Again (PUBLISHED!)

Chapter 21.

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I was so confused and messed up in the head that sleep seemed like a distant dream that night. I wanted to feel good about breaking up with Luke. Especially after what I heard him talk about me in the party, it was the right thing to do. There's only so much a person could bear.

But I was feeling restless and anxious instead. Was it right to end things with Luke? Was it wrong to kiss Devon?

I squeezed my eyes tight shut as my heart missed a beat thinking about the intimate moments with Devon.....

***

"Luke is such a fucking asshole!" Stef spat in contempt over the phone the next day when I filled her up about her party. "Good thing that you finally broke up with him. That guy is so obsessed about his reputation and image that he can do every shit it takes to make people look up to him."

"I still can't believe he said something like that...Maybe I'm at fault somewhere...."

"Don't be mad, El! He never gave you his time you deserved as his girlfriend. It was only you who were committed, not him."

I remained silent.

I heard Stef taking a deep breath after which she spoke, "You know what, forget about Luke. Sometimes things don't work out as much as we want them to. I just want to say that if you have feelings for Devon, I don't think you should suppress it 'cause he genuinely likes you."

"I'll-I'll talk to you later."

"Take care."

There was no call or message from Luke yet.

I arrived at Parker's to read with Jackson feeling nervous as hell. I didn't have the guts to face Devon after kissing him so wildly last night. I hoped and prayed that I didn't have to see him and that he wasn't at home. But as fate would have it, Devon came in front of me just when I was on the brink of convincing myself that he won't.

He was wearing a maroon V neck shirt that gave a tempting view of his chiseled chest and the sleeves fitted tightly around his upper arms, accentuating his well toned biceps. I didn't know why I couldn't look at him so I looked down. But I could feel my skin burn under his fiery gazes and intense looks. My heart fluttered dangerously.

I tried to walk past him but he stretched out his hand in front of me as a barrier. "Still eager to avoid me? I thought we are past that kinky stage after last night."

I flinched at his crude choice of words. "Devon, let me go," I said in a low but firm tone without looking at him.

"Not until you tell me what that douche of a quarterback did to you," I heard the fury in his tone. "I know he is the reason why you look so upset since yesterday. I don't even understand why you're with that pig. He treats you like shit! And yet you-you kiss him. He doesn---"

"I broke up with Luke," I said, looking at him.

I never intended to tell him that but I just did out of I don't know what. I watched the frustration in Devon's face disappear in an instant.

"So that's great news," he said, looking pleased with himself. "You should be doing a Ninja dance. You no longer have to deal with a pig's poop."

That's irked me. "Just—Just leave me alone!" I walked off.

It was only when I sat down to read with cute little Jackson did I forget about my shitty life and how incompetent I was to deal with it. The kid was so cheerful, adorable and bubbly like this that I felt so happy and light looking at him.

But soon another predicament struck my mind. There was this small gift wrapped square box in my satchel.

It was the birthday present I'd bought for Devon. A wrist watch. I would have surely asked Master Google about a good birthday gift you could give someone you're on bad terms with if I didn't know that Devon had a fixation for watches. He wore a new kind every other day. But I did have to search online for hours to select a watch for him.

I couldn't give it to him on his birthday considering the fact that the day didn't exactly turned out to be what you could call good. And now, I didn't know how to make the present reach him. Giving it to him in person was out of question.

So when I had the chance, I made my way upstairs. The coast was clear and I could easily sneak into his room since he wasn't there. So far so good. As I placed the gift wrapped box on his desk, I took a look around. Everything in his room was so tidy and well organized and without any kind of nasty foul smell. It was like Devon worshipped neatness. That was hard to digest considering how the rooms of typical teenage boys were.

And honestly, I too scored a perfect zero when it came to tidiness. Infact I was so much used to leaving things lying around in my room that I never find my stuff if at all I arranged them in their proper places. Period.

I realized I was wandering too much and it was high time I left before he finds me here. Before I could reach the door to move out, Devon appeared at the door shirtless. He was shirtless!