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Too Hot To Handle
Ch. 5
Manny had never felt so awkward in her life. Stuffed in the back seat of the car with Emma to her right and Craig on the other side, Manny was acutely aware of the lingering silence that filled the small space. It seemed as though the other passengers could sense that something was amiss, so the steady conversation that had flowed during the drive to the club was noticeably absent. Manny fought the urge to look over at Craig, for fear that she might burst into tears right in front of everyone. What had she done wrong? It had certainly felt like Craig wanted to kiss her. Maybe she had been giving out a "come and get it" vibe, as Emma like to call it, and once Craig came to his senses he realized that he had no interest in Manny whatsoever. She had never felt so confused in her life.
When the car arrived at Craig's house, he hopped up as though his seat was on fire, and, barely pausing for a "goodnight", jogged toward the back door and let himself in. 'Couldn't get away from me fast enough,' Manny thought in dismay. As they pulled back onto the street, she felt Emma's hand on her arm and saw the concerned look her friend was giving her.
"Did something happen?" she asked curiously, looking Manny in the eye. Manny sighed.
"Something happened, alright. I just don't know where to start." At this, Emma folded her arms and looked at the other girl with interest.
"That's okay," she replied. "We have all night for you to figure it out."
Ah, guilt. The most unwelcome visitor of all. While attempting to work up the courage to call his girlfriend the morning after "the kiss", Craig had found himself at a crossroad. To tell or not to tell, that was the question. Massaging his temple with his forefingers, Craig deliberated the pros and cons of honesty. Would anyone really benefit from his admission to Ashley that he had kissed another girl? Even more, would it help to let her know that this moment of weakness was the same moment that he had been dreaming about for weeks before it happened, the same moment he was continuing to replay over and over in his head? God, he was such a jerk. Ashley didn't deserve that kind of treatment, and he'd be damned if he let some meaningless, pointless. incredibly hot kiss get in the way of what could be the most meaningful relationship of his adolescent life.
With that final thought, Craig's mind was made up. No one would have to know about what happened at the club, he just hoped that Manny would understand. After all, animal attraction wasn't what made a relationship work. A couple had to have similar interests and goals, and he and Ash understood each other on a deeper level. In fact, the answer was so simple that Craig couldn't believe he was even entertaining the idea of replacing Ashley with someone else. Now if he could only get the image of Manny out of his head, standing all alone on the dance floor, vulnerability shining from her pretty brown eyes, then everything could get back to normal. And normal was exactly what Craig wanted. Really.
As Monday morning rolled around, Manny and Emma made sure to get to school a few minutes early in order to pass out flyers for the next meeting of SFPRT (Students For the Preservation of Redwood Trees), which Emma had decided was her latest and greatest project. The turnout for their last meeting had been very impressive, though one of the usual faces had been missing. Ever since Manny had thrown Sully out on his ass the weekend before, he had been notably absent from the presentations. Manny spotted J.T. ambling over to where the girls were standing, and she waved him over happily.
Things had gotten much better with J.T. since their conversation last week in which heavy admissions were made and apologies were offered. Manny was grateful that he seemed to have gotten over his crush and was willing to be her friend again, because school with out J.T. by your side was so.educational, somehow. Wistfully, Manny considered what might have happened if she had said yes to J.T. when he had asked her to a movie, but then she quickly dismissed these thoughts, reminding herself that it would have been wrong to get involved with one of her best friends when she had rather *ehem* intense feelings for someone else.
"Hey Manny," J.T. greeted her with a shy smile, taking a pamphlet from the pile in her hands. "Hey, saving the Redwoods. I'll be interested to hear what you ladies have to say on the subject."
"Oh well you know us," Emma replied, glancing through the crowd for a glimpse of her hood-clad boyfriend. "We have something to say on every subject." Manny laughed.
"Hey, speak for yourself-" she began, but stopped short as she spotted Craig stepping out of Joey's car, followed by Ashley, who was holding his hand possessively.
"Just ignore him, Manny," Emma murmured, placing a comforting hand on her best friend's shoulder. "It's not worth getting upset over." Manny forced a laugh and flipped her shiny dark curls over her shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'm over it," she stated unconvincingly, sneaking another glance in Craig's direction. "He's made it pretty clear that what happened meant nothing to him, so I'm going to make sure he knows that I feel the same way." She stuffed the remaining pamphlets into her bag and linked her arm with Emma's. "Let's go. Media Immersion calls and we must answer." And with that, the girls marched proudly up the steps to Degrassi Community School, heads held high, as if daring anyone to say that they weren't destined to change the world.
"Band rehearsal, eight o'clock, my basement. Be there," Craig told Marco, Spinner, and Jimmy as the bell rang, signaling the end of first period. Giving the guys a farewell nod, Craig turned the corner, almost running smack-dab into J.T., who apologized quickly and headed off in the opposite direction with his friend Toby. Shaking his head in annoyance, Craig continued walking toward his English class, stopping suddenly when he spotted a lone figure at her locker down the hall. Manny was stuffing books into her back pack as Craig walked hesitantly toward her, realizing that he owed her some sort of explanation for his behavior that night, and he struggled to find the words that would hurt her feelings the least. As she turned to glance at her reflection in the mirror, Craig paused beside her, resting his hand on the locker next to hers. Then, without warning, Manny slammed her locker door shut, crushing his fingers in the process.
"Aaah!" Craig exclaimed, hopping around in extreme pain and holding his fingers with the other hand.
"Oh no! I am so sorry, Craig, I didn't see you there.," Manny covered her eyes in horror as he continued to bounce around in agony.
"Jesus," he muttered finally, leaning back against the lockers then sliding down onto the floor. Cautiously, Manny crouched down to where he was sitting and held out her hand.
"Let me see it," she instructed, but Craig shook his head. "Come on, don't be a baby," she said impatiently, sounding very much like an elementary school teacher. She took her hand in his and began to examine his fingers carefully, noting that they had already swelled significantly. She heard a sharp intake of breath as she lightly touched his hand, and she looked at him concern. "Does that hurt?" she asked, and Craig slowly shook his head. Gently, she ran her thumb across each of the fingers, watching his reaction with interest, and she noted that his breathing had quickened significantly.
Craig's eyes met her own, and Manny realized at once that she was the one affecting him now, not the pain in his fingers. Her heart racing, Manny brought her other hand up to his hurt one, holding it, as her other hand continued its rhythmetic caress, her eyes locked on his at all times. After a moment, she realized that Craig's face was slowly inching slowly towards hers, and she felt her heart flutter at the smoldering look in his dark eyes. But just when their noses were almost touching, Manny pulled away, a stricken expression on her face.
"We're, uh, late to class," she muttered, gathering her bag. "Don't want detention, right?" She gave him one last glance before turning quickly and heading in the direction of her class, leaving Craig on the floor, swollen hand forgotten, wondering what had just happened.
Too Hot To Handle
Ch. 5
Manny had never felt so awkward in her life. Stuffed in the back seat of the car with Emma to her right and Craig on the other side, Manny was acutely aware of the lingering silence that filled the small space. It seemed as though the other passengers could sense that something was amiss, so the steady conversation that had flowed during the drive to the club was noticeably absent. Manny fought the urge to look over at Craig, for fear that she might burst into tears right in front of everyone. What had she done wrong? It had certainly felt like Craig wanted to kiss her. Maybe she had been giving out a "come and get it" vibe, as Emma like to call it, and once Craig came to his senses he realized that he had no interest in Manny whatsoever. She had never felt so confused in her life.
When the car arrived at Craig's house, he hopped up as though his seat was on fire, and, barely pausing for a "goodnight", jogged toward the back door and let himself in. 'Couldn't get away from me fast enough,' Manny thought in dismay. As they pulled back onto the street, she felt Emma's hand on her arm and saw the concerned look her friend was giving her.
"Did something happen?" she asked curiously, looking Manny in the eye. Manny sighed.
"Something happened, alright. I just don't know where to start." At this, Emma folded her arms and looked at the other girl with interest.
"That's okay," she replied. "We have all night for you to figure it out."
Ah, guilt. The most unwelcome visitor of all. While attempting to work up the courage to call his girlfriend the morning after "the kiss", Craig had found himself at a crossroad. To tell or not to tell, that was the question. Massaging his temple with his forefingers, Craig deliberated the pros and cons of honesty. Would anyone really benefit from his admission to Ashley that he had kissed another girl? Even more, would it help to let her know that this moment of weakness was the same moment that he had been dreaming about for weeks before it happened, the same moment he was continuing to replay over and over in his head? God, he was such a jerk. Ashley didn't deserve that kind of treatment, and he'd be damned if he let some meaningless, pointless. incredibly hot kiss get in the way of what could be the most meaningful relationship of his adolescent life.
With that final thought, Craig's mind was made up. No one would have to know about what happened at the club, he just hoped that Manny would understand. After all, animal attraction wasn't what made a relationship work. A couple had to have similar interests and goals, and he and Ash understood each other on a deeper level. In fact, the answer was so simple that Craig couldn't believe he was even entertaining the idea of replacing Ashley with someone else. Now if he could only get the image of Manny out of his head, standing all alone on the dance floor, vulnerability shining from her pretty brown eyes, then everything could get back to normal. And normal was exactly what Craig wanted. Really.
As Monday morning rolled around, Manny and Emma made sure to get to school a few minutes early in order to pass out flyers for the next meeting of SFPRT (Students For the Preservation of Redwood Trees), which Emma had decided was her latest and greatest project. The turnout for their last meeting had been very impressive, though one of the usual faces had been missing. Ever since Manny had thrown Sully out on his ass the weekend before, he had been notably absent from the presentations. Manny spotted J.T. ambling over to where the girls were standing, and she waved him over happily.
Things had gotten much better with J.T. since their conversation last week in which heavy admissions were made and apologies were offered. Manny was grateful that he seemed to have gotten over his crush and was willing to be her friend again, because school with out J.T. by your side was so.educational, somehow. Wistfully, Manny considered what might have happened if she had said yes to J.T. when he had asked her to a movie, but then she quickly dismissed these thoughts, reminding herself that it would have been wrong to get involved with one of her best friends when she had rather *ehem* intense feelings for someone else.
"Hey Manny," J.T. greeted her with a shy smile, taking a pamphlet from the pile in her hands. "Hey, saving the Redwoods. I'll be interested to hear what you ladies have to say on the subject."
"Oh well you know us," Emma replied, glancing through the crowd for a glimpse of her hood-clad boyfriend. "We have something to say on every subject." Manny laughed.
"Hey, speak for yourself-" she began, but stopped short as she spotted Craig stepping out of Joey's car, followed by Ashley, who was holding his hand possessively.
"Just ignore him, Manny," Emma murmured, placing a comforting hand on her best friend's shoulder. "It's not worth getting upset over." Manny forced a laugh and flipped her shiny dark curls over her shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'm over it," she stated unconvincingly, sneaking another glance in Craig's direction. "He's made it pretty clear that what happened meant nothing to him, so I'm going to make sure he knows that I feel the same way." She stuffed the remaining pamphlets into her bag and linked her arm with Emma's. "Let's go. Media Immersion calls and we must answer." And with that, the girls marched proudly up the steps to Degrassi Community School, heads held high, as if daring anyone to say that they weren't destined to change the world.
"Band rehearsal, eight o'clock, my basement. Be there," Craig told Marco, Spinner, and Jimmy as the bell rang, signaling the end of first period. Giving the guys a farewell nod, Craig turned the corner, almost running smack-dab into J.T., who apologized quickly and headed off in the opposite direction with his friend Toby. Shaking his head in annoyance, Craig continued walking toward his English class, stopping suddenly when he spotted a lone figure at her locker down the hall. Manny was stuffing books into her back pack as Craig walked hesitantly toward her, realizing that he owed her some sort of explanation for his behavior that night, and he struggled to find the words that would hurt her feelings the least. As she turned to glance at her reflection in the mirror, Craig paused beside her, resting his hand on the locker next to hers. Then, without warning, Manny slammed her locker door shut, crushing his fingers in the process.
"Aaah!" Craig exclaimed, hopping around in extreme pain and holding his fingers with the other hand.
"Oh no! I am so sorry, Craig, I didn't see you there.," Manny covered her eyes in horror as he continued to bounce around in agony.
"Jesus," he muttered finally, leaning back against the lockers then sliding down onto the floor. Cautiously, Manny crouched down to where he was sitting and held out her hand.
"Let me see it," she instructed, but Craig shook his head. "Come on, don't be a baby," she said impatiently, sounding very much like an elementary school teacher. She took her hand in his and began to examine his fingers carefully, noting that they had already swelled significantly. She heard a sharp intake of breath as she lightly touched his hand, and she looked at him concern. "Does that hurt?" she asked, and Craig slowly shook his head. Gently, she ran her thumb across each of the fingers, watching his reaction with interest, and she noted that his breathing had quickened significantly.
Craig's eyes met her own, and Manny realized at once that she was the one affecting him now, not the pain in his fingers. Her heart racing, Manny brought her other hand up to his hurt one, holding it, as her other hand continued its rhythmetic caress, her eyes locked on his at all times. After a moment, she realized that Craig's face was slowly inching slowly towards hers, and she felt her heart flutter at the smoldering look in his dark eyes. But just when their noses were almost touching, Manny pulled away, a stricken expression on her face.
"We're, uh, late to class," she muttered, gathering her bag. "Don't want detention, right?" She gave him one last glance before turning quickly and heading in the direction of her class, leaving Craig on the floor, swollen hand forgotten, wondering what had just happened.