Given Time

♡9♡

As soon as we make it out of the fair, Zara unlinks her arm from mine and stops. Before I have time to ask her what's wrong, she places her hands on my shoulders and squeals.

"Okay, I can't wait until we're back at our dorm. I'm just dying to know."

"Know what?"

"What's the real story with you and Tanner."

I pull a face. "What do you mean 'real story'?"

She looks at me, exasperated. "You know. You... him. Have you ever hooked up?"

My eyes blink rapidly as I finally understand her question. Me and Tanner? I instantly burst out laughing like a madwoman. Zara has no choice but to release me from her hold as I bend over laughing.

Even in my fit of hysterics, I notice other students are looking at me as they pass, probably wondering if I'm having a breakdown or something.

"Sorry," I apologize after a minute. "It's just... Tanner's the last person I'd ever want to be with," I say as I wipe the tears from my eyes.

"We literally don't get along. Everyone back home knows this."

"Really?" she asks disbelievingly.

"Yes! Everyone says it's like World War III when we get going."

"Not even a simple kiss? Just because you don't like someone, it doesn't mean that things don't happen," she tells me as she hooks her arm around mine and walks us forward.

"Before Jake and I got together, there was this boy in my class who I absolutely hated. Yet he was so cute that I was willing to look past that and made out with him a couple of times."

"Zara!" I shriek.

"What? I am human." She lightly tugs my arm to bring us onto the path on the left, which will lead us back to Putnam. "So... Did anything like that ever happen?"

I wish Zara would forget about this question as I'd rather not tell her than Tanner and I have kissed, even if it wasn't wanted on my part.

As soon as my confirmation comes out of my mouth, I can imagine her thinking this is amazing news. Especially since it happened so recently. Yet, I don't want to lie to her.

"I've never kissed Tanner. But Tanner's kissed me," I mumble.

Zara's eyes go wide. "You have? Hang on. What you said doesn't make sense."

I laugh bitterly. "Tanner kind of accosted me at a restaurant just before I moved here. He pinned me up against a wall and then kissed me. Believe me when I say it wasn't romantic at all."

"No!" she gasps. "Oh my God, Leah. Did he hurt you? If he did, I swear to God I'll go back in that fair and rip his balls off."

She begins to turn us back in the direction of the fair, but I strengthen the grip on our arms and stop her from turning. "No. He didn't hurt me. There's no need to de-man him."

I shrug. "Besides, if anyone's inflicted more damage to another, it's me," I say before thinking.

Zara's footsteps falter, and she splays her hands on my shoulders again. "No shit! What have you done to him?" Her voice goes an octave higher.

I kick one of my sneakers on the path and quietly groan. "I may have slapped him after he did that."

"Shut up! Go you, though!"

"I was tempted to slap him again on Monday when he said that he only kissed me because he was meant to hook up with another girl that night and basically used me as a consolation prize."