the basement?”
A cringe started deep in my stomach and worked its way out. “Watching a movie in the basement” was Violet-speak for “hard-core make-out session.” Or whatever else she did down there. That couch converted into a bed, and probably had better stories than some hotel comforters.
It was more than I cared to think about.
I must’ve managed to control my face, because she kept talking. “So we’re kissing and everything, and things are getting, you know, pretty hot, and all of a sudden he just—stops. Like, hands me my shirt and says he should go.”
“Oh.” The fact that her shirt had been off was way more than I needed to know. “So, um, what happened?”
“I don’t know! I asked if he was feeling okay, and he said he thought we should wait. No one waits anymore, Kelsey. I mean, what the hell? When he said he liked you before, was it legit, or was he totally trying to cover being gay?”
Laughter spewed out before I could control it. “Violet! He and I never—”
She waved her hand dismissively. “Whatev. But seriously? He has to be, right?”
I struggled to contain my chuckles. “I doubt it, Vi. Maybe he’d talked to his mom beforehand? That always puts him in a bad mood.”
Violet’s expression soured. “I don’t know, he never talks about her. I was starting to wonder if she died or something.”
“She’s not dead!” I stopped and shrank in my chair when I realized the look in her eyes was pure evil. It was obvious she didn’t care to know about David’s mother—she cared that I knew more than she did.
I chewed at the mouth of my water bottle, trying to pretend I didn’t feel flattered—and the tiniest bit smug—to know that there were still some things David didn’t feel comfortable sharing with just anyone.
Violet folded her arms, continuing down the warpath. “Well, he’s either gay”—her eyes raked over me in an unmistakably accusing way—“or he’s hung up on someone.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.” She pretended to examine her nails. “Just that you two have been all buddy-buddy lately, and it magically coincides with me getting the shaft. Care to explain?”
I had to admit, Violet was more observant than I gave her credit for. A lot of the tension between David and me had dissipated since I’d more or less broken down in his arms. We were still nowhere near the way we used to be, but we’d been talking a lot more. Laughing a lot more too.
“Listen, Vi. David and I were only friends. That’s as far as it will ever go, and we’re not even there yet. So if you really think he’s hung up on someone, it isn’t me.”
Violet frowned. “Great. Then I guess my boyfriend is gay.”
The fact that David walked in before I could defend him made it even harder to bury my laugh in my bottle of water.
“Hey,” he said, nodding in my direction as he sat down. He turned to face Violet. “You didn’t wait for me today.”
She pressed her pen against her lip and gave him a pointed look. “I hate waiting.”
Oh, God. Poor David. He’d landed himself in the doghouse for being a gentleman, and he didn’t have a clue. And although I’d never admit it, I was dying to know the real reason he’d put the brakes on.
“You hate waiting?” David looked baffled. “You wait at my locker every morning. What are you talking about?”
Violet rolled her eyes. “I don’t always feel like waiting. Waiting bites the big one, okay?” Under her breath she added, “Don’t get excited because I said biting big ones.”
David’s bewildered look went from Violet to me and back again before Mr. Ingles called the class to attention. David turned to face the front of the room, but his forehead remained creased with confusion. Through the corner of his eye, he glanced at me as if to say, What the hell is going on?
There was no way to clue him in that wouldn’t be completely awkward. Sex was the one subject he and I had always skirted around, probably because it was something we’d never done together, and never would. We’d kept it out of each other’s faces. Or he’d kept it out of mine, since I’d been a virgin until Ryan.
As Mr. Ingles took attendance, I decided I could at least tell David that Violet was upset, though that much was pretty obvious. Passing a note would have been too noticeable, so my eyes wandered to my