“I can just walk home if you need to talk to Ms. Hill.”
“Nope, we are both talking to her,” I replied.
“If this is some scheme to get me to talk to someone about what happened, you can just stop now.” Kat stopped walking in the middle of the hallway.
“Remember when we had that assembly on getting ready for college entrance exams last semester?”
“I think I only half listened,” Kat said, rolling her eyes.
“Well, I listened and the advisor said the community college has a program that lets seniors graduate a semester early. It would require us to go to summer school but it would be online. Let’s do it.”
Kat’s eyes got wide and she looked stunned. “How did I miss that? Oh my gosh, we could get out of here a whole semester early? Let’s do it!”
“I just said that,” I said sarcastically.
“Oh, this is perfect!”
“And that is why we are going to talk to Ms. Hill.”
“Hurry up,” she squealed, pulling on my arm. That was the most excited I had seen her in months.
We only had to wait a couple minutes before Ms. Hill called us in. She went over our transcripts and explained the summer program. It would be extra work but watching how happy Kat was, made it a no-brainer.
“You ladies do need to realize, though, that there is not a graduation ceremony during the winter break.”
“That’s okay,” we both said in unison.
“All spring activities, including prom, are also not going to be available to you.”
I cringed on the inside because I had been dreaming about going to my senior prom the last four years. Kat didn’t seem fazed by it at all.
“Thank you, Ms. Hill,” Kat said, grabbing the admission forms.
We walked out of the office and saw my mom’s car parked in the front.
“You have no idea how much this means to me,” Kat said, pulling me to a stop before we reached the car.
“I’m just sorry I didn’t mention it before. We could have had more time to prepare, mentally for summer classes.” I stuck my tongue out at her. She smiled, making the thought of the next few months of hard work seem less torturous.
~*~
A couple of weeks later I was still using my anger about what happened to Kat to push myself harder at the gym. I stuck with the cardio machines when I went alone. Matt would spot me with the weights when we came together. He had Scott spot him since there was no way in hell I could lift that much weight.
Scott and I didn’t have much to say to each other. He would give me random workout tips and I’d make up stupid questions just to get his attention. I’d overheard him telling a couple of the girls from our meetings that he only personal trains those of us in the L.S.A.B. group. He’d hang around, talking to them during their sessions while all I got was directions and then he’d walk away.
I found myself becoming jealous of the way Matt seemed to bond to him. They acted like brothers while I stayed almost ignored in the background.
“Do you have plans in a couple of weeks, say on a Saturday?” Matt was using the free weights while Scott was helping me adjust the leg weight machine.
“Probably not. Why?” I didn’t even know what I was doing next weekend much less in a couple of weeks.
He smiled his big goofy smile. “Do you want to go to prom with me?”
Scott rolled his eyes at him. I just smiled because he looked so cute asking me even though it wasn’t very romantic. “Sure,” I replied trying not to look at Scott.
He pouted. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I know it’s coming up fast.”
“I would love to go. Thank you for asking.” Matt walked up to me and gave me a kiss. I felt uncomfortable every time he kissed me in front of Scott. Thinking about Scott so often and not wanting him to see us kiss made me feel so incredibly guilty.
Scott finished adjusting the machine and just walked off. I looked at Matt who didn’t seem to notice. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, I’m sure he just has other things to do. Hurry up and finish your legs so we can start on cardio.”
Scott seemed somewhat moody but he had never been rude before. I wonder if I did something wrong?
~*~
I dragged Kat out to go prom dress shopping with me. We could both be going as juniors but there was no convincing Kat.
“I can't believe you’re ditching out on prom,” I whined. Honestly, if this wasn't Matt's senior prom, I wouldn't be going either. Kat sat in one of the big, comfy chairs next to the large mirror. I had tried a couple other stores but couldn't find anything, so I figured I would give bridesmaid dresses a shot. Future brides lined up along the floor-to-ceiling mirrors trying on dresses.
“Walt doesn’t have a date yet,” I said.
“Look, I know Matt is friends with Walt and I didn’t want to say anything, but he gives me the heebie-jeebies,” she replied.
“Okay. I’ll stop bringing him up. I don’t really pay attention to him, anyways.”
Walking out of the dressing room, trying on my fourth dress, I saw Kat's expression and knew this was the one. Her mouth formed an “O” and her head tilted from side to side looking at me from different angles.
“Holy hell, Alissa! You look amazing!” She stood up and twirled me around. The dark red dress was sleeveless and looked perfect against my black hair. The top had material crisscrossing across the bust and then tied around the back. The rest of the material just flowed down to my knees. It was so soft against my skin, I wanted to keep twirling around.
“This is definitely the one.” I couldn't stop looking at myself in the mirror. I hoped Matt would think it was fabulous, too.
“Alissa? Wow, you look amazing!” I turned to my right and saw a girl who went to our high school, but I couldn't remember her name.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Mary,” she said with a smile.
“Thank you. This is a great dress,” I said running my hands down the soft material. I heard some laughing from behind me. A small group of girls from school came walking towards us.
“Great dress, Alissa,” one of the girls said.
“Hey, Mary, shouldn't you be shopping at the plus-size store?” one of the girls asked, laughing with the rest of them.
I looked back at Mary. She turned red in embarrassment. I couldn't keep my mouth shut or my anger suppressed any more.
“Being that you're all bitches, maybe you should go shop at the pet store.” I crossed my arms and stood there unfazed as they shot daggers at me with their eyes.
The sales woman approached and stood in front of me. I couldn't tell if she was worried about the dress getting hurt if one of them attacked me or if she thought I needed back up.
“Ladies, I don't like my customers being insulted and would appreciate it if you would please leave,” she said in a sweet yet slightly intimidating tone. My mouth dropped open as I watched the girls’ expressions change from mean to shock. They didn't say anything else as they turned around and exited the store.
Mary looked like she had tears in her eyes. “Thank you everyone. I'm really sorry you had to step in. I should probably go.” She turned around to leave.
My sales lady stopped Mary before I could. “I know the perfect dress for you. Why don't you sit down and I'll bring it right out.”
Kat patted the chair next to hers and Mary sat down while the saleslady went through the velvet curtain that led to the stock room.
“People suck,” Kat said with a straight face. I laughed while my adrenaline flow eased up throughout my body. Mary just smiled and relaxed into the chair.
“People do suck, but this dress does not and I must have it.” I winked at them both and went back into my dressing room to change back into my clothes. I took a picture in the mirror and sent it to Matt.
Matt replied, “You. Are. So. Gorgeous.” Yep, this is definitely the dress. Too bad Scott can’t see me right now. I wonder if he would lik
e it too? Stop it, Alissa!
~*~
Junior year was finally over. Kat stayed under everyone's radar and I didn't have to kick anyone's ass. Boys were still trying to ask her out, but she got really good at ignoring them all. Matt graduated and decided to go to tech school in Rochester for some sort of program that had to do with computer systems.
We celebrated the last day of school by having dinner with my parents. Even though the weather was warming up for the summer, the nights were still chilly enough for the warm water, so we sat in the hot tub after dessert.
“I’m really sorry about prom,” Matt said. He got the stomach flu the day before and we didn’t end up going.
“Don’t be sorry! I feel really bad since it was your senior prom. I would have enjoyed seeing Kelly and her hoard getting kicked out because they started acting crazy.” We both laughed. “Someone posted a picture of one of the D.A.’s knocking over the punch bowl. I guess that’s what happens when you’re high as a kite!”
Matt’s smiled faded. “I’m mad I didn’t get to see you in that dress.”
“I can put it on later,” I joked. He still looked sad so I decided to change the subject.
“How's it going working out with Scott?” I tried not to ask about Scott because I was afraid I would sound too enthusiastic. I hadn't told anyone, not even Kat, but I was having dreams about him even though the only things I knew about him were what I learned hearing him talk at the meetings.
“Good. He's been working with me on upper body strength so I don't re-injure my knee. The dude has some serious skills defending himself.”
“So, what exactly is he mentoring you on?” I started rubbing his thigh with my foot.
“Right now it's mainly physical defense.”
“I thought the whole point of the meetings was to teach you to be mentally prepared so if you are bullied, you can have the strength to walk away and report what happened.”
“Ideally that is what you're supposed to do, but Scott wants to prepare me if a situation ever gets out of hand.” He brought his arm up out of the water and flexed, showing off his muscles.
“Kat wants to come to the meeting this Friday. You should introduce her to someone. Maybe a single guy?”
“Walt is single. Maybe we should hook them up?” he asked with a huge smile.
“Umm, no. I think he gives her the creeps.” I pushed off the step I was sitting on across from Matt and moved right in front him. His arms wrapped around me and I ran my hands up and down his biceps, feeling his muscles. He pulled me in closer so I straddled his lap. Kissing him wouldn't be satisfying enough right now so I let my hands wander across his chest and around to his lower back. I closed my eyes and ran my nose along his jaw line, inhaling his scent but it was Scott's face I imagined.
“I don't know how much longer I can take being this close to you and not pushing myself inside you.” He groaned quietly as I kissed his neck.
I pressed my body up against his as close as I could. “I know how patient you've been and I promise I'm almost ready but I can't have my first time be in a hot tub.” I used the same excuse when we were making out in his car and things started to heat up between us.
He looked right into my eyes and whispered, “I'll wait as long as you need me to.” He kissed my nose and brought me in for a hug. Matt was so wonderful and that's why I had to get Scott out of my head.
“I know this is a weird question, but can I touch it?” I ran my hand up his thigh.
He wiggled his eyebrows and smiled. “Of course.”
My hand moved up his shorts. I kissed his neck as my hand explored him. I wrapped my hand around his cock, tugging it a little.
“Don’t hurt him!” Matt chuckled and I gave him a glare.
“I don’t know what to do with it.” I was completely embarrassed because it was my first time touching one.
“Just play with him and he’ll get bigger,” he whispered in my ear.
I pulled a little lighter and used my fingers to pump up and down. It got bigger and harder. Matt was moaning in my ear, which made me want to stroke him harder. My whole hand fit around it as it became big and solid. He grabbed my hand and showed me how to touch him. I felt empowered as he moaned louder in my ear.
“You need to stop or I’m going to lose it right here. I don’t think your parents would appreciate that.” He winked at me and adjusted himself.
“Does it hurt leaving it like that?” I pulled back off his lap and sat across from him again.
“It’s not comfortable but after a couple of minutes, it’ll go away. I will have to take care of myself in the shower later, however.” He smiled at me but I still felt bad. “I like your touch.” He leaned over and kissed me.
“Soon, I promise.” He nodded and stood up, reaching for our towels. He was still hard and I couldn’t help but stare at it, smiling. I did that to him.
Chapter 6
Katherine
Words could not explain how happy I was walking out of my high school the last day before summer vacation. That night I slept so deeply, knowing for two months it would just be me, my laptop, online classes and my best friend.
I heard Matt honk his horn outside in front of my apartment. I wasn’t excited about going to this meeting but Alissa was so sidetracked with Matt, I’d decided to suck it up so I could spend some time with her.
When we walked into the meeting room, I was shocked at how many people were attending. Matt was swarmed with people giving him fist bumps. Alissa stood back with me, people-watching connoisseurs that we were.
Alissa pointed to a guy standing on a small stage, surrounded by people. “That’s Scott, the main organizer.”
I couldn’t get a really good look at him because every time someone walked away, there was someone else taking their place. I noticed Alissa roll her eyes while we watched him giving some of the girls hugs. “Something wrong?”
She looked at me, her cheeks turning pink. “No. Nothing. Let’s find somewhere to sit.”
“Can we sit in the back?”
“Sure. Let’s go grab a seat. Matt will find us when he’s done talking to everyone.” Alissa said, grabbing my hand, leading me over to the chairs. No one spoke to us but we got a lot of smiles as we passed by little groups of people chatting.
Scott took the stage not long after we sat down. He began going over some new workout schedules for the summer, followed by asking for volunteers to help do some community awareness. Every mom in the crowd raised their hand to offer their help.
I couldn’t help but notice how good-looking Scott was. He kept everyone’s attention with every word he spoke. Even I got a little amped up listening to him speak words of encouragement for anyone dealing with any bullying issues. His confident voice filled the room and no one dared to even whisper the whole time he had the stage. He didn’t speak long because he wanted to use the remainder of the meeting time to allow people to fill in the sign-up sheets for various summer activities.
“I know you were probably bored, but thank you for coming with us tonight,” Alissa said as she linked her arm through mine and led me back out to the car. She used me as her excuse to not hang around after the meeting with Matt. He didn’t even argue when she asked him to take us home.
“Actually, it wasn’t boring. I can see why you enjoy these meetings. Scott is a very good speaker. It seems like he really enjoys working with the group and is excited about growth opportunities.” I climbed into the back seat of Matt’s car.
“So, you want to volunteer?” Matt asked, giving me a wink from the rearview mirror.
“Ummm, no,” I replied, getting a laugh out of Alissa.
“I’ll work on her. Don’t worry,” she said to Matt. I rolled my eyes at her. “The meeting was so short, I don’t want to go home yet. We should go get ice cream!”
“Could you take me home first? I don’t really feel like being social right now,” I said. The ice cream place near our neighborhood would be crawling with kids
from school at this time on a Friday night.
“Lame!” Alissa hollered back to me.
“You know, if anyone tries to mess with you they will have to go through me first?” Matt asked, turning around to face me at a red light.
“It’s so much easier to just hide in my room, but thank you,” I replied.
Alissa took the red light as an opportunity to lean over and kiss Matt. She laid her head on his should, much like she used to do when we sat in the back seat together. I knew it would eventually happen but I felt like I’d been replaced.
~*~
Alissa's mom let her hang out most days at my house while my mom was at work. Alissa was sprawled out on the couch while I sat on the floor with my laptop. The online classes we were taking required a lot of reading and answering multiple-choice questions. I read out loud and we would take turns answering the questions. I don’t think we were playing by the rules of summer school, but our system worked.
“I know we’re supposed to be growing up and getting more mature, but is watching the news really helping with that process?” I was half kidding because I didn't really mind Alissa watching the news, but she was getting slightly obsessed with trying to stay informed.
“Everything that is happening around the world affects us and it wouldn't hurt you to stay more informed either,” she says not breaking eye contact from the TV.
“I do want to stay informed, but it's making you a stress ball watching the news all the time! Then when you're not watching it, you're worried you're going to miss something. Call me crazy, but I don't think it's healthy.” I don’t know why I felt the need to let that come out so sarcastically, but I was really annoyed. “What is up with you lately? You've always been passionate about school politics or what's happening in other people's relationships but ever since you started meeting with Matt and that Scott guy, you seem moodier and not in a good way.” I stuck my tongue out hoping it would soften the blow.
“Let's just say they are opening my eyes to the world, and yes, it's not all good. You can't relate because you always have your nose stuck in fiction.” She stood up and I thought she was going to stomp out the door, but her expression quickly turned apologetic. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. It's just, well, it just makes me so mad that good people get hurt by these horrible human beings that have their heads so far up their own ass, they lose all compassion for others.”