The Smile Always Fades

12. Falling For A Slime Ball

Anna woke up the next morning to singing birds and the smell of baked cookies...okay, maybe not, but that's the way she felt. That feeling of utter comfort and happiness and the joy of waking up in your warm bed, cuddling with the soft covers.

I wonder if Bentley will text me today; maybe he'll stop by just to say hi, Anna thought excitedly. Anna felt like a 13 year old again, waiting to see if any cute guy at school would look at her--not that she would have cared back when she was 13, but that's the kind of things pre-teens think about, right?

Anna hopped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, jumping into the shower, all while humming one of the songs the whole group danced to the night before. She took her sweet time in the embrace of the shower's rain, hogging all of the hot water and pampering her relaxed body. Her muscles were shuddering out of acceptance and gratefulness.

She finally got out and dried off, slipping on her clothes; Anna wondered what time it was, because it felt like she had taken hours scrubbing and rubbing and washing her hair and body.

She skipped off from the bathroom back into her bedroom and began putting on her makeup. She couldn't help but flick a couple glances toward her closet, where her new sweatshirt lay. I'll just put it on for a second, it's not like I have to wear it all day, she told herself. She sauntered over to her closet doors and reached over for the tie-dyed cloth. She shrugged it on and hugged it close to her body. Her skin screamed and tickled with pleasure from the soft, snuggly feeling the sweatshirt emanated. It was like candy, but in clothing form. Anna looked at herself in the mirror; Jordan was right, she did look pretty in the sweatshirt. All of the colors made her skin glow radiantly, and the blue in her eyes vivaciously popped.

Anna lept into the air and gave off a small squeal; she wasn't able to contain her glee. She couldn't even remember the last time she felt this happy.

When she looked back into her mirror though, her smile vanished, she screamed out of horror and spun around faster than a dog chasing its own tail. A man was sitting on her bed.

Finally, when her eyes adjusted and her heart slowed down a few beats per second, she realized that it was Shane who was in her room. "Please, don't stop because of me," he said with a smile on his face. His teeth were shining whiter than ever.

"How long have you been sitting there?" Anna panickingly asked.

"Only a couple seconds. I watched you pull on that sweatshirt though. Anna, where in the world did you get that ugly thing?"

Anna's shoulders slumped and she looked down at her new article of clothing. "It's not ugly," she said defensively.

"Oh, come on," he countered. "It's gotta be one of the most hideous things I've ever seen!"

"Why are you in my room, Shane?" Anna asked irritably, through clenched teeth. "And where's Jason?"

"Jason's in the kitchen getting food. I came in here to ask you something."

Anna suddenly realized that Shane looked a bit nervous. He kept wringing his hands and then rubbing them on the thigh of his pants. Anna kept silent and inwardly anticipated his question for her.

Shane looked deeply into her eyes. "Do you want to go out this next Friday?" he got out quickly. "I was thinking we could go see a movie or go out to dinner."

Anna was speechless. Shane Rogers just asked her out on a date. She'd been waiting for this day ever since she was a freshman in high school--four whole years! "Yes," she said without hesitating, or thinking. Bentley! "Or, wait...I don't...know. I might--I might have a tutor session this Friday." Nice save, she sarcastically thought.

"With that Bentley kid?" Shane asked sourly. "I don't know if I like you hanging around him."

What are you, my father? Anna thought. "Shane, I'll check and see if there's nothing holding me back from going with you, okay?"

"Yeah," he said, finding his composure and smiling once again. "Okay." Shane got up from her bed then. He grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. "I just don't want you getting hurt, Anna. And Bentley? I've heard he's a major player. He pretends like he likes a girl until he gets her in the bedroom and then he drops her like a sack of potatoes. I would just really hate to see you fall for that slime ball." Shane looked towards Anna's door. "Anyway, I should get back to Jason. Text me about Friday, okay?"

Shane left Anna standing in her room filled with shock, doubt, and pain. Bentley? Not Bentley. He was too sweet, too nice, too kind and considerate. Were all those times of him being there for Anna, holding her while she cried and telling her it would be okay, just ploys of taking advantage of her? How well did Anna know Bentley? It's not like she'd known him all her life, she only met him when he was assigned to be her math tutor.... But once they got to know each other, he seemed like a nice guy, like a cool dude. He wouldn't hurt her like that. No, Anna was not going to believe it, not yet. Not Bentley.

Anna took off her sweatshirt and hurled it in the vicinity of her closet. It landed in a colorful, jumbled pile on her floor.

She took her phone out of her pocket and sent a text off to Shane. Anna figured he was still in the house, but this was just easier, she didn't want to face him after he just said all those things about Bentley.

The answer is still yes. I'll go out with you on Friday.

About five seconds later, Anna's phone beeped. She opened the text message from Shane.

:), was all it said.