“Yeah, sure.”
Back to Mr. Monotone again. Great. “I thought maybe we could take a road trip or something.”
“Yeah, whatever you want.”
“Or we could do something you want to do.”
He laughed bitterly, slamming his hands into his jean pockets and hunching over a little as they continued walking. “I wouldn’t let you do what I want to do.”
OK, maybe it was too early for patience. “What… get high? Get wasted. Sleep around with a bunch of STD-infected skanks.”
“Ari,” he moaned. “It’s too early for this shit.”
“Yeah well it’s never too early to catch a disease,” she snapped, attempting to conceal her jealousy and hurt that he slept with anything with br**sts and yet treated her like an asexual house plant. “Have you even been to a clinic?”
“Two weeks ago.” He tilted his chin arrogantly, narrowing his eyes to a smolder that should have annoyed her rather than cause the funny flutter in her lower abdomen. “Just because I’m eye-candy doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”
“Oh, ha-ha, funny.”
“I’ll have you know lots of girls find me attractive.”
“Yeah and you don’t turn down any of them do you?”
“That sounds suspiciously like you’re calling me a manwhore.”
“I am calling you a manwhore.”
“Ouch. I’m hurt.”
“Yeah I can really see you’re cut up about it.”
Charlie grinned, his dark eyes glittering. “I miss you, Johnson.”
Ari’s heart stopped, a painful halt in beat that made her almost trip. She smiled sadly. “I miss you too.”
He sighed, coming to a stop, eyeing her carefully. “A road trip huh?”
Her smile widened to a grin that made Charlie’s eyes lighten even more. “Yup.”
“OK, if it makes you smile like that I’m in. I haven’t seen that smile in a long time.”
Surprised, Ari attempted a casual shrug as she replied, “I wouldn’t have thought you’d noticed.”
“What? How sad you’ve been lately? I’m stoned, Ari, not blind.”
“Didn’t think there was any difference.”
“Oh, ha-ha, funny,” he threw her earlier words back at her. “So you going to tell me what’s been bothering you or can I guess?”
A rush of overwhelming relief coursed over her at his question. This was Charlie. This was really, really Charlie. “Well I—”
“Hey, C-man, wait up!” a deep voice cut Ari short and they turned to see Mel Rickman trolling towards them in his beat up 1999 Subaru Impreza. He stopped beside them, leaning out of the driver’s side window. “What’s up?”
Charlie nodded tightly at him. “Not much.”
Mel flicked a look at Ari, his eyes travelling up the length of her bare legs, resting on her br**sts for a little too long, and then scanning her face with a twisted smile and burning eyes. “What’s up, Princess?”
Charlie stepped in front of her, jerking his head towards the direction of school. “Ari, why don’t you head in? We’ll catch up at your party.”