Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
MADONNA, “LIKE A PRAYER”
Gabby
My life was over.
It had been three weeks since the near-kiss incident with Matt. I had no reason to call him. God hadn’t blessed me with allowing our paths to cross on campus. And no mutual friends or family members died, so I could have a reason to call him and suggest we go to the funeral together.
To make matters worse, Olivia and Ben had been on three dates, and she wouldn’t stop talking about what a good kisser he was, his broad chest and bulging biceps, or the way he smelled like pine trees, and was just so “bad to the bone.”
Ugh! He was a music major which was the opposite of bad to the bone.
As I studied for my Developmental Psychology test and ate Wheat Thins, the phone rang. I didn’t bother to get up to answer it. No one called me, except for my parents. But it was Thursday, and they only called on Saturdays.
Olivia hightailed it off her bed to answer it. Her Walkman crashed to the floor. Luckily it landed on the hot pink rug. “Hello? Oh, yeah, she’s right here. Gabby, it’s for you.” She held her hand over the receiver and whispered, “It’s a guy.”
“Ben?” I said, stopping short of rolling my eyes.
She shook her head, handing me the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Gabby, it’s Matt.”
I sucked in a breath like a newborn baby, and I wanted to scream like one, too, as I mouthed, “It’s Matt,” to Olivia.
Her eyes widened.
“Hey,” I said without losing it.
“My two roommates and I are having a party at our house tomorrow night. Do you have plans? If not, you should come.”
I slapped a hand over my mouth and jumped up and down.
Olivia giggled. “What? What did he say?”
I shook my head and pressed a finger to my lips to shush her, then I cleared my throat. “Um, yeah. That sounds fun.”
I was dying .
“Great. Do you have something to jot down my address?”
I scrambled, pulling on the phone cord to snag a pen from my desk. “Okay,” I said, uncapping the pen with my teeth and writing his address on my forearm. “Got it,” I mumbled, spitting the cap out of my mouth.
“Bring Ben and your roommate, if you want.”
“Um, okay.” I turned in one direction and then the other, trying to pace the room while the phone cord tangled around me.
“It starts at seven, but you can come anytime.”
I nodded as if he could see me.
“See ya.”
“Bye.” I hung up the phone. “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! OH MY GOSH!” I jumped up and down, sending the phone flying to the floor as the receiver dangled from my arm.
“Dude, take a chill pill.” Olivia untangled me and hung up the phone.
I grabbed her arms. “Matt is having a party tomorrow night, and he invited ME!”
“Oh my god! Schweet!” She joined in my jubilant celebration with a squeal and manic jumping up and down. “What are you going to wear? Do you think his girlfriend will be there? Oh my god, Gabby! What if she’s not? He’s going to kiss you. No, he’s going to do more than kiss you.” She threw open the closet door and rifled through my things. “We have to find something for you to wear. You have to look fantabulous.” She stepped back and deflated. “But it’s none of this crap. Why do you dress like Holly Hobbie?”
“Okay. Okay. Okay.” I blew out a long breath. “You and Ben are invited too, but I don’t know if I want you there. No offense.”
She frowned.
“It’s just that if you’re there, then he’ll know I have someone to talk to, but if you’re not there, then he’ll probably keep me at his side and introduce me to all of his friends.”
“Unless his girlfriend is there.”
I nodded, biting my thumbnail. “Yeah. Maybe I should call him back and ask.”
“No! You can’t do that. Ben and I will go, and if she’s not there, we’ll make up an excuse to leave. But if she is there, we’ll stay until you’re ready to leave.”
Keeping my nail trapped between my teeth, I nodded several more times.
“Now. Let’s find something in my closet that might fit you.”
“My knees have to be covered, and I can’t show cleavage.”
Olivia blinked several times. “Oh sweetie, this year is going to be life-changing for you.” Pity dripped from her words.
What could I say? Nothing. So I smiled, excited and fearful of the life changes headed my way.
“I don’t dress like Holly Hobbie,” I snorted as her previous comment finally registered.
“Okay, maybe not the bonnet,” Olivia said. “But the long dresses and brown shoes are a match. All you need is a pair of bloomers.”
As much as I wanted to feign offense, I couldn’t stop giggling because at home, I had at least four Holly Hobbie dolls in a box on the top shelf of my closet.
Two hard knocks vibrated our door. Olivia opened it.
“Ready?” Ben asked.
“No. Sorry.” She rested a hand on his chest. “I got distracted by Gabby’s big news. Let me run down and use the bathroom and fix my makeup.” Olivia grabbed her bag and headed down the hallway.
Ben stepped into the room and closed the door. “What news?”
At the same time, I asked, “Where are you two going?”
“Subway for dinner,” he mumbled, sitting in Olivia’s desk chair as I snatched my box of Wheat Thins. “Wanna come?”
“On your date? No thank you.” I popped a cracker into my mouth.
“It’s dinner, not a date. But I suppose you still don’t know the difference.”
I stuck my tongue out at his little jab.
“What’s your big news?”
“It’s about Matt, so I don’t think you want to hear it.”
He perked up. “Matt, huh? Haven’t heard his name in weeks. Do tell.”
“He’s having a party at his house tomorrow night, and he invited me.” I fished out another cracker. “He invited you and Olivia too.”
“No thanks.”
“Olivia said you two would go, then stay if I need you or leave early if I’m good.”
Ben chuckled, lacing his fingers behind his head, which made his shirt creep up just far enough that I could see his abs. I tried not to look at them because it made me think about him and Olivia doing things that involved numbers.
“For your information,” he said, “Olivia doesn’t speak for me. She’s not my girlfriend or my secretary.”
“Well, I’m still your best friend, so you’ll go for me.”
“You haven’t asked me to go.” He smirked.
“Will you go?” I mumbled while chewing my cracker.
“I have no interest in watching you fawn over Fumble Fingers.”
“Don’t!” I snorted and cracker crumbs flew from my mouth onto his lap.
Ben frowned, wiping them from his jeans. “Thanks for that.”
I covered my mouth and finished chewing. “Sorry.” I swallowed. “But you can’t call him that. I don’t want it coming out that I told you. It’s bad enough that he knows I know.”
“What do you mean?”
I shrugged. “I may have let it slip that I knew about the prom night incident.”
“Gabbs, how do you let that slip? This fantasy of yours is over. He’s never going to be anything more than a family friend now that he knows you heard about the most embarrassing moment of his life.” He leaned forward and plucked the box of crackers from my hand.
“How is that the most embarrassing moment of his life?”
“Oh, Gabriella,” Ben slowly shook his head while shoving his big hand into the cracker box, “you have so much to learn. The pinnacle of manhood is sex. A fumbled attempt is about as gut-wrenching as running over the family dog.”
That was ridiculous.
“I’m sure he’s recovered just fine,” I said. “If he has a girlfriend, he must have figured it all out.”
“Maybe he revirginized and is saving himself for marriage.” Ben dumped the last of the cracker crumbs into his mouth.
“You think?” I straightened my back with a jolt of hope.
Ben fisted his hand at his mouth and shook in silent laughter. “No, Gabby. I’m just kidding.”
“You’re mean.”
“Honest.”
“Well, you’re going with me tomorrow. Olivia’s not asking. I’m asking. And you can’t say no to me.”
Ben got a funny expression on his face. I hadn’t seen it before, so I couldn’t decipher it. But after a few seconds, he nodded and muttered a soft, “Yeah.”
“Okay. Let’s go,” Olivia said, bursting through the door and tossing her makeup bag onto her bed. An overwhelming perfume scent filled the room, and I coughed.
“Is your roommate in or out tonight?” she asked Ben as he stood.
“Out. Why?”
Olivia batted her mascara-laden eyelashes. “Since Gabby’s doing homework, I thought we could go up to your room after dinner.”
Ben looked at me, and again he had that weird look on his face.
I fiddled with my sleeves, not comfortable knowing that my roommate planned on doing dirty things with my best friend, and they were all but saying as much with me hearing everything.
Then I thought of Ben’s exposed abs, and I wondered if he was good at sex. Was he better than Matt? Did Ben ever fumble a condom? As I got a little hot, I cleared my throat and offered a smile. “Have fun,” I managed with a slight squeak to my voice.
“Need any help with homework tonight?” Ben asked, nodding toward the pile of books on my desk.
Olivia was offering him “the pinnacle of manhood,” and he wanted to know if I needed help with my homework.
My gaze shifted to my big-haired roommate standing just behind Ben. She gave me a quick headshake and prayer hands while mouthing, “please say no.”
“I’m good.” I smiled.
Ben continued to study me for a few more seconds. “Okay. Goodnight, Gabbs.” He tossed the empty cracker box in the trash while Olivia took his other hand and led him out the door.
“Don’t wait up,” she said.
I flinched when the door closed. Why did the two of them make me so uneasy?