The Badboy and The Jailbird

Chapter 18 "What are those looks?"

Ksenia Solo - Maxine

-

By the time he gets here, I am wasted. I'm talking like, tripping when you are sitting down, talking to no one kind of wasted.

I hear the roar of Jessie's truck outside followed by the slamming of a door and footsteps.

The old wooden door creaks as he pushes it open and back closed. 

"Took you long enough." My words slur together but are still decipherable.

"Geez, how drunk are you?" He comes and sits next to me. I hold up 5 fingers on the hand with the broken wrist, then I explode into a laughing fit.

He chuckles and takes a drink of my whiskey sour. Almost immediately after sipping it, he starts to gag.

"That's so gross! Whiskey Sour is an old person drink!" I scoff and down the rest moving to make another one, but a big, rough hand stops me. "That's enough for you tonight." 

I shrug and stumble to the couch. Taylor follows while examining the old, rustic building. 

"When did you find this?" Laying down on the couch, I give a haft-hearted shrug, then chuckle. 

"In my dreams." He sits down on one of the chairs. Dust billows up around him and he coughs. Then I remember that we kissed. 

Oh shit. He and Carla are dating. Oh, Fuck! I'm dating Baxter!  Why hadn't I remembered that before! I shrug off Baxter; Jumping up out of the seat I run to Taylor and straddle him, look straight into his deep eyes. 

"Why did I kiss you? What about Carla? You guys are dating. But you didn't tell me. Why?" The dirty blonde haired boy stared back with an amused look blanketing his face.

"You kissed me because I'm attractive. What about Carla? And who the fuck said we were dating?" Yes, I did kiss him because he is attractive. Because damn, that boy is fine. 

"Carla told me you guys were dating. And if we kissed then you would have cheated on my best friend with me. And that's not ok." He had a dead look on his face now but then leaned back and put his hands on my thighs.

"Carla and I went out a couple times but a few days ago I told her I couldn't continue dating her because I didn't reciprocate her feelings for me. And that was that." I was really confused, but my drunk mind couldn't handle thinking about it now. 

"Will you explain this all to me tomorrow?" Something popped into my mind, and suddenly I had another question. 

"Whats not to love about Carla? She is awesome, pretty, and she can take amazing photos!"

Remember. I am wasted.

"IS IT BECAUSE SHE IS BLACK!? ARE YOU RACIST!?" I. Am. Wasted.

Taylor looked taken aback. "What the heck? No, it's not because she's black. It's because I have feelings for someone else."

Dead in the eyes. He looked at me dead in the eyes with no emotion at all.

Suddenly, "ME? YOU LIKE ME?"

Blondie chuckled and set me off of him onto the couch. "This is a morning conversation, hazel eyes." What was that nickname?

"Ok..." I eye him warily, laying back onto the couch. Taylor walks over to the only lamp on in the room and turns it off. The light of the moon now streamed through the broken windows. My eyes were already drooping telling me it was time to sleep.

Taylor comes back over with a blanket and shakes it off before laying it over me. I barely notice when he kissed my forehead.

Then I'm asleep.

-

I wake up to a shaking sensation and a horrible headache. Taylor sits in front of me with an aspirin and glass of water.

"Time for school, sleepyhead." Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit, shit. Taking the water and throwing the aspirin away from me, I sit up on the couch.

Last night comes rushing back like a brick hitting... well, me. 

I stand up quickly, immediately regretting it because of the head rush. 

"Do you like me?"

Taylor, who was previously on his phone, looks up with a shocked face.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Taylor chuckles nervously. "You remember last night?"

I nod walking over to him. Again, nervous chuckles escape from his lips, while he avoids looking me directly in the eye.

"Well... I mean... yeah... I guess." He quickly glances up to see my reaction but looks away just as quick. "But anyway, we should head to school." 

-

Honestly, I don't know how I felt about this new information. Deep down I guess I knew he did because why else would he want to kiss me again. But at the same time, it was like getting hit by a brick... again.

After Taylor ran out and got in his car, he immediately left for school. I, on the other hand, brushed my teeth and hair and put on different clothes. Then I hopped on my bike and drove to school. 

I am glad that we didn't ride together because it gave me more time to think about it. I realize that how I reacted was a little hurtful, but I try to shove it off.

As of now, I am in second period and all I can think about is how I completely froze when he told me. Then all I can think about is Baxter.

Technically I cheated on him. I felt horrible about it too. 

The bell sound blares over the loudspeakers and everyone starts to get up from their seats. 

-

The rest of the day is a blur, except for lunch. Baxter had asked me and Maxine if we wanted to sit with them. Maxine said yes before I could make up an excuse. The whole situation was awkward beyond words. 

Taylor kept staring at me and then back at his food, while Baxter and Maxine were talking about something with another boy there. 

A guy named Adam who was sitting next to Taylor kept whispering stuff in his ear. The boy responded by nodding or whispering back, all the while looking at me.

Jamie came and sat down next to me after 20 minutes had passed. I noticed the boy Maxine had been talking to with Baxter had started staring at Jamie with flushed cheeks.

After school Jamie, Carla, Maxine and I met up and we are now headed to see Baby Driver. They asked me about the bruises and cuts on the exposed parts of my body and I told them I fell into a rose bush on my bike.

-

The movie was great. It really was but I couldn't stop thinking about Taylor. My mom had texted me that she and her boyfriend were making dinner for all of us tonight because they had the day off and I was dreading it.

Not just because my mom couldn't cook but because I would be forced to see Taylor. 

I got home around 5 after the movie with Jamie, and we went upstairs and started our homework. 

Around 7 we hear a door slam and steps up the stairs that continue to the attic. Taylor.

Then at 7:30 my mom calls.

"Dinners ready!"