Bad Boys & True Love

A nervous giggle slipped through my lips. His hand was big and warm and felt as perfectly as I dreamed they would; his soft skin pressed against mine like a kiss.

Then I felt bad. I wormed my hand out of his and pressed my lips in a tight line. The air immediately stiffened around us and a small mantra repeated in my head, tattooed on my brain: You, Stella Preston, are a hussy.

My eyes stung all of the sudden. It wasn't fair; I'd been infatuated with Sean for too long to count and now that someone actually liked me, he had to swoop in and be all cute and charming. I wanted to hate him a little for that.

"You...okay?" he muttered. There was a pause in which I did not respond and he flipped on some background music.

The words slipped off my tongue like the rain drops racing down the window. "I was on a date with Drew Buchanan."

A deafening silence ensued that not even the music could occupy. I wasn't used to this kind of feeling with him; it was usually the kind of silences in which I don't know what to say because his appearance is so befuddling. I reached in the back of my throat for more words to come, anything at all.

"At least I think it was a date. He didn't say so...but it felt like it." I took a deep breath. When I finally mustered up the strength to look at Sean, he didn't look back. His eyes were slits concentrating on the slippery road and his hands gripping the steering wheel like it was the edge of a cliff. I gulped.

There was nothing to do except watch the road. I stared straight ahead, watching the wind-shield wipers beat furiously. The car in front of us hit their brakes slowly until coming to a complete standstill and we followed suit. There was a moment that I wondered what was going on before I realized that we were going to be stopped for a while. I sighed. My face fell against the cool glass; it relieved the burn on my cheeks.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled under my breath.

"Don't be," he hissed. He was emitting waves of anger like he was trying to crush me underneath them--like I wasn't allowed to be dating a boy that wasn't him.

I scoffed and shook my head. "Fuck off, Sean."

He turned his head to stare at me incredulously. "When'd you start being such a bitch?"

I sat up faster than the crack of a whip. My eyes glared lasers at him. "Don't call me that. You know, you hardly have room to talk, asshole. Who do you think you are? You should know that I spent the night at Drew's not too long ago." I knew exactly what to say to hit him where it hurt, but I couldn't bring myself to do it, even when I was angry with him.

He glared back. "I heard. It was all anybody could talk about, some little nobody sleeping around."

I shoved his arm. "I didn't have sex with him, you idiot!"

"That's not what I heard," he countered meanly.

My eyes stung. Other people calling me a slut, I could handle, but I would not tolerate it from him. "What? Like your little ex-girlfriend, Emily?"

It crushed him like I knew it would. All emotion dropped of his face, but he couldn't stop his eyes from going cold. Even when I hadn't known Sean, I had known of Sean and Emily. The super-amazing couple that shared the stuff movies were made out of. Until the night it all ended, and Emily cheated on him with none other than Drew himself.

I tasted salt on my lips and realized that I had begun crying. I calmly wiped them away and reached for the door handle. The lock clicked just a half second before I touched it and I gritted my teeth. "I'm walking home," I informed him in a steely voice.

"It's pouring rain. Stop being a drama queen."

"Walking home in the rain is so much more preferable than spending a second more with you!" I retorted. I unlocked it and he locked it back instantly. "Let me go!"

"Don't think that I want to be with you either! But there's no way hell you're getting out of his car," he growled.

I opened my mouth to reply with something vicious but then a strike of lightning hit not twenty yards from where the car was still and a scream jumped out of my throat instead. Even Sean flinched where he sat from seeing the sharp flash of light so close and thunder so loud my bones trembled. I'd never been terrified of lightning until that moment.

"Oh my God," I whimpered. All anger evaporated the second it struck. "Is it safe to be in the car right now?"

Sean gnawed on his bottom lip and looked just as anxious as I was feeling. "Shit, I don't know. No one else is moving."

"God, what's holding us up?" I quivered. There was an uncomfortable solid feeling in my stomach that made me squirm. I hoped it wasn't a car accident.

"You okay?" Sean asked again and this time it sounded totally different. I nodded.

We didn't talk for a long time. We mostly just listening to the rain beating down on us and hoped that lightning wouldn't strike. He eventually shut off the car after sitting still for so long, but we didn't need the AC anyway.

"My ballet recital's next week," I mumbled out of nowhere, my face against the window again.

He breathed slowly. "Is that an invitation?"

"Yes," I said firmly and then felt a smile curve my lips. "So you better be there."

"Will Drew be there?"

I twisted around so I faced Sean. "Probably. And I still expect you to be there to support me." I smiled hopefully. He didn't say anything. "So...what's your favorite color?"

Sean laughed and filled the car with happiness. "Um, green. What's yours?"

"Red. Um...what's your favorite animal?"

First we talked about nothing.

And then we talked about everything.

And when the traffic finally cleared, I decided that I was in love with Sean Winters.