Shut Out by Kody Keplinger (best free e book reader .TXT) đ
- Author: Kody Keplinger
Book online «Shut Out by Kody Keplinger (best free e book reader .TXT) đ». Author Kody Keplinger
âGives âdoggie styleâ a whole new meaning, huh?â Chloe said, and everyone busted out laughing again.
Even I cracked a smile.
âI doubted you before, Lissa,â Kelsey said, her usual sneer contorted into aâholy crap, sincere?âsmile. âBut now, I think youâre right. I bet itâll work, and thank God, because this fight needs to stop. This was a good idea, Lissa. Seriously.â
Coming from Kelsey, that was huge.
And she wasnât the only one with a story to share. I watched as several of the girls stood and told their stories. All of them smiling at me when they reached the end. All of them laughing and proud and confident. All of them really believing that my
plan was going to be the one to end the rivalry. Their confidence made me confident.
âI wish I had a story to tell,â Mary murmured to me as we filled up another bowl of popcorn in Susanâs kitchen. Since she and I had eaten the last pieces, the other girls decided it was only fair that we make the next bag. I was more relaxed away from the crowd, and the air in the kitchen felt much cooler than it had in Susanâs packed bedroom.
âDonât worry about it,â I told her, shaking the hot bag of popped kernels into the orange bowl weâd been using. âHaving stories isnât what really matters.â
âI know. And I havenât kissed Finn since we started the strike, like you told me. But itâs justâŠâ Mary trailed off, twisting the fingers of her left hand in her chocolate-colored hair. In her right she gripped the can of Diet Coke Susanâs mom had forced on her, knowing Mary would never ask for it.
âJust what?â I asked, picking up my own Diet Coke and taking a sip.
âAm I weird?â she whispered as she glanced over her shoulder toward the living room, where Mrs. Port was watching a Lifetime movie. âI mean⊠is it weird that Finn and I have neverâŠ?â
âNo,â I said, then hesitated. âI mean, Iâm sure youâre not the only one. I donât think youâre weird.â
Mary shrugged, still twisting her hair. âI just hear all these stories, and sometimes I feel like Iâm the only one whoâs never done it. I feel like Iâm behind or something. Like it makes me a prude.â
âYouâre not weird, or a prude, or a tease, or any of that,â I
assured her. âActually, I think itâs great that youâre waiting. Itâs sort of refreshing. And sex is a big deal, so you shouldnât rush it just because everyone else is doing it. I think itâs a major decision. Honestly, Iââ
âLissa! Mary!â
I jumped, almost spilling my Diet Coke as Chloeâs voice rang down the stairs. Iâd been so caught up in my conversation with Mary that Iâd completely forgotten about the girls in Susanâs room.
âWhat the hell is taking you two so long? I want some popcorn, damn it!â
âI guess she finished all the brownies,â I said with a small laugh.
âCan you girls keep it down a little?â Mrs. Port called, without anger, over the back of the living room couch.
âCome on,â I said to Mary. âLetâs get up there before poor Chloe starves to death.â
Mary giggled and I smiled at her. It had taken a few hours, but after hearing everyoneâs stories and eating way too much junk food, I had loosened up a little.
âFinally.â Chloe grabbed the popcorn bowl from me as soon as we reached the top step, and she ran into Susanâs bedroom. Mary and I glanced at each other. I took a deep breath and smiled at her one last time, and then we walked back into the crowded room.
chapter eleven
Apparently the girls werenât the only ones swapping gossip about their love lives. The boys had been talking, too. I guess when a bunch of high school jocks donât get laid, word starts to spread that something is seriously wrong, because by Monday, the guys were worried.
âWhatâs up with all the girls?â Randy asked me during the drive to my house that afternoon. For once, he didnât have football practice, and heâd decided to take my father up on his ever-present dinner invitation and make up for the date weâd missed on Friday.
âWhat do you mean?â
I knew exactly what he meant, though.
âLike⊠I donât know. Iâve heard stuff.â
âSuch as?â
âLike, youâre all distant,â he said. âFinnâs girlfriend wonât even kiss him, and ever since last weekend, youâve been acting weird. Shane says even Chloeâs not putting out, and sheâs a slut, so we know somethingâs wrong.â
âDonât call my best friend a slut,â I told him. âJust because people think so doesnât make it true.â
âBut it is true.â
âItâs relative,â I said. âIâd bet money Shane has slept with more people than Chloe. Correct?â
âProbably. Shaneâs the man.â
âYou donât call him a slut, so please donât call Chloe one.â
âOkay, okay.â Randy shrugged and turned the Buick onto my street. âSorry. Whatever⊠But you never answered my question.â
âWhat question?â
âWhatâs up with all the girls?â
Crap, I thought. Changing the subject usually worked with Randy. He got so distracted that he didnât even notice Iâd nudged him away from the original topic. That was part of the beauty of dating him; I never had to worry about him cornering me into a conversation I didnât want to have.
Except now.
Naturally, when sex was involved, Randy managed to stay focused.
âWeâll talk about it later,â I said as his car slid into my driveway. Before he could argue, I climbed out of the passengerâs seat and started walking toward the front door.
I could have slapped myself. There was a huge hole in my strike plan; weâd never discussed when or how to tell the boys. Eventually weâd have to, obviously, because the whole point was to get them to hear us out, to listen to our demand that they end the rivalry. But now, with Randy asking questions, I was nervous about answering him.
âHey, honey,â Dad called from the kitchen when I stepped into the house. âI just got in from work and decided to make a sandwich. You want one?â
âNo, thanks,â I said, walking across the carpet toward the kitchen. Behind me, Randy shut the front door and began to follow. âI brought company. I figured Iâd make a real dinner tonight.â
Dad looked over his shoulder and smiled when he saw Randy standing next to me in the kitchen doorway. âHey there,â he said. âNo football practice?â
âNo, sir,â Randy said. âCoach gave us the day offâsaid he couldnât look at our faces after the loss on Friday. But Iâm sure heâs going to kick our asses tomorrow.â
âOh, yeah.â Dad grabbed his sandwich from the counter and put it in his lap so he could turn his wheelchair toward us. âI heard the game was pretty brutal. I couldnât make itâI needed to return some e-mails and get a situation with a student straightened outâbut Logan said Oak Hill has really shaped up this year.â
âYeah, none of us was expecting it,â Randy agreed. âSo weird. They sucked last year.â
Dad wheeled over to the table and Randy sat down next to him. I let them talk sports for a bit while I sorted through the fridge, trying to decide what to make for dinner. When I realized we didnât have much of anything (living with two adult men meant food never lasted long), I decided to call and leave Logan a voice mail, asking him to stop by the grocery on his way home and pick up the stuff Iâd need to make pasta.
When I hung up the phone, I heard Randy ask, âSo howâs work going, Mr. Daniels?â
I smiled as I walked over to the round wooden table and sat down beside my boyfriend. He reached over and put an arm around my shoulders. I glanced self-consciously at my dad, and stiffened a bit at the contact. But Randy didnât seem to noticeâor maybe he was just used to it by now.
âWorkâs good,â Dad said. âBeen a bit crazy this week. Thereâs a student having some pretty sudden behavioral issues. I think sheâs having a difficult time at home, but she wonât say. Poor kid. Sheâs never had problems before.â
When I was little, heâd worked construction, building houses in the newer part of town. After the accident, he decided to go in a different direction. Thatâs how he ended up as the guidance counselor at Hamilton Elementary.
âYouâre so patient,â Randy said. âI canât stand kids. Iâd get so frustrated. I never want to be a parent.â
âYouâll change your mind,â Dad told him. âEspecially if you and Lissa end up getting married. You two would have to give me some grandkids.â
âLogan can do that.â Randy laughed. âLissa and I arenât going to have kids. Maybe a few dogs, though.â
I cleared my throat, reminding them that I was sitting right there. I hated when Randy planned my future for me.
âLoganâs going to pick up a few things at the store on his way back from work,â I said. âItâll be an hour or so if you two want to go watch TV.â
In an instant, Randy was on his feet, pushing Dadâs wheelchair into the living room as they bickered over which of our six ESPN networks to watch.
When they were gone, I pulled out my cell phone to text Chloe.
Randys asking questions. I think he knows
Within seconds, she replied.
What r u gonna tell him???
I glanced into the living room. Some sports talk show was on the TV, and I could hear Dad and Randy laughing as they disagreed with the commentators. I smiled to myself. Randy was already a part of my family. Part of me. I shouldnât be afraid to be honest with him.
Without even looking at the screen, I moved my thumbs across the keypad and texted Chloe back.
The truth.
By the time dinner was on the table, I was on the verge of pulling my hair out. Logan came home almost an hour late and refused to tell me where heâd been. Dad had to make me stop asking him. And, of course, my brother had picked up the wrong kind of noodles. I mean, I guess the noodles didnât really matterâthey all taste the sameâbut it was the principle of the thing.
Iâd been able to relax a little at the dinner table, though. Logan gave Randy a hard time about Fridayâs game, everyone complimented my cooking (not that pasta was difficult, but it was still nice to hear), and no one mentioned the soccer team or hazing.
After we left the table, still smiling from a joke Dad had told us, Randy offered to help me wash dishes.
âWhy donât you use the dishwasher?â he asked.
Comments (0)