Page 8 of For Three Seconds

I couldn’t help but flinch.

He backed away, holding my panties in his fingers before he gave me an evil smirk and walked out of the bathroom.

I needed to get the fuck out of here; I couldn’t handle it. I wasn’t prepared to see him. Even if I had been, I don’t think I would have handled it any different.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, no one was there.

Gavin Dunn could still make my world stop. Of that, I was sure.

Once outside, I closed my eyes, and I brought it all back: that night, and everything else in between.

* * *

Gavin

I sat in the corner with some chick on my lap as I watched her leave. It took everything in me not to run after her.

I wanted to kiss her and make her forget. She didn’t remember, but I did. That’s why her words cut like a jagged knife.

Her body was still the stuff wet dreams were made of. She had curves and lots of them. That fucking skirt should be illegal. I wanted to curse all of my brothers for looking at her, but I couldn’t blame them.

Scarlett was not meant to be mine. I’d known that all along. She’d told me on countless occasions, but as soon as our lips touched and we were skin to skin, everything that was said ceased to exist.

“You okay, man?” Quincy asked.

He was my teammate and friend, and he knew I was anything but okay right now. He was my quarterback, and I was his wide receiver. He was used to knowing my tells, and right now, my body screamed that I was anything but okay.

“Yes,” I lied because opening my mouth to say the truth wouldn’t do anyone good.

I could feel his eyes boring into me. Surprisingly, he let it go.

I looked at the door again once I was sure I wasn’t dreaming and that the pain I felt in my chest was real. Scarlett fucking Davis was back, and I hated her for it, because seeing her again opened a wound in my chest that I wanted to go away. Seeing her again reminded me of everything that happened after she left.

PAST

Senior Year, high school

Three

My hair didn’t carethat today was the first day of school—my light curls were a mess. Not in the sexy way most celebrities wore them either. The only thing I had working for me was my eyes. I loved wearing kohl liner because it gave them more of a shape, and they didn’t seem upturned but more exotic. If you asked my friends, a lot of them said I had cat eyes. I thought they were my best feature. My skin was pale, and my lips weren’t pink like Gigi’s but a rosy shade, broader and fuller. A lot of the time, it looked like I had an RBF (resting bitch face). My nose wasn’t too perky either. Where Gigi was soft, I was a little harder. I blamed my cheekbones. Gigi had a cute angel face, graceful. Mine was not exactly square, but not dainty either.

“Scarlett Davis, girl, you were gone the whole summer.” Dylan (yes, Gigi’s first kiss) put an arm around me while he hugged me from the back. He also used the opportunity to look at himself in the mirror.

One summer without seeing him, but he looked the same. Shaggy brown hair, still rocking skinny jeans and band T-shirts.

“Hey, girlfriend, what’s shaking?” Gigi came running down the hallway and jumped in between Dylan and me so she could hug me.

I felt a little guilty for not answering her last night; instead, I let it go to voicemail, then texted her. She didn’t push it after what’d happened last year. I knew she wouldn’t. I almost dropped out of school so I could help Nick, but he didn’t let me. He wouldn’t hear about it. I tried to make it easier for my brother and told him I would go live with our grandparents. They didn’t live too far away, but it was another school district, meaning I wouldn’t see my friends, and Nick, being the cool brother that he was, knew how big of a deal that was to a teenager, mainly since it was senior year.

I wasn’t a typical teenager, and last year I found out how some things were more important than high school drama. If I could, I would have changed it in an instant just so that I could have my mom and dad back. I would gladly give up everything important to me so they could be here.

“Am I interrupting something?” Gigi cooed, but Dylan and I just ignored her.

We were used to this behavior from her; I think she wanted us to work. Sometimes, I felt like she needed it to work. It sucked for her that Dylan was gay, and so far, other than his family, the only person he trusted with this secret was me. He knew I was trustworthy. Knew I was like a freaking tomb when it came to secrets. Unlike Gigi, I could keep my mouth shut.

If you’re wondering what happened to me after Gigi’s party, the answer is complicated. Kim ended up canceling her party, so Gigi’s chance to kiss Gavin was pushed back again. When school started, she was excited because he was in our class. For her, it was heaven, but for me, it was hell. He sat across from me; he would smile at me, and sometimes he would defend me when other guys picked on me. Then one day at a party, before we even played spin the bottle, he came and sat next to me and asked if I was going to play.

I asked why, and he said, “I don’t want to see you kiss someone else.”

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