Yeah, I hated myself for that, and I was trying to stop, because that wasn’t fair to Erica. Or Jolene, who, despite her initial reaction, seemed fine with me having a girlfriend.
I wanted her to care a little. If it bothered her even a tiny bit...
I had to tell Erica. She didn’t always ask me what I did when I was at my dad’s, but she had to realize that I did more than sleep and eat. Plus, it was just my luck that Jeremy had spontaneously decided to go out for the school play same as Erica, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he let something slip at rehearsal sooner or later. He was constantly telling me what a tool I was being to her—herbeing my girlfriend, not my friend-who-was-a-girl—though I’d have argued I sucked pretty hard to both of them. I knew it was bad when even Jeremy was disgusted with me.
“What’s up, man?” the guy in the driver’s seat said.
“That’s Meneik. He’s mine.” Cherry snaked an arm around the neck of the lanky guy next to her.
“Hey. Thanks for the ride.” I didn’t get a response as talking became physically impossible for either of them after that. I turned back to Jolene and found her grinning at me.
“You ditching school for me, Adam Moynihan?”
“I guess I am.” I grew sweatier at the prospect. I’d never cut before. None of my friends had cars so it’s not like I could have gone anywhere, but the idea had never appealed to me until Jolene. I couldn’t think of many things she’d ask that wouldn’t appeal to me. Still, I’d have been a lot more nervous if my buddy Os in the front office hadn’t agreed to stop the robocall to Mom telling her that I’d missed class.
“It’s a cute school,” Jolene said, her gaze roaming over the squat, redbrick building. “The white columns are a nice touch. Feels like a president could have gone here or something. Humble but wholesome beginnings and all that.”
I didn’t bother glancing back. The last thing I needed was for someone to look out one of the many windows and see me leaving with a girl who wasn’t my girlfriend. “No presidents yet, but I’ll let you know. We should go, right?” I hurried to open the back door for her, and she curtsied before sliding in.
As soon as we were in, Meneik released Cherry and pulled out of my high school’s parking lot.
“You do this a lot?” I asked, warily watching the couple in the front seat simultaneously make out and drive.
“Not really,” Jolene said, and then she leaned over to whisper in my ear. “I don’t think Meneik is qualified to operate a pencil much less a car—an opinion that Cherry takes exception to. We don’t hang out a lot anymore.”
“I meant ditch,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. She smelled way too good. Honeysuckles were quickly becoming my favorite scent.
Jolene grinned at me. “You are three seconds from breaking out in hives.” Then she laughed “Don’t worry. You’ll be back in time to hug all your teachers goodbye before school ends.”
I side-eyed her. “Part of you thinks I do that.”
“All of me knows you do that.”
I laughed and tried to force my attention away from Jolene. I was relieved to see that the happy couple were no longer eating each other’s faces.
“So what are we doing on this beautiful day?” Jolene asked in an overly bright voice, and I noticed that while she seemed to be addressing the whole car, she was looking at Cherry. I also noticed that she was twisting the hem of her skirt, a gesture at odds with her easy tone.
In a low voice, one so low I almost didn’t hear it, Cherry said to Meneik, “We could all hang out for a little bit, couldn’t we? Just a little bit?”
From my view in the back seat, I saw Jolene’s grip on her skirt twist tighter as she watched Meneik’s reaction.
His jaw locked and he flexed his fingers on the steering wheel. He didn’t so much as glance at Cherry. “Your mom’s been getting to you.”
“No,” she said, and I picked up a note of panic from her. “That’s not—”
“That’s what it sounds like.” Meneik’s voice stayed flat and cold. “She won’t let me come around your house, and the one time I get you to myself, you want to go off with your friends. We drop them off somewhere and you get an alibi this weekend. That was the deal. I should have known you’d try to pull something like this on me.”
“Meneik...” She reached for his arm but he pulled it away. A heartbeat later, her seat belt was unlocked and she was practically in his lap, telling him that she wanted to be with him, no one else, and she was sorry. She had to repeat her apology so many times that I started to feel ill. When I glanced at Jolene, she had turned to stare resolutely out the window, the hem of her skirt wrinkled but no longer caught in her tortured grip.
A few minutes later, Cherry and Meneik dropped us off outside a strip mall, and I couldn’t say I was sorry to see them go. Cherry had made sure every ounce of her attention was focused on Meneik when we got out of the car, even though he remained stiff and indifferent toward her. It was messed up, and Jolene obviously didn’t like seeing her friend endlessly apologize for no reason that I could see.
“Hey,” I said, drawing Jolene’s attention away from Meneik’s fading taillights. “I’m sorry about your friend.”
Her gaze was weary when it lifted to mine. “Yeah, well, she’s the one who wanted a boyfriend.”
I started to laugh like she’d made a joke, but Jolene didn’t smile. Mine quickly died. “Okayyy, but that doesn’t mean she should be treated like that. No girl should.”
Jolene shrugged and started to turn away. I caught her arm lightly so that she’d turn back.
