“That’s always how it starts,” Valerie said with certainty. “And you’re going to the dance with him tonight. I bet he kisses you; I could tell that he wanted to, it was so obvious.”
“Were you spying on us?” she asked, feeling the panic beginning to rise again. “That’s not very nice.”
“You were right out in the open,” Valerie said, shrugging her shoulders. “Everyone was watching.”
“Oh great,” she said, feeling her cheeks turn pink. “No wonder Hattie asked me if I was seeing anyone.”
“This is so romantic,” Valerie gushed. “And I get to watch it happen.”
“Nothing is going to happen. I’m not ready to get involved with anyone right now, I have too much going on,” she said, shaking her head. “You’ll have to get your romance somewhere else.”
Valerie studied her for a second, then shrugged her shoulders, clearly defeated. “Okay, fine. Have it your way. Let a great guy slip away. I can’t stop you,” she finally said. “Maybe I’ll hang around and help him pick up the pieces when you crush him. I wouldn’t mind your leftovers.”
“My leftovers?” she asked, trying to ignore the surge of jealousy that erupted inside her. “That’s…well, I don’t know, gross or something. You wouldn’t really do that, would you?”
“You don’t want him, and it’s not like you two were ever involved. I think that means he’s up for grabs,” Valerie said, shrugging her shoulders. “Unless there’s some reason I don’t know about.”
“It would just be weird, that’s all. Besides, I’m the one who has a date with him tonight,” she said, a slight edge to her voice. “You could at least wait until after the dance to make your move.”
“Oh, I would never dream of doing anything at the dance, I don’t like drama,” Valerie said. “But if he’s a free man after tonight, I’m not going to back off.”
“Fine with me, he’s all yours after tonight,” she said, not meaning a word she said, a sick feeling in her stomach when she thought about Taylor with Valerie. “You deserve each other.”
“What does that mean?” Valerie asked.
She studied her new friend for a second, then let out a long sigh, not sure why she was fighting with her. “This is stupid. I don’t want you to make a move on Taylor,” she finally said. “I like him a lot, and it would kill me to see you with him. I’m just not sure I can be with him, or if he would even want to be with me. I hate all this romance stuff, it’s so complicated, and there are things you don’t know.”
“We did get a little carried away, didn’t we?” Valerie asked, shrugging her shoulders. “I’m sorry, Emily, I shouldn’t have pushed you so hard. I was just trying to get you to admit that you like him.”
“Well, it worked, I’m just not sure how much good it will do,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not supposed to get involved with him, and don’t ask me to explain, it’s impossible.”
“How about we just forget about it for a while and go to the fair? I didn’t mean to ruin the day; we’ve been having somuch fun,” Valerie said. “Let’s go find Kim and Peggy, I’m sure they’re ready to go too.”
“Okay, I guess that sounds good,” she said. “I just don’t want to see or talk about Taylor for a few hours.”
Valerie linked her arm through Emily’s. “That’s a deal,” she said. “We won’t mention his name even once.”
CHAPTER 10
***TAYLOR***
“Come on, folks, I’m looking for a brave man or woman to come to my rescue,” Ryan called, walking back and forth in front of Taylor. “Look at this man, he’s been sitting there for over half an hour and no one has been able to dunk him. It’s an embarrassment to this fine institution, the tragedy of the century, a scandal we’ll never recover from. Don’t let this happen. All it takes is five dollars and you can be the hero; you can save the day for your fellow students and the world.”
“Do you really think that will work?” he called. “Besides, no one has been able to dunk me so far. I don’t think it can be done.”
“Did you hear that, people?” Ryan called. “He’s insulting every single one of you. Don’t let him get away with it.”
“They’re all chicken,” he called. “Look at them, too scared to even try, they’re running away like a bunch of babies.”
Their banter was beginning to attract attention, and Taylor had a feeling it wasn’t going to be long before he was wet and shivering, but he reminded himself that it was for a good cause. Keeping the insults going wasn’t hard, especiallywith Ryan egging him on and it wasn’t long before a line began to form, a five-dollar bill in everyone’s hand. A crowd had gathered by the time Ryan collected money from the first person in line, one of the football players, and he braced himself for a dunking.
The minutes ticked by so slowly that a half an hour felt a lifetime, but he only took the plunge into the big tank of water three times, much to the frustration of a lot of people in the crowd. He was just about to climb out of the tank when the crowd parted and Emily came strolling up, Valerie, Kim, and Peggy right behind her. She picked up one of the baseballs and looked over at him with an evil smile on her face, then pulled a five out of her pocket and handed it over to Ryan.
“Did I tell you that I played baseball in high school?” Emily called. “I went to college on a scholarship. This should be fun.”
It was clear from the look in Emily’s eyes that she was serious and he braced himself for another dip in the tank, but before she could throw the ball, a voice cut through the crowd. “Well, would you look at what we have here,” a man said, shoving people out of his way to get to the front. “The Sigmas doing their part just like the good little boys they are.”
A murmur went through the crowd, and people started slowly backing away, sensing a confrontation was coming and not wanting to get involved. “Let me have a try at this,” the man said, shoving Emily out of the way. “This is men’s business, sweetheart. Step away like a good girl.”
