The Favor

Things were changing. The changes were more obvious since this school year had always seemed stagnant and routine. That routine was shattered. Every morning, Kaylee was there at my locker, waiting for me. It wasn’t just her either. Like normal, where she went, others followed. It wasn’t the same every day, but we never seemed to have a morning alone. Sometimes, it was the she-Satan known as Zoe. Others, Ellie and Abby, or any other combination of her friends. Some days, it felt like the entire basketball team was there. Old me might have been annoyed. Now? I didn’t much mind. Even Zoe seemed uncharacteristically polite. It wasn’t enough to let my guard down around her, but I was willing to see how far this unspoken armistice would last.

Unlike before, I never felt like I was competing for Kaylee’s attention. I always caught her looking me, even if she was talking to others. The moment our eyes met, she would give me one of those big smiles I loved. Whenever the bell rang for morning classes, she would tell all her friends she’d see them later, and together we would walk to her first class. It was a rare moment we had together alone at school. Those minutes always disappeared the fastest. We talked about completely normal things. Quizzes. Homework. Friend drama. No one paid us much mind anymore, people accepting that maybe this thing between us was going to stick. I’d heard some rumors that the entire relationship was a sham and Kaylee was only using me to stop guys from asking her out. Another suggested I was blackmailing her. Seeing her, I don’t see how anyone could believe that one. I’d been friends with her since freshman year, and I’d never seen her so happy.

And the best part of the morning? Once we got to her class, she would send me off with a kiss.

But not everything was sunshine and rainbows. The shadow of our conversation loomed over us. Neither of us had brought it up again, but I could tell it was on her mind. She didn’t stop asking though. Whether it was Sean or someone else, I never told her no. She never asked me by text anymore, instead asking me directly. I think she felt guilty, knowing that her asking was causing me discomfort. I would tell her it was okay and she would kiss me. Her hand would grab mine and squeeze tight as she pressed her lips against mine and hold it there. It was as if she was putting everything she had into conveying that she was there. Then she would pull away, holding onto my hand for as long as she could before letting me go.

I had always thought Sean would be the worst. I’d seen what she was like with him and she clearly favored him as her go-to for physical companionship. But he was mostly an invisible presence in my life. I mean, I knew what he was doing with Kaylee, but it was always at her house. It was actually the ones she took into the Couples Room. That was right there in front of me. I wasn’t actually there watching, but it hit me the same way. I watched her go in with him, and I waited until she came out, knowing what had just happened. Fortunately, that only happened twice in the two weeks leading to finals week.

The only one that truly gut-punched me was the away game on Friday just a few days ago. It was an easy game, the girls absolutely crushing their opponents. Kaylee was declared the MVP despite having nearly zero playtime in the game. It had been so bad, they were letting the younger girls who barely played have some time on the court. I had suspicions Zoe was behind the nomination, but had no proof. Regardless, Kaylee had first go at the team manager. I wanted to tell her no. I think she did too the way she looked at me. Maybe she wanted me to say no. I couldn’t tell her it was okay, so I simply told her it was up to her.

She nodded and went to the back.

I didn’t watch.

When she came back, I couldn’t help but admire the way the streetlights lit up the sheen of sweat on her face. Even knowing everything, I couldn’t help but have my heart race at the sight of her. Kaylee deciding to make out with me the rest of the way helped too.

“Ugh,” Kaylee said, slumping against the locker next to mine. There was a loud thunk as the back of her head hit the metal. “I can’t wait for break. Studying for midterms and finals is making my brain melt.”

“It’s not so bad,” I said with a smile.

She glared at me. “Easy for you to say, Mr. Underachiever. Try loading up with honor and AP classes and see if you can say the same thing.”

“Hey, I’m in physics with you!”

“The easiest class…” I don’t see how she could say that. If it wasn’t for her notes and tutoring, I’d have failed out a long time ago. Seeing me close the locker, she pushed off and shoved her hands in her pockets.

“Ready to go?” I asked.

“I… actually can’t take you home today. I hate to do this to you last minute…”

I shrugged. “No problem. I’ll just catch a ride home with Paige. Something wrong?”

She bit her lip, shifting nervously. “Scott, we need to talk for a second.”

My heart skipped a beat, and not in a good way. I knew that look. It was the look of something bad. “What’s up?” I said, trying to keep the creeping fear out of my voice.

“You know it’s midterm week, right?”

“Hard not to.”

She brushed her hair behind her ear, not meeting my eye. “It’s a stressful time for me, but I found a system that keeps me focused and prevents me from ripping my hair out or blowing my head off.” I really didn’t like how she was too nervous to look at me.

“What is it?”

Fidgeting, she looked at the floor. “If it’s okay with you—”

“Hey!” a familiar voice called out. A second later, I felt a slap on my shoulder that caused me to take a step forward. Damn that hurt. “If it isn’t my favorite couple!”

“Sean,” I said, forcing a smile. I don’t know why girls went completely bonkers for this guy. His skills clearly resided in inopportune timing. “How are things?”

“Living the dream, Scott. Living the dream.” He grinned happily before looking over at Kaylee. “So, you want me to drive separately, or do we want to carpool?”

I looked over at Kaylee, who was completely red. “Sean, I was just asking Scott if—”

He looked genuinely horrified. “Shit, is this a bad time? Oh… Oh, man. I feel bad.”

“It’s okay, Sean.”

“No, no, no. Damn. I fucked things up. Really sorry. I’ll uh… I’ll be over there.” He practically ran away.

“Ditching me for Sean?” I had meant that as a tease, but she looked horrified.

“No! Never.”

“I’m joking.”

She let out a long breath. “I’m really sorry, Scott. I should have told you earlier. I arranged this from before we started dating and… I kinda forgot about it?”

“I still don’t know what ‘it’ is.”

“Right. Uh… Normally I get a new guy, but since Sean not only is great in bed but knows—”

“Kaylee…”

“Sorry. Um… So I usually have a guy stay with me over finals week. I promised to help him study if he helps… relieve stress.”

I was silent for a few seconds. “Like, stay overnight?”

“He’ll be sleeping in the guest room,” she said quickly. “Not actually sleeping with me. Like I said, I’ll be helping him study when we aren’t…”

“Having sex.”

Her face was still red. “It’s usually once before bed and once in the morning if it’s like it was last year. Maybe once after school too if Sean’s up to it.”

“So… Two or three times a day?”

Her head fell. “Yeah.”

“Fuck, Kaylee,” I said with a long breath. “This is a big ask out of the blue.”

“I know. I feel bad. I thought about canceling the whole thing since we are dating, but I did promise to help him study and these are some tough classes and Mom is going complete psycho control over my grades so I’m freaking out—”

Reaching out, I put my hands on her shoulders. She stopped speaking instantly. Any more, and I think she’d pass out from lack of breath. Looking closely, I could tell she was under a lot of pressure. Meeting her blue eyes, I found myself wondering if this would be different if we were having sex. Would she be asking me to stay over, or would she still pick Sean? My heart told me she would ask me, but the fear lurking in the folds of my mind whispered that I knew the real answer.

“Promise me something.” She blinked a few times before nodding. “Saturday, you come over for dinner.”

“You do know we are leaving Sunday—”

“So you don’t want to spend the night?”

She looked surprised. “Overnight?”

I shrugged. “Ah, well. If you don’t want to—”

Her kissing me stopped me mid-sentence. She only broke it when it felt like I was going to pass out. “I’ll be there,” she whispered, her lips hovering over mine.

“I can’t promise—”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, wearing a giant smile as she pulled away. “This is the first time… you invited me over. Of course I am going to be there.”

Sighing, I took one last long look at her. “I’d better get going then. I have to call Paige to make sure she doesn’t leave without me.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t.”

“Come Sunday, you’ll be seeing me so much, you’ll be sick of me.”

“Never.”

Smiling, she gave my hands a squeeze before backing away. I returned her wave as I watched her walk up to where Sean was waiting. He gave me an awkward wave too. Together, they headed down the hall.

Shaking myself out of my funk, I pulled out my phone and scrolled to Paige’s number.

“What?” Pleasant as always.

“I need a ride home.”

“Already left.”

Frowning, I quickly glanced at the clock on the wall. It usually took forever to get out of the parking lot. At best, she was a minute or two away. “Don’t be like this Paige.”

“Why don’t you ask your girlfriend? Hasn’t she been taking you home?”

“She has other stuff to do.”

“Fucking another guy? Good for her.” In a way, I was glad Paige learning my secret didn’t really change things. With so many other things going on, I don’t know what I would do without my resident asshole sister being the rock to pummel me relentlessly.

I clenched my teeth. “Paige.”

“I told you. I already left.”

“Mom and Dad got that car for us.”

“Yeah. And I’m using it.” Noise clattered through the phone. It sounded like she was shifting around something. “Taking the boyfriend and a friend home.” She was whispering. My stomach soured at the implication she was making. “Dad texted and said him and Mom were working late. This is a golden opportunity for me.”

“And what about me?”

“Try Liam? Or just wait until Kaylee’s done? Hanging up.” I couldn’t get in another word before she cut the connection.

Shit.

Kaylee was out of the question, but Liam wasn’t a bad option. We hadn’t hung out in a while. Besides, it would be best to avoid home for the next few hours. Lord knows what I would walk into there. Bringing up my contacts, I called Liam.

“You rang?” he asked in a drawn-out voice. I rolled my eyes, smiling.

“You still at school?”

“Just about to leave.”

“Mind if I joined you?”

“Kaylee finally wise up and dump your ass?”

“Funny.”

“I know. Heading to the car now. Meet you there?”

Thanking him, I hung up. Shifting my backpack to a more comfortable position, I headed off.