Page 9 of Verses Of Us

“Oh, wow! You know what this means, right?”

“He was probably wiping off my lip gloss.”

“Um, no,” Julie answered. “Guys don’t touch their cheeks when you kiss them. Not unless they really liked it.” She fell back onto her bed. “Besides, he wants you to be there tonight. He wants to seeyou! Ciarán’s in love with you!” She stuffed a pillow over her face and screamed, “Oh my God!” into it.

“You’re crazy, Jules. It’sCiarán Jones. It meant nothing. Anyway, we’re talking about me here. Let’s be real.”

Julie threw the pillow to the side and took Alexis by the arm, leaping up and guiding her friend to the full-length mirror.

“Wearetalking about you. Would you look at yourself?” Julie pointed to the reflection. “You’re not like every girl. You’re gorgeous and you’ve got the whole mysterious good-girl vibe. Men love that.”

Alexis guffawed. “Why don’t I have a boyfriend, then?”

“I said men, not little boys.” She took Alexis by the hips. “You’ve got a smokin’ body, hidden somewhere under all those baggy clothes.” She giggled and poked her friend in the side. “You’re super smart, like ridiculously smart. And let’s face it, you’re too mature for guys our age. But for someone in his twenties…?”

Alexis pulled away from her grasp and sat on the bed. “Jules, there’s no way. Come on.”

“What?” Julie laid on her stomach next to her friend and tucked a fluffy pink pillow under her chest. “Haven’t you ever dreamt of being with Ciarán?”

“No.”

“That’s crap. I’m sure you have. How many times have you watched theMake Me Somebodyvideo?”

In the music video, Ciarán laid on a bed of red satin sheets—his favourite colour—dressed in nothing but a pair of faded jeans with holed knees. The thought of it alone had places other than her cheeks heating, and Alexis hid her blush by turning away. It had stoked her hormones more than once, but as a virgin with no experience, she never imagined having sex with Ciarán. Well, not as often as she believed Julie had.

“Imagining it and it happening are two entirely different things.”

“I guess.” Julie busied herself with the autographed CD. “But let’s say it happened. Say you got the chance to do it with Ciarán. Would you?”

Alexis worked her lip, her eyes glued to the floor. “I don’t think so.”

“Yeah, right!” Julie replied with a bubbly giggle, then gasped. “Holy shit!”

“What?”

“Did you not see this?” She handed Alexis the CD booklet.

The kiss had distracted Alexis so much, she had forgotten almost entirely about the autograph. She took the booklet and looked at Ciarán’s signature scrawled across the page in thick black marker. But then noticed the note above:Thanks for giving this inmate hope.

“What does that mean?” Julie asked.

Shocked, Alexis blinked a few times, shaking her head.

“Long story.” She tried to still her trembling hands as she slid the booklet back in the case. She knew she shouldn’t read too much into it and pointed to the clock. “We should get going, shouldn’t we?”

Reminded of what Ciarán had whispered in her ear, she still couldn’t understand why he cared where she was tonight, but somehow, she longed to obey his request.

Julie jumped up. “Shit, you’re right. There’s gonna be a lineup for sure.”

“It’s fine if we’re not in thefrontfront, you know?”

“Like hell, Lexi. If Ciarán wants you front and center, then that’s where you’ll be.”

“Really, Jules,” she replied, tucking her hair. “He was just being nice.”

“Oh, Lexi, Lexi, Lexi.” Julie shoved her friend playfully in the back. “You’re so cute when you play dumb.”

SHOWTIME

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