Free The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder Page B

Britney wants and can't have: a great personality, and more important, Troy Hoffman.
    I limp through the fallen leaves, trying to keep up with Britney. I look like a ninety-year-old woman hobbling in these awful shoes. It's freezing outside, and I'm shivering like crazy. Brandon places his jacket over my shoulders. It smells like a Mexican restaurant. I'm reminded of how much I dislike Mexican food.
    "Thanks, Brandon," I say, breathing in and out through my mouth, trying to spare my nose the enchilada odor. Normally I'd be impressed with this act of chivalry. However, I know that Brandon is just trying to get some action tonight. Boy, is he going to be disappointed.
    As we make our way to the bonfire in Troy's backyard, the air gets warm and thick with smoke. The crackling embers drown among the rowdy group of people. The obscene smell of marijuana marinates the atmosphere from a few yards away. A couple of useless stoners are having a powwow behind a patch of bushes. They're probably discussing their less-than-genius philosophies on life and the common cure for a mammoth munchie attack.
    Kyle runs up to tackle a group of football players standing near a woodpile next to the house. He's greeted with loud cheers and a few "bro" punches. Warmer now that I'm next to the fire, I quickly give Brandon's enchilada jacket back and have a seat next to Britney on a log.
    "Do you girls want a drink?" Brandon accommodates, still praying for a hookup, I'm sure.
    "Of course." Britney smiles.
    "Sure. I'll take a Diet Coke if they have it."
    Brit nudges my ribs. Evidently that was the wrong answer.
    "Right," Brandon replies sarcastically. He waddles into the house.
    "He's so hot!" Britney whispers to me.
    "Who? Brandon?" I gag.
    "No!" She points to the group near the woodpile.
    "Oh, yeah ... Kyle is pretty hot," I agree.
    "No! Not Kyle, him!" She points directly at Troy Hoffman, who's sipping a cold beer looking hotter than the bonfire. "Trust me, someday I'll get him away from that cow."
    She shoots a dirty look across the bonfire at Jamie. Jamie doesn't notice. She's in the middle of telling a group of seniors an animated story. Her arms are flapping, and the group is laughing hysterically. I look at Brit with a smirk, reveling in her jealousy.
    "This is lame," she says under her breath.
    Her attitude instantly changes when Kyle returns. He asks her to go inside with him, and she quickly agrees.
    "Hold my coat," she barks at me.
    I'm sitting by myself. I don't know anyone here, and the only person who makes an attempt to talk to me is Pedro, a foreign exchange student who's completely saturated in Old Spice cologne.
    "Your shoes,
me gusta!
Me like!" he says in broken English, staring at their hideousness.
    "Thanks. They're really painful!" I explain with a friendly smile.
    He grins and says, "Me wants to—to—" I lean closer, ready to help him translate as he tries to think of the right words. "Get..."
    "A drink?" I try to help him.
    "No," he continues. "Me wants to—to—get..."
    He points to my jeans. My heart goes out to him. I can imagine how difficult it must be to be in a foreign country without a full grasp of the language.
    "A pair of jeans?
Pantalones
?" I ask, trying to speak some Spanish.
    "No, no!" Frustrated, he points again.
    "What? You wanna sit here?" I pat the log next to me, happy to take him under my English-speaking wing.
    "No ... No ... Me wants—to—to—get in..."
    I lean even closer. "In what?"
    "Your panties!" he blurts knowingly.
    My mouth drops open in horror. I'm shocked.
    "
Si?
" He smirks.
    "No! No panties!" I yell, completely disgusted.
    Darren, an obnoxiously raucous senior, stumbles up to us.
    "
Si
... me-wantsta-get-inyur-panties tooooo! Noooo deal?" he slurs, spilling half of his beer down my shirt. It slowly seeps into my tissues.
    "Told ya she'd fall for it, dude," Pedro says with a faint accent in near perfect English. "Me-me-wants-to-to..." he recaps his stammering antics, and bursts into laughter