CRUSH (26 page)

She went to Clay, who was working the counter,
and ordered her soda. I stopped at Mandy’s register. I’d never talked to her
before, but she was in some of my classes at school. She seemed nice enough.
When Russ saw I wasn’t going to follow Cami, he came over with me.

“What you having?” I asked.

“Dr. Pepper,” he replied.

“Mandy, give us two Dr. Peppers, and why don’t
you let my buddy, Russ, here have my free popcorn. I’m feeling a little
generous today.”

Mandy smiled, pushing her plastic rimmed
glasses farther up her nose. “You seem awfully happy tonight. Are you enjoying
your new job?”

“I
am
happy.” I grinned and looked over at Cami who was staring at me while she
waited for her soda. I winked and she smiled. “As far as the
job . . . well, I’m enjoying some of the extracurricular
benefits that come with it.”

Cami snorted, and Mandy gave us both a funny
look.

“Check this out, Russ,” I said, pulling him
away to stare at some of the Coming Soon movie posters before she could ask me
any more questions.

“What?” Russ asked as I glanced to where Clay
looked like a volcano ready to explode.

“Nothing. That chick was getting nosy. If
people knew Cami and I were kissing outside we both could get fired. While it
doesn’t hurt my feelings any, I don’t want Cami to lose her job.”

Russ chuckled quietly. “You better work a
little harder at keeping it in your pants then, bro. You two looked like you
were ready to go at it right there against the wall.”

“Don’t remind me.” I groaned, trying to shove
the tempting images back down. “I don’t know what it is. Whenever we’re
together things get . . .” I paused.

“Combustible?” Russ offered. “Heated? Enflamed?
Frenzied? Intense? Explosive?”

I punched him in the shoulder. “Okay, okay. You
get it. I see that. And what’s with all the words? Remind me to call you if I’m
ever in need of a thesaurus.”

He grinned. “Just telling it like I see it. I
think even inanimate objects were getting turned on by the intensity rolling
off you two. There are cars in the parking lot that are probably pregnant now.”

I laughed. “You’re such a dork.”

“But you love me.” He batted his eyelashes, and
I punched him again.

“I don’t know . . . maybe,” I
replied.

“Okay, now that was just harsh.”

“Can’t let peeps think we’re having a
bromance
over here in the corner now, can I? My girlfriend
might start getting a little worried.”

Russ snorted. “I highly doubt she has any
concerns after the performance I witnessed.”

“I certainly hope not. That would definitely
destroy my reputation.”

“Sorry, but it’s already destroyed. You took
care of that when you made it clear how hard you’ve fallen for Cami. People are
talking about how the good girl caught the bad boy. In fact, the guys are
taking bets.”

“Bets on what?” I hadn’t heard any of this.

“On who will corrupt who
first.
Will she turn you into a geek, or will you turn her into a smash queen?” He
grinned. “I threw a little money into the pot myself. I’m anxious to see how it
turns out.”

“Really? Did you bet for or against me?” I
folded my arms while I studied him. I wasn’t sure how I felt about what he was
saying.

“I’ll never tell.” He chuckled, and the two of
us turned to look at Cami talking to Clay.

“What if neither happens?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” He arched his eyebrow.

“What if I don’t become a geek,
and
I don’t smash her.”

He looked stupefied for a moment. “Hmmm, never
thought of that. I guess I never considered it in the realm of possibilities,
given your reputation with the ladies and all.”

I grunted. “I’m beginning to think I know which
way you bet.”

He grinned and shrugged, not offering an
answer.

“I like this girl, Russ. Don’t tell her about
the bet. I don’t want it to bother her. Her feelings are important to me.”

We both noticed Cami trying to gather our sodas
and popcorn together. I hurried over to help, grabbing the popcorn.

“These two are the Dr. Peppers,” she said,
gesturing to the cups. “Mine’s the Sprite.”

“Got it.” I handed one of the sodas and the bag
of popcorn to Russ, and took the other for myself.

“Let’s go sit in the breakroom,” Cami
suggested. “We need to get our carts anyway. We don’t have much time left.”

“Is it okay if I go in there with you?” Russ
asked, taking a long sip of his drink.

“Ask the boss,” I said, gesturing to Cami.

She elbowed me. “I’m not the boss, but sure,
you can come with us.”

Russ sat at the table when we entered, and I
leaned against the wall, giving a quick glance to my phone. Cami and I needed
to get back to work, so I punched both of our time cards in.

“You
wanna
hang out
in here?” I asked Russ. “We need to clean a theater.”

“Can I tag along?”

“Sure,” Cami replied, grabbing her cart. “These
are the last shows for the evening, so people won’t be coming in behind us. It
shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Well, then, I better come along to chaperone.
I wouldn’t want your future child to say he or she was conceived in a movie
theater.”

Cami blushed a bright red and quickly turned
back to her cart.

“Russ, you’re gonna have to go a little easier
on her dude. She’s not used to that kind of talk.”

She was still blushing when I placed my hands
on her shoulders and turned her around to face me.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled, not looking at me.

I lifted her chin until she glanced up. “You
have nothing to be ashamed of. You better get used to the teasing, though.
There’s bound to be more if it.”

She was biting her lip again. “I’ll be all
right. Worse things could happen.”

I pecked her once on those adorable lips of
hers. “Let’s go.” I put my drink on my cart and gestured for her to go first.

“The next movie should be over any minute,” she
said. “Let’s clean the hallway down here while we wait for everyone to get
out.”

We grabbed our brooms and dustpans and began
quickly sweeping. I tried desperately to ignore Russ’s snide comments about
watching me become domesticated, and managed to successfully resist the urge to
smack him over the head with my broom. The doors opened as we were finishing
and the crowd began to pour out. We waited until the last of them were gone
before going in. Cami and I had set up a system earlier. I started at the top,
and she started at the bottom, and we worked our way toward each other.

“See you in the middle,” I teased, slapping her
on her cute rear end before I turned and ran up the stairs.

She gave a little squeal and swung her broom at
me.

“Ha, ha! You missed!” I laughed.

“Hunter!” Russ’s choked voice caught my
attention and I turned. He was staring at me with a funny expression.

“What?”

He dropped his drink, spilling the little that
was left on the carpet, and he slouched against the wall.

I ran down to his side. “What is it, man?
What’s wrong?” I grabbed him by the shoulders, noticing he was trembling and
sweating profusely.

“I feel funny. My heart is racing.”

I slid my hand down his arm, searching for the
pulse at his wrist. It was beating wildly.

“When did this start?” I questioned. “Have you
felt sick today?”

“No.” He looked like he was going to vomit.

I searched his eyes, noticing his pupils were
wide and dilated.

“Russ, be honest with me. Did you take
something? Drugs?” He seemed to zone out for a bit and I shook him. “Answer me,
dammit! Did you take something?”

“No, nothing,” he whispered. He slipped further
down the wall, and I tried desperately to hold him up. His eyes rolled back
into his head, and he started twitching.

“Cami, call an ambulance!” I shouted over to
where she seemed frozen in shock. “Get help!” I carefully eased him the rest of
the way to the floor.

She quickly dug her phone from her pocket and dialed
911 as she ran out of the room. “Somebody help!” I heard her shout.

“Russ!” I yelled, trying to rouse him again.
“Russ, can you hear me?” I briskly rubbed my knuckles against his sternum.

There was nothing. I leaned my ear next to his
mouth, listening. A faint breath stirred at my cheek, and I could feel his
pulse still racing along. He started foaming at the mouth, and I rolled him to
the side to try and keep his airway clear.

“They’re on their way!” Cami said as she ran up
to my side. “What happened?”

“I don’t know, but it acts like a drug
overdose. I’ve seen something similar before. Go wait for the ambulance, and
show them where to come.”

“Will you be okay?” she asked, concern laced
through her voice.

I nodded and she hurried away.

Mandy, Clay, and Shane ran inside the room, all
pausing with a horrified look at Russ’s body.

“Jen ran to get some things at the store before
they closed. I’ll go call her and wait in the lobby until she gets here,” Shane
said.

“What can we do to help?” Mandy asked, and I
could see tears in her eyes.

“Bring me some wet paper towels or something.
The guy is burning up. Let’s try to cool him down.”

She grabbed some hand towels from the cleaning
cart and ran out of the theater, leaving Clay and me alone with Russ.

“I hope you’re getting a good look at this,”
Clay said, advancing closer. “This is what happens to stupid kids like you who
won’t lay off the dope.”

“So help me, Clay, if you say another word I’m
gonna get up and rearrange your face. Now’s not the time.” I continued to hold
Russ on his side. “Besides, he said he didn’t take anything.”

Clay snorted. “You would believe him. You’re as
stupid as he is.”

I lifted my head, anger suffusing through me.
“That’s a little like the pot calling the kettle black, don’t you think?”

His eyes narrowed. “I have no idea what you’re
talking about.”

“Well, then let me refresh your memory before
you continue on with your high and mighty rant. I’ve had my eye on you, Clay. I
know what you’ve been up to, and if anyone in this room qualifies as stupid,
it’s you.”

Russ made a loud, gurgling sound, and I quickly
checked him, turning his head some more as a bit of fluid rushed from his
mouth.

 
Clay cleared his throat uncomfortably.
“I’m going to go keep the hallway clear. There are still shows letting out.”

“Fine, you do that,” I replied. “But before you
go, you might want to know that I saw you that night—under Cami’s
window.”

Clay’s eyes widened, and I saw a touch of fear
pulse through them.

“That’s right. Who’s the sicko now?”

“Did you tell her?” he choked out, not denying
anything.

“Hell no. The last thing she needs to hear is
that her beloved BFF is sexually fanaticizing about her while he watches
outside her window. You’re a pervert.” Fury surged through me as I remembered
following him that night.

“What’re you going to do?”

“I haven’t decided yet, but you can bet your
ass I won’t ever be leaving you alone with Cami. She’s
my
girlfriend, Clay. Back off. So help me if you ever try to touch
her, you’re dead meat—but now isn’t the time for this conversation. You
and I can chat later.”

Clay swallowed hard, his eyes darting around
quickly before he turned to leave without a word.

My heart was racing, and I tried to calm my
adrenaline, refocusing on the situation at hand.

I was alone with Russ now. “I don’t know if you
can hear me, Russ, but keep hanging in there okay? Help is on the way. Just a
little longer—you can do it.”

Mandy came running back into the room. “Where
do you want these?”

“On his head and neck, and maybe in his armpits
too, if you’ve got enough. Just be careful to keep things away from his mouth
so he can breathe.”

She quickly did as I asked, and I was grateful
when the soft wail of sirens filled the air.

Soon, Cami returned followed by a policeman and
two firemen.

“What happened?” the policeman asked as the
firemen quickly opened a bag and began hooking Russ up to some equipment.

“He was fine, and then he suddenly complained
of being sick. He just slumped over.”

“Do you know if he took something,” he asked.

“He said he hadn’t.”

“Does he have a history of drug use?”