Then I saw him in some rosebushes, with a baby doll. Good grief. “Jimbo, come here boy,” I said.
He glanced up, then grabbed the toy in his mouth and trotted over. I ripped the doll from him, when I heard a little girl yelling from her stoop.
“That’s my doll. Give it back. Daddy, she took my doll.” The kid cried.
A moment later, a man rushed outside. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Wait, no, I didn’t take it. Our neighbor’s dog got loose and got a hold of it. We were trying to get it back.”
“You’re nothing but a bunch of bullies.” He shook his fist at us.
I handed the dirty toy to the girl and she ran back inside, crying.
“Stay away from our house, you hear?”
“Damn, you’re really getting a reputation around here,” Kenadi said.
I snorted. “Great.”
Jimbo glanced up at me and whimpered. He looked so sad as he put his tail between his legs. Nice. Now he was making me feel bad, too.
“C’mon boy. Let’s get you home.” When I arrived at the house, Mr. Foster was just pulling in.
“Thanks, Delyla. Sorry for the trouble. He’s been getting into lots of trouble as of late.”
I pretended not to notice Mr. Foster’s red-rimmed eyes, or the defeated slouch in his shoulders. Had he been crying?
“No problem,” I said.
Jimbo followed Mr. Foster inside, leaving me and Ken standing on the lawn.
***
At last, Kenadi and I headed out of town toward the mall. “So, what’s going on?” she said.
I sucked in a deep breath. “Trey and I kissed last night.”
The car swerved as she turned to face me. “What? Oh. My. God.”
Tears welled in my eyes. “I know. I never meant for this to happen.” I went on to explain the kiss practicing session. “Now, I’m so confused. I mean, I’ve never felt like this before. Not with Rex. Not with any of the guys I’ve dated. I don’t know, it’s like when I’m with him, I can be myself. And I have so much fun.”
“What are you gonna do?”
My gaze shifted to my hands. “I have to break up with Rex. It’s the right thing to do. I mean, I just don’t feel that way about him.”
“And what about Trey?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know that either. He’s supposed to have another date with Portia. And we haven’t really talked since it happened. Besides, maybe it didn’t mean anything to him.”
“But he kissed you back. Not some brush of the lips kiss, we’re talking full on tongue, clutching you tight romance crap.”
“Well, how am I supposed to bring it up?”
“Can you talk to Drake, see if he’d do some intel gathering for you?”
“Hell to the no. If he found out we kissed, he’d flip.” I shook my head. “Besides, my brother is too wrapped up in Chloe right now. I barely see him.”
Kenadi turned into the mall parking lot. “All right. Why don’t we play it by ear and see how school goes tomorrow? Perhaps he’ll let something slip. Something to let you know what your next step should be.”
“Okay,” I said. A few minutes later, we headed into the mall. Kenadi led me straight to “my” prom dress, which still hung in the window display. My vision blurred as tears threatened to spill over again.
“I know what’ll make you feel better.” Kenadi caught my arm and led me into the store. “You’re gonna get your dress today.”
“But I still have one more week before I’ll have enough money.”
“I’m going to spot you the difference. You can pay me back next week. Trust me, you need a pick me up and if this dress can’t do it, nothing can.”
“But what if I don’t have a date?”
She glanced at me. “You will. Even if I have to set you up with Deandre.”
My eyes widened. “Your brother? He’s a freshman.”
She shrugged. “So. Either way, I promise you won’t go alone.”
As we paid for the dress, I knew things were going to get complicated. I only hoped I could handle whatever came my way.
When I got to school, I made a beeline for my locker where the Nerd Herd stood in wait. Trey waved, then went back to talking with Kevin about a new computer game he got. He acted like nothing happened between us. My gaze shifted down the hall, where Portia had just come in the door.
“Hey, listen, I’ll catch you later,” Trey said. He patted my arm on the way by. “Thanks for your help this weekend. I owe you.”
Owed me? Okay, that wasn’t quite what I expected him to say. But maybe he didn’t want to bring things up with the guys around.
C.C. leaned against the locker beside mine. “Soooo, do you want to hear about my weekend?”
I spun the combination on my locker. “Um—am I gonna regret asking about it?”
He snorted. “No.”
“Fine. Spill.” My door swung open, almost hitting him.
“Damn, are you trying to take my head off?”
“Not at the moment. Why, do you want me to?” I smiled.
He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I wanted to thank you for the advice and the dancing lessons. Liza and I got together late yesterday to practice. And well, we sorta kissed.”
“Seriously?”
“Oh, yeah.” He puffed out his chest in a manly pose. “I didn’t even strain my groin.”
“Okay. I’m stopping you right there.”
