Page 56 of Bad for Me

“What doestoo friendlymean?”

Harper just quirked an eyebrow at me and squinted like I already knew what she was talking about.

I felt heat pool low in my belly, and I squeezed my thighs together for a small pinch of friction where I needed it. I bit my lips, not realizing I stared into Harper’s puzzled face.

“Mary?”

“Oh, yeah…I heard that, too. It’s all good. I’m not scared.”

Interesting choice of words.

“Ok…I just thought you should know, since you’re new here…”

“Thanks, uh, yeah, I appreciate that.”

Questions swarmed me, and I wondered if they shared girls or if they did it separately. Was it a kind dinner that turned into wine soaked bad decisions? I mean, look at Ava. She was stunning, why should I be surprised? A tiny drop of jealousy hits my belly like a bee sting. What students had she fucked around with? It was a huge campus, and I had no way of finding that out unless I planned on giving Harper the third degree.

Hell, at least it means I have a chance.

Excitement bubbled inside my belly, and I grinned. “I’m going to go shower and get ready for class. Meet up again tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure, sounds good. I’ve been needing to work out more. It’s good to see you, Mary.”

While Harper headed back to her student housing, I headed into the locker rooms, anticipation and excitement filling my veins with heat.

Maybe this entire thing would be easier than I thought, and I’d finally get to taste her.

Being bisexual wasn’t exactly something I shouted from the rooftops. My mom knows and it's only because she caught me and Claudia naked in bed together one morning, rocking on each other’s fingers.

I highly doubted her family knew about her sexual desires, as ambidextrous as she was.

It didn’t take me long to figure out I liked women. I blamed Becca from eight grade, who smelled like a flower and whose lips were always glossy and plump. I craved being near her, smelling her, touching her. She was kind to me, and this was well before I adapted to my strange girl reputation.

Bringing my attention back to the shower in front of me, I slowly turned the handle, letting the hot water wash away the scalding memories of being picked on since middle school. I had ruined any chance of being liked by trying to kiss Becca at her sleepover. I was so fucking stupid. Dumbest thing I’ve ever done, besides falling in love with Sadie.

“Look at her greasy hair, and her skin looks like chalk…are those jeans from goodwill? What a freakshow…go back to your grave.”

Hot tears stung my eyes, and I washed my hair as hard as I could, imagining the words being scrubbed away and falling to the tub floor and down the drain.

Things will be different this time.

4

CHANGE IT ALL

Mary

Today was my try-out,and the butterflies in my stomach tried to escape. I felt like I might be sick.

The only reason they allowed me to try was because I was a new student, and I may have lied about being on the team from my previous school.

I was a decent dancer; I could follow instructions. How hard was it to do a few jumps and memorize a routine?

I made sure I watched every cheerleading movie I could stomach over the weekend and did the routine fromSaved by the Bell’spill popping episode. Sure, it was cliché as fuck, but I felt like aJess Spanomyself, stressed and out of place, so it was kind of perfect.

The gym felt a lot more invasive than the outside field, with no walls or floors to contain me, and I had to take deep breaths to calm myself before stepping out onto the floor.

The coach crooked a blonde eyebrow my way, and I looked down at the floor, too afraid to hold eye contact with her. She sat at a long table with Courtney and Rachel flanking her sides.

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