Fiction/Young Adult

Worth The Risk — Chapter Ten

Are you willing to lose it all

“You’re eating something different.” Amber picked up the bowl of fruit I’d chosen instead of the usual salad.

“Yeah, trying to mix it up. Plus, I have a long rehearsal after school, so I need some type of sugar in me.”

Actually, I wanted to see if Marcus noticed I was eating something different. How much attention would he pay to me when Gabby was around?

Yeah, I know everyone said nothing was between them, but somehow I think someone forgot to tell her that.

Our two tables were pulled closer together. There wasn’t an empty spot beside Marcus, Gabby took up one side, and one of his guy friends was on the other. I sat at the table that had fewer occupants and was far away from Gabby so we didn’t have to interact with each other.

Ricky had saved Amber a seat beside him, so she was in between me and him. I glanced up after taking a bite of my fruit salad and caught Marcus staring at me. He raised his eyebrows and pointed to my tray. I shrugged and took another bite of the pineapple piece.

Marcus pushed his chair backward and picked up his tray. He scooted around the other chairs and plopped down in the empty one beside me. I glanced at Gabby, she was giving me looks that could be considered deadly weapons. I just smiled at her and looked away.

“Change of menu?” Marcus commented on my lunch choice like Amber did.

“I need sugar for dance.” I popped another piece into my mouth.

Marcus nodded and took a huge bite of his sandwich. After he had finished chewing and swallowing, he pointed to the food on his tray. “You need carbs too.” He tore a piece of his hoagie and handed it to me.

I looked at it like it was going to open up and bite me. I wasn’t a big fan of the school’s food, especially something so caloric as their double meat sandwiches.

“I might have to pass on this one.”

“One bite. C’mon, Chelsey.” Marcus still held out the piece of hoagie he wanted me to take a bite from.

I shook my head but still leaned forward a bit to take the offer. Marcus looked pleased that I took a small nibble. He took the piece that was left and stuffed it in his mouth.

I picked up the big strawberry that came with the fruit cup. I had the small cup of vanilla yogurt already opened and dipped the tip of the berry in. I placed the tip in between my lips and sucked off the cream. I continued to do that four or five more times until I felt a stare at me.

Marcus sat beside me, his lips were parted and a speechless expression was on his face. His eyes were on my mouth.

I put more yogurt on the strawberry tip and licked it off as sensually as possible. My tongue darted out and slowly brought the cream to my lips. A low groan erupted from Marcus and I now had one hundred percent of his attention.

“Want some?” I used a low, sultry tone and held the strawberry out next to his lips.

Marcus’s breathing picked up as his breath hit my hand. He licked his lips, then took a small bite of the tip of the strawberry. I used my finger to wipe the juice that was on his mouth. He had an intense stare as I placed my finger with his juice in my mouth and sucked it off.

“Are you two done with your foreplay act?” Amber picked out the few grapes that were still left in my fruit cup.

“Do you want more?” I held out the rest of the cup to Marcus.

He looked from the cup to me, then shook his head. “Not of that I don’t.”

The end of lunchtime bell rang, ending our passionate moment together.

“Here, I got it.” Marcus took my remaining trash and threw it on his tray. He dumped everything into the garbage behind us and came back over to the table. His hand slid down my arm and clasped my hand. “Ready?” He picked up both our bags and helped me stand.

We followed at a distance from everyone else as we walked down the hall.

Gabby kept looking back at us out of the corner of her eye, but she never fully turned around.

Marcus kept rubbing his thumb over my knuckles. It made the fire begin again in the pit of my stomach and fan out through every nerve I had.

“I guess I’ll see you in journalism.” He stopped midway in the hall and pulled me over to the wall.

“Yep. In about,” I looked at the clock on the wall, “forty-five minutes.”

He nodded, agreeing with the time. “Thanks for the bite of strawberry, it was great.” His head dipped down closer to mine, and his hand slipped behind my neck.

“Anytime.” I licked my lips and welcomed his as they pressed against mine.

This was our first kiss since Saturday night.

Our first kiss that was out in public.

Our first kiss that signaled something definitely going on with us other than being friends.

Our kiss deepened to the point where we would’ve been reprimanded for excessive public display of affection.

His hands started to wander, and I pressed my body closer so no space was left between us.

“Dude, let’s go. The bells gonna ring.” Ricky yelled out to Marcus as he ran up the stairs. It looked as though he and Amber had been doing the same thing as Marcus and I, given the look of her reddened appearance.

Marcus gave me one last soft kiss, then took off after Ricky. I watched as he ran with perfect form down the hall and up the stairs until he disappeared from my line of sight.

“Things are going well, I assume.” Amber nudged me with her shoulder.

“I guess. I don’t know what's going on between us.”

He was cold with me on Sunday, and now he’s all over me like we’re together…Why couldn’t he just come right out and say what he wanted?

“I think Marcus has it bad for you. Well, at least that’s what Ricky has told me.” We walked into our next class, and all eyes fell on us.

“Heard you were slumming, Amber.” Charity, who was one total bitch, smirked up at us as we passed.

Amber patted Charity’s shoulder. “Oh no, dear, I didn’t sleep with your father.” She continued walking back to the seats we had together.

“Woah, kinda nasty.”

We all heard the stories about Charity’s dad being caught doing the nasty with one of her friends from last year’s senior class. Her mom blew it off because she would be missing out on a lot of money if she left him.

“She’s a bitch who deserves nasty shit.” Amber flipped Charity the middle finger when she glanced back at us.

“What’s with the slumming?”

Charity’s comment probably had something to do with Amber being with Ricky. I don’t know why everyone thought of it as lowering ourselves. I guess I did up until I started hanging out with them, but they were far from being at the bottom of the barrel.

“Ricky.” Amber brushed back her hair and tied it into a perfect loose knot on the top of her head. I still had no clue how she did that, but it was something that she learned in modeling. “Everyone says shit now. Guess they can’t handle us not being interested in them.”

“Are you talking about Bradley and his crew?”

Amber nodded. “They said some crap and wanted Ricky to fight them. Guess they’re trying to get him kicked out.”

“Yeah, they tried with Marcus too.” I shook my head at the way our used-to-be friends acted. "It looks like a talking is needed to Bradley and his crew.” Amber nodded in agreement.

Our instructor put a stop to our conversation as another boring lesson of the day began.

We knew where Bradley’s next class was, so Amber and I met him before any of his friends showed up.

“Bradley, dear,” Amber called out to him in a sickly-sweet way.

He stopped before entering his classroom and turned back around so he now faced us.

“Amber.” He said her name back as condescendingly as she had voiced his.

“I want you.” Amber rammed her finger into his chest. “To stop your fucking gossiping.”

“You’re a deranged bitch.” Brad pushed her finger off his chest. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Amber put her hands on her hips. “Leave Ricky and Marcus alone.”

Bradley chuckled and gave a head nod to one of the guys passing by. “Oh, your boys from the other side.” He patted Amber on the ass. "What? You can’t handle a real man like me.”

“Fuck you.” Amber twisted his arm when he pulled away from her. “Leave Chelsey and me alone. Don’t start any shit, Brad.”

He jerked his arm away. “Tell those boys to stay with their own kind.”

Ricky’s voice echoed down the hallway. He was yelling at Amber asking what was wrong. He had three other guys with him, including Marcus, and they were all coming up to this end of the hallway.

There would be a big blowout fight, with only Marcus and those guys getting reprimanded, if they met up with Bradley and heard he was talking trash about them.

“Fuckin stay away, Brad. What we do and who we do it with is none of your concern.” I pulled on Amber’s arm so that she would follow me back to where Ricky and the crew were in the hallway.

“What’s going on?” Ricky pulled Amber to his side when we met them halfway up the hall. He was staring down at Bradley, who was doing the same to him.

“Nothing. Brad is a fuckface.” Amber laid her head on Ricky’s chest. "C'mon, let’s go.” She took his hand and pulled him in a direction away from where we just come from.

“I can kick his ass if he’s bothering you.” Ricky hugged her close. Amber shook her head.

“Am,” I called out to her before they’d gotten too far ahead. “I’ll talk to you after school, okay?" I wouldn’t see her anymore today until after the last bell.

She nodded and waved, then went back to the security of being under Ricky’s arm.

The other two guys that had been with Marcus and Ricky had already left. It was only me and Marcus standing in the hallway, letting everyone else weave their way around us.

“So.” Marcus looked back at Bradley, who now had two other guys with him.

The guys were leaning against the wall, looking like they were trying to intimidate us.

“What’s really going on?”

“Nothing. Why?” We both turned and went down the next hall that led to the journalism room.

“Seems they’re up to some shit.” Marcus put his arm around my shoulders. “What is it, Chelsey? The same crap I’ve been hearing?”

I loved the way his arm felt around me, this was right where I belonged.

It appeared he had chosen not to keep us a secret anymore, that’s if there was an us. Even though we did have our little interlude after lunch and most people assumed we were together, we just never talked about what had gone on or what was going on between us.

“What’ve you been hearing?”

“What the hell are you with the rich girls for? You dissin our neighborhood, bro? She’s gonna drop your ass, then what?” I guess he was trying to imitate what some of his other friends, outside of Ricky, had been saying when Amber and I weren’t around.

“Yeah, sorta. Bradley and those guys are looking to get you and Ricky kicked out of school. Don’t be fighting, okay?" I reached over my shoulder and brought his hand down closer to my chest. I intertwined my hand with his and gave it a light squeeze.

“Yeah, well, Bradley better know who the fuck he’s messing with. I’m not gonna take shit from him, Chelsey.” Marcus’s temper tripled as his face got a bit red and the veins in his neck popped out.

I laid my head sideways on his chest. “It will all calm down after a while. Everyone will focus on something else or someone else to torture.”

“Can you do this?” Marcus came out with a random question. He pulled me to the side and let everyone else go into our journalism room before us. The door shut, and he looked down at me again.

“Do what?” I had no clue what he meant.

“You said on Saturday you couldn’t do this. I assume you meant us, like being together.”

I leaned back against the wall and Marcus put his hands on either side of me.

He carefully studied my face, waiting for an answer.

“I can.”

I guess my confirmation didn’t sound too convincing since he rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“What?”

“You don’t seem too sure of yourself." He took one step closer to me, and I felt the heat radiating from him.

“What about Gabby?” This had always been my big concern.

Marcus laughed and shook his head.

The bell rang, indicating we were late for class. He opened the door, and we walked in. All eyes were on us, even the teacher. We didn’t say anything—not even an apology for being five seconds late. We took our seats next to each other.