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I roll my eyes. "I'm not an idiot."
He glances over at me before buckling his seatbelt. "Never said you were."
After circling the parking lot five times, Kyle finally gives me the go-ahead to drive through town. The sun is setting behind the mountain, the sky a deep violet color. It reminds me of the purple pansies Mom attempts to grow every summer in large pots on the back porch. They always end up dying because she forgets to water them.
"Wanna grab a bite to eat?" Kyle casually asks beside me.
"Sure," I respond.
"Burgers at Bruce's?" he suggests.
"That sounds good," I nod. I haven't had anything to eat other than a bowl of half-eaten cereal and a small bag of Doritos Sunny so generously offered me.
I turn off the winding two-lane road onto North Mulberry and head towards a well-known local burger joint a few blocks over.
"Can you parallel park?" Kyle chuckles. "Or am I going to have to do it?"
There's only street parking in front of Bruce's and I've only tried parallel parking a few times. But since Kyle is determined to find something—anything—wrong with my driving, I have to nail it to prove to him I don't actually suck.
"Guess you'll have to wait and see," I tell him, my voice sounding more confident than I feel.
I pick a spot I'm pretty sure I can easily get into, pull forward alongside a white Subaru and shift the car in reverse. I check my mirrors a million times, praying I don't hit anything. Then, I start slowly backing into the spot, adjusting the steering wheel as I go.
If my slowness bothers Kyle, he doesn't show it. Instead, he shoots me a quick grin of approval as I manage to slide into the spot perfectly before shifting into drive and straightening out.
A squeal of accomplishment escapes my lips as I turn to Kyle and confess, "That's the first time I've done that!"
"Come on," he motions his head in the direction of Bruce's. "Let's get some food."
—
Kyle sets down a cheeseburger, fries and a coke in front of me.
"No pickles," he says as he sits in the booth across from me.
"Thank you," I reply as I take a huge bite of my burger. I really hate pickles.
Kyle watches me, his dark eyebrows raised. "I've never seen anyone scarf down food the way you do."
If I didn't have a mouthful of delicious cheeseburger, I'd stick my tongue out at him.
My phone vibrates on the table, both our eyes shift to look at it.
"Jesus Jenny, put the poor guy out of his misery," Kyle rolls his eyes. "So what? He kissed you and it made him realize he doesn't have feelings for you. What's the big deal?"
I swallow the bite of cheeseburger and feel the anger slowly rising in my chest. Big deal? Big deal?
"You wanna know what the big deal is?" I spit out. Before Kyle can answer, I continue. "He asked me to take my shirt off so he could touch me, and then he kissed me. And while I'm sitting topless in his jeep, he tells me he made a mistake. That he doesn't want me. So, when I feel like it, that's when I'll put him out of his misery."
I shove my plate towards Kyle and stand. He looks shocked, though I'm not sure if it's from the revelation that Matt and I crossed a line we can't uncross or the force with which I shoved my uneaten dinner at him.
"And let's not forget he already asked someone else to Prom while he was realizing he didn't have feelings for me," I quietly choke out.
Come on, Jenny, don't cry right now!
Turning on my heel, I head for the exit leaving a confused Kyle behind.
When I push open the glass door and step into the brisk evening air, I can't hold the tears in anymore and they start falling down my cheeks. I angrily swipe at them and wonder when the pain is going to stop. When will the tears finally stop falling? When will the ache in my chest stop throbbing?
