Settling The Score

Part 20

"Have you and Carlos sorted things out yet?" I asked Lucy as we walked to lunch on Monday.

She let her shoulders fall. "He's still a bit stand-offish, but he's talking to me, at least," she confided. 

"So, you haven't told him how you felt, yet?" I asked. 

The dispirited look in her eyes informed me that the answer was no, she hadn't told him yet.
I could see it was really starting to get to her. I'd make a point of speaking to Carlos as soon as possible, then.

When Lucy and I entered the cafeteria, we spotted Beth sitting with Macy and a bunch of Lucy's other cheerleader friends. We started towards their table when a strong grip on my arm, stopped me in place.

 "Hi, Leslie," Nate smiled at me. 

A pinch of disappointed went through me, as I had instinctively expected to meet green eyes, instead of Nate's blue ones. 

"Hey, Nate," I smiled back at him, telling Lucy to go on ahead. 

"Can we talk somewhere?" he asked, grinning at me. 

Suspicion went through me at his words, but it was instantly crushed by a greater feeling of absolute coldness as my eyes landed on Mason Hayes, sitting just behind Nate, talking and laughing with a girl. That same girl from his party, if I wasn't mistaken.

Well, that didn't take long. He must have had some damn deep "feelings" for me if it only took three days to completely forget about my existence.

I was about to tell Nate I didn't really think we had much to talk about, but needing to get out of the suffocating room, I grabbed his arm and dragged him from the cafeteria. 

I met two green eyes before we left, however, and looked away swiftly, hoping that my eyes didn't give anything away.  

Out in the hallway, I felt like I could breathe again. "So what did you want to talk about, Nate?"  

Before I had time to think, to react, he leaned down and kissed me.

 His hands gripped my hips as his mouth met mine greedily, trying to pry my lips apart. 

I just stood there, absolutely flabbergasted. 

"Wow, Carter," a velvety, heart-shattering voice came from behind us, drenched in disgust.

"You move fast." He released a laugh that I didn't recognize at all. "And here I thought I was the player." 

Getting promptly ripped out of my shock, by the instant clarity brought by Mason's voice, I pushed Nate away. 

I turned to look at Mason, seeing the rage, the darkness in his green eyes. 

"What are you doing here?" Was all I could think of saying. 

"When I saw you in the cafeteria, the look on your face, I thought I'd come check on you," he fumed. 

"Sorry to break up the makeup session," he growled, pushing forcefully past Nate.

"Mason!" I called after him, but he didn't so much as glance back. 

"Leslie..." Nate began, but I just stared at him. I kind of forgot he was there for a moment.

Why did he kiss me? 

"No, Nate, let me stop you right there. I'm sorry if I lead you on in any way, that wasn't my intention. I just don't feel that way about you. I'd like to be your friend, but that's all."

Because, in all honesty, when he kissed me, I felt nothing, absolutely nothing. Other than a huge uncomfortableness settling heavily on me. I wondered for a moment if I was even capable of feeling those things. The things a girl is supposed to feel when a boy kisses her.