Crushes Over Papercuts- A Mid 90s Tale

Chapter 39

"Here," Lily tossed the note onto our lunch table. "It's from lover boy."

Water leak in gym so practice is canceled today. See you at Nicole's. P.S. I need to kiss you -B.

#

After Lily dropped me off, I changed into my track clothes and sprinted to Nicole's house. I couldn't get there fast enough because I knew I'd get to see him. His Jeep was parked on the curb and the mess of my world temporarily vanished. Before I could unlock Nicole's back gate, I heard Ben whisper my name. He was leaning against his Jeep. I ran to him, took his hand, led him behind the Jeep, and kissed him.

"I've missed you," he said in between breaths. "I hate that I can't talk to you or touch you."

I pulled him closer and heat flooded my body. "I'll fix this somehow. I promise." I ran my fingers through his hair. "Please don't give up on us."

His lips moved down my neck. "I won't."

We took our seats around Nicole's dining table and Tiff passed around the notebooks to each of us. "The Snoop Crew is officially in session."

Nicole clicked her ballpoint pen and crossed off Plan B. "Ben, you haven't heard all the details but yesterday was not a success."

The memory of my exchange with Courtney rushed back and I had to stop myself from wincing. "It was worse than I imagined, which was hard to believe because I played out so many different scenarios in my head beforehand. None involved Courtney threatening to make things worse for me." I lowered my head. "I don't even know how that's possible."

Lauren squeezed my hand. "We knew it was a long shot but it's good you tried."

"Lauren's right," Lily said. "It was worth a shot but we have to plan our next move because we're running out of time." She turned to Tiff. "Any luck on finding Kimberly?"

"I haven't found her yet but I'm close...I can feel it."

Ben spoke. "Maybe I could talk to Courtney." He looked at me. "Her and I have a lot of history. I may be able to convince her to do the right thing."

"Ben, you weren't there. There was a coldness in her eyes. She won't help me...not even for you."

"We need to maximize every opportunity," Nicole said. "And she did all of this for Ben. Maybe she'll undo it for him."

A sly smile dawned across Lily's face. "Make her think you want to get back together but that you need total honesty before you can start again...something like that. Tell her you know about Kimberly."

I tensed up knowing what I was about to say. "Maybe take her on a date?"

His beautiful gray eyes got huge. "What! You want me to get back together with Courtney?"

"Definitely not, but if you make her think you want to get back together that may be enough."

"I don't want to touch her."

My stomach turned imagining his hands on her. "You won't have to. She only has to believe that you're over me."

Lauren shifted in her seat. "I don't think this is a good idea. We're playing with fire if we try and manipulate Courtney. She plays dirty."

"This isn't dirty," Lily protested. "Dirty would be us holding her down until she confessed which should have been Plan A."

"Lauren is right...again." I squeezed Ben's hand. "I think you should talk to Courtney, but in a way that makes you feel comfortable."

Lily's mouth dropped. "So, we're scared to hurt her feelings? She didn't give Jenny the same courtesy."

"We are better than her and our actions have to reflect that. Nothing illegal or questionably immoral," I said.

"Jenny, we don't have time to play nice. She's going to win."

I reached across the table and laid my hand on Lily's. "If she wins, I'll learn to accept that. But I can't accept dragging my friends down to the gutter. I'd never forgive myself."

"It's not fair...I can't stand it," she said.

A pressure rose in my chest when I saw Lily's misty eyes. I'd never seen her so pained before. "We'll set things right. If not now, someday."