Angel: You’ve just signed your death sentence
Me: Stop being stupid. We’re just friends
Grayson: You were dating Amanda and you didn’t once lay a hand on Bryson. If that was my girlfriend, you better believe I would have thrown hands. All you did was have a little spat with him and called it a day
Kainoa: He’s not wrong
Angel: Are you all forgetting what he called Josie?
Grayson: Please. Let’s not act like people weren’t calling Amanda names. I didn’t see Danny boy doing anything about it
Kainoa: Oop??!?!! Explain yourself, Danny!
I glance out the window to see if Josie has arrived, but she hasn’t yet.
I did check up on Amanda after I heard what people were saying about her. Despite what she did, I wasn’t a dick, but things changed when I found out she willingly recorded herself having sex with Bryson. And it wasn’t just a one-time thing. She’d been hooking up with him for a while, sending him pictures, sexting him while we were in the same room.
Me: I have nothing to explain. She didn’t care so why should I? And I just don’t want anyone fucking with Josie. Are we clear?
Grayson: Yes sir
Kainoa: Aye aye captain
Angel: Anything for you papi
Noah: So how much are we betting? I give it three months.
My jaw falls slack, but I don’t have time to read the rest of the messages as Josie parks next to me. When she climbs out, I follow suit, grabbing my camera, the envelope, and my hiking bag.
I slip the strap over my head, letting my camera dangle from my neck as I stand next to her. “Hi, Jos.”
“Hey, Garcia,” she says as we all gather in front of Professor Carleson.
I try to focus on what he’s saying but her being this close to me numbs all my senses, even dulls the ache in my middle knuckle. Something about that makes me smile wider because standing next to her, as I inhale her lavender and vanilla perfume, I feel better about punching Bryson. Now my only regret is not having punched him a second time.
Once Carleson stops talking and gets a head count, he makes way into the trail, with everyone following behind him. Like last time, Josie and I are all the way in the back.
“So guess who was very pissed off this morning?”
She peers up at me, a twitch in her cheek, and like all the times she’s done that or remotely smiles, I document it and store it in a filing cabinet dedicated to her in my head.
“Did he accuse you?” She winces.
“Yeah but no worries, my roommates backed me up so he doesn’t suspect it was me.”
“That’s good because you didn’t do anything. It was all m?—”
I shake my head, shushing her up. “No, we don’t know who did it. I was home black-out drunk and you stayed with Pen thatnight.” I give her this look and she slowly nods, pressing her lips together.
“Right, right. I was with Pen and you were black-out drunk. Right.” She gives me an okay sign, her eyes shining with mirth.
Dios, no tengo suficientes palabras para explicar qué tan hermosa es.“How’s your finger?”
“It’s all right.” She lifts it and twists it, showing me the small cut.
“You’re not cutting limes or lemons, are you?”
She huffs a laugh, dropping her finger. “I’m not a cook. So no.”
