|
b3a0611
|
That shouldn't have happened," she says, throwing back her shoulders in a stance as stiff as a statue's. "What? The kiss or you likin' it so much?"
|
|
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
4d75ac6
|
I brush a strand of hair from her face, then move beside her. When she wraps her arms around my neck, all I want to do is protect this girl for the rest of my life. I ease her jacket open and lean away. A pink lace bra stares back at me. Nothing else. I whisper. "Is our game over?" she asks nervously. "It's definitely over, 'Cause what we're gonna do next is no game." --
|
|
spanish
brittany-ellis
intimate
game
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
8ec2342
|
Are you going to dance with me tonight?" I ask. "Hell, yeah." "Colin never wanted to dance with me." "I'm not Colin, querida, and never will be." "Good. I've got you, Alex. I realize it's all I need and I'm ready to share it with the world." Inside the club, Alex immediately heads for the dance floor with me. I ignore the gawking stares from Fairfield students from my side of town as I pull Alex close to me and we move as one to the beat. W..
|
|
dance
gawking
brittany-ellis
couple
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
f6db706
|
I don't deserve you. You know that, don't you?" "When are you gonna realize you're one of the good guys?" When I don't answer, she pulls my head down to hers. "My body is yours tonight, Alex," she whispers against my lips. "Do you want it?" "God, yes."
|
|
want
brittany-ellis
good-guy
intimate
deserve
yes
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
719ceb4
|
When Brittany walks into Mrs. P.'s class on Friday I'm still thinking about how I'm going to get back at her for throwing my keys into the woods last weekend. It took me forty-five minutes to find the suckers, and all the while I was cursing Brittany. Okay, so I give her props for dishing it out.
|
|
dishing-it-out
brittany-ellis
keys
looking
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
7387074
|
Nice girl. Wears too much makeup." "Most chicks hate her." "Most chicks wish they looked like her. And they wish they had her money and boyfriend." I stop and regard her in disgust. "Burro Face?" "Oh, please, Alex. Colin Adams is cute, he's the captain of the football team and Fairfield's hero. You're like Danny Zuko in Grease. You smoke, you're in a gang, and you've dated the hottest bad girls around. Brittany is like Sandy ... a Sandy who..
|
|
hate
fantasy
colin-adams
danny-zuko
sandy
brittany-ellis
grease
compare
wish
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
0bbba60
|
I'll never let it happen. I'll do everything in my power to keep my sister at home. "I don't want to have a civilized discussion. My parents want to send my sister to a facility behind my back and my head feels like it's about to split open. Leave me alone, okay?" Something is sticking out of my pocket. It's Alex's bandanna. Isabel isn't a friend, yet she helped me. And Alex, a boy who cared about me last night more than my own boyfriend di..
|
|
bandanna
brittany-ellis
shelley-ellis
emotional
sister
cry
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
15269b6
|
Why can't you call me Alex?" I ask, my head down while I stare at the food in front of me. "If I wanted to call you Alex, I wouldn't have bothered to name you Alejandro. Don't you like your given name?" My muscles tense. I was named after a father who is no longer alive, leaving me the responsibility of being the designated man of the house. Alejandro, Alejandro Jr., Junior . . . it's all the same to me. "Would it matter?" I mumble as I pic..
|
|
spanish
carlos-fuentes
goad
mexicano
alex-fuentes
mama
name-calling
white
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
0a1f8bf
|
You call that a kiss?" "Yep." Okay, so I'm in shock the girl put my hand on her creamy cheek. Damn, you'd think I was on drugs by the way my body reacted. She had me totally under her spell a minute ago. Then the pretty witch turned my game around so she was the one with the upper hand."
|
|
kiss
upper-hand
brittany-ellis
spell
game
trick
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
68da341
|
You know those giant stuffed-animal prizes at the carnival? The kind practically nobody wins, except the lucky few? I've never won one." "Yeah. I've never won one, either." "Alex was my giant prize. I hated you for taking him away," she admits. I shrug. "Yeah, well, stop hating me. I don't have him, either." "I don't hate you anymore," she says. "I've moved on." I swallow and then say, "Me, too." Carmen chuckles. Then, just as she walks out..
|
|
hate
carmen-sanchez
moved-on
won
brittany-ellis
prize
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
ed2a40f
|
Where's Shelley?" I ask, scanning the room. "Playing checkers, as usual," Georgia says, pointing to the corner. Shelley isn't facing me, but I recognize the back of her head and her wheelchair. She's squealing, a hint that she won the game. As I get closer to her, I catch a glimpse of who's playing against her. The dark hair should have been a clue that my life is about to be turned upside down, but it doesn't fully register. I freeze. It c..
|
|
checkers
won
brittany-ellis
shelley-ellis
georgia
reunited-lovers
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
229d908
|
You quit? I thought you said it was too dangerous to quit, Alex. You said people who try to get out die." "I almost did. If it weren't for Gary Frankel, I probably wouldn't have made it. . . ." "Gary Frankel?" The nicest, geekiest guy in school? For the first time I scan Alex's face and see a faint, new scar above his eye and nasty ones by his ear and neck. "Oh, God! W-what did they d-do to you?" He takes my hand and places it on his chest...
|
|
comfort
beaten
brittany-ellis
quit
gang
crying
danger
tears
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
cf8e85d
|
When I spot Alex leaning on his motorcycle waiting for me in the parking lot, my pulse skips a beat. Oh, boy. I'm in trouble. Gone is his ever-present bandanna. Alex's thick black hair rests on his forehead, daring to be swept back. Black pants and a black silk shirt have replaced his jeans and T-shirt. He looks like a young Mexican daredevil. I can't help but smile as I park next to him. "Querida, you look like you've got a secret." I do, ..
|
|
brittany-ellis
appearance
wedding
tease
dress
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
810d4ac
|
Hey, How about you ditch those losers and come with us. We'll show you a real good time," one of them shouts through the window. "Fuck off," Doug shouts. One of the guys stumbles out of the car and advances on Doug. Sierra yells something but I'm not paying attention. Instead, I'm watching Alex tear off his jacket and block the guy's path. "Get out of my way," the guy orders. "Don't lower yourself by protecting this white dick." Alex stan..
|
|
spanish
alex-fuentes
doug
pick-up
hispanic
sierra
white
defend
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
085a8b2
|
Sometimes good men need to do things that aren't good. Right?" I ruffle his hair. Luis is way more innocent than I was at his age. "You know, I think you're gonna be the smartest Fuentes yet, little bro."
|
|
little-brother
luis-fuentes
good-men
brother
smart
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
ef2f48c
|
Let's get out of here. You and me, I breathe a sigh of relief as I straddle Julio and Brittany hops on behind me. She wraps her arms around my waist, holding on tight as I speed out of the parking lot. We fly through the streets; which eventually become a blur. I don't even stop when rain starts pouring down. "Can we stop now?" she yells through the deafening storm. I park under an old abandoned bridge by the lake. Heavy rain pounds the ce..
|
|
kissing
spanish
brittany-ellis
intimate
stupid
dangerous
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
2190846
|
Come here and lie on your stomach. I know how to give Swedish massages. It'll relax you." "You're not Swedish," I say. "Yeah, well, neither are you. So if I do it wrong you'll never know the difference."
|
|
brittany-ellis
massage
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
86c0e4d
|
Let's have a bet, then. If I'm right, you kiss me," he says. "And if I'm right?" "Name it." It's like taking candy from a baby. Mr. Macho Guy's ego is about to be taken down a notch, and I'm all too happy to be the one to do it. "If I win you take me and the class project seriously," I tell him. "No teasing me, no making ridiculous comments." "Deal. I'd feel terrible if I didn't tell you I have a photographic memory." "Alex, I'd feel terrib..
|
|
bet
brittany-ellis
now
kissed
tricked
right
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
341452b
|
Want some?" he asks, pointing to his dinner. Maybe eating will calm my nerves. "What is it?" "Enchiladas. makes kick-ass enchiladas." He stabs a small portion with a fork and holds it out to me. "If you're not used to this kind of spicy food--" "I love spicy," I interrupt, taking it into my mouth. I start chewing, enjoying the blend of flavors. But when I swallow, my tongue slowly catches on fire. Somewhere behind all the fire there's fla..
|
|
enchiladas
spicy
brittany-ellis
spicy-food
water
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
01e67d1
|
I thought we were gonna take this relationship slow." "A back rub is harmless." My eyes roam over her kick-ass bikini-covered bod. "I'll have you know I've been intimate with girls wearin' a lot more."
|
|
relationship
brittany-ellis
slow
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
487c862
|
How was the kiss with Alex?" "Nice," I say, thinking about how sensual it was. "Actually, Isabel, it was more than nice. It was fucking incredible." Isabel starts laughing, and I laugh right along with her this time."
|
|
kiss
incredible
brittany-ellis
isabel
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
edac8c2
|
This girl of my dreams, this girl who is more like me than anyone I've ever met, wants to kiss me. I take over control as soon as she tilts her head. Our lips touch for the briefest moment before I lace my fingers in her hair and keep kissing her soft and gentle. I cup her cheek in my palm, feeling her baby-soft skin against my rough fingers. My body urges me to take advantage of the situation, but my brain (the one inside my head) keeps me..
|
|
kissing
kiss
brittany-ellis
pissed
interrupted
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
091a274
|
clocked
|
|
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
179cafe
|
Paco Fuentes," Mrs. Peterson says, pointing to the table behind Mary. The handsome young man with pale blue eyes like his mother's and smoky black hair like his father's takes his assigned seat. Mrs. Peterson regards her new student over the glasses perched on her nose. "Mr. Fuentes, don't think this class will be a piece of cake because your parents got lucky and developed a medication to halt the progression of Alzheimer's. Your father ne..
|
|
future
past
brittney
mrs-peterson
paco-fuentes
seating-arrangements
twenty-three-years-later
class
test
parents
son
mother
father
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
4630f36
|
Shelley, you think she'll take me back?" Alex asks her, his hair dangerously close to her fingers. She doesn't pull his hair . . . just pats his head gently. I feel the tears running down my cheeks at full speed. "Yeah!" Shelley yells with a goofy, gummy grin. She looks happier and more content than she's been in a long time. Both of my favorite people are with me right here; what more could I ask for?"
|
|
brittany-ellis
favorite-people
happier
shelley-ellis
take-me-back
emotional
|
Simone Elkeles |
|
fc32ab6
|
Paco says, throwing down his lunch. "They think they can buy a U-shaped shell, stuff it, and call it a taco, but those cafeteria workers wouldn't know taco meat from a piece of shit. That's what this tastes like, Alex." "You're makin' me sick, man," I tell him. I stare uncomfortably at the food I brought from home. Thanks to Paco everything looks like now. Disgusted, I shove what's left of my lunch into my brown paper bag. "Want some of i..
|
|
spanish
paco
ten-minutes
taco
stain
goading
mine
hurry
jeans
shit
new
clean
threaten
|
Simone Elkeles |