Why You Shouldn't Lend A Bad Boy Your Clothes

Chapter 16

The ringing of the school bell was like angel's singing to me at the end of my last period and I was out of the door before anyone else had even gotten up. After sports class had ended, I had been so eager to leave school that the five more hours of lesson had been pure torture. Funny how minutes could feel like hours when you were at school.

The two periods of Biology had felt especially long, not least because Hunter wasn't there. Apparently he had decided to skip the rest of school after our conversation in the locker room. Somehow I had the feeling that his sarcastic comments and distracting talking would've made class more tolerable.

I couldn't deny that I was looking forward to today's afternoon by the lake, even though I wouldn't have said it out loud in front of Hunter.

When I stepped out onto the parking lot, I saw Emily and Nate already standing by my car. Emily was laughing about something Nate said, while he grinned widely.

"Hey," I said as I stopped next to them and pulled Emily into a hug.

She seemed startled that I hadn't kissed her at first, but the frown quickly vanished from her face when I looked at her.

"I have to stop by at home to get my stuff," I told Nate while I unlocked the door and propped my arm on it. "Emily, are you coming too?"

Nate sent me a disapproving look but didn't say anything.

Emily didn't notice his expression and shrugged. "I heard that you guys are planning on going to the lake, but I didn't realize I was invited," she laughed. "Is it really okay if I'm coming with you?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Sure, I'd like that. I have swimming practice first, though, so I'll come there a bit later."

I nodded and motioned for Nate to get into the car. "Awesome. See you there, then."

As soon as I got into the car and started the engine, Nate started to rant. "Dude, you gotta stop leading her on like that! It's unfair and stupid and....She'll think you're..."

"What?" I said.

"Jules, you have to decide for how long you're going to keep...whatever this is, up. It's not fair to lie to her like that."

"So, what do you want me to do?" I asked helplessly.

Nate looked at me with surprising vehemence. "I want you to come clean about this. First with yourself, then with her." He was silent for a moment before he added: "Then with Hunter."

"What does Hunter have to do with this?" I exclaimed.

Nate just leaned back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest. "How should I know? You're never telling me anything," he sulkily said. "But I'm eighty percent convinced you two are having some weird thing going on. Even if you don't wanna see it."

That, I couldn't deny. There was something between Hunter and I, though I couldn't name what it was. It felt forbidden, but at the same time righter than anything else I was doing at the moment. Which made it even more terrifying.

"Fine, think whatever you want," I said before I continued, more softly: "But you're right about Emily. Our relationship doesn't feel right anymore and I think she knows it, too."

Nate nodded, satisfied with that answer for now and swiftly changed the topic. "Speaking of girls, do you think Alexis likes me?"

Shooting him a wide-eyed gaze, I motioned for him to explain.

Nate ran a hand through his hair while he thought about the right words to say. "You know how we sometimes hang out in the breaks lately?"

I nodded.