Chapter 16

 

 

Why does the human body have so many parts? My anatomy class is kicking my butt. I’ve been studying all weekend, making up rhymes to help me remember stuff, and I still feel unprepared for tomorrow’s exam. And why are we even taking an exam on a Tuesday? That’s total crap.

I’ve always heard that the first two years of college classes are the easiest, and that’s right. I’ve had to study so much more this semester than any other semester so far.

I sit up straighter on my bed, breathe in deeply, and slowly let it out. If yoga breathing doesn’t help me calm down, nothing will. I’ve been sitting cross-legged on my bed, my face buried in my textbook for four hours now. I should probably get up and pee since there’s two empty Coke cans on my nightstand. I wanted coffee for the caffeine but it’s so hot outside I opted for something cooler.

Shoving the textbook off my lap, I get up and stretch my limbs. My thoughts are a flurry of body parts and muscular systems and nervous systems and all kinds of systems. Way too many. Why are humans so complicated?

After peeing, I head into the kitchen for a snack. But the fridge is devoid of anything that sounds good and the pantry is just as boring. I need something extremely delicious to get me out of this funk and crackers or chips or apple slices will not do it.

I settle on grabbing another soda and then I head back to my room. As soon as I sit back down, a rush of memories come to me. It’s like as soon as I stop thinking about school, Aiden appears. There is not enough room in my mind for both him and schoolwork, so I’ve been doing my best to stop thinking about him.

My best is apparently not very good.

I look around, and even though my bed is perfectly made right now, I can still remember the sheets getting all disheveled after our amazing night together. A rush of heat swells between my legs at the memories.

No. Not now, Jenn.

I bite hard on the inside of my lip to make myself focus on the task at hand. I need to study. I’ve been studying all weekend but it’s not enough. There’s no way I can pass the test right now.

My phone blares to life with Mom’s ringtone. I ignored her last three calls so I know I need to pick up, lest she send the police over to my house thinking I’m dead or something.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Jenny!” she says, calling me the name that only she uses. “I’ve been calling and calling. What are you doing?”

“Just studying for school. I have a huge exam tomorrow.”

“You took all weekend off work to study,” she says. “You should be fine by now.”

I sigh into the phone. “I’m nowhere close to being fine. This is a lot of information and I need to learn it all.”

“How long have you been studying today?”

I check the clock. Holy shit how is it already six in the evening? “Since eight,” I say.

I can practically feel Mom’s glare at me through the phone. “That is too much! You’re going to get burnt out, honey. You need a break.”

“Okay, I’ll take a break,” I say but I have no intention of actually doing it. If I stop studying, I think of Aiden, and if I think of Aiden it’s very hard to remember that we’re just friends.

So what if the sex was amazing? I can’t get hooked on my fake boyfriend.

“Dad and I are coming to get you,” she says. “We’re going out to dinner.”

I groan, but that actually sounds like a good idea. I’m starving. I think I’ve only had soda today.

“Okay,” I say.

Mom brightens. “We’re leaving now, so we’ll be in your driveway in thirty seconds.”

“Thanks for giving me enough time to get dressed!” I say, hanging up the phone in a rush.

It’s just dinner with my parents, so it’s no big deal, but I am still wearing my pajamas from last night. I throw on some denim shorts and a T-shirt and then slip into the flip-flops by my front door. When I open it, my dad’s truck is sitting in my driveway. It does not take long for your parents to visit you when they live on the same property.

Grabbing my purse, I jog down the stairs and climb in the backseat.

“Oh honey,” Mom says, turning to face me from the front seat. “You have dark circles under your eyes! You’ve been working too hard.”

“I’m fine,” I say, but I rub my eyes as if that’s going to somehow help. If I had time to put on makeup or brush my hair, I would have looked better. But it’s not like I’m trying to impress anyone. “Where are we going?”

“Mexican,” Dad says.

“Sounds amazing.” We have the best Mexican restaurant here, and since most of the other food places are all Cajun seafood, it’s nice to have a little variety.

I listen to my parents chat about work and boring stuff for the next ten minutes, but I try to act like a nice daughter who actually cares about this stuff. They’re paying for dinner, after all.

In reality, I can’t stop thinking about Aiden. He hasn’t texted me all weekend, but I didn’t really expect him to after I reminded him that we’re just friends. I haven’t texted him either, for that same reason.

Because I know that if I talk to him, I’ll start longing for him, I’ll want him to come over. I’ll want to lay in his arms and feel his lips on mine.

All of that sounds a hell of a lot like real dating, and I can’t do that to myself. My heart has only just healed from an epic heartbreak. I can’t go and let it get broken again. No one will take care of my heart except for me.

Aiden and I are friends. And honestly, now that Jay has seen us together, maybe our little fake adventure should be over. It’s probably better for my heart if we just end it now.

I’ll never be able to watch professional motocross the same way again. Every time I see Aiden on the screen, I’ll remember that one glorious night we had together.

At the restaurant, we’re taken to a table near the bar, and I can’t wait to dive into some chips and queso. My stomach growls like a madman because now that I’m surrounded by the smells of food, I realize how damn hungry I am.

I’m stuffing my face with chips when I hear that laugh. That unmistakable, high pitched, extra annoying sound I’ve known since high school. Miranda Brown is here.

I grab another chip and try to focus on my parent’s conversation. I don’t need to look around and see her. I know what she looks like. I’ve seen way more of her than I ever care to. And she’s probably here with Jay, which means he might see us. Oh God. How stupid am I going to look when I’m here with my parents and they’re on a romantic date? Not to mention, I look like fifteen year old in a t-shirt and flip-flops with messy hair and no makeup. I’ve been stressed out over studying, but to Jay it’ll look like I’m miserable and heartbroken. My heart races and I keep my head low, hoping they don’t see me. If I don’t look in their direction then maybe they won’t notice me, either. This whole restaurant is pretty packed, so hopefully we just blend into the crowd.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. When I hear that insipid laugh again, my instincts make me look in the direction it came from, even though I don’t want to see her.

But I do. I see her sitting there at the bar, wearing a tight black dress. She leans over and whispers into a guy’s ear. But that guy isn’t Jay.

It’s Aiden.

I guess I only thought I had protected my heart. Because right now, it hurts pretty fucking bad.