Page 106 of Whirlwind

“I had another present for you. That day in the hallway when you told me to leave you alone.”

The day when Angel had cornered her against the wall and held her just like this. And she’d apparently broken Angel’s heart.

“It was my class ring. But I put it on a chain so you could wear it under your shirt.”

“Oh, fuck,” Nina whispered. She felt a tear leaking down her face. “Were there other presents that I missed?”

“I mean, I gave you my favorite pen, but you probably didn’t know. It was really hard to see you using it after you broke things off.”

“I… I mean, I knew it was yours, but I didn’t know it was your favorite. You didn’t say anything.”

“Yeah, stupid teenagers. I probably said something like ‘I don’t need this, so you can keep it’ or something, right?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“And then… the lipstick. Did you pick it up?”

Nina’s eyes opened in surprise, but Angel’s were still closed. Nina closed her eyes again. “I didn’t know that you dropped that on purpose.”

Angel had just stood up after their tutoring session, all proper in a blazer and tie, and left a tube of pink lipstick behind when he shoved his books into his backpack.

Of course, Nina had picked it up, in the illicit thrill of holding such a feminine object. Especially one that, apparently, belonged to Angel.

That day had come after the second time that they’d hooked up, after Nina had taken the panties to her room and before it all came crashing down.

She’d stayed up late that night, childishly holding the plastic tube in one hand under her pillow, wondering if Angel had worn it. Wondering if Angel would like to see her wear it.

When they’d gone back to Angel’s room to “study chemistry” the fifth and final time, she’d been thinking about putting it on, wondering if she should bring it up. Until Angel distracted her so thoroughly that she completely forgot about it.

“Yeah, I kept it.” For a ridiculously long time after the whole thing was over. By the time she’d had the courage to put it on, it was dried out and smelled like degrading plastic.

Wow. She’d really gotten this whole thing wrong. She couldn’t imagine how different her life would have been if she’d listened to Angel that day. To have a relationship with someone who wanted her. To transition with someone by her side. To have someone to count on when everything fell apart with her family.

Even if things hadn’t worked out, which, honestly, wasn’t unlikely with a high school relationship, what a difference it would have made for her confidence and stability later.

The crazy part was, Angel still seemed to want her now. She felt like a puzzle, where some of the pieces had been lost, but now they’d been found. Maybe the pieces weren’t all put together, yet, but at least they were there.

“So… anything else? Those were kind of cryptic presents.”

Angel finally pulled back. She looked down and away, as if embarrassed. “Um… your grades. I felt like I was kind of responsible for your chemistry grade. Since you didn’t want me to tutor you any more.”

“Wait… what? Did you like, sleep with Mr. Franklin?”

“Noooo… I gave him a blow job. And, um, took a picture. To make sure he wouldn’t change his mind.”

“Jesus, Angel. You blackmailed a teacher?”

“Um, just a little bit. That’s why I’m not going into politics. Oh, and, uh, I changed some of your answers on your geometry final. Like, not all of them, just five or six.”

“Seriously?” She’d known Angel was wild, but not this wild. “I never asked you to do anything like that for me.”

“Yeah, well, I was kind of obsessed. And I was nineteen.”

Nina knew she shouldn’t find this sweet, but she actually did. In, like, a totally fucked up and somewhat nostalgic way.

And, that explained a lot about her grades that year. She was always pretty mediocre at math and science, but after the panties thing and everything with her parents, she couldn’t focus. It had seemed like a miracle that she’d passed that spring, but apparently that miracle had a name.

It was kind of ironic, actually, that Angel chose that name for herself.