Bittersweet Revenge (3 page)

            “Yeah I’ve heard that line before too, you don’t even know me. Save yourself the time and heartache, and find someone who can give you what you want. Because that girl isn’t me.” I said as convincing as I could. It was hard turning down the one thing you desperately wanted when it was right in front of you. I don’t mean Rex, but the happiness he could offer me, the love he could give me, or just the feeling of being wanted by someone.

            “Come on. I know you want this, you don’t even smile and I had you smiling non- stop for the last five minutes.” His voice growing deeper and his eyes twinkling; you have no idea how bad I want this buddy.

            “I’ve been burned by your kind before, I don’t take kindly to it, and I don’t feel like subjecting myself to that shit again. As you can see I have enough bad shit going on for me.” He looked down at the tape that he had wrapped around his finger, that he was supposed to be using for labeling books.

            “Then friends it is. I don’t want you to think you can’t trust me, and the easiest way to get to know each other is to be friends.” He was right, being friends was seemingly innocent but he didn’t look like the type of guy who you could be “just friends” with. I wanted to say yes, but Corey, and everyone at this school was in the back of my mind. I knew that their opinions about me really didn’t matter that much, and weren’t a reflection of who I was, but while I was here I would have to deal with them and that did matter.

            “What do you say? A couple snow cones, and movie or two? We could become besties?” He was smiling, his eyebrows were bunched together and his hair was all over. The earring in his ear glittered and made me wonder if he was a full on bad boy, or just a half and half.

            “You don’t really look like the type of guy that’s “just friends” with a girl. Plus what do I benefit from being friends with you?” I asked biting my lip slightly. Holy, shit. Was I flirting? Mimi would be so proud. He bit his lip too, raising an eyebrow at me.

            “Looks can be deceiving then can’t they Jenna. You're right, I don’t really wanna be “just friends” with you but for you, I’ll make an exception. As for benefits, well the best one is just being my friend. Then there’s the fact that I sing awesomely well, I would make an excellent karaoke partner, I also make a wicked batch of banana bread. My grandmother’s recipe of course.” He replied winking at me. I almost dropped the book in my hand when he said he made banana bread. He was too good to be true.

            “Okay, the benefits are excellent, minus the singing because well… unfortunately among all your great attributes singing just isn’t one of them. But… here’s the kicker… and I want an honest answer. Why? Why would you want to be friends with a girl like me? The girl who's constantly made fun of for no apparent reason.” I choked out the last words, barely making it through the sentence without wanting to cry. No I didn’t suffer from depression, or anything else… No I suffered from asshole-bully-anitis.

            “Did you just willing admit that I have great attributes? Because usually I have to pay someone to say those things to me.”  I gave him the, you’re-fucking-kidding-me look. No way would I believe that. My face grew red when I took notice of what he actually said. Oh balls, I really did just give him a compliment without thinking about it.

            His hand reached out to mine, his thumb stroking the side of my hand. In that moment I wanted to close my eyes, and let the feeling of being touched take hold. The fact that I was being touched by someone who wasn’t out to make me miserable or use me.

            I felt a shift in the air, a crackling per say, as if the room was filled with electrically charged air. My eyes popped open, Rex’s face was mere inches from mine. His thumb was still stroking my hand. His eyes drifted from mine to my lips and back up again. My tongue slipped onto my lips as I licked them in anticipation. I knew what would happen next, I wasn’t completely naive. When his eyes met mine again there was a yearning there, he wanted to kiss me but he wanted to know it was okay. I nodded my head lightly to let him know, afraid that if I didn’t take the chance it would slip away.

            His lips met mine softly. There was passion there, fire, and a need. His lips pressed harder into mine as if I was his first drink of water in days, as if I was the air he needed to keep breathing. He slowly coaxed my lips open easing his tongue into my mouth, the sensation sending shock waves to my core. I gripped his shoulders, afraid of what else he could do to me. His kisses were impeccable. His hands eased around my face holding it in place, as he breathed life back into me. I felt something with him that I had never felt with anyone else. Happiness.

            He pulled away too soon, attempting to catch his breath like me. We were both flushed, and he looked a lot more flustered than me. I bit my lip, excited that I had done that to him.

            “I thought friends, didn’t kiss?” I asked in a hushed tone. My voice full of need from our kiss, I didn’t even recognize my own voice, but it made me feel jittery because he did that to me.

            He smiled a ghostly smile while running his hand through his hair before reaching out and rubbing his knuckle against my cheek, the sensation starting another fire inside of me.

            “They don’t but then again you never agreed to be friends.” He said his smile growing bigger. In that moment the librarian decided to come around the corner letting us know we could leave. Rex stepped away from me as he grabbed his backpack from the table.

            I touched my lips, still burning from the kiss. What did my face look like right now? Did I look like I had been kissed?

            “I’ll be seeing you Jenna.” I smiled at him dropping my hand from my face, afraid of how stupid I looked showing him what he did to me. I nodded my head, putting the book on the cart in front of me.

            “Oh and thanks for the kiss. It was everything I thought it would be.”

Damn that boy would be the death of me. That is if Corey didn’t get his hands on me first.

Kiss & Tell

It had been a week since I got to have an actual conversation with Rex. We had exchanged numbers along the way, and talked mostly through texts not wanting to risk getting attacked by Corey and his posse. I told him my fears about what would happen if anyone found out that he was talking to me, but he brushed them off as if they were nothing. My fears really weren’t that irrational. Anywhere I was would not have been acceptable for us to be together. I don’t even know why people at this school thought it was their business.

            I pulled my car into the small parking lot down by the elementary school, which was adjacent to the football and track fields. Rex asked me to meet him here, but I didn’t see another car in the parking lot and it looked as if the fields were empty. This scared me a little bit. I was still hesitant about him, and wondered if he was up to something. . 

            A car door slamming in the distance drew me from my thoughts, as I looked towards the direction the noise came from. Squinting I tried to make out who it could be. Rex’s truck was in the parking lot next to the car. How could I have missed that, a giant red lifted truck?

            Angela, Corey’s sister, and her best friend Marie-fucking-Jameson exited from the car. I could feel myself growing angry as I saw Rex step out of the front seat. Marie pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arm around her, giving her a longer than needed hug. I wasn’t jealous by any means. None, but I wasn’t going to waste my time on someone who was basically using me. Okay, there was a slight pang of jealousy, but that was only because he kissed me and I felt like a fool thinking that maybe I was something he really wanted.

            She released him, giving him a peck on the cheek. Marie and Angela got back in the car and left after saying their goodbyes. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to stay or go. Stay and confront him in what I already knew was true, or go and let it be, never speaking to him again.

            Sitting on the hood of my car I made the decision to stay and confront him. I had already been screwed over by one Winchester boy, I refused to allow another one take my heart and smash it.

            Rex looked off into the distance, straight at me. There’s no way he could’ve missed me. I stared down at the ground waiting to see if he would have the balls to come over here after what I just saw. I felt used, like I needed to go home and scrub my mind and body of any feelings for Rex.

            “Why do you look so down pretty girl?” A voice that sent shivers down my spine asked. Rex was just as beautiful if not more up close as he was far away. I almost forgot why I was mad. Almost.

            I gave him that look, the one where I look at him as if he’s playing stupid. How can he not know what would be bothering me. I hated to sound like that girl that accused a guy of doing something wrong, because who knows if he really did, but still after what happened in the library a week ago, I thought he was different. I thought maybe the shitty behavior and hate ended at Corey.

            He raised his eyebrow as he drew closer eventually finding a seat next to me on the hood of the car. “Did you really think you could say and do those things to me yesterday, and then do that today and it not seem like a big deal?” There was hurt in my voice, and I couldn’t hide it even if I tried.

            Realization dawned on Rex in that moment, his eyes showed brighter than they had before. I hung my head in disappointment. I couldn’t- No I wouldn’t put myself through this again.

            “It’s not what you think Jenna. There’s nothing, and I mean nothing romantic going on between Marie, and me. Plus Angela is my cousin, and I definitely don’t roll that way.” He scratched at the back of his head, in a manner that had me staring at him. He drew me in like a moth to a flame without even trying. In that instance I felt like I could believe him.  He showed me something that no one other than Mimi in this town had ever shown. Himself. The person under what others thought he was.

            “Hey. Are you okay? You looked kind of faraway… out in space or something for a second there?” He asked a worried look upon his face. “I’m fine.”

He squint his eyes at me, as if attempting to gauge my expression to see if it’s a lie. My lips pull up at the sides and I can’t help but let my smile grow.

            “So what were you doing with them then?” I ask, trying not to let the curiosity I’m feeling seep into my words. I don’t want him to know just yet what he’s doing has an effect on me. I don’t want him to know that after a week’s time of knowing him, I feel closer to him than I have the people in this town that I’ve known my whole life.

He grabs my hands, the roughness of his skin rubbing against the softest parts of mine. I shift my body more toward his my knee brushing against his. A fire ignites in me every time we touch, every time his gaze glides over my body I feel like he’s dousing that fire in gasoline. Adding fuel to the fire until it turns into an inferno. Until my body, and mind finally give in.

“Marie’s going through a pretty rough time, her parents are getting a divorce, and she's been staying with Corey. I went home with them earlier, and they brought me back to get my truck so I could see you. I have no interest in Marie, and if I did I wouldn’t have approached you. You have no reason not to trust me.” He said a determination in his voice and eyes that I had never seen. He had no idea I had a lot of reasons not to trust him, with his last name being one of them.

“But I don’t really have a reason to trust you either.” I gaze down at my feet. I feel his gaze boring into me, begging me to meet his eyes. His hands glide up my arms and to my shoulders turning me more toward him. My head shoots up, finally meeting his gaze.

Our foreheads push against one another as he holds me in place staring into my eyes. I couldn’t turn away even if I wanted too.

“I know what he did to you, hurt you. It hurt you in a way that I cannot even imagine, and I know that just because we don’t talk about it, doesn’t mean that the pain still isn’t there. Just because we share the same last name doesn’t make us the same person. I wasn’t lying when I said I want to be your friend. In fact I want more, so much more. But you're not ready for that, and I get it. But until I hurt you, give me a chance to prove myself. That not all Winchester boys are assholes.”

Tears well up in my eyes, his words hit in a place I didn’t know still existed. My heart. It’s aching. Aching for the pain, and hate it has developed. It’s also aching because it knows Rex is right. He deserves a chance. I shouldn’t judge him for someone else’s actions.

“Give me time, pretty girl. That’s all I need. I promise you won’t regret it.” He whispers into my ear releasing me and pulling me into a tight hug, if this is what feeling wanted by someone feels like, I never want it to end.

I wipe the stray tears away before asking, “Do you wanna go on the swings?” He pulls back giving me a one dimple smile. “I’ll race ya.” He says teasingly. I roll my eyes at him. “You’ll win you’re like twenty feet taller than me.”

He rolls his eyes at me, amusement twinkles in his eyes. “You're so dramatic. Are you ready?”

I hop off the hood of the car, and right myself making sure I’m covered in all the important places. I look down at my sandal covered feet. This is going to be awesome. Not.

I look over at Rex, a mischievous grin shows on his face and I know he’s up to no good. “Ready….. Set….” just as the word “set” comes out of his mouth he takes off in a dead run for the swing set leaving me in the dust. I walk the remaining distance between us, as he pumps his legs really fast, as if he’s a little kid at heart.

“That was so unfair Rex. You didn’t even say GO. Everyone knows that when you're racing no one goes until the whole sentence is finished. You totally cheated.” I said taking the swing next to him, and pushing off the ground to gain some momentum.