“Joey McClure has the formidable reputation of successfully stealing girlfriends and then dumping them as soon as he ‘wins’.” I scoffed at the sight of another sobbing girl desperately clinging to Joey’s tall frame across the school’s large courtyard.
And yet, he simply shrugged the girl off and walked away.
“I’ve heard that guys pay for him to test their girlfriends’ loyalty.” Nina chimed in.
I laughed again. “That’s one way to make a living, I guess. But I doubt he makes many friends in the process, either way.”
Joanna had been silent during the whole conversation, watching Joey walk away. Not for the first time, I wondered if something had happened between the two of them. A month ago I had commented that she seemed starry eyed and she blushed and denied it. A week after that she had steel in her eyes and glares for the infamous Joey McClure.
“No reason to worry about ever dealing with him then.” I crowed. “I refuse to have a boyfriend who would test me like that and I am definitely not the type of girl to start shopping for a new boyfriend while I still have one.”
“Don’t say that too loud.” Nina snarled. “He might take it as a challenge.”
Joanna’s eyes narrowed in on me. I moved closer to her. Maybe she would finally let me in on what was keeping her so silent. The Joanna I knew and loved had been squashed by the always-glaring-at-Joey Joanna. I was sure of it. I missed my friend.
She leaned toward me and whispered, “Prepare yourself to never have a boyfriend. They are all suspicious creeps.”
“What do you mean?” I whispered back.
I watched as she moved away from our circle of oblivious gossipy friends. When she glanced back at me I quickly followed.
“I met a guy.” Joanna said as we slowly walked away. “I thought he was sweet and kind. I fell for him fast.”
Not sure how to respond, I shrugged. “And he made you hate all guys?”
“No. Yes.” She groaned. “Joey came up and said hi to me one day out of nowhere and my almost boyfriend started accusing me of cheating. He even called me a slut. All because stupid Joey McClure said hi to me.”
“And you blame Joey? Is that why you are always glaring at him?”
Joanna stopped and looked over at me. “No, I don’t blame Joey. I blame all guys. I am well aware that it wasn’t Joey’s fault for my new crush being a suspicious jerk.”
Before I could answer her I was pulled away by my arm. I was shocked to see Joey himself connected to that hand on my arm.
“Paige. Just the girl I wanted to see!” Joey declared. And just like that, he used my momentum of being pulled to swing me into his chest and swoop in for a kiss.
To say I was shocked would be a vast understatement. And while I will never ever admit it out loud, especially in Joanna’s hearing, I have to admit it was an amazing kiss. One that lasted way too long and not long enough.
Don’t worry though, with my dignity wrapped around me like a shield, I pulled back and slapped him good and hard.
“Ow.” He chuckled, holding a hand to the cheek I had pinkened.
Stomping around him and back to Joanna I called back to him without looking, “You’re lucky I barely tapped you. Next time you come near me, I’ll make your head spin off your shoulders.”
“What’d I do?”
I shot a glare back at him. “What haven’t you done?”
“I need to talk to you.” He paused. “Paige.”
He caught up to me in seconds, careful to stay far enough away to not touch me, even by accident. Joey glanced over at Joanna before saying in a low voice. “Two minutes.”
“How do you even know my name? I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Ouch.” Joey stepped back but didn’t go away as I’d hoped. He fell into step beside me. After a minute of semi-awkward silence, Joey looked around me and over at Joanna. “Hey Joanna. I hear that Tanner is a jerk. I’m sorry.”
Joanna stopped walking and faced him. It took him a second to pull back.
“Did you do it on purpose?” She nearly shrieked.
Now Joey really did look ready to flee. Maybe he would learn to listen when a girl said to leave.
“Do what on purpose?”
Joanna spoke slowly. “Did you say hi to me to get Tanner to break up with me?”
I don’t think Joanna saw it but I definitely saw him gulp.
“He didn’t deserve you.” He muttered, looking away, anywhere but at her.
With another shriek and a stomp of her foot Joanna was gone, storming off in the direction of her locker.
“Was that necessary?” I rounded on him, whacking his arm.
He shrugged. “I told the truth, necessary or not. And Tanner is a jerk. She would be screaming at him and not me if she’d heard the way he was talking about her.”
“Do you know what he said about her, to her?” I could feel my ire rising but he didn’t back down. Instead he firmly held my gaze.
“Better she hurts a little now than devastated when he turned on her for some other imagined slight later.” He put his hands up. “I didn’t go in looking to hurt her. I figured that maybe I could help her see that Tanner is a self-centered egotistical jerk and she would break up with him.”
“You could have told me and I could have talked to her.”
He laughed. “Because we are the best of friends, right? You were shocked I even knew your name. And why don’t you have a boyfriend?”
I folded my arms, trying to keep both the irritation and the smile off my face.
“Fine. I wouldn’t have listened. And yes, I’m still shocked you know my name because you seem to only notice the super gorgeous girls who are already in relationships. And I don’t have a boyfriend because I don’t need one and I haven’t found a guy that I could put up with for more than 5 minutes.”
“Valid observations. I have known your name when we had homeroom together freshman year with Mrs. Orville where you sat in the front left desk every morning. And may I point out that you have been talking to me for more than five minutes and are still putting up with me if that hint of a smile is any indication.” He paused while I gaped. He flashed a smile at me that knocked me further into a stunned girly stupor. “Does that mean I get to be your boyfriend?”
To read part 2 of Paige’s story: click here.
