Part 18 (2/2)
I roll my eyes at him some more. Rei, it IS me.
”Anna, you can fill a snail sh.e.l.l with mud, but it doesn't make it escargot.”
The doorbell rings at three thirty, and Taylor is waiting expectantly at the door when Rei opens it.
”Okay,” she says as she steps into the house, ”let's try this again.”
What to do, what to do? She doesn't want to go for a walk; she doesn't want to work on homework; she doesn't even want to go to the mall. She wants to talk about Seth's trial. Nope, Rei doesn't want to talk about that.
”We're just going to have to agree to disagree on that,” he says diplomatically.
Then she wants Rei to play his guitar for her. She wants to sit next to him on the porch swing while he plays and tickle his bare feet with hers. He stretches his legs out in front of him so her feet no longer reach his.
Rei plays a few of his acoustic stock songs, some of the cla.s.sical and new age music he plays whenever his mom has company over and pesters him to play for them. There are no words to any of these songs, but he plays them so beautifully, I could listen for hours. After about fifteen minutes, Taylor starts to fidget. Five minutes later, she asks if he knows any other songs. Anything with words. He strums up and down fast a few times, as if clearing the music away, and then holds his hand over the strings to stop the vibration.
”I know a lot of songs,” Rei says. ”I just don't think you'll like any of them.”
”Okay,” Taylor stands up, takes the guitar away from him and leans it up against the front door. ”Then let's do something different.”
She comes at him like a barracuda.
I'm kind of torn. Part of me wants to stay here and spy to make sure Taylor doesn't end up accusing Rei of doing anything worse than trying to survive his first kiss, and part of me wants to go upstairs and let him suffer this humiliation privately.
I decide I'd better stay. Considering what I do know about Taylor, he may need witnesses.
Rei is right. It is so very weird watching him kiss me or more specifically, to watch him being kissed by me. I'm not sure what they're doing even qualifies as a kiss, really; it's more like she's attached my mouth to his face and she's slowly sucking out his soul. Well, he hasn't gagged or anything, so she must have at least brushed my teeth.
What must he be thinking right now? He must feel her rise up on one leg and throw her other leg over him like she's mounting a pony. Yeah, he definitely felt her tush land on his lap and now he looks a little panicky as she inches her way forward. He s.h.i.+fts uncomfortably on the hard wooden swing. G.o.d! I feel like such a perverted Peeping Tom!
”Ow!” Rei jerks his head to the side, and her lips trail over to his cheek. ”What was ... did you pierce your tongue?” He sounds horrified.
Great! What does this make now, eight holes she's put into my head?
Taylor sticks her tongue out and waggles it playfully to display her new hardware. She makes s.e.xy eyes at him. ”I did. Like it?”
”Can you try not to chip my teeth, please?”
She giggles and latches on to his mouth again.
This is just too painful to watch. There are four eggs in the finch's nest up in the planter hanging from the farmer's porch. There's a nearly symmetrical orb spider's web just under the west side of the porch by the spigot, and there is a neatly wrapped bug, maybe a fly, waiting to be consumed by said spider. There's a ...
”Stop it,” Rei says against her lips.
Now what is she doing? She's trying to place Rei's hand in a location that would be convenient should he decide he wants to feel up that relatively flat chest of mine, which he does not. Rei pulls his hand out of her grip and settles it safely on her back.
So, where was I? Oh, yes, there's a chipmunk living under the porch. Saya and I have been secretly feeding it sunflower seeds, even though ...
”Stop it!” Rei says, louder this time, and he pulls his hand back for the umpteenth time.
”Rei, you are so no fun.” She pouts at him while she reaches back and unties the top of the halter, holding the ties together in one hand. While Rei is still recovering from the shock of that, she giggles and with one swift tug, she has Rei's jeans unb.u.t.toned.
”STOP IT, TAYLOR!”
CHAPTER 28.
”What did you just call me?” She is off the swing in an instant, her fingers fumbling with the halter ties. She backs away from him like he's covered in anthrax.
Rei takes a few seconds to reconfigure his pants before he answers, stalling for time. ”I said stop it.”
Taylor shakes her head as she reties her halter. ”You son of a b.i.t.c.h,” she hisses. ”How long have you known?”
”Anna, I don't know what you're...”
”Cut the c.r.a.p, Rei. What, did you ask me over here just to keep Jason away from your little friend? Nice try.” She spins around and stomps down the steps.
”Wait!” Rei goes after her and puts his hand on her shoulder.
”Don't you touch me,” she swats his hand away. ”Unless you want to end up in jail with your buddy, Seth.”
”Taylor, look, I'm sorry. And I'm sorry you fell, but...”
”I didn't fall, Rei. I was pushed. By your friend.”
”He didn't push you, Taylor, and...”
”You don't know that. You weren't there.”
”He tried to pull you up.”
”Is that what Anna told you? Or is that what Seth told you? They don't care that I'm dead. None of you ever cared about me. You all treated me like a leper in this town.”
Rei stops short and stares at her. ”n.o.body meant to treat you like a leper, Taylor. You and Seth just had nothing in common. But you know he didn't push you.”
”Oh, he pushed me, all right!”
”Why? What do you gain by putting him in jail for something he didn't do?”
”He should have given me a chance! If he had just gotten to know me, maybe he would have liked me. Maybe you would have liked me. But you know what? Jason likes me.”
”Well, if you like Jason so much, why didn't you just go out with him before and leave Seth alone?”
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