Temporarily Mine

2

JOSEPHINE

"Hey, girl, hey!" my friend Kathrine  announces herself as she drops down at our usual lunch spot, a grassy area in the quad.

"You're quite excited to have been given a seven-page essay in English," my best friend Cassie whines, not bothering to open her eyes as she lays there, soaking up the California sun.

"Oh, girl, that's not due for another three weeks." Kathrine  snags a bag of chips from the pile of shit in the middle of us.

"Meaning you'll start it in two weeks and three days," our other friend Mandy sasses back, making the four of us laugh.

"Exactly." Kathrine  grins. "But no, I'm peppy because I heard from a bird that you, Miss Josephine, were paired with hottie McHot Hero Fiennes Tiffin in chem today."

Cassie's eyes pop open and she sits up. "Um... what?" She gapes. "Why didn't you say anything?"

I ignore her a minute and talk to Kathrine . "Does this bird happen to be a six-foot-something quarterback you like to call daddy when no one is around to hear it?"

Her jaw drops, and she leans over to shove me backward, laughing at the same time. "Yes, bitch, it does, and I told you that in secret!"

"You told us all that." Mandy rolls her eyes.

Kathrine  only grins wider. "Yeah, but secret means you don't say it out loud."

I smile and she sticks her tongue out in response.

"K, back on track. Come on, Josephine," Mandy coaxes.

I shrug, tearing the stem off a strawberry and stuffing it in my mouth. "What do you want me to say, I'm annoyed."

"Annoyed?" Mandy purses her lips. "Please, don't lie. Even you can't be immune to the boy and his every single thing."

"Fuck you." I laugh. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means your vagina must be dead and in need of reviving if not even Hero Fiennes Tiffin gets you going. His fingers alone must be shrimp dick size, and not in a fugly way. If they're that long, imagine the range of the rest of him!"

My jaw drops and then a loud laugh leaves me, earning a satisfied grin from her.

"My vagina is just fine, I assure you, and it has nothing to do with him not being attractive, because duh."

Hero is as perfect as his running game, which is flawless.

He's tall and broad, muscular but not overly so, more full and strong. He has high cheekbones with perfectly thick lips, dark, chocolate color hair with darker, always intense eyes. There's this taunting look forever staring back, one he wants spotted but never allows you to decrypt.

He's far from a typical senior, screams experienced and likely has grown women wondering if he's legal enough or not. I'm sure the tattoo etched into the inner part of his right arm is answer enough for them.

He's ESPN billboard material and he knows it.

"So, you admit you think he's hot." Mandy nods, proud. "What's the problem?"

"I needed a good partner, one I could trust to do what they say they will." I shrug. "Everyone knows Mr. Brady is the toughest teacher here, always unorthodox, and I can't afford to fail. My mom will wring my damn neck if my grades slip and it'll be back to medication keeps you focused before I can even blink."

"Oh please, you're focused on your own. She has to stop putting all of her screw-ups on your shoulders," Kathrine  says.

"She already thinks I'm putting too much time into dance, if I fall behind in this class, who knows what she'll pull."