Page 50 of Drifting

When the bell rings, the teacher says, “Put your names on the bottom of the canvas and leave them there to dry.”

While Cam signs his name in the corner of his painting, I sneak out and head to my last class, Spanish III.

In every class, I have either Nick or one of his friends in there with me. Who will be taking Spanish?

When I walk in and search the room, no one is there.

Picking a seat, I get ready for class. My mind keeps drifting off to the guys, though. They have this strange hold on me. I’ve never felt anything like it before, not even when I met Ricky, Billy, and Mark. Unsure if I like whatever’s happening, I rub the space over my heart. I’m being ridiculous.

They’re friends. That’s it, I chastise myself. Stop thinking about them and pay attention to class.

When the last bell rings, I take my stuff and head out to where Nick parked his truck this morning. By the time I arrive, my leg is thumping, and I need a nap.

Today took its toll on me.

On the way home, Nick asks, “How did the rest of your day go.”

“Cam wanted to paint me nude,” I tell him.

Nick laughs. “I did warn you about him being the biggest flirt you’ll ever meet.” He pulls into the driveway. Before I jump out of the truck, he says, “Hold on.”

“What’s up?” I ask.

Reaching into the back of his Jeep, he pulls his bag onto his lap. He searches inside for a second, then pulls out a phone. It looks like the same one I slammed against Dom’s chest.

I sigh, turning and staring out the passenger window.

“Dom asked me to give this back to you. He told me what you said to him at school. Shelby, you’re not a charity case. None of us think that. Being in the spotlight like they’ve been has made Dom lose his trust in people, and Mav tends to joke about everything so nothing is serious. But they don’t hand out Knight Technology to anyone. There are no attachments. He saw how you’re hurt and figured you wouldn’t be able to get one for yourself. You need a phone, and he has them lying around. Come to think of it, I don’t remember the twins ever acting like this before.”

I don’t think Nick meant to say that last part out loud, and it gets me wondering what he meant.

He shoves the phone into my hand. “Now, take the damn thing and get out of my truck so I can go to practice.”

I peer at him through my lashes, and he smiles.

“Fine.” I accept the phone.

Sliding out of the truck, I give him a wave as he backs out of the driveway, then watch him head back toward school. It’s not right that he had to drop me off then go back to school for practice. I can’t wait to drive again.

As I limp into the kitchen, Patty hangs up the phone. “How did your day go?”

“Like the other twenty schools I started over the years,” I respond.

Hey, I didn’t lie. It might upset her, but it’s the truth.

“Don’t forget about your appointment next week with the doctor,” she reminds me.

Not like I’m not counting down the days.

I head to my room, throwing the phone on the bed as I kick off my shoes. Shimmying out of my jeans, I crawl onto the bed and unpack my new phone. I’m so confused. I’ve never had these feelings before. Every time I’m around those guys, my heart races, and my stomach jumps if they touch me, like there’s this electric jolt that runs through me.

I think back to what Nick said about how he’s never seen the twins act like this before. What did he mean? Do they always act like assholes? Paige seems to think so. The Barbie Squad hangs around them enough that they can’t be that bad.

Cam protected me from that football, but he got the bonus of lying on top of me. Even though Mav pissed me off, he got in trouble first period because he didn’t want me to be choking through the class. Dom wants to make sure I have a way to call Cin, who he wants to fix his car. Nick and Luke spent time in the pool with me messing around. Until Luke’s girlfriend, or ex-girlfriend, called him away.

There are two ways I can look at the situation, and in every angle, I’m screwed.

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