.” Keesh cracks up as she spills her words.

“
So, we did a little shopping for my big date with Dominic,” Steph says. “I wanted something new. Something he hasn’t seen me in a million times. When he picks me up, I want his eyes to bug out and feel like he should have never let me go.”

“
I think he already knows that, Steph. You don’t need an outfit for that,” I tell her. “But I wanna see this wonder outfit. Show me what you got.”

She whips out a pair of dark skinny jeans with tiny rhinestones on the ass. She places them on my bed, and then dives in the bag for a top. She arranges the coral v-neck fitted top above the pants. A long beaded necklace, some dangly earrings, and a few bangle bracelets come next. Finally, she displays the most gorgeous heels. They match the top perfectly, and they will make her legs look long and stunning. He’s going to drool, that’s for sure.

“
Nice,” I say. “You’re going to look amazing in that color. It’s perfect.”

She giggles along with Keesh. “Wait, I’m not done.” Out comes a satin bra and thong set, both lacy. My body starts to itch just looking at them. Lace is not supposed to go up your ass. That’s not even right.

“
Wow, we might need to get you some baby powder to wear with that lacy crotch hider and butt floss. Dang, those don’t look comfortable at all.” I point at the pretty, but unappealing, G-string.

“
I’ll be fine,” Steph says, parading around the room with her undies displayed at her waist.

“
Okay, enough about Steph. You’re next. We got a little something for you,” Keesh says, with a big cheesy smile.

My eyes widen. “Oh no. You better not have gotten me a thong. Not unless you brought along some WD-40 to lubricate that shit. I’m not about to rub material back and forth along my crack all night while I’m out with Alex. I’d rather go commando.”

Keesh raises her index finger. “Now, that’s an idea.”

“
Stop,” Steph says, nudging her. “Get her goodies.”

“
Goodies? My goodies are right here and still very intact.” I wave my hand in front of my girl parts.

“
Close your eyes,” Steph tells me. I shrug. “Just do it.”

I close my eyes and rest back on my pillows and headboard. What are these girls thinking? I seriously hope they didn’t buy me any butt cheek dividers. I can’t ever see myself wearing them.

“
Okay,” Keesh squeals. “Open them.”

I’m terrified to look. I have to talk myself into it. I know I have to sound grateful no matter what it is, but they scare me. They should know me by now. I’m a pretty simple person.

My eyes flutter open, and the girls yell, “Tada!”

Oh shit. Holy son of a bitch. “Those are for me?”

“
No, we just said we had some goodies for you, but these aren’t them.” Keesh rolls her eyes at me.

My eyes scan the pieces before I reach out and take the bra in my hands. “Whoa. This is one hell of a pushup bra. My girls are gonna look like Double Ds.” It feels so smooth, so beautiful. The soft pink color suits me. There’s lace but not like the lace on Steph’s ensemble. The black lace overlay starts at the center and then spreads out like the wings of a butterfly, only reaching toward the middle of each cup.

“
It’s supposed to make you look two cup sizes bigger,” Keesh says.

My eyes practically bug out of my head. Steph laughs. “I know. Crazy, huh? If I were a dude and my girl wore that, I’d be so disappointed when the thing came off. So false advertising.” She shakes her head.

“
Oh my gosh. Then why did you guys get it for me?” I ask, holding it to my chest. Do I really need to make my boobs like bigger? I think they’re big enough. Hey, a handful is plenty.

“
Alex already knows what he’s getting, Meggie. He’s been there. The step up in lingerie is to put a smile on his face.” Keesh winks at me.

“
What do you think of these?” Steph slingshots a pair of panties my way.

Just like the bra, the panties are pink with a butterfly lacy pattern overlaying the satin material. Absolutely hot. And best of all, they’re boy shorts. Yes. No wedgies for me.

“
Thank you, girls.” I look down at my surprise, running my fingers over the lacy design. “But I’m not even sure where we’re going or if we’ll ever get to the point where Alex sees my goodies.”

“
Well,” Keesh sticks her hand in another bag and pulls out a box, “just in case you get to the part where the goodies are out there, you might need these. Just to be safe.”