sure she got everything out of the bathroom, then zipped the bag closed and handed it to Joe.
He watched her the whole time, eyes dark with lust.
“Can you drive like that?” she asked.
“Like what?”
She pointed to his obvious erection.
“I should have asked you to bring everything over with you this morning,” he said. “We’d already be in my room.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“You think I knew?” Joe asked.
“Didn’t you?” Everything seemed so perfectly timed, so perfectly planned, from holding her hands inside his hoodie the night before, to offering her a bed to sleep in that morning, to pulling a hat onto her head so that his mouth was so close to hers she had no choice but to kiss it.
“Sarah, I haven’t known for months,” he said. “Believe me, this is a fantasy come true.”
Sarah stared at him, amazed.
“Come on,” she said, grabbing him roughly by the arm. “We’re wasting time.”
And she was done with that, Sarah thought. From now on she wanted every minute with him they could spare.
***
It took a little effort to make her suit presentable again for the judges. They would be mingling with all the students that night at a cocktail party before the actual awards banquet. Sarah wondered how on earth she was going to keep a straight face.
She had never thought of herself as a sexual creature, but it was obvious to her now that all she needed was for someone to show her the way. And Joe Burke was the perfect candidate for the job. The way he peeled away her clothes slowly the next time, tasting as he went, making her gasp more than laugh, making her moan in agony, punch his arms with irritation when he wouldn’t give her what she wanted, but just kept drawing it out, making her suffer and wait, building her higher and higher until she finally exploded with the kind of complete, pure pleasure she’d read about in books but never, ever understood.
The two of them lay sprawled naked and wet across his sheets. Joe grunted as he sat up to pull the covers up over them. “Can’t have you cold,” he told Sarah, kissing her softly on the lips.
Sarah squinted toward the bedside clock. “I should shower.”
“Mm, sounds good.”
“Alone,” she said, thinking of the shower cap she was going to have to pull over her hair. She always looked horrible in that thing—did anyone look good?—but she didn’t have time to blow dry her hair and straighten it before the dinner. At most she’d have time to quickly wash, reapply her makeup, then erase all the evidence of sex from her one nice outfit.
She walked naked to the bathroom, very aware that Joe was watching her. “I like your tits,” he said.
“Thank you.”
“I like your ass.”
“Thank you.”
“I like every inch of your skin.”
“You’re not making this easy,” Sarah said, poking her head out of the bathroom again.
“I’m not trying to. I want you to come back here.”
“Later,” Sarah said. “Don’t you want to know if either of us are going to the finals tomorrow?”
“No.”
“What if it’s me?” Sarah asked, leaning naked against the bathroom door frame.
“I’ll come watch you.”
“What if it’s you?” she asked.
“I’ll be too busy in bed with you.”
Sarah laughed. “I’m sure Ellen would love that.”
“We didn’t win, Sarah. She was horrible.”
Sarah grew serious. “Was she really?”
“With a capital H for help me.”
“That’s too bad,” Sarah said. “I’m sorry.”
“Who cares?”
“You really don’t?” she wanted to know.
“Sarah, I’ve already gotten everything out of this trip that I could possibly dream of.”
Sarah didn’t try to hide her smile.
“But not you, right?” Joe asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You’d like to win.”
“Well, sure,” she said.
“That’s what I like about you, Red.”
She waited, hoping he’d fill in the rest of the sentence himself. When he didn’t, she asked him shyly, “What do you like?”
He reached for her.
“Huh-uh. Tell me from here.”
“No deal,” Joe said. He continued to hold out his hand, waiting for her.
Why should she resist? Sarah asked herself. Why should she ever resist anything Joe wanted to give her?
He gathered her in his arms and pulled her tight against his chest. “I like that you’re smart and you’re never embarrassed about that. But at the same time, you’re not like other people at our school, constantly going around telling everyone how great you are. You let us all figure that out for ourselves. And I did figure it out—first year.”
“First year?” Sarah said. “But I didn’t notice you until second.”
Joe pretended to stab himself in the heart.
Sarah