Whatever. I didn’t fight it now that it was out of reach.
I’ll give him this. After making me spend the entire weekend topless, Robert had me completely comfortable in my own skin. By the end, it didn’t bother me to walk to and from the bathroom mostly naked. I didn’t even cross my arms to cover myself up anymore.
So long modesty.
13
That week was our last together until after Christmas break. We normally had two weeks off but Robert was leaving school a week early for an extended ski trip his family was taking to different parts of Europe.
“So, about Christmas. Am I allowed to get you a phone?”
“No.” Wow. I was super quick to say that. Sophie shook her head in amusement from the sofa next to us.
He lowered the book he was reading to his lap. “Why not? Say I went out and got you jewelry. The price to cover a phone plan wouldn’t be any different.”
“Cheaper, actually,” Sophie chimed in, though her eyes never left her phone.
“Look, I haven’t received much in my lifetime, but what I do have, I have because I’ve earned it.”
“I won’t have any scruples over you earning it.”
Sophie burst into a fit of laughter. I had to really twist in the armchair we shared just to see that perfect poker face. Someone’s been studying up on his SAT words.
“You know, it amazes me how you can say that with a straight face.” He licked his lips and a small smile began to slowly form. “Besides, I think the tab you’ve already started is long enough.”
Our lips were mere inches apart and I was really tempted to eliminate every single centimeter.
“I’d be willing to pardon it all if you’d let me get you a phone.”
“Take the deal, Jenna,” Sophie said, and I turned back to see her still clicking away on her keypad. “Just think of all the late night calls, texts and dirty pictures you’re missing out on.”
Robert murmured his agreement in my ear. Luckily I was spared the details of any dirty pictures Sophie had been involved in when Jhett crash landed in the sofa next to her. He gave her a quick peck on the lips and they became immersed in a hushed conversation.
Quietly, I turned and added, “And you can’t cover a phone plan for less than fifty bucks anyways.”
“Yeah, let’s talk about this ridiculous limit you’ve set for us.”
“I’m standing by it. I don’t need anything.”
“Neither of us needs anything, Jenna. That’s not the point.”
“I don’t want you buying me some ridiculously expensive gift when I can’t do the same. Is that so horrible to ask?”
He threw his head back on the chair and stubbornly whined, “Fine. I’ll go to the store and get you something less than fifty bucks.” After rolling his head back and forth a few times, he sat back up, seemingly a little less annoyed with me. He sighed heavily and returned to his novel, but after about two minutes he huffed and waved it at me.
“Don’t you have to read this for class too?”
“Yes, but I’ve read it before.”
“Where?”
“I wasn’t forced to read it. I chose to read it last summer.”
“This,” he mocked, “you chose to read for fun?”
“Yep. And now I don’t have to squeeze it in before finals, like some other people around here.”
“See,” Sophie said, “that’s why Jenna gets the scholarships. She’s smart enough to think ahead.”
“You got a scholarship to college already?” Jhett asked, seemingly impressed. “Which one?”
My eyes widened as I looked up. Sophie froze and I felt Robert tense up behind me.
“What?” he asked, confused by all our looks of surprise.
Sophie blurted, “I’m sorry. It slipped.”
“It’s okay.” It really was. I wasn’t too worried about Jhett finding out. “Jhett, I’m here on scholarship.”
“No shit?” His lips pinched and his head seemed to nod absentmindedly.
Yeah, I knew that look. “It’s okay. Just go ahead and say it.”
“It’s just, you don’t look like a scholarship kid. I mean…you blend.”
“Yeah, well…ssshhh,” I joked.
“Well, you had to be smart to get one for here. Have you gotten one for college yet?”
“That’s actually what I’m working on right now,” I explained, returning to the website I had pulled up on Robert’s laptop. “But most of these want me to be involved in extracurricular activities or in the community in some way.”
“Just make it up,” Sophie replied. “They’re not really gonna check.”
“I’d rather not lie if I don’t have to.”
“Why don’t you volunteer somewhere?” Robert asked. “Then you can choose when and where you go.”
“The hospital!” Sophie exclaimed.
“What?”
“Yeah, I got friendly with the nurses when I was there.” She threw Robert a contemptuous glare. “Someone wouldn’t get the hell out of ICU.”
Robert chuckled. “I’m still not going to apologize for that.”
“Anyways,” she continued, “they mentioned they’re always short-handed. I’m sure they’ve got plenty of stuff you could do to help out.”
“You don’t have a car, do you?” Jhett asked.
I shook my head. “I can just take the bus.”
“No,” Robert said softly in my ear. “I can take you. You shouldn’t have to shell out money for public transportation just to earn money for school.”
I leaned my head back over his shoulder and smiled. “We’ll see.”
When Sophie and I retreated to our bedroom a little later, she hopped in the shower and I decided to start working on my calculus. I had tried to start it down in the commons but my brain just couldn’t seem to focus on it. I opened my book bag and groaned when I didn’t see my textbook.
“Crap!”
I went back down to the commons thinking I left it behind, but it wasn’t there. And no one new had come along to sit in the area. Thinking Robert may have grabbed it by mistake, I cautiously made my way up to his room. I had just knocked on his door when the door across the hall and one over opened. I gasped automatically. The girl that stepped into the hall widened her eyes as far as mine. I recognized her as that Anne girl in the volleyball uniform the morning I had detention – for being caught in the male halls!
Robert’s door opened but my eyes were still fixed with
Anne’s, so it took me a few seconds to face him. Curious, he peeked out into the hall.
“Come on,” he said softly and pulled me in. I took one last glance at Anne but she was already headed in the opposite direction.
Jhett wrinkled his forehead with surprise when he saw it was me. “Do I need to beat it?”
“Doesn’t Sophie do that for you?” I threw my hands to my mouth as soon as I said it. Normally, I said that kind of thing to Sophie, not Jhett, and it just came out before I thought about it.
He and Robert chuckled, but I wasn’t sure if they were amused by what I said or cause I was completely turning red at the moment.
I tried to be sincere but the giggles just couldn’t be contained. “I am so sorry!”
Jhett got up, and as he passed me on the way out, mischievously replied, “And to think you kiss Robert with that dirty mouth, you little beater you.”
Once he was gone, Robert leaned on the wall beside me, waiting for me to disengage my hands. “I’m guessing you didn’t come here to discuss beating with us, so what’s up?”
I fought to remove my hands, so the first few words were muffled. “Oh-my-God, I can’t believe I just said that to him.”
“Why not? It’s not like it’s not true.” He nudged himself a little closer and his hand reached out to finger mine. “Although, it was a little hypocritical of you since you’ve been quite the busy beater yourself.”
He leaned in and gave me a long, adoring kiss that calmed my nerves.
“So, what brought you up here if you truly didn’t have beating on your mind?”
“Hush up,” I replied jokingly and pushed him off me. “Did you grab my calculus book downstairs? I can’t find it.”
He grabbed his bag and sure enough, he had a spare inside. “This is where I’d normally say I’m sorry for taking your book, but after the past five minutes, I’m actually really glad I snatched it.”
“Ha ha. Now if you don’t mind, I’m gonna go die of humiliation.”
I was relieved to see that Jhett hadn’t made his way to our room once he bailed. But the grin on Sophie’s face when I walked into the room told me she had already been informed via cell phone. Freakin’ technology.
“Not one word,” I playfully threatened.
“That’s alright. Apparently I have other outlets for the use of my mouth.”
“I’m sorry! It just came out.”
I figured that was the perfect time to take a shower. Maybe if I stayed in there for an hour I could wash away the humiliation.
Nope. Still there.
I changed into a fresh satin camisole and matching shorts to sleep in and stepped out of the bathroom, towel-drying my hair. Sophie was sitting on her bed with her laptop open in front of her, but she was quickly texting away on her cell phone.
“Hey,” she said, “some teacher just checked all the rooms on Jhett and Robert’s floor.”
“What?”
“Yeah, they’re making a random sweep to make sure none of the rooms have become co-ed.”
My mouth fell open. “Are they doing that here?”
“No one’s come around yet. I texted a few girls on different floors and no one’s been checked yet. But I guarantee you everyone in this school knows by now. Ms. Newell didn’t go so far as to check under our beds so I’d be willing to bet there are some misplaced students out there hiding under them at this moment.”
“Where’d Jhett go after he left his room?”
“Cafeteria. He knew you wouldn’t stay so he went back up after a few minutes. Aren’t you glad you got out?”
Hell yeah. I couldn’t afford to be caught again. Out of the four of us, I was the one that did the least amount of room hopping cause Robert usually came to me. Yet I was the one that had already been caught once and almost got caught again tonight. What the hell?
I flipped my hair upside down and continued to pinch the water out with the towel.
“Hey!” Jhett yelled. “I missed that. Is that the beater hater? You know, the one with rug burn on her knees.”
My body snapped up and my hair flung water on my bookshelves as it flipped back.
“Are you Skyping?!” I cried at Sophie.
“Uh…yeah. Sorry.”
“I had to take a leak. What’d I miss?” he continued.
I rounded Sophie and leaned in behind her. Jhett’s webcam stream was taking up the entire screen and I could tell he was sitting at his desk.
“Well there’s our little beater hater.”
“You know, I think you just like saying the word beater and you’re using me as an excuse to say it.”
“What?! Do you believe that, Soph?” he asked.
“Yes,” she answered immediately, still texting away on the phone.
He turned his head in the picture. “Man, can you believe this? They’re ganging up on me.”
I heard Robert chuckle off screen and mumble something along the lines of ‘good for them’.
I rose to walk away but stopped short when Jhett added, “Hey, beater hater. One more thing.” I leaned down in view of the camera again. “Your headlights are on.”
And with that I snapped up and steered away from the laptop. I heard Sophie gasp and then Jhett yell out when something smacked in their room. Sophie sighed and shook her head in annoyance. “Don’t worry about it Robert. I’ll be sure to smack the crap out of him enough for the both of us.”
“What was that?” I asked, not daring to come within range of her webcam again.
“I think Robert pelted him with one of those soft balls they have for that hanging basketball toy thingy.”
“Woman, it’s not a toy thingy. Okay? Three words. Door. Basketball. Hoop.”
Sophie looked up from her phone and she jerked her head sideways with each word, “What. Ever.” Then she turned to me and said, “It’s a toy.”
“Ahh! There’s no reasoning with her.”
A knock came from our door and we both froze.
“Ladies. Open up,” was called through the door.
Sophie slammed the laptop shut and I answered the door. Ms. Newell stood there with a clipboard in hand.
“Ms. Baker. Good to see you’re staying in your room tonight. Now where’s Ms. Zawinski?”
I opened the door all the way and she stepped in far enough to scan the room. Sophie semi-waved from her bed. “Excellent. You two have a good evening.”
I locked the door behind her and listened as she knocked on the door across the hall. Sophie and I traded curious looks, then she got back to her texting and I settled into bed with my book.
“There’s still time to change your mind about the Christmas dance. Sure you don’t wanna go?”
I shook my head. “I don’t wanna go alone.”
“You won’t be alone. Jhett and I will keep you company.”