Chapter 16 #2
He rubs his hand over the back of his neck. “I hear you. It’s not…I don’t know. It’s not really me.” He doesn’t stick around after that. He gives us a small smile and walks away quickly, going out into the courtyard. I look at Crystal and she looks as stunned as I feel.
What just happened?
I don’t think it’s a bad thing that Ryder is playful.
He’s funny and friendly and wants everyone to be comfortable.
I’m sure it’s why he and Ethan are so close.
They have the same general spirit, though Ethan is a bit more subdued.
Ryder is like the class clown, but not in a mean-spirited sort of way.
Crystal looks like she’s thinking the same thing I am. She’s biting her lip and looking towards the courtyard, like she wants to dash after him. But she simply sighs and we grab our lunch, catching up with Ethan as he walks inside the cafeteria.
When we get to our table, I am more than pleasantly surprised to see Mitch sitting beside Elle.
They’re not sitting super close and he doesn’t look entirely comfortable, but he’s there and Elle looks over-the-moon as she talks his head off about God knows what.
He’s giving her these indulgent smiles like he would rather be anywhere else, but as long as she’s there, he’ll stick around.
We slide our trays onto the table, and they both look up and smile at the three of us.
Elle looks at me and asks, “You okay? Sorry about Dawn earlier. She really is being an evil shit.”
I shrug. Nothing different than any other day.
“You shouldn’t be apologizing for her,” Crystal grits out. “She’s lucky I wasn’t there. We would have had a bigger problem.”
“No, we would not have,” I murmur, turning to Crystal. “It’s nothing I can’t handle. It’s fine. I won’t let you get in trouble because of her.”
She has that look on her face, like she hears me but she doesn’t care what I’m saying. I love and hate my best friend. “Okay, Koby.” She gives me a one-armed hug that I know is only placating me.
Everyone is looking at me and I roll my eyes. “It’s fine. I’ll be fine. Just leave it. She doesn’t bother me.” I look at Elle. “You’re really not trying out for the squad for basketball season?”
Shaking her head, she pulls her hair over her shoulder, which slaps Mitch in the face. He tucks it behind her back, and their eyes meet and they blush. God, these two are adorable.
Looking back to me after she visibly shakes herself, she says, “I never planned to cheer this season. I only cheered for football season because I tried out last year. I’ll be fine without it. I already have my scholarship and it has nothing to do with cheer.”
I love that for her. While not all the cheerleaders were catty and mean, Elle didn’t seem like she fit in.
She’s a popular girl, but it has nothing to do with her being a cheerleader.
It’s her. She’s so happy and bubbly and talkative.
Everyone loves her. Well, everyone except Dawn.
But whatever. She has real friends and I’m thankful to be included.
The rest of the school day is uneventful. Ethan has practice, and I decide to stay home for the next few days, so I ride with Crystal. She still has the same look on her face that she had when Ryder walked away from us.
Sighing, I ask, “What is it, Crys?”
She shakes her head, but she’s still biting her lip.
Crystal really is a sweet girl. So I think the idea that she might have hurt Ryder’s feelings is probably fucking with her.
When we pull up to her house, she turns the car off so I can hear her better. I shiver, rubbing my hands up and down my arms. Along with her car being loud, it doesn’t have heat either. That kind of sucks because the temperature is starting to drop.
Turning to me, she wrings her hands. “You think…you think he’s mad at me?”
“Ryder?” Crystal nods, still moving her hands in her lap. “I don’t think so. You didn’t do anything wrong, Crys. I think maybe it’s something to do with him.”
I’ve been thinking about it. The shocked look on his face and the hurt expression hints that he wants people to see the real him, but no one does.
But how can we if he doesn’t show anyone? Maybe we should actively get to know him. Ryder seems like a good person. There’s no reason for us to keep our preconceived notions about him just because that’s what we see.
“Hey,” I say, remembering what Ethan said about Thanksgiving. “After you eat with your family, come to Ethan’s on Thanksgiving Day. Ryder will be there. We can talk to him then. Oh! And at his party.” The party genuinely slipped my mind.
She gapes at me. “You’re going to a party? On purpose?”
I roll my eyes. “Of course not. Ethan asked me to go.” I can feel the flush growing on my face, and my brown skin is probably more of a bright red.
“Is there something you want to tell me, Koby?” Crystal asks me, the look on her face tells me she already knows what I’m supposed to be telling her.
I’m sure it got around to her that Ethan and I kissed.
I mean, after two months of his forehead and cheek kisses, it’s big news that his lips touched mine.
Not wanting to give in too easily, I fix a confused look on my face. “Something like what?”
She looks like she wants to choke me out and laugh at my expression in equal measures. She settles for poking me in the chest. “Don’t play with me, Jakoby. Did you kiss Ethan today or not?”
I laugh at her, grabbing my chest like her bony little finger hurt me. “Where did you hear that?”
Instead of answering me, she pulls out her phone and pulls up a message. She turns it toward me and I read it. I’m not sure which friend sent her this, but it says, Ethan and Jakoby were tonguing each other down in the English hallway.
I look at her flatly and it’s her turn to laugh. “So, were you tonguing each other down in the English hallway?” she asks.
“No. He pecked me on the lips. Once.” I don’t mention that he did, in fact, tongue me down in the Science hallway, but that’s not what the text said. “It’s not a big deal. We’ve been dating for two months. It’s about time we kissed, don’t you think?”
“Dating for real for two months?”
“No. Just…two days?” My voice goes up at the end like a question.
Crystal squeals and hugs me, practically pulling me onto her seat. “I knew it! I knew it! Oh, Koby! I love you two together. You’re fucking adorable and he really likes you. I could tell weeks ago.”
I groan and Crystal gives me a long look. “What is it?” she asks. “Spill?”
“Okay, but can we go inside? It’s fucking cold out here.”
She chuckles and we climb out, walking to her front door.
Her dad is in the living room and he greets me warmly. “Hey, Koby. Where you been? Haven’t seen you around here in a while.”
Before I can open my mouth, my aggravating best friend says, “He has a boyfriend now, so he’s always with him.”
Her dad sits up more on the couch and gets a serious look on his face. “Do we need to have ‘the talk’? The mechanics are the same, even if I don’t like men.”
“Oh my God, Mr. Parker. No.” I laugh a little but I am beyond embarrassed. Not because he says he doesn’t like men, but because he’s trying to give me ‘the talk’ at eighteen. That ship sailed a long time ago.
Sitting back, he still eyes me intently. “Well, you be safe. Make sure he or you always have protection. And communication is important. Don’t let anyone try to talk themselves into your pants, son. No means no.”
Crystal scoffs. “We get it, Dad. Thanks.”
Laughing, Mr. Parker says, “He gets the same talk as you, baby girl.”
She grabs my hand and we walk back to her room.
Even though I pretend to be disgusted and over her dad, what he said means a lot. My parents didn’t deem it necessary to give me the talk. I had to learn on my own.
Mr. Parker is a great guy, doing the best he can to raise a daughter on his own. Crystal’s mother ran off when she was a kid and he’s been raising her by himself. He’s doing a wonderful job; Crystal is a sweet, kind, and compassionate person.
Thinking about that makes me sad. I have both of my parents, but I’ve been raising myself for the past six years.
I’ve been waking myself up for school, doing my own laundry, cooking for myself.
I’ve been doing it all. Crystal has one parent that works full time that has done more than his fair share for both a mother and a father.
They might not live in the most glamorous neighborhood, but he does the best he can. I love that about him.
Sitting on Crystal’s bed, I tell her how Ethan and I admitted our feelings for each other.
Starting with my mom trying to swing on me, to him taking me to the pier and letting me cry my eyes out.
Then me begging him to kiss me, which made me groan.
Crystal puts her hand over her mouth and looks to interrupt, but I hold my hand up and she lets me finish.
I tell her how he didn’t answer me and I thought I’d ruined our friendship, then I tell her about him coming to the room when I was ready to apologize and he kissed me.
When I’m finished, her hand is still over her mouth, and she’s staring at me with wide eyes. The silence stretches out and it starts to get a bit uncomfortable.
“Say something,” I murmur. Crystal is not one to have nothing to say, so her silence is a bit unnerving.
She moves her hand to her heart and shakes her head. “Koby, that’s about the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. Not the bit about your mother, I hate that she did that, but how he came to you. It’s like a fairy tale. God, I love this for you.”
“I love it for myself,” I murmur. “Crys, I never thought I’d meet someone before I went off to college. I thought when I got to Cali, I could be who I wanted to be and find the right man to be with. But I met Ethan and now…we’re together? It’s…”
“Overwhelming?” she supplies.
“Yes. Overwhelming. And another thing. He’s going to USC, Crys. I can possibly have my boyfriend for more than a few more months. If I don’t fuck it up.”
She squeals again and gives me another hug. I love that she’s so excited for me. Just as I would be for her in this situation.
“That’s great! You won’t fuck it up. I see how you look at each other. This is the real deal, the fairy tale love we hear about when we’re kids. Just let me be your best woman at the wedding, please.”
I laugh and playfully shove her. “Yeah, if we make it that far, you have my word.”
I doubt we’ll get there, but it’s nice to imagine that he’ll be mine forever. Even if we are still young and in high school, I don’t think I’ll ever meet anyone like Ethan.
We talk for a while longer before I reluctantly head home.
Mr. Parker knows about my home life and tries to keep me over here as much as possible, but in the past, my mother has come over acting a fool, so there’s only so much he can do.
I stopped trying to hide out here to make sure he’s not put in a bad spot again.
Before I go home, he asks, “You have protection, son?” I duck my head, cheeks flaming. “I know you don’t want ‘the talk’, but if you need it, come see me.”
Nodding, I walk home, cheeks still warm from my best friend’s father telling me he’d buy me condoms to keep me safe.