“What about Vivian? Does she count asjust whoever?”
“It’s not that simple,” he said.
“Oh, it’s not? Because it sure sounds like it is. You either slept with her or you didn’t. Tell me what’s complicated about that? You do realize you lied to me, right, Jack? You asked me to be sincere, and I have been one hundred percent honest with you since then, and now it turns out you lied to me about sleeping with someone?!”
“I didn’t know how you’d react!”
“How the hell do you want me to react?!” I screamed. “You want me to clap for you? Tell you,hey, great job,Jack? Ask for details?”
Furious, I turned around to walk out, but he grabbed my arm and stopped me. “Jen,” he begged. “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
“Did you think I couldn’t take it? I mean, we weren’t together at the time. You didn’t owe me anything. But now you supposedlyarewith me, and you still can’t be honest with me?”
“Supposedly?What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
I couldn’t believe that was what had gotten to him out of all the things I’d just said. “Drop it, all right?” I told him.
“No, I’m not dropping it. Vivian is my friend. And it was my birthday. She’d been having a tough time, I had, too…and it just happened. It was right after that when I had my relapse. There’s the story. We’ve never done anything again since. No kissing, no nothing. I swear.”
“Jack, please. Don’t lie to me again. I can’t take it. I’ve seen her. She’s charming, she’s hot, she’s a literal fucking movie star. How can you expect me to believe you’re not into her?”
“I do like her, we hang out, but as friends! I’m not attracted to her! I don’t even see her in that way.”
“Great, why’d you sleep with her the first time then?”
That caught him by surprise. His mouth fell open, and unable to find an answer, he decided to strike back at me: “Well what about yourcharming, hot friend that you just happen to share half your classes with? How many times have I had to hear the nameCurtisthis year? You don’t see me losing my shit over it!”
“Please tell me you’re kidding! First of all, Curtis and I don’t even hang out anymore, he’s seeing somebody and he hardly even answers my texts. And second, youdidlose your shit, like an absolute child, the first time he came over, and you haven’t stopped whining about it since. Third, I’m pretty sure he’s more into guys. He’s never even hinted at the possibility of us doing anything.”
“Of course not. He’s probably putting on an act to try and get in your pants later.”
If that wasn’t the most ridiculous thing Jack had ever said, it was pretty far up there, and Curtis cracked up laughing when I told him about it. It was funny, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t pissed off. We were out on the lawn in front of the fine arts building, and he actually shook as he lay back on the grass.
“TheactI put on,” he repeated. “Please tell me he didn’t actually say that.”
“Of course he did! I couldn’t make that up.”
“What, is he living in the nineteen-seventies? Is he one of those idiots who’s likebi people don’t exist? You know what, I don’t care. What happened afterward? Did you have make-up sex?”
“No. We just argued some more and then slept with our backs turned to each other,” I said.
“That’s how all the greatest love stories end.”
“I’m glad you think my life is so funny,” I told him.
“Seriously, though,” he added, “I get being angry, but you guyswereapart when he got with Vivian. He couldn’t change his past by the timeyou came back, and the real message here is that he wanted to be with you again and was scared he’d lose you. And that’s nice, in a way. I wonder if there’s not other things going on, too. Like maybe if you weren’t so worried about your grades, you’d be more chill about it.”
That was a possibility. The mere mention of school made me check my watch. Grades were getting posted online that day, and I was so nervous, I’d asked him if we could be together to give each other moral support.
“OK,” I admitted, “maybe you have a point. Maybe my nerves have been a little frayed. But you can’t act like him lying to me about sleeping with her isn’t a big deal.”
“I don’t know,” Curtis said. “I just don’t see it that way. Maybe it’s because I’m a guy. Anyway, you’ll probably come home and find out he’s bought you flowers.”
“Screw flowers. I want a cake.”
His phone dinged. It was time. I sat there in a panic as he opened the page on his phone. If his grades are bad, I won’t even look at mine, I thought. That was silly, but it gave me something to hang on to while I was waiting in agony.
“All right,” he began, “here goes: pass, pass, fail, pass, fail. Not bad, right?”
