As we left for theater class, she whispered, “If you don’t want to hang around me anymore, I understand.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. “He started—”
Mr. XXX Joe and Brad placed themselves on either side of me like hulking bodyguards. Now it just became a matter of coordination; breath and action together. Hey, man, Tom Jennings is having a get-together tonight over on the lake. It’s Kayla I’m worried about. Hopefully he got the message to steer clear. Joe was strutting proudly back to homeroom while I massaged my arms. He looked over into the crowd. “I think you missed a few steps,” I said, “How about you uncuff me and we start from where we really left off?”
“Tempting,” she said, kissing my stomach, “But I don’t think it would be a good idea to let you out.
