Free Broken and Screwed by Tijan Page B

shut. I owed Marissa the respect to give herself a fair hearing, and I owed myself to find out if my best friend had really gone behind my back for some guy.
                  Angie chuckled and finished her drink. “And I mean that in a good way. Only that girl could get three guys wrapped around her finger at one dance.”
                  “Yeah.” I sighed and then looked at my lap. Everything was burning inside of me to tell Angie, but I couldn’t. I had to stop with this debate.
                  “Hey, so, how’s it going with Eric tonight? He seems nice.”
                  A different tension filled me and I froze again.
                  “Uh oh.” Angie put her glass down and scooted next to me. Her leg pressed against mine. “Tell me whatever it is. I’m your best friend. It’s a sin for you not to tell me, so spill the beans, woman.”
                  The words spilled from my lips. “He asked me out. He said he likes me more than friends and he wants to go out on a date with me.” Then I stopped. I almost went into my dilemma about Jesse, but I hadn’t spoken about him for almost three months. It was fair if they had forgotten about him, but then I felt a pang of conscience. Was that what happened with Marissa? Had she forgotten what he was to me?
                  “Oooh!” Angie squealed. “Are you going to go out with him? You have to. He’s such a nice guy. Come on, Alex!”
                  “I don’t know.”
                  “You have to. Trust me, if you don’t he’s going to be scooped up by someone else. Eric is really popular. There are a lot of girls who would kill to be in your shoes. What’s the hang up?”
                  I hesitated. She wouldn’t like hearing what I had to say.
                  Then she sighed in disgust and scooted away. “Oh, my god. Really? Do not say Jesse’s name. Please do not say his name.”
                  I shrugged.
                  “OH! Alex!” She hit herself in the forehead with her hand. “I can’t believe you. I’m not saying this to be mean, but he’s long gone. He’s at Grant West. He is in a different lifestyle now. He’s hanging out with the Hollywood crowd now. I watch television, too.”
                  I smoothed out my dress and tried not to squirm under her intense gaze. I didn’t believe for one second that Jesse was hanging out with the Hollywood crowd. I believed that he went as a favor to his dad, but I also believed that he hadn’t gone since. Jesse hated his dad. That wasn’t known by anyone else except my family and his, but Angie said some truth. He was long gone. What made me think he’d come back for me?
                  So I sighed and I sat there. And I asked myself why I hadn’t jumped at the chance to date Eric Nathan. He was normal. He was here and he thought I was beautiful.
                  “Heya!” Marissa chirped as she and Cord took their seats across from us at the table. Ben dropped in his and grabbed some napkins to wipe his forehead. His panting had turned into wheezing. “Where’s Eric?’
                  Cord tapped her shoulder and pointed across the gym.
                  “Why is he talking to Casey Wright?”
                  Angie tapped my leg. “See.”
                  “See what?” Marissa looked between us. Her eyes were lit with anticipation. “What see? Fill me in.”
                  I was about to tell her that it was nothing, but Angie rushed out, “Nathan asked her out.”
                  Marissa gasped. She clapped her hands to her cheeks and squealed in her seat. “Oh, my god. That’s so exciting. Alex, say something. Aren’t you happy about that?”
                  “Uh, yeah, I