Gimme Everything You Got - Iva-Marie Palmer Page 0,85
hand job, or do you go all the way?”
Candace’s face crumpled from its bright expression, and I thought she might cry. “It’s not like that, Susan,” she said. “We haven’t gone that far yet. Don’t you think I’d tell you?”
“You didn’t tell me about him in the first place. And he’s giving you hickeys and letting you wear his jacket; even a weirdo like George probably knows some moves to get in a girl’s pants.”
Candace pushed her wayward bangs out of her eyes with a huff. “I don’t know why you’re being so rude, but if and when it’s time for George to get in my pants, it will be my decision.”
“It was a joke,” I said.
Candace shook her head. “No, it wasn’t. Grow up, Susan.” She retreated back toward the group, leaving me standing there like a jerk.
I sulked off and sat at the top of the stairs to the second floor, a few steps above a guy who was sleeping on the staircase. I’d been there awhile when I felt a toe at my back. I craned my neck to see Marie and Lynn, arms linked and makeup fresh. “You’re not wasted, Susan, are you?”
“No, just taking a break,” I said.
“Come with us,” Marie said. She pointed to the sleeping guy, who’d sprawled closer to my feet. “Before he’s napping on your lap and you can’t escape.”
I stood up and smiled weakly at Marie. Lynn Bandis reached out and fixed my hair before waggling her fingers at Marie and returning to Len’s lap. At the bottom of the staircase, I looked out at the living room, my eyes landing on Joe and Jeannette. His arm was tight around her waist and their bodies were pressed together as they kissed like two people trying to see how long they could go without oxygen. Maybe she could hold her breath extra long from all that swimming. He’d be on to the next girl before she came up for air, I thought, with a cruel satisfaction I wasn’t proud of.
I wondered if he’d asked “May I?” before they’d started.
Marie came up behind me and followed my gaze toward Joe. “Don’t stare,” she said. I hadn’t known I was staring.
Then she pointed toward the middle of the room, where the furniture had been pushed aside for the party. Tina, Dana, Dawn, and Wendy formed a line facing Ken, the St. Mark’s goalie, and several of his teammates, clearly in some kind of confrontation.
“What the fuck?” I said, and we took a few steps closer.
“You chicks just want attention,” one of Ken’s teammates was saying. “And since none of you is cute enough to be a cheerleader, you had to go with soccer.”
“Why does it bother you so much that we play?” Dawn said.
“Yeah, you worried we’re going to win more games than you?” Tina added.
“Pff, there’s a better chance I’d take one of you dogs to prom,” Ken said. He laughed, and so did his teammates. The laughter was worse than the things they were saying. I could see my teammates waver. My heart ratcheted up, like someone was kicking a ball against the inside of my chest.
“We don’t care what you think of us,” Wendy said. “We can do whatever you can do.”
Ken shook his head. “There’s no fucking way.”
I hated Ken, standing there all proud in his stupid jacket, like he’d appointed himself the President of Soccer, deciding who played and who didn’t.
“Hey, Ken,” I yelled across the party, the ball in my chest thudding harder and faster so all I could hear was my own blood. Joe, who’d pulled away from Jeannette to watch the feud, turned his head toward me.
“You talking to me?” Ken jutted out his chin. His buddies chuckled.
“Yeah, I am.” I grabbed Marie’s wrist and pulled her into the crowd. We needed to take up as much room as we could to make what I was about to say work.
I put my hands on my hips and stood with my legs apart, like Bobby’s coach pose when he wanted us to listen. I threw my shoulders back and got as close to Ken as I could without touching him. Even though my veins felt like they were overboiled spaghetti and my legs were unsteady, I must have looked like I knew what I was doing, because he backed up the slightest bit.
I glanced toward the corner and caught Joe’s eye. His hands were still at Jeannette’s waist but his mouth was open in shock, like