Page 76 of When Ben Loved Tim

“Uh…” I glance at the classroom door with unease. Don’t they have school counselors for this sort of thing? Then again, if the reason she’s upset has anything to do with Tim… “Sure,” I say. “Be right back.”

I leave the classroom and find Krista sniffling in the hallway. She looks up at me sullenly before scowling. “Is everyone laughing at me?” she asks.

“No. I think they were surprised, that’s all.” I walk over to her and raise a hand, intending to pat her on the shoulder reassuringly, but it feels so wrong for us that I end up placing it on the wall. “What’s going on?” I ask while leaning casually, like an adult trying to be cool.

“It’s Timmy,” Krista says, wiping at her eyes. “I don’t know what to think anymore!”

I shift and rest my back against the wall, which feels less awkward. “What happened?”

“He came to see me last night and…” She swallows before continuing. “We were in my room.”

I’m hanging on her every word. What if he broke up with her? It’ll be so hard not to smile!

“We were making out—" she continues, which is a real gut punch until she adds, “but he didn’t seem into it. So I took off my blouse, and he looked like he was interested in seeing more, so I undid my bra…” Her chin starts to tremble again. Then she shakes her head while glowering at me. “Why am I telling you any of this?”

“I just have one of those faces,” I say. “So anyway, how did he react?”

“He stared for a second. Then he said I should put my clothes back on. I felt so rejected!”

I’m both relieved that it didn’t go further, and sympathetic to her pain, because he really bungled it. Tim should have complimented her first or maybe felt her up a little. Then again… “Sometimes guys aren’t ready,” I tell her. “Everyone assumes we are, because we’re so obsessed with sex, but it’s not always true. So it would be like if he whipped his thing out and asked you to touch it.”

Krista blinks. “Do you think I should have offered?”

“No!” I say, wishing she would have listened to my advice in the first place. “But if you didn’t feel like touching his wiener, that wouldn’t automatically mean that you don’t like him or don’t find him attractive, right? Maybe he doesn’t know what to do with a girl’s boobs. I sure don’t!”

Krista laughs and wipes at her nose. “You think that was it?”

“Probably. He wouldn’t be your boyfriend if he didn’t think you were hot. There has to be some other reason. I don’t think it’s you.”

“So what should I do?” she asks.

I press my lips together, not wanting to heal a relationship that I’d like to see fall apart. But this would be a bad way for it to end. “Talk to him about it,” I say.

It’s good advice that I plan on taking. I need to talk to Tim, as soon as possible, because this mess has only gotten worse. I assure Krista that nobody thought it was funny that she ran from the room. Then I suggest we return to class, because I can’t handle getting any friendlier with her. The situation is already too weird, but with any luck, it’ll soon be over.

* * * * *

Tim’s car is parked between streetlights, the interior dark except for the dashboard, which creates just enough of a glow for me to see the outline of his impressive body. And how handsome he looks. Tim’s hair has gotten longer. He’s brushing it to the side now instead of gelling it into spikes. The dark hair resting on his forehead makes his silver eyes stand out even more. I give in when he leans over to kiss me, even though I promised myself not to do this. I wanna suck him off, tell him I love him, and go back to my place so we can cuddle.

Instead I gently push him away. “Have you talked to Krista today?” I ask.

“Yeah, of course. I saw her at school.”

He leans toward me again. I press my back against the passenger-side door, the discomfort making it easier to resist him. “Did she tell you what happened during our presentation?”

Tim shakes his head. “She hasn’t said much about it at all. Only that…”

“What?”

He grimaces, as if I won’t like it.

“Trust me,” I assure him. “I’ll be fine.”

“She said that you’re nerdy enough that she’ll probably get a good grade.”

I roll my eyes and question why I care about her feelings at all. But even if I decided that Krista deserved to be cheated on, it wouldn’t make me feel better about the situation. “She had a breakdown,” I inform him before launching into the details. Including everything she said in the hall.

Tim leans back in his seat with a groan. “When she flashed me, I panicked!”