Page 61 of Absorbed

“Put that on. Can I see the jacket?”

Gabe pressed play on the stereo. He handed her the jewel case and sat beside her on the bed.

Stacey danced her bare feet along to “Anxiety.” “Cool cover-art,” she said, outlining the large guitar and the skateboard with her finger. They looked like they were drawn in permanent ink, then water-colored.

“You’ll like the Reel Big Fish and Sublime songs, too,” he said.

After a few minutes of listening to music, Gabe nudged Stacey with his elbow. “So… when you gonna tell me what’s really been going on?”

“What do you mean?” Stacey studied the skater doing an ollie in the bottom right corner.

“Well, first: why’d you ignore my calls?”

Stacey set the jewel case aside, pulled her legs up and crossed them under her. She tucked the short strands of hair behind her ears. “I started spending more time with everyone at the pool, like we talked about.”

Gabe nodded. “And…”

“And we all decided to go seeIndependence Day…when it came out…” Stacey looked into his green eyes. “…on Wednesday.”

“So, you told me you were busy Friday night for no reason?”

“No. I was afraid to tell you the truth. That I had a date. With Jessie.”

“A date?” Gabe scoffed. “That guy doesn’t take girls on ‘dates.’”

Stacey looked down at the bedspread and picked at a thread. “I know that, now.”

“So, what did you do on your date, then?”

Stacey tangled her fingers together in her lap. “He said we were going to watch a meteor shower.”

“In your car?” Gabe asked dryly.

Stacey nodded without looking up.

Gabe tilted his head back and searched the ceiling for a minute. Then he leaned toward her. She met his gaze. Gabe’sface seemed pained as he clarified. “So… you… and Jessie… You guys had…”

Stacey nodded before the word could come out of his mouth.

“And that was…your first time…right?”

She bit her lip, nodded again.

“Are you…two…together…now?”

Stacey’s eyes welled up. Staring blankly out the window, she shook her head.

Gabe ran his hands through his hair and exhaled loudly. “I’m really sorry, Stace. He’s a jerk. It shouldn’t have been like that.”

One silent tear fell down Stacey’s cheek. She nodded again and wiped it away. “I’m afraid…” she said quietly, “he didn’t use…protection.”

Without hesitating, Gabe leaned forward and put his arms around Stacey. “No, no, no, no, no. Goddamnit!” He shook his head as he hugged her. “Fucking douchebag.”

Stacey let more tears stream down her cheeks. Gabe knowing somehow helped her feel less alone.

“Have you talked to your mom?”

Stacey pulled away. “I can’t! She’d be so pissed.”

---