Double Threat My Bleep (8 page)

Keesh kicks a rock in her path. “Me too. Junior college is looking pretty good right now.”

“Hey babe. What’s up?” Alex says. “How was your game?”

“We won. Barely. I had to play the whole game. The only break I got was at halftime. I’m so tired.” I just walked in the door, so I start peeling off my clothes and unraveling the French braid from my hair.

“You sound tired. Do you want me to let you go?”

“No way, I want to talk to you.”

“Okay,” he says, “good. Did you score any goals?”

He always asks, and I always say no. But today is different. “Well, today…” I pause for dramatic effect. “Yes, I scored.” As tired as I am, I want to jump up and down.

“What? You scored? How cool. Tell me about it. How did it happen?”

I collapse on top of my bed and squeal into the phone. “Omigod. Kathy got hurt, so coach moved me up to center. I actually had really good ball control today and we were passing really good. I got a pass and started dribbling up the middle and I thought oh shit, I’m done. Their sweeper was huge and I was sure she was going to take me out. But I totally juked her and got a clear shot on goal. I kicked it with all my might. But I’m so freakin’ lame that I barely hit it. The goalie was expecting it to go full speed in the other direction and she dove. My sad kick sent the ball slowly into the corner of the goal. I’m still in shock that it went in. It totally looked like it was going to stop just short of the line. It was freakin’ hilarious but hey…a goal is a goal.”

“You’re right, babe. A goal is a goal. Congrats.”

“Thanks.”

“So what are you up to tonight?” he asks.

“Party. Dominic is gonna take all of us. I gotta get in the shower soon. They’re gonna be here in a couple of hours to pick me up.”

“What about tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow we’re gonna go shopping for homecoming dresses. Aren’t you so sad you’re missing out on all this?” I say, trying to make light of the fact that he
is
in fact missing this.

“Yes, I’m bummed. You think I want Josh to be taking you to the dance?” He sounds a little irritated. Is this really bothering him?

“Well, you know I’d rather be going with you. Would you rather I stay home? I will if you want me to,” I tell him. And I would. If he didn’t want me to go with Josh, I’d stay home. I doubt Josh would care either way.

“No, babe, you go. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a dick. I’m just…” He hesitates.

“You’re what?”

“I just miss home, I guess. I miss you. And, I guess I’m a little jealous. I keep imagining you going with Josh and all these ideas start popping into my head.” He groans into the phone.

“Are you kidding me, Alex? You really think something could happen between Josh and me? He has a girlfriend. He has Erica. And I have you. How dumb is that. Why would you even think that?”

“You might not plan on anything happening but you could just start slow dancing or something and get a little too close and then before you know it, he kisses you and you kiss him back. It’s not entirely impossible, Megan,” he says, raising his voice with each word.

“Wow Alex, are you serious? You really think I’m going to cheat on you with Josh? What would make you think that? How could you not know I’m completely and utterly in love with you and there’s no chance I would ever get with anyone else?” I can’t believe we are even having this conversation.

“Look, maybe you shouldn’t go after all. I can make it up to you. When I come home, we can go out and find some place to dance. We can get dressed up and everything.”

“Okay, now you’re talking crazy. Just a minute ago I was willing to stay home for you, but now…you’re pissing me off. You don’t trust me. That sucks. You’re just gonna have to get over it cause I’m gonna go to the dance.” I’m completely flustered. I have no idea where this is coming from. My boyfriend has just gone psycho on me.

“Fine. Go. But I better not hear anything about you flirting with Josh. Or Travis. I know he wants to hook up with you,” Alex continues with his jealous rage.

“Alex, c’mon. What the hell. Why are you acting like this?”

“I’m not acting anyway. I’m just telling you how I feel. I trust you. I just don’t trust all the guys around you.”

“That doesn’t make sense. If you trust me, then you should know nothing is gonna happen. Maybe I shouldn’t trust you then.”

“C’mon Meg, you know you can trust me,” he replies.

“Sure, but what about all those chicks in your classes, or at the parties, or the ones who live on your floor walking around in their panties for crying out loud. You’re super hot and I’m sure they want to get their claws into you. So maybe I’m the one who should be worried.”

“You know what,” he pauses. I still don’t get what the hell is going on here. “Let’s just forget about it. Have fun tonight. Have fun shopping for your dress. I can’t wait to hear all about it.”

“I don’t want to fight with you, Alex. This isn’t cool. We’ve never fought before. It sucks. I want things to be okay. I don’t want to just forget about it.” This is our first fight and it feels like crap.

“I’m sorry, babe. I think the distance is finally getting to me. It was awesome when you came up here and I’ve felt like shit since you left. It seems like Thanksgiving is so far away. I’m ready to come home and see you.”

“I’m ready for you to come home too. Just chill out okay. Stop trippin’ cause you know everything is gonna be okay.”

“You’re right,” he tells me. I can hear him sigh on the other end. Something is really bothering him. “Look, go get ready for your party. I’m going out later too, so I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? You know I’ll be texting you by the end of the night,” I joke.

“And I’ll be waiting.”

Chapter Eleven

Getting
all beautified for the homecoming dance should be exciting. Or at least fun. But I’m so preoccupied with Alex and his sudden lack of trust in me it’s hard to be enthused. He’s totally been on edge since our fight a couple of weeks ago. We haven’t fought like that again, but he’s been a little snippy. I talked to my mom about it. She reminded me to be considerate of his feelings. She said it has to be difficult for Alex to be so far away, and he probably feels like the world is moving on without him.

Like my world could move on without Alex. I talk to the guy every day. I text him when I’m not talking to him. I can’t even think of a day I’ve gone to sleep without first saying good night. How can he doubt me?

“Earth to Meggie.” I hear Keesh shout. “Meeeeeggieeeeee. Hello, are you there?”

“Huh, whuh?” I mutter. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I was just thinking.”

“Do you want a flower or what? The lady is waiting for you to answer,” she explains.

I look down and I see my perfectly manicured toes. The nail lady is looking up at me all wide-eyed and smiles. “Oh, no thank you. No flower.” She continues to add the top coat. I can’t wait to be finished. Keesh is still busy getting white polka dots on her hot pink toes, and cute little daisies are dotted on Steph’s French manicure.

Sporting fake nail salon flip flops, we stumble our way through the mall to the hair salon. We only have three hours left before we’re going to be picked up so this better be a quick one. The less bobby pins the better. I probably still have a remnant pin in my hair from last year, kind of like a grain of sand stays with you forever after visiting the beach.

Robby, my stylist, has a new toy. I tell him I have no ideas for today’s do, and he busts out with this crazy new curling iron, that’s not really a curling iron. I’m not sure what you call it. I just know that if I were to use it, I’d probably have third degree burns on my fingertips before I even got a fourth of the way done with my hair.

When we’re finished, I picture us walking out of the salon looking like the chicks in House Bunny after they got their makeovers. Only we’re not in slow motion and our bras aren’t shoving our boobs up to our chins. We do look good though. Keesh’s hair is up in both braids and curls, while Steph’s looks smooth as silk after her gal straightened every single strand. Robby curled mine with his spiral curling thingy, and then pulled it to one side with one fresh Gerbera daisy pinned for a nice natural look. I love it.

At Steph’s house we spill our makeup across the floor and begin the process of covering up every zit, freckle, and flaw with tons of various tinted minerals. Like always, I go for the smoky eye. I just love the look, so elegant, so grownup, and so not me. It turns me from this goofy little kid into a confident young woman. Just a dab of plumping lip gloss and I’m done.

Now come the dresses. One by one, we slip on our gowns and take turns helping each other out with zippers. Shoes too high to be comfortable, finish the ensemble and we saunter out into the living room for pictures. Our parents aren’t as excited for us this year because the only one here to take pictures is Steph’s mom. Last year, all the parents were present to ogle over us and take a thousand pictures like it was a freaking professional photo shoot. I shouldn’t complain because it’s nice to only have one camera to look at.

The guys arrive and it hits me. For the first time since getting my toesies done, I think about Alex. He’s nuts if he thinks something is going to happen with me and Joshie. He’s gone flippin’ mad.

hey babe. getting ready 2 leave. just wnted 2 say Hi. Love u.

Guilt spreads through my mind as Josh walks in with a corsage.

“Hey, Megster,” Josh says. “You look really nice.” He gives me a hug and takes the daisy out to slip on my wrist. It matches my hair. Suddenly, the thought of Alex getting pissed at me for hugging Josh makes me feel a bit uneasy. And then I think about the flower. Does Josh know that daisies are my favorite flower? It’s nice he chose this particular one, but I wonder what Alex would think. He’d think something is up. He’d think that Josh is feelin’ me.

Omigod. I need to stop thinking this way. Every little thing is going to make me paranoid. I look around and begin to feel nervous. I feel like there are cameras watching me. Like anything I do or say is going to be reported back to my boyfriend.

“Do you like it?” Josh asks.

“Oh yeah,” I reply. “It’s nice. It’s my favorite flower.”

“I know. Your man told me.”

“What? He did. When did you talk to him?”

“He called me. Told me a few things to make tonight nice for you since he can’t be here.” Yeah, I wonder what else he told him.

“Oh. That was nice of him.” Wow. He called Josh. Something just doesn’t sound right.

“Let’s go, you guys. I wanna get there early so we can get a table,” Steph says.

“Yeah, I can’t wait to see Mr. Marino. Omigod. Can you imagine what he’ll look like all dressed up,” Keesh gushes. “I gotta get a picture of him. You know I heard he’s only twenty four.”

“I knew he was young,” I shout.

“Easy, Meggie, don’t get too excited,” Jonathan teases.

“Hey, you better check yourself, Meg, he’s mine. I figure, by the time I graduate, I’ll be eighteen and he’ll be twenty seven. We’ll date for three years and get married when I’m twenty-one and he’s thirty.” Sounds like a plan.

“Oh really,” Jonathan says. He’s looking at her with an eyebrow raised.

“Sorry, Jon Jon. Enjoy it while it lasts,” she tells him before slapping him in the ass.

The décor in the gym is predictable. Balloons, fake candles glowing, pillows on the floor, tall bistro tables scattered throughout the place. We’re early so we get a good table right off the dance floor after taking pictures.

“Can we join you guys?” Travis asks.

We? I turn around and see nothing but legs. Can her dress get any shorter? I swear if it was, we’d be able to see her pubes. But this one probably gets a dang Brazilian. Maybe she is Brazilian. She’s definitely Latina of some sort, with that gorgeous tan and those smoldering eyes. Wow.

“Sure,” I say, still unable to tear my eyes away from her.

“Oh yeah,” Jonathan and Josh tell him, or her. They’re not looking at Travis, that’s for sure.

Travis introduces his date to each of us. Alisha, but they call her Lee-cha, has an accent. She’s smokin’ hot in a Jessica Alba kind of way.

“It’s nice to meet ya, but we have to go for a sec. We’ll be right back,” Keesh says, linking arms with Steph and me, dragging us away from the table.

“What are you doing?” Steph asks.

Keesh laughs. “Mr. Marino, I hope. In a couple of years.”

We all chuckle.

Omigod. She’s leading us in his direction. Yup, he looks good. He looks like a Calvin Klein model in that suit. Although, I wish he was modeling the underwear instead. I’d like to see him on a billboard in his boxer briefs. Oooo la la.

“What the fuh,” Keesh says. “Who’s that?”

Looks like Mr. Marino has himself a matching CK model girlfriend. The little black dress makes me feel like a fat cow and makes even Keesh look just okay. That girl would make even Amy look like a dog. Wow. Her gown is just the right sexiness, not too trashy, not too motherly. Super hot but totally elegant. Her hair is sleek, shiny, and those highlights probably cost her a fortune. And holy boobs. The rack on that lady puts all three of us to shame. Seriously, I’m in love.

“Should I get a tissue? Do you guys need to wipe your drool too? She is…” I begin.

Keesh puts her hand up. “Don’t say anything.” She trots ahead, with Steph and I following. “Hi, Mr. Marino. How are you tonight?”

“Well, hello there, ladies. Nice to see you. You all look lovely,” he says. Lovely? What are we, like eighty five?

“Thank you,” Keesh says, with a wink. No, she didn’t. She’s totally going to get herself into trouble.

Mr. Marino looks at her awkwardly. “Have you met Ms. McGallian? She teaches biology.” Yeah, I bet she does. I can just imagine when she teaches sex ed. The boys will probably be pitchin’ tents under the table, and spoodging in their pants.

Keesh doesn’t say anything.

“Nice to meet you, Ms. McGallian. We have Mrs. Centeno for biology.” I don’t know what else to say. Keesh looks like she’s about to wrap her hands around the lady’s neck, but she quickly smiles.