a warm blanket.
Dante leads us through the quickly emptying halls, past the old gym and to a set of taupe double doors. Pushing through, sunlight pours in, brightening the dim corridor.
When my eyes adjust, I see the back parking lot of the school. Several cars are still parked out here; a few of them seem rather nice for a bunch of high school students.
I spot Ollie's light hair as he stands looking in our direction. He's positioned in the open passenger door with his elbow propped on the roof. Looking at him gives me the same dip in my stomach I get when I see Dante.
Guess I haven't let go of the crush yet, seems I have a thing for unavailable boys.
A sly smile lights his face as we approach. “I was sure we'd have to hunt you down girl.” His voice is light, teasing even. Without any real answer I give an uncommitted shrug, pulling the strap of my bag higher on my shoulder.
A heavy silence settles over us as we cluster around Dante's car.
I hear Milo nearing moments later, his feet crunching over the broken blacktop as he hurries over at a near jog.
“Hey,” he pants, not really out of breath, but I can tell he rushed to get here. The butterflies get impossibly stronger and my cheeks heat with something almost like embarrassment.
The way I’m surrounded by these boys makes me feel different, and not in a bad way. But in a way I'm completely unfamiliar with. I'm tempted to run.
Why am I here? Why are they even talking to me, and why, after all these years of never getting close to anyone, do I want to be here with them?
Now that Milo has arrived, Dante walks around the back of the car and opens the trunk. The hinges whine in a way only older cars do as he holds up the hatch. His black t-shirt rides up, giving me a view of his side and a glimpse of his stomach. I look away quickly, embarrassed how it makes me want to see more.
He tosses his bag in and the other two boys do the same. I grip my shoulder strap tighter, not ready to let go of it. Dante looks over at me, and his eyes slide down to my hands where they clutch my bag over my chest. Without a word he lets the lid go, and it drops down with a harsh slam.
“Shotgun,” Oliver exclaims, but Milo jabs him with an elbow and nods in my direction. “Oh yeah, Laura you want front or back?” he asks, not missing a beat as he nears the passenger door.
I don't know why, but it’s at this moment it actually sinks in that I might leave school with them. I never really thought about where we were going to talk.
Dante speaks up, “I thought we would head over to my place. No one else is there, but if you'd rather go to your house, we could do that.”
“No,” I whisper. “My place… it's not... we can't really go there right now.” I lie.
Oliver steps closer to me and drops his arm around my neck. The warm tingle reminds me why I need to do this. “Come on Laura, you look like you’re about to get in the car with a stranger offering candy. I promise you’ll be perfectly safe, and we'll be on our best behavior.” His pointer finger makes a small X over his heart and he grins down at me.
I peer over at Milo and wonder if he can tell how I feel with Oliver touching me. Would he still have the easy smirk on his face if he knew about the butterflies in my stomach?
No, I don't think he would.
I pull away and look down. “The back is fine, you called the front.”
“Damn,” Oliver curses and when I look up, he and Milo are staring at each other. Milo’s smirk has jacked up to a full-blown smile.
I shuffle in and scoot over so I'm behind the driver’s seat and Milo wedges himself in next to me. He grunts when he falls into the seat.
“We need to get a different car man. I'm tired of crawling in and out of the backseat.”
Dante's hand caresses the dashboard. “Not giving her up.”
I lean to the side and let the strap of my bag slide off my arm. It drops to the floor and I settle back in the seat.
Ten
As the rumble of the engine purrs to life,