William:If you’re upset with me I understand. I don’t want to go back on anything; I just want to give you the explanation you deserve. If you want, come by my place, then we’ll talk
Of course. Why not? Why did it feel like everyone insisted on telling me half-truths? First my mom, now Will.
I put on my hoodie and grabbed my backpack.
I felt the pressing need to get away from everyone and everything, put on my AirPods, and go for a bike ride.
I put on my shoes and took off.
Feeling my hair wave and my lungs fill with fresh air made me feel better quickly. The clutching in my chest started to subside, but too many thoughts were still weighing down my mind.
I liked Will, but his attitude only pushed me away. James I didn’t like it at all, but his behavior pulled me in like a magnet. It shouldn’t have. He was the typical guy who made fun of me in front of everyone; in fact, he did it, too, when we were alone, but I hadn’t had enough experience to realize it. Come to think about it, he did it in Jackson’s car and did it again yesterday at him.
Was I too naïve or too skeptical?
Falling into a guy like James Hunter’s trap would’ve been easy—too easy. A guy that hot and popular had never paid attention to me before.
To be honest, a guy like that had never even talked to me.
But on the other hand, I felt like I had a connection with Will, and I didn’t want to write that off.
If only he didn’t flip-flop so much.
I started smiling with my headphones in. “Drivers License” came on, and even though Olivia Rodrigo was kind of a premature choice because Will and I weren’t even a real couple, I thought of him. I felt my backpack vibrate. It was my phone.
I kept pedaling, disregarding the fact that I was dying to know what Will had to say.
What if he needed a friend, and I was turning my back on him like a selfish bitch? What if he wanted to tell me something important?
After biking a few blocks, I decided to head to William’s house.
When I rang the doorbell and the door opened, my breath almost stopped.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” There he was.
“Will called me. What the hell are you doing here, Hunter?” I swallowed, trying to hold his gaze, but I already knew that would be a herculean feat. He was shirtless, and the afternoon sun cast shadows on his rock-hard chest. He looked like he’d just jumped out of his Instagram post.
He took it upon himself to put my fantasies to an end. With a smirk, he slammed the door in my face. Offended, I rang the bell again like a crazy person. James opened it again, this time laughing as two dimples appeared on his cheeks.
“Are you an idiot? You’re gonna slam the door in my face like that?”
“Do you know any other way to get a pain in the ass like you to get lost?”
My eyes fell on his warm cheek, as if I wanted to take aim and slap it. But his smooth cheek evoked the sensation of touching my lips to his skin. For a moment I thought it’d left a mark, like a brand.
“Did you not hear me? Go home and don’t give me shit.” I held back the insult that was jumping off the tip of my tongue, then I talked again more calmly.
“Will called me.”
But my insistence didn’t make him move. Instead, he leaned on the doorjamb preventing me from coming in. “Why are you spewing bullshit? What’re you doing here?”
“Can you cut it out? And get dressed? Thanks.” I glanced furtively at him without looking down.
“I’ll be shirtless whenever the fuck I want, Snow White.”
Jesus what a meathead.
They say you see a person’s flaws better up close, but James was the total opposite. He had a perfect body. It was so enviable that it made me feel awkward.
