Page 149 of Collision
He gives me a mischievous smile and then kisses me, holding me close to him. One of his hands rests on my hip and the other glides greedily over my butt, giving it a shameless squeeze. Right in front of all the students who are passing by. I pull back and stare at him in disbelief. “You kissed me,” I say a few inches from his mouth, my stomach clenched. He nods. “Why did you do that?” I ask, my heart hammering in my chest.
“Because I wanted to kiss you, and you needed to be kissed. Stop being paranoid.” He gives me a decisive pat on the butt before bringing his arm back around my shoulders and walking us both into the liberal arts building. Once in the classroom, Thomas takes a seat next to me in the front row. While we wait for Professor Scott to arrive, we get lost in small talk. My ankle rests on his knee, his arm stretches along the back of my chair, and he plays idly with the loose strands of my hair. I tell him about spending all night studying, but I can’t hide my agitation or the fear that I have not crammed enough. He laughs, amused by my nerves.
To my surprise, the test goes rather smoothly. I’m almost certain that I’m not going to fail. At the end of class, Thomas and I unfortunately have to part ways. We don’t have any other shared classes today, and Thomas has practice in the evening, so who knows when we’ll be able to see each other again. I admit that it weirds me out a little, no longer having someone asking me to follow him to the gym. I’m relieved, because it’s terribly boring, but a very small part of me wishes Thomas would ask me to come. When Travis did it, it felt like an unbearable burden. But with Thomas, I kind of want to come, and the fact that he doesn’t even ask me leaves a weird taste in my mouth.
After we part ways, I go by the cafeteria and catch a glimpse of Tiffany and Alex, sitting at the table next to each other, discussing something intently. I decide to join them.
“I’m telling you, I’m her favorite.”
“Don’t be stupid, I’m her favorite.”
“You are delusional.”
“Accept it, you can’t compete.”
“Hey, guys.” I put my bag on an empty chair and sit down with them. “What are you talking about?”
“About you!” Alex exclaims.
“We were wondering, actually Alex was wondering, because I already know, which of us is more important to you?” says Tiffany, sitting right across from me.
My eyes widen in bewilderment. “What?”
“Yeah, who’s your favorite?” Alex echoes with absolute firmness.
“I don’t have one,” I answer truthfully.
“Don’t be ridiculous, there’s always a favorite. I know that firsthand. My mother has spent the last twenty years saying she doesn’t have a favorite, but that’s bullshit. Her favorite is and always was Travis. I’m my dad’s favorite, though.”
“There’s no need to argue about this. You both occupy special places in my heart. Equal places. I could never pick one of you over the other.” I smile sweetly at both of them, hoping I’ve given them the answer they wanted and we could maybe get back to being the mature young adults we are supposed to be. But they are far from throwing in the towel.
“Who were you thinking of when you said ‘one’?” Tiffany prompts me.
I frown. “Huh?”
“You said: I could never pick one of you over the other. So who’s the one and the who’s the other?” she continues.
I give her a puzzled look. “Tiff, I don’t think…”
“She’ll never admit it because she is too nice, and she would never hurt your feelings, but I’m her favorite. I’ve known her since she was six years old, you on the other hand have known her for how long? Two years?” Alex snorts and gives her a haughty smirk. I cannot believe this is actually happening.
“It’s five years. Pretending not to know only makes you look dumb, Alex.” Tiffany is starting to sound a bit irked. That usually means she’s about one step away from flying off the handle.
“Whether it’s two, three, or four, it’ll still never be comparable.”
“So you say. And yet, right before she got her diploma, it was my hand she wanted to hold for moral support, not yours.”
“Yes, but who was the first person she thanked when she gave her speech? Oh yeah, it was me.”
My God, this situation is rapidly becoming more ridiculous. Tiffany glares defiantly at Alex and I seem to have disappeared completely.
“Junior year of high school, Amanda Jones made fun of her in front of the whole class. I was the first person she told.”
Alex lets out a mocking chuckle. “But I was the one who consoled her. I saw her with no teeth.”
What the…?
“I saw her naked,” retorts Tiffany with the air of someone playing a trump card.
