I was back to being myself with Cindy. The gut-wrenching reaction was no longer there when I thought about her and her ex being together over homecoming weekend. She seemed to sense my mood.
“Can we talk about what happened?” she asked.
“As long as it doesn’t get too graphic, I’ll probably be okay.”
Cindy was still a 9.5 in my book, so when she hit me with her smile, I was halfway there.
“I’m really glad you and Suzanne are friends. She told me that she and Jim are getting to know you better. The lion’s share of what happened that weekend was my fault. I bullied Suzanne into going along. She warned me that what we were doing wasn’t right, but I didn’t listen. I think what I’m most sorry about was deceiving you.”
She licked her lips and swallowed before she continued.
“I worshiped him for almost three years. I was ready to give everything up to be with him. I was going to drop out of school and move to Ann Arbor, where he went to college. We were going to get an apartment, and I’d finish high school there. He went to look for a place to live, and when he came back, he said he’d met someone.
“I tried everything to get him back. I even slept with some of his friends to satisfy some sick kink he had. He tried every perverse thing he could think of last summer, and I did it for him. But when it came time to leave for college, he left me here,” she said, sounding as if the life had been drained from her.
“Angie and I have been friends forever. A couple of the guys I slept with this summer are still in school here, and you’re friends with them: Luke and Magic.”
To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I just sat in silence and waited for her to gather herself and continue.
“I told Angie about them asking me out once it was clear my ex wasn’t coming back. That’s when she volunteered Greg as my cover. The day you came over and babysat the neighbor monsters, Greg and I were just talking. When he told me about you wanting to be the next Dawson to be a Lothario, I talked him into letting me help. I dressed up to tease you. When you kissed me, I wanted to do bad things to you right there in front of Greg.
“He and Angie agreed that I needed something to distract me, so they let me take charge of your sexual education. Greg was shocked when I got Suzanne involved, but she was so horny that she was going to do something stupid. I talked her into letting you practice on her. I was so jealous when I heard you did her in the football shed.”
Cindy blushed at her admission.
“The next week you asked me to be with you. You have no idea how close I came to saying yes. Then you were with Tracy.”
“Can I ask you something? Who was Greg sleeping with?”
“Greg said you figured out he wasn’t being faithful to me. It was Angie. She was sneaking back, and they were spending time together. The day you were with Suzanne, and Greg left, he was with her.”
Things fell into place. I suddenly felt much better about Greg.
“So when Tracy dumped you, I found myself in a position to get back into your life. When you asked me to be your girlfriend, I was all-in. When Suzanne wanted to join in, I figured the three of us could have fun until we went off to college.”
That did sound like a good plan.
“Then my ex called,” she continued. “He was Homecoming King last year and they invited him back. He told me he missed me. Everything came flooding back. I was convinced I still loved him. Luckily, Suzanne was there for me. She talked me into keeping our date with you for Homecoming. When her ex showed up, it was her turn to fall apart. We spent the night in your room with me talking her off the ledge. By morning, she didn’t want to have anything to do with him,” Cindy explained to me.
“I, on the other hand, was convinced my ex and I were getting back together. Suzanne went with me to the cabin because she knew he was just using me. I did it willingly. I slept with him to remind him of what he left behind. He then called me his ‘little sex slave.’ Afterwards, Suzanne pulled me out of the cabin, and I finally understood,” Cindy said as she took a deep breath.
“When you called, Suzanne was devastated. To be honest, I was numb. I’d just realized the love of my life was totally using me. I don’t know how I did it, but I convinced Suzanne that I could win you back—even after your phone call. I think she was desperate. I messed that up big time, but I couldn’t admit how much he hurt me.”
Tears were streaming down her face. The server came by our table, took one look at her, turned around, and left us alone. I couldn’t stand to watch her in pain. I got out of the booth, slid into her side, and pulled her head to my chest. She cried for a short time and then she gathered herself.
“I will not cry about that jerk ever again.”
“Cindy, what do you want from me?”
“I want to be your friend, a friend with benefits. I don’t plan on dating in high school, but I have needs. I’m hoping you’d consider helping me out every now and then, and I’ll do the same for you. I’m not looking to be your girlfriend. If we never have sex, that’s fine too. But if we can help each other out, I’d love that.”
Was there anything really to think about here? A fifteen-year-old freshman offered sex with a gorgeous eighteen-year-old senior. On top of that, I’d had a really bad day.
“Could we go home and just hold each other tonight, and then tomorrow morning, we do something aerobic instead of me going running?” I asked her.
“That sounds like a plan. Let’s pay our bill and get out of here.”
All the way home, we laughed and had a good time. I told her about Gina calling me the second-biggest slut, and why I came on to Lisa. Cindy admitted that she’d thought I was really going to do Lisa in the middle of the lunchroom.
We also talked about more serious topics, like my concerns about Greg and Angie and how he’d hit on Kara. I gave her my theory about his serial dating, and how it might be a problem with a long-term relationship; she promised to talk to her friends and make sure everything was okay.
I told her about the problem I had with Mrs. Sinclair and how we resolved it.
We finally talked about Kara. Cindy didn’t really know what to tell me except let it play itself out and see how we both felt when she got back. She saw Tami’s points, but she said she knew I was a romantic and needed a girlfriend.
When we got back, it was 10:30 p.m. We went into the main house to see if Kyle was up. He was being a wiggle-butt so I agreed to take him to my place. Cindy stayed and took Greg and Angie up to their room to talk. When Kyle and I were settled into my apartment, we jumped onto video chat and talked to Tami.
“Hey, do you have the webcam set up so everyone can see it in the lounge?” I asked Tami.
She went out into the hall, and I could hear her telling everyone that I was on the video chat.
“I’m turning this over to you. Just don’t make me hunt you down,” she said as she came back into her room.
“I wanted to introduce everyone to my nephew Kyle. He’s growing like a weed, and we can already tell he’ll have the Dawson charm.”
Tami took her laptop into the lounge so I could see all the girls admiring the baby.
“Now I have some news: Tami has asked me to find you some dates for the Christmas Dance. Let me give you the rundown of the bachelors that have agreed to be escorts.”
“The first is Luke, who’s a senior. He’s an All-State running back who’s nearly six feet tall and reminds me of a California surfer boy. He’s well built with blond hair. Luke’s little brother Mike is a freshman who plays quarterback. He’s just a little shorter than his brother is, but he has the same good looks. He’s the freshman Big Man on Campus. The next is Jim, who’s a sophomore and will be my left tackle next year. He is six-five and weighs about two hundred forty pounds. He’s just plain big if you get my meaning.”