Seeing Double

Chapter 25 - Shut Up And Kiss Me

“Ian?” I breathed out in surprise, barely noticing as I dropped my hose, causing water to spray everywhere. Why did he suddenly leave? What did I do? Is he mad at me? What did he mean by “stop” it? Did I do something wrong to his bike? Giving the bike a quick once-over, I am sure I didn’t.

“Andy!” Leanne suddenly popped up at my side, grinning widely from ear to ear.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I blinked away the moisture collecting in the corner and my eyes and attempted a weak smile. “Hey,” I managed to mumble, bending down to pick up  the hose.

“Ooh!! You should have seen the look in his eyes – wait, what’s wrong?” she realised mid-gush and grabbed my arms, which were beginning to shake. Suddenly, I felt cold. I mean, Ian just brushed me off for no reason!

“Hhe left, Leanne,” I whispered hoarsely, wrapping my arms around my body as I shivered in the non-existent chill, feeling like a complete, total idiot. Maybe he was in one of his foul moods which had nothing to do with me, I reasoned, despite every fibre of my being protesting against it. There has to be something wrong! I mean Ian is nuts sometimes, but that just takes the cake! What the hell does he mean?

Leanne blinked.

“Crap,” she muttered, her wide eyes looking at me like I had grown a second head.

            “Whatever,” I sighed, shaking my head to clear my thoughts ad hosing his bike down one final time before stalking away to turn off the tap. After rinsing away all the soap suds from my body, I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around my shoulders, laughing at Pam and Julie’s comical imitations of the cheerleaders’ sexy car wash poses. I saw Katie and Leanne exchange pointed looks out of the corner of my eye and snorted at their subtlety.

            “What?” I protested, annoyed by their expectant gazes.

            “God, she really is dense,” Katie drawled, smirking at Leanne who giggled in return.

            “Andy, you probably just gave Ian Whitley the best car wash in his entire life –“ Leanne gushed.

            “Bike wash,” I corrected, earning me a scowl from the two of them. Couldn’t help myself. “And if I remember correctly, he got mad at the end and just stalked off to god knows where for no reason,” I added sarcastically.

            “Do we really have to spell this out for her?” Leanne grimaced, looking at me like I was a mental case.

            “I’m afraid so,” Katie sighed, before turning to me with a determined expression. “Back there, you. Turned. Ian. On,” she enunciated each syllable slowly and clearly, pointing at me with narrowed eyes.

            “Wh-what?” I spluttered, my face heating up at the completely ridiculous notion. “But he left!” I retorted indignantly. Hello? He was mad, not turned on. I mean, I’m his best friend!

            “He left because he’s probably got a boner, Andy,” Katie rolled her eyes, while Leanne simply giggled at me. “Really, I pity that poor guy because right now he’s probably jacking off in the toilet,” she added casually, as if she was talking about the weather. Good grief, I had forgotten how crass Katie can be sometimes.

            I could only gape at her, feeling my face flaming even further and I covered it with my hands as I bit my lip in embarassment. Holy -! I mean, who would have thought that I could manage to elicit that kind of reaction from him? There must be a mistake! They must have seen wrongly! I was besides myself in mortification, though a tiny, secret part of me was relieved, and even proud of myself. I had just proven that Ian sees me as a girl, not just his childhood best friend. Though this is completely gross too. Eugh! Agh! Disturbing mental imagery! Erase! Erase! Gah!