Chapter 11

"You slept with her," Tami accused.

"Kinda," I admitted.

Tami's face kind of dissolved. "That's okay. I'm not mad. I understand. You're a boy; you couldn't help yourself."

"You said I could kiss her."

"I know," she admitted. I think she was holding back a sob.

I reached for her, but she pulled away. The silence was like a wall between us. It filled her living room and felt like it was smothering me.

"If you didn't want me to, why'd you say I could?" I had an urge to stomp my foot as I said that. Hell, I had an urge to lie on my stomach and kick and scream and throw a hell of a tantrum.

"I... I figured you were going away with her for the whole weekend, and you get so... so..."

"Horny?" I supplied.

She smiled weakly. "I thought this way you wouldn't have to lie or anything. You wouldn't have to cheat."

I reached forward, grabbed her, and pulled her into a hug. She struggled, but not too hard. I looked down into her eyes--damn, I could lose myself in there--and smiled. "That is one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me." I closed the distance between our faces and kissed her nose gently, barely brushing it with my lips. "And one of the strangest." I bit her on the nose and let go of her.

In science class that afternoon we'd watched a video about the science of cosmology. A group of scientist trying to fathom the secrets of the universe. They just didn't want to tackle the tough question: how women think.

"I'm sorry that you have so little respect for me that you don't think I can make it through the weekend without attacking a pretty..." I decided to rub it in. "No, a beautiful girl. I appreciated the permission, even if it wasn't sincere."

"I... I... You're changing the subject."

"No, same subject, different point of view. You said I could kiss Robbie. What did you think would happen?"

"I don't know. I figured you'd kiss her and not like it and come back to me."

"Well, I kissed her and I loved it. It was great. And I came back to you."

"She was great?" Tami asked in a small voice.

"Kissing Robbie was an experience."

"I... I see."

"No, I don't think you do. I kissed Robbie and I loved it. I've kissed you, and I love that too. In fact, I'd love to kiss you right now, but I'm not sure I'd get my tongue back. Kissing Robbie, even kissing Robbie and liking it, doesn't make me..." I almost said love, but so many guys use the word that it doesn't mean anything. "... feel any different about you."

She was softening. I was getting through to her. Then she stiffened as if someone had driven a steel bar up her ass.

"But you slept with her!"

"How do you know?"

"I heard Paul talking to David about it. Besides you admitted it."

"I ad..."

"You fucked the bitch!" she shouted.

"No, I didn't," I said as coldly as I could.

"Liar! Get out!"

Sometimes I think that sex and love just aren't worth the price of associating with the opposite sex.

"Tami..."

"I said, get out!"

"God damn it!" Now I was shouting. I lowered my voice and grabbed her. I swung her down to the floor and sat on her hips. She started beating on my chest with her fists, but I grabbed them and held them to the floor.

"Now, you're going to listen."

"You're just as bad as my da..." She clamped her mouth shut and stared at me. If looks could kill, those eyes were weapons of mass destruction.

"One. Robbie is a friend of mine. I don't like you calling her a bitch."

"I don't care what you like," she said through clenched teeth as she struggled.

"She's a friend of yours, too."

Tami stopped struggling and just glared.

"Two. I said I slept with her. I didn't say I fucked her."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

I hated it when Tami was crude. "Achtung! Class is in session. Please define slept with?"

"You fucked her. You slammed your nasty little cock into her smelly pussy."

"Wrong!" And I deeply resented the word little. "Try again. "Slept is a past tense of what verb?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I got news for you lady. We're not getting up until you pass this class, so if you want to stay like this for a couple of hours and then explain to your mother just how you got there..."

"You can't."

I grinned.

"I hate you."

"That's too bad. I love you." There, I said it. And I realized that I meant it.

Tami stopped struggling but continued to glare at me. "Slept. It's a past tense of sleep."