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She nodded, even though she felt very far from okay. She was smart. She knew better than to get herself into a position like this. How had she let this happen? What were her parents going to say?
“Let’s get out of here,” Brooke said in a low voice. “Before the police get here.”
Police? Holy shit, she’d be in trouble for sure if the police got involved. If she had to walk some kind of straight line, she might fall on her ass.
Jason jutted his chin toward the exit. He was telling her to leave before she got in worse trouble. Everyone knew Alvin Carter and how proud he was of Kendra. She didn’t know much about Jason’s family. They seemed to be more the “benign neglect” type. Anyway, boys never got into as much trouble as girls did when they stepped out of line.
She and Brooke fled toward their bikes, and were furiously pedaling down the road when they saw the sheriff’s car whiz past.
Over the next few days, she braced herself for the other shoe to drop. Surely someone would want to talk to the girl who had incited the brawl with her refusal to lose a game of pool. But it never happened. Maybe the guy had been too proud to admit he’d lost to a girl. Definitely Jason and his buddies had never mentioned her name.
The next time she saw Jason at his locker, his lip looked terrible. A big scab had formed on his upper lip. He was going to have quite the scar.
She closed her locker door and faced him. “Listen, Jason. Thanks for—”
He waved away her words. “It’s al-wight.” His swollen lip made the “r” sound fuzzy. “I already got three dates out of it.”
“Like you need more reasons for girls to chase you.” That was one of the things she teased him about. She knew why girls were crazy for him—he was so good-looking—but he was too laid-back for her, not driven enough.
“Good point.” He winced as his lips formed the “p.” “There’s one lucky thing, though. I get to skip band practice. Like forever.”
“No more trombone?”
“The nurse said I’ll never play trombone again. Well, I begged her to say that. Sick of being teased for my nerdy choice of instrument.” He grinned, then winced again as the movement tugged at his scab.
“So I rescued you from band practice? I guess you should thank me then.”
“Yeah…maybe after the Tylenol kicks in.”
She laughed a little. “Seriously, I can’t believe you stood up for me like that. I could have kissed you.”
“You still could.” His eyes twinkled at her. “After I heal up.”
“Dream on.”
Carly snapped her fingers. “I knew there was something between you and Jason. I noticed him looking at you during last year’s Sunburn Fest.”
“There’s nothing between us. There never has been. We’re…friends, I guess. In high school, anyway. I haven’t seen him much since then.” For some reason, she felt self-conscious. “He’s not my type.”
“Well, he was definitely looking at you. That’s all I know.”
Gina propped her elbow on the bar and rested her curly head on her hand. “Good old Jason. Such a hottie. Who’s he dating now?”
Kendra shrugged. “If he’s anything like he was in high school, it’s probably hard to keep track. He always had someone.”
“No, I think he just broke up with someone. Ugh, my fuzzy hormone brain.” Carly rapped her knuckles on her skull. “Thomas told me. Some girl he’s dated on and off for years. Everyone thought they’d end up together, but she moved out of town and married someone else. Jason was crushed.”
Kendra shook her head with a frown. She didn’t like the idea of easygoing Jason getting his heart crushed. He didn’t deserve that. He was one of the good ones. “Are you talking about Gretchen Pilsner?”
“Yes. Gretchen. But she’s Gretchen Corsi now. I can’t believe I know this. Firehouses are so gossipy. Thomas isn’t even fire chief anymore and he still hears all the hot goss.”
“Wow. So that’s really over. Poor Jason.” She had a vague memory of Gretchen Pilsner, sunny and freckle-faced. The two of them had seemed like a good match, except that Jason was one of those not-ready-to-commit guys. “When did that happen?”
“Hmm…why are you asking a pregnant woman the tough questions? I think it was earlier this year. Recent.”
Gina pursed her lips. “Hmm. You know what that means.”
“That he deserves our sympathy and support?” said Carly.
