I swear I just caught her licking his lobe, too.
Disgusted, I get up and head to the can. After I pee, I wash my hands and lean over the sink while I check out my reflection in the mirror. I'm a f**king mess, unable to just chill and hang out with my friends. Especially not with the girls here. Especially not with Kendra here. She puts my nerves on edge, reminding me of the past. The accident. Maggie.
The door to the men's room opens and sure enough Kendra walks in. I'm not surprised.
"Your boyfriend'll follow you in here," I tell her.
She saunters close to me, close enough I can smell her strong perfume mixed with cherry lip gloss. Total overkill.
"He won't. He thinks you're upset, so I told him I'd talk to you. He trusts us both."
"He's an idiot."
"He also thinks you're jealous. Are you?"
"Oh, yeah," I tell her. She wants to hear it, so I give her what she wants. It's a game she likes to play. I'm tired of playing games, but it's the only way to deal with her.
"You've been elusive, CB." try busy.
"I thought we had an understanding."
The only relationship I want is the one I already have, with Maggie. It might not be public, but it's genuine.
The nagging thing is, I don't know what Kendra knows. Every time we're together, she hints she knows more about the accident than everyone else. But what if she doesn't, what if she's yanking my chain? We were both so plastered that night, and she's a lightweight. Maybe my ex has been playing me this whole time and I'm a sucker just like Brian.
No matter how much I want to, I can't risk alienating her.
She creeps her fiery-red fingertips up my shirt like a spider, stopping when she gets to my shoulder. Then she leans in. "You're like a drug, Caleb. I can't quit."
She's thriving on the chase. Not me. It probably turns her on that someone can walk in any minute and catch us this close together. It's the risk factor giving her the rush. "So why are you suckin on another guy's ear?" I don't know why I asked. It's not that I even care. I put my hand on her waist, ready to push her away if she comes closer. I'm so done with being her pawn.
"I just wanted to get a reaction out of you. It worked. For the past couple of weeks you've given me nothing, no emotion or encouragement. Brian thinks you're into Maggie Armstrong. Isn't that ridiculous?"
Just when I'm about to answer, the door opens. Drew comes in, seeing Kendra and me standing close, touching each other in what might look like an embrace. It's not what it seems, but it looks bad.
"I'm not even gonna ask," Drew says, then heads to the urinals. Before he slides his zipper down, he turns his head to Kendra. "Do you mind taking this somewhere else?"
"It's nothing I haven't seen before," Kendra says to Drew as she steps away from me, breaking all contact.
Drew gives a short laugh. "Yeah, well you may have made the rounds with my friends, but you ain't getting your hands on mine."
"From what I've heard, one hand would be enough," Kendra shoots back.
"Enough," I say. "Kendra, go back to Brian. Drew, take a leak already."
Hurt that I haven't defended her, she storms out of the men's bathroom, but not before murmuring, "asshole" to Drew on her way out, to which Drew responds, "slut."
Drew finishes, then as he washes his hands he says, "Caleb, you think hooking up with Kendra is the answer? Listen, let Brian have the bitch and move onto someone else."
"It's a little more complicated than that." Drew makes a tsking noise, just like Mrs. Reynolds. "You're making it complicated." Then it hits me.
For the second time today, Drew is right on. I'm letting Kendra manipulate me instead of the other way around. I don't need to appease her. I can just let her keep the chase going without giving her a chance to go in for the kill. Wow, I've been going about this whole situation all wrong,
I can't believe the solution is so simple. I take out my wallet and hand Drew a twenty. "Here, pay my bill. I'm outta here."
"You don't have to leave. I'm not gonna tell Brian what you and Kendra were doing."
"At this point, I don't even care," I say, then leave the men's room and head out the back door.
THIRTY-TWO
Maggie
Caleb comes over in the afternoon, totally unexpected. I open the door to answer it and here he is, standing in front of me with a determined look on his face.
"I wanted to see you," is all the explanation I get. "Is your mom home?"
"No. She just left for work five minutes ago." Caleb and I are friends. Okay, we're more than friends. It's strange and complicated, but it's the only unstrained friendship I have.
I lead him to my room and have him wait there while I bring up some drinks and chips. We sit on the floor and munch on the chips. We talk about school and wrestling, and laugh about the times when we were kids in preschool and the stupid things we did. Then we play gin with the playing cards my mother got me when I was in the hospital. He doesn't talk about kissing at all. He doesn't even look at me with that hot, wanting look I've seen before. He's got something on his mind. I don't know what it is, but it's distracting him.
After a while he puts down the cards and says, "I want to help you, Maggie."
"With what?"