Chapter 44: I do not Hook Up.
But boys will be boys
Oh yes they will
They don't wanna define it
Just give up the game and get into me
If you're looking for thrills then get cold feet
Oh no I do not hook up, up
I go slow
So if you want me
I don't come cheap
Keep your hand in my hand
And your heart on your sleeve
Oh no I do not hook up, up
I fall deep
'Cause the more that you try
The harder I'll fight
To say ... Goodnight
The rest of the night passed uneventfully. I convinced the girls to leave me alone by telling them that I was nervous with Dimitri the next day. I was, but that wasn't why I needed to be left alone. The truth is, I still needed to come to terms with my breakup with Josh. I hadn't been given the chance. I woke up after a night of next to no sleep, completely unprepared for my date that night. I was beginning to panic when I noticed Noelle stirring. She was about to wake up. I didn't want to deal with her this morning. It was finally Saturday, so I didn't have class to get to. I quickly changed into my soccer shorts and was out the door. A run in the cool morning air cleared my head, helping me to think more clearly.
I just did a lap of the campus. In the forty-five minutes it took for me to do my run and make it back to the dorm, my head had finally cleared, and I was ready to face Noelle and the day. I made it back to Billings. I kept my head high, though I knew I had been out this morning simply to escape their scrutiny, and I needed a confidence boost if I was going to make it through my date with Dimitri tonight.
I spent most of the day in the dorm studying and hanging out with the girls, but four hours before I had to leave, I was dragged to the bathroom Noelle and I share to get ready. Four hours. That's how long it took them to get me ready for this date. I had never spent that long getting ready for something in my life.
Four hours later, I was finally deemed presentable and ready to go on my date. I was looking forward to it, if only to escape from this room and all the pricking and prodding I had received. I was in the common room waiting. Dimitri was late. I was starting to get pissed off. He asked me out. He should have the decency to at least show up on time.
Twenty minutes late, Dimitri finally showed up. He flashed me a smile and expected me to swoon and forget all about him being late. It didn't work. For a brief moment, I began to accept it as an apology, before reminding myself that it wasn't at all. I gave him a look to show him just how upset I was, but he wasn't even looking at me, and he still had that stupid smug smile on his face. I rolled my eyes and realized just how stupid I was to agree to go out with him.
Dimitri had managed to get us passes off campus, and led me to his car. My breath caught in my throat. It was the exact same as Josh's. I couldn't help but think of all the time I had spent in Josh's car. I fought back tears and was filled with a brand new determination. I would have fun with Dimitri tonight, even if it would never go any farther than that. Dimitri flashed his winning smile and I forced myself to smile back. Dimitri's grin grew even wider as he opened my door for me. I climbed in, thinking that aybe I'd gotten the wrong impression and judged him too harshly.
Dimitri got into the driver's seat, making small talk. I kept up the conversation and tried to focus on him, but I couldn't. My mind kept wandering to Josh, and then I would see him and Ariana in the Art Cemetery. I looked into Dimitri's eyes, seeing something I hadn't seen in Josh's in a long time, hope. That one look cleared my head of all thoughts of Josh.
Dinner passed in a blur. Dimitri was great, but I didn't feel the same as I did with Josh. I wondered if it was a good thing. I thought Dimitri was a gentleman, but when we got back to his car, he ambushed me. His lips crushed into mine and he shoved his tongue roughly down my throat. I couldn't back away, I was stuck between him and the car, and he didn't seem to notice me shoving him away. This was wrong, all wrong. I was finally starting to think that maybe we could have something eventually. A sob forced its way up my throat, but he still didn't get the message. He opened the door to the back seat, and I knew immediately what he meant, and there was no way that was happening. I shoved him, much harder this time. He pulled away from me, giving me this terrible, disapproving look. That did it.
"I cannot believe you!" I exploded. He was shocked, he tried to hide it, but it showed. "You think that you can just attack me like that? I don't know what kind of girl you think I am, but I definitely don't just hook up with a guy I just met like that." I shoved him away from me, and before giving him a chance to try and explain, I walked away.
"Reed, where are you going?" He yelled.
"I am leaving, thank you very much." I yelled, neglecting to look back at him.
"Fine, whatever." He huffed, before hopping into his car and starting the engine.
It would be a long walk back to Easton, but I would rather walk than get into the car with that loser. I walk for a long time before my heels start to hurt my feet, and I wish the girls had let me wear flats. Dimitri had long since passed me, and I begin to worry that I've gotten myself lost. I haven't spent much time in town, and the drive to the restaurant being that long. I begin looking for somewhere to go in and ask for directions, but I refuse to admit that I am lost, and I don't want to call anyone to pick me up, that would be way too embarrassing.
I hear a car pull up beside me and my muscles automatically tense. I don't know who it is, and the tinted windows hide whoever it is from me. The window rolls down, and I feel my feet moving backwards, and my legs tensing to run.
"Oh, come on Reed. What's your problem?" Noelle's haughty voice echoes in the empty street, and I laugh at my own paranoia. I open the door and hop in, grateful for the ride, and for the pressure off of my aching feet.
"Now, why did you not call me after you ditched that jerk at the restaurant?" Noelle asked me.
I didn't want to admit it, least of all to her, but I eventually got the words out of my mouth. "I was embarrassed, and I had too much pride to admit that I needed anyone."
Noelle shook her head at me, but said nothing. We rode the rest of the way to Easton in silence, and I realized that this was really the first time I had spent any time alone with Noelle, aside from at night, when I pretended to be asleep when she came in.
AN: So, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I want you to know, there will be some more Josh in the next chapter. Please stay with me, and PLEASE review, I'm missing the love.