Alley-Oops I Think I'm Falling in Love (With the Wrong Guy)

[32] Maiden Voyage

He let his head fall back in frustration. "I didn't want to kiss her..." He blurted.

I groaned and shimmied past him while rolling my eyes.

That sickening tightness in my core was returning. I didn't know what it meant, but the image of Whitney shoving her tongue down Roscoe's throat seemed to invite it.

Why was he telling me all this?

I heard his quick footsteps as he hurried to catch up to me. Roscoe cut through the crowded hallway, like water curves around a boulder, he didn't even have to watch where he was going.

His finger brushed against the back of my arm. "If you don't care about me kissing Whitney or interrupting your kiss, what are you even mad about?"

I halted abruptly, my temper flaring. "You." I said and flung my hand at him. I knew by the exasperated lift of his eyebrows and the parting of his lips, that he had no idea what I was talking about.

"It's you... you're a fake ass bitch, Roscoe." I said and he flinched. Now that the torrent had started, I couldn't stop it. "You say one thing and you do another. You say all you care about is ball, but how come you won't put the work in? You say you want to change, that you want my help, but you don't actually. You say you didn't want to kiss Whitney, then why did you? Because you seemed pretty eager to me."

Roscoe's chest had paused on the inhale, his eyes wide. He was gobsmacked.

I dithered for a moment, just long enough to ensure that my words hit their mark, then I spun on my heel and left.

It was time to push Roscoe Tate from my mind. I'd said my peace, no sense reliving it again. Besides, I had bigger fish to fry today.

Seeing as I no longer had a direct line to Taylor Arroyo, I had to pick up the torch and figure out how to do this on my own. I'd given it a lot of thought, particularly the bit about being bold and making myself enticing.

All this time, I'd lived by my codes — I hid in plain sight, avoiding anything that revealed my potential as a reproductive resource. That's how you survived in the male ecosystem, it was my number one rule. But now, I wanted to attract a mate, or at least a make-out buddy, and those rules no longer applied.

So, I was soft-launching part one of my Reformation Plan tonight at Katie's party. I was too scared to try it with a male audience, so I'd start small.

A few hours later, Katie picked me up in her hot pink Jeep Wrangler. The car was new, a present for her 16th birthday. She insisted on using her new car to pick up her party guests.

I crammed into the backseat with two other girls. They played on the soccer team with Katie. I didn't know them well, but I was eager to expand my network of lady baller friends.

I listened intently to their stories, a perpetual smile pasted on my face. This could be good.

Katie lived at the top of the mountain. We stopped at the security gate and checked in with the guard, he waved her through as soon as he saw her face.

I gawked at the obscenely large houses and their perfectly manicured lawns as we passed, hers was no exception, and there were multiple, very nice, cars parked in the driveway.

I tried not to gush over her house as we walked inside. The French doors at the back of the house led to a large deck that overlooked the pool and tennis court area. The house itself was perched atop the mountain, so the pool had to be carved into the side of the hill. I couldn't even fathom the expense.