Page 61 of No Good Deed

She looks at me. “I can’t give you the answer you want, so yeah, we’re done talking about it.”

She’s so frustrating. One minute I think we’re connecting on this deep, intimate level, opening up to each other and being completely honest, and then she puts up this wall, shutting me out from whatever it is that’s keeping her from breaking up with Troy. There’s something going on there. Something she’s not telling me.

For now, I need to let it go. I don’t want to spend what little time I have with her arguing about Troy, although it’s hard not to bring it up when I can’t stop thinking about it.

“What have you got?” I ask, going over to her as she looks in the cupboard. It’s almost bare, with just a few canned goods and a jar of pasta sauce. I grab the sauce. “Do you have any pasta?”

“I think so,” she says. “But Jake, you don’t have to make lunch.”

“I’m not. We both are. Get the pasta. I’ll get the water boiling.”

We make lunch, bumping into each other in the small kitchen and using it as an excuse to kiss or grope each other. It’s playful and flirty and something we’d do if we were dating, which makes me angry again, knowing I can’t be with her thatway. But I push down the anger and tell myself to be patient. A girl like Tara is worth waiting for. I just hope I don’t have to wait too much longer.

16

JAKE

“What took you so long?”Sean asks as I go into his house. “The game’s already started.”

“I got stuck in traffic,” I tell him, but the truth is, I needed to go back to my dorm to shower and change clothes before coming over here.

It’s Saturday, and I told Sean I’d come over and watch football with him and Leo. I was supposed to be here at eleven, but I’m a half hour late because I spent last night with Tara and we stayed in bed all morning. When I checked the time, it was after ten. I kissed Tara goodbye, went back to campus, got ready as fast as I could, then left for Sean’s house.

When I said I wasn’t going to do anything with Tara until she broke up with Troy, I meant it. I really did. But when you feel this strongly about a girl, it’s hard to be around her without something happening. Add in the intense chemistry between us, the electricity in the air whenever we’re together, and it’s no wonder we ended up in her bed. And on her couch. And in her shower. We even did it in the kitchen. That day I went there for lunch, we never got around to eating the spaghetti.

I went back to campus that day knowing I was in trouble. Knowing I couldn’t stay away from her even though I knew I should. I’ve seen her every day this week, and last night I stayed over. It was Friday, and she was supposed to go see Troy, but he cancelled on her as she was waiting for the bus. I’m sure it’s because he found some other girl for the night, someone he likes better than Tara. She knows this, and yet she still hasn’t broken up with him.

When she called me last night, telling me what happened, I knew she wanted me to come over. At first, I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to be her backup guy for when Troy wasn’t available. But, of course, I went over there. And it was great. The sex was great. Spending the night with her was great. Waking up next to her was great.

So why do I feel sick right now? Because she’s going to see Troy today. She said she had to, because she hadn’t seen him all week. He’s been asking her to come over, but she’s been making excuses for why she couldn’t. This morning he texted and told her to come over and she agreed. While I was with her. In bed. I was angry, but didn’t say anything, not wanting to ruin our perfect night. It really was perfect, or it would’ve been if she wasn’t still with Troy.

“Where’s the beer?” Leo asks as I join him on the couch.

“I didn’t bring any,” I tell him. “I told you I don’t have a fake ID.”

“We can fix that,” Sean says, sitting down in the recliner. “My uncle’s got a friend who can get you one.”

“I’ll pass. If you want to go buy some, I’ll give you money.”

“We already got a case.” Sean holds out his hand. “But I’ll take the money. You can’t be drinking for free.”

I take out my wallet and hand him a ten.

“That’s it? What about food? I’m making burgers later.”

I take the ten and give him a twenty. “You know I had to drive here. Gas isn’t cheap.”

“Hey, it’s not my problem you live up there with the rich people.” He stuffs the money into his pocket.

Twenty dollars is a lot for me. I was going to use that money to pay for laundry, which is freaking expensive. I’m not used to having to pay to clean my clothes. And gas is more expensive here than it was in Dallas. It takes a lot of gas to get here so I was going to tell Sean I couldn’t make it. But then I changed my mind, thinking Sean or Leo might be able to tell me why Troy’s still dating Tara when he doesn’t seem that interested in her.

“How’s college life?” Leo asks, kicking his feet up on the coffee table.

I shrug. “It’s okay. It’s harder than high school, but I have more free time. I only have a few classes a day.”

“You meet any girls?” Sean asks.

“I went out with a girl in my English class, but it didn’t go anywhere.”

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