Taming the Street Racer ✔️

17 | three's a crowd

Someone bumps into my shoulder, jolting me out of my thoughts. Peyton grabs my wrist and pulls me toward her, out of the middle of the hallway.

"Bro, pull your head outta your ass," she says, snapping her fingers. "What's going on in that big head of yours that's got you so distracted?"

Violet snorts beside me. "Grayson's big, long, throbbing--"

"God, no, Violet. I'm not even thinking about Grayson," I lie, not making eye-contact with either of them and focusing on getting to class without them interrogating me. It's been two days and I still haven't told them about what happened between me and Grayson on Tuesday night.

The day after the party was Senior Skip Day and I hung out at the mall with Violet and Peyton. On Thursday, the three of us went about our normal school day. On both days, all three of us pretended that Tuesday night never even happened and I was hoping it would stay that way. My hopes were apparently set too high.

We stop at my locker and they both turn to face me. "You're a terrible liar, Riv. I can see right through you," Violet says, playfully narrowing her eyes at me.

"Funny you say that. Because you didn't seem to notice my lie when I told you your hair looked cute this morning," I quip, gathering my books from my locker and hiding my smile.

Violet pops her bubblegum and crosses her arms. "Nice try. I know I look hot today and I know you're thinking about Grayson. You're gonna have to talk to us about him eventually."

Violet does look really good today. And I am absolutely thinking about Grayson. I don't say anything, slowly sliding my books into my backpack.

Violet sighs. "Are you mad at me for calling him that night? I feel really bad about it but you were totally wasted, dancing half-naked on the dining room table and Peyton had disappeared. I didn't know what to do, Riv. He was the only person I could think of."

"We kissed, okay." I blurt out, moved by the sincerity in her voice and unable to stay quiet any longer. "I've been so afraid to tell you two because I know how you guys feel about him and, after Tuesday night, I think that I might actually really like him even though--"

"Holy shit, you guys had sex, didn't you?" Peyton gasps, her eyes widening. "Tell us everything, Riv."

"No, we didn't have sex, we didn't do anything like that," I say, frantically. "But we maybe possibly could have...kissed."

Violet and Peyton stare at me with open mouths, expecting me to go on. When I don't elaborate, Violet groans. "Just a kiss? At the rate you two seemed to be going, I thought he kissed you ages ago. He looks like that and you look like this and you two haven't jumped each others' bones yet?"

I lean my head back on my locker, feeling blood rush to my face. My tongue feels heavy in my mouth. "You don't understand. He's not like that and you know I'm not like that. I really think this could be something and I think he does too. We've both been through a lot so we're taking this slow."

Right after I finish speaking, Trevor limps past us with gauze wrapped around his eye and swelling around every other part of his face. He's accompanied by a professional-looking woman with a large bag slung over his shoulder.

Peyton chokes out a small laugh. "You're taking it slow with the guy who fucked Trevor up so bad that he needs a nanny? How much do you wanna bet he's wearing a diaper right now?"

Angered by the comment, I slam my locker shut and start to walk toward my classroom, eager to leave this awkward conversation behind. "I know it sounds stupid but you could at least not be an asshole about it, Peyton."