Free The S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher

that writing in there.” He leans against the wall, crossing one leg over the other. His shirt looks bright against his golden-brown skin.
    I dip my head toward him. “How do I know you’re not lying to me?”
    “I guess you don’t.” He taps my nose with a finger. It startles me, how warm he is. “You’ll have to take my word for it.”
    “No offense,” I say, surveying the empty hall, “but I’m not in the mood lately.”
    And then I’m gone, into the abyss of toilet-papered tiles and rust-stained urinals. The only possible explanation for a smell this bad is a fountain of urine and a pile of old socks.
    I’m in and out as fast as can be.
    Jesse’s standing guard when I come out. Unfortunately, Drake is with him. My heart starts to race. I want to bolt, but I can’t leave without thanking Jesse. Plus, my legs have gone all wobbly. “Listen, Jesse—”
    “This is why you’re guarding the door?” Drake interrupts, brushing Jesse aside like a shopping cart. “What the hell, Angie?”
    “You were right,” I say to Jesse, taking small pleasure in sharing a secret with him in front of Drake.
    “Told you it was clean.” Jesse winks for added effect.
    “You and I have a very different definition of that.” We share a smile.
    Next to us, Drake is fuming. “You want to tell me what the hell is going on?”
    “Relax.” I almost touch his chest, the way I used to when his jealousy would surface. “We were out of TP in the ladies’.”
    If he knows I’m lying, he won’t call me on it. He’s got a vested interest in staying on my good side. He still thinks he might find a way back into my pants.
    What a waste.
    “Thanks for your help,” I say to Jesse, touching his shoulder lightly.
    He jumps at the touch. I think it surprised him more than it surprised Drake. “No problem,” he says.
    I turn to leave but something stops me. I’m wary of leaving the two of them alone together. “Don’t you have something to do?” I ask Drake. I motion to the bathroom.
    “It went away.”
    “Right.”
    “It did.”
    I wish I knew what he was thinking. Most people I can read, but Drake is locked tight with a padlock and chains. It’s hard to find a way in.
    “Fine,” I say, thinking on my feet. “Jesse, can you help me with one more thing?” The longer I look at the pair of them, the more I’m certain it’s a bad idea to leave them unsupervised. I’m pretty sure Drake would sucker punch Jesse in a heartbeat.
    Jesse looks at me funny, like he knows what I’m up to. “Sorry, I can’t.”
    I wonder if I’ve insulted him. “It’ll just take a minute.”
    “Sorry,” he says again. He begins to walk backward, lowering the bill of his hat. I let him go.
    “I need to talk to you,” Drake says when he’s, like, three feet away.
    “Not today, Drake.” I make a move to leave.
    He catches my arm. “It’s really important.”
    I slide out of his grasp, trying to pretend I hate the feel of him. “I have somewhere to be.”
    “I’ll come with you,” he says.
    “I don’t think you want to.”
    He comes up beside me, tucking a hair behind my ear. He leans in so only I can hear. “I want to.”
    Oh no. Not the voice. Gruff and tough Drake gets sweet faster than you would believe. That voice has melted me on many occasions. Soft in my ear. Lips tickling me. But it’s not going to get to me today. I don’t love him.
    I hate him.
    “Baby, please,” he murmurs, and my legs go wobbly again.
    God, do I hate him. I try to think of the bad things. Did he use those eyes on Lizzie? Did he use that voice? But I can’t. I’m falling.
    I crash right into the truth.
    You don’t fall out of love with someone just because he betrays you. That love stays inside you, battling against the hate. Right now my love is battling my hate so hard I can barely breathe, and all I want to do is get away from him.
    Or fall into him.
    There is only one way out of this. I have to scare him away.
    “I’m going over to