Page 49 of Tell Me Softly
It kind of hurt. Was she doubting that I had what it took to study at an elite university? I counterattacked, “Yale?”
Kami shrugged. “I’ve wanted to go there for years. I’d never admit this aloud to most people, but I got the idea because I was such a fan ofGilmore Girls. Still, though, it’s a great school. Plus, my dad went there.”
“What do you want to study?” I asked as we headed in the direction of the cafeteria.
“Art.”
She always had liked to draw.
“I didn’t know you were still into it,” I said.
She nodded, but I wondered why she seemed so shy about it. I grabbed her hand and pulled her close before we entered the lunchroom, which was filled with the roar of voices. “Hey,” I told her, “I’m sorry for this. Detention. Getting you in trouble.”
She shook her head. “Don’t worry. Anyway, it’s my fault too.” She smiled timidly.
I remembered just then the soft skin of her thigh, and I could feel the blood rushing into my groin.
“What happened, though…”
“I know. It was a mistake.” She said this with such confidence that my mind warned me I should take two steps back.
“Was it?”
She looked back and forth, almost as if she were in a rush. “I’m not ready to have anything with a new person. I just broke up with Danny, and…”
“Hey, hey,” I interrupted her. “Take it easy, OK? It’s not like we’re talking about getting married or anything.” I tried to make it a joke, but it was hard to hide my disappointment. That only seemed to make her more uncomfortable, though. Why was it so hard to say the right thing?
“Let’s just think it over,” I said “Not move too fast, just try to have fun. As you know, that’s my specialty.”
She nodded and bit her lip, and I could see the doubt in her face.
“Come on, now,” I said, “don’t do that.” I grabbed her lip and tugged it. And that made me need her again, made me want to stick my tongue in her mouth again and convince her that what I’d said wasn’t true, that we did need to move fast, because…
“Hey, you!” I heard a voice behind me. “Were you born this big a fuckup or did you have to train for it?”
I looked back.
“Just what I need…”
Kami tensed up as my brother came over. The look in his eyes was so cruel, I’m surprised she didn’t fall dead on the spot. When he reached us, he slapped the back of my head so hard I saw stars.
“Dammit, Thiago!”
“What the hell. You got detention again?”
Kami stepped away from us.
“Yeah,” I said, trying to play it cool. “Apparently you’re not supposed to make out in class.” I don’t know why I said it that way. I knew it was going to make things worse. Way worse. But I was tired of how Thiago treated Kami, how he was always judging her. And I was tired of seeing what happened to her whenever he came around.
When Thiago got in my face, I was scared for a moment. Thensomething seemed to click in his head, and he turned to her. He seemed unable to believe it. There was a coldness in his green eyes I’d never seen, at least not with me.
“When I thought you couldn’t sink any lower…”
Tears welled in Kami’s eyes, and I immediately saw red.
“Take that back,” I said, bumping my chest into him just before I pushed him. I knew if we fought, he’d probably beat the shit out of me, but I didn’t care. My brother wasn’t the type to trash-talk or roughhouse––if he hit a person, he’d put them on their ass. Anyone who didn’t believe it should ask the people who’d tried to square off with him before.
“Or what? Or what, bitch? You’d better be glad you’re my little brother because otherwise…”
