Page 79 of Something Rad
Okay, Sara.
“Do we need to add no physical violence as a rule?” Robbie asks.
“Why?” I tilt my head at him. “Think you might be tempted to hit on me?”
Robbie’s tongue pushes into the side of his cheek. He leans forward, matching my challenge. “I’m more concerned with your inevitable desire to bang me.”
“You’re vile.”
“You too, baby,” Robbie replies. “Can we go to the dance now?”
* * *
The gym doors seemed so far away as we first stepped into the long hallway of the school, and now, suddenly, they are right there. And Robbie isn’t slowing down. The muffled music coming out from under the doors gets louder and louder as we approach, my pulse pounding in my ears matching it step for step.
“Robbie?” I call, two steps behind him.
“We’re going in, Cooper. You can’t stop me.”
“I–We– Would youwait?”
“Nope. Nothing’s stopping me from walking through those doors, Cooper.”
“We should probably touch each other, don’t you think?” I demand, throwing my hands in the air.
Robbie’s feet skid against the floor with a squeak. He continues walking, but more slowly now, looking over his shoulder at me. “Would you like that?”
“Not particularly, but I think it has to be done.”
Robbie lets out a whistle, staring back at me with a smug grin on his face. It clicks in my head what he’s thinking, and I roll my eyes. “Not like that, you freak. Can you act mature for five seconds?”
“Sorry, someone didn’t make that a part of the rules,” Robbie says, turning to the side and holding out his arm.
I jog the few steps it takes to be at his side. The moment I reach him, Robbie relaxes his arm, his hand landing on my lower back. Then it goes lower.Too low.
I smack at his hand.
“Ouch, Cooper.Shit,” Robbie curses, shaking out his hand.
I give him a look, telling him he deserved it. “Not like that.”.
“Fine,” he quips, hooking his arm around my neck and pulling me to his side. But it’s not in afriendly couplekind of way. More like alittle brother you’re about to give a noogiekind of way. Or likesomeone you’re trying to stranglekind of way.
“Robbie,” I grit as I grab at his forearm currently wrapped around the front of my neck. I finally manage to untangle myself by spinning outwards from him, my hand still gripping one of his wrists. I drop his wrist, then realize we are walking through the doors. Panicking, I grab his wrist right back up, sliding my hand down it until my fingers interlace with his. We both dig our nails into each other's skin right as the gym doors are thrown open, the colorful lights blinding and the music of Madonna blaring.
I glance over at Robbie, seeing a smile spread across his face, a deep sigh leaving him.
He’s in his element. Helovesthis.
We take a few steps further inside, both of us looking around and getting a lay of the land. The dance floor is packed. So are the tables and chairs sprinkled around it. And so are the snack and punch tables.
Great.
I see a swish of bright blonde hair just across the room from us and look up, spotting Denise standing on the edge of the dance floor. There are several cheerleaders standing around her and a few guys from the basketball team. She leans forward to whisper something to Ginger Matthews, and that’s when I realize she has her arm hooked with Jesse Lamonte’s.
My shoulders tense, and I swivel my head to look at Robbie. He’s seeing exactly what I’m seeing.
“Are Denise and Jesse…”
