Page 14 of Exactly What I Needed
“I don’t know if everyone would—”
“WE DO!” my entire class shouted at the same time, cutting me off.
Sighing, I shook my head. “You know, when I asked my question, I was hoping for some juicy gossip about who just broke up with who or something like that.”
“Well, if you want juicy gossip, you should know that the lead singer wasn’t seen at his afterparty like usual,” Selena replied, and Madison groaned.
“Rumor has it he has a girl,” Caralee mumbled.
I swallowed stiffly.That fast and there’s already rumors?Besides, it was one night. That was it. That was all it would be.
“Someone raise their hand with aschool-appropriatesong by this Void,” I quickly said, changing the subject from Asher.
Sort of.
Every hand shot into the air. Since when did every teenager agree on the same type of music? And metal that reminded me of my high school emo phase when I was actively trying to fit in with Sydney? Until my parents shut that down…
“Delilah. Come pick one.” I waved up the blonde-haired girl in the third row, who seldom participated. She smiled as pink bloomed in her cheeks, and she hustled around the desks to the front of the class. I pulled up my music streaming app on my computer, and she typed in one of their songs. (2) One that I hated to admit I’d had on rotation last night before bed. Albeit, this one was the clean version.
“You better hope that this song appeals to my narrow-minded music self,” I cautioned.
“Miss Duval!” My class groaned, but all I did was laugh and start the song. Plopping myself down in my spinning chair, I leaned my head back and let myself fall into his voice. It wasn’t quite the same now as it had been live, but I didn’t care. It was still his. He’d had more feeling live, or maybeit was because I had been staring at him when he’d been singing it. Either way, this still tickled my ears exactly as I liked it to.
My eyes wandered around the classroom, staring at a sea of grinning faces. They knew I liked it, and I smiled, chuckling to myself. “You’re right. It is very good!”
They all cheered before someone shushed them, wanting to finish the song.
Taking the opportunity to glance quickly at my phone, I widened my gaze in shock. One text message from Asher and three Picsnap notifications were waiting. I cautiously clicked on the text to find his response to my messages last night.
If you can’t come to me, then I can come get you.
That’s all he’d said. I didn’t dare open the Picsnaps at this moment, not while my class was here. I wasn’t sure how Picsnap worked, but I didn’t want to risk them hearing or seeing him on it.
Asher… The girl I broke girl code with, she and I live together.
It definitely sounded a little short, but that’s all the time I had before the song ended and I had to resume teaching. Plus, I needed it to be short. I still had to tell him no, make sure he understood that I couldn’t. That it just couldn’t happen.
The class went much better after that. And third period went by faster, though I was learning that nearly everyone had been to the concert. Which was a little surprising because it hadn’t felt exactly like the most appropriateplace for teenagers. But who was I to judge? Especially after what I’d done that night.
Once the bell rang, releasing myself and my class for lunch, I shut the door behind them. I was alone and wouldn’t have to risk anyone hearing what Asher might have sent me. As I sat back down in my chair, my finger hovered over the snap icon. Hesitating.
I shouldn’t engage in this. The longer I let this drag on, the more likely Sydney would find out.
But he had me in a chokehold. One night, and I felt like a puppet on strings.
Opening the video, I sighed in relief. It wasn’t dirty. Just a picture of his feet in black socks planted on the floor with a caption:
See, you said no but you still offered me your Picsnap.
I clenched my jaw, running a hand over the back of my neck. I know I did.
Clicking onto the second snap, I placed my finger against the screen, pausing the image. He’d captured a selfie of his handsome face. A single brow was lifted in curiosity, and he was biting a finger. Rings back on, leaning against the couch with no shirt on.
My stomach flipped upside down, pulsing slowly grew between my legs.
Makes me think that you don’t really mean “no”.
It does mean no.
