Page 36 of Walk the Line

“Yes, I know. I just meant…” I think back on the last few minutes. “What were you doing on my floor?”

“It’s really weird when you call it your floor.”

“It’s my floor,” I respond to Jalissa. “Is Coach Campbell your dad, too?” I ask her, since the topic is fair game. I didn’t bring him up.

“You’re about to start sucking up to her, aren’t you?” she says.

“Why would I suck up to her?”

“To get her dad to like you.”

“Yeah, that’s not gonna fly with me,” says Mimi. “I don’t get involved with my dad and his players.”

“His dislike for me is that strong?”

I think I get the point by now, but it’s like I’m being beat over the head with it.

“My feet are fucking killing me,” Jalissa says, but then furrows her brows as she looks at me, then Mimi. “Aww, you two look alike!”

I sigh. “This conversation is way too chaotic.”

Jalissa throws me a suspicious look. “What are you doing just standing here, by the way?”

“I have no idea.”

“I mean, you don’t look like the partying type.”

“I’m not.”

“Then this must be torture for you.”

“It is.”

“You’re just full of conversation, aren’t you?”

“Anyway, we should go,” Mimi thankfully interrupts. “If we lose him, I’m gonna be so pissed.”

“We’re not gonna lose him,” Jalissa says, holding her friend’s arm. “He’s been in the same spot all night and he doesn’t strike me as the type to be the first one out of his team to leave.”

“Who are you talking about?” There’s much else I’m thinking to do at this party, so why not?

“Um…how close are you with Reigan?”

“Not close in the slightest,” I say, but I give myself a mental pat on the back for knowing who he is.

“Oh.”

“You got a crush on him or something?”

“Yeah,” she says quickly, but in a daze. Is she thinking about him or something?

“Is it really a crush if you’ve…um, never mind. I don’t know where I was going with that.”

This is kind of interesting, watching Mimi cut a disapproving look at Jalissa, so she’s now backtracking on whatever it is she was saying. They’re talking about someone on the team, so I think sticking around and hearing what else they have to say about him makes me a team player.

I begin by trying to get my first thought out. “I really don’t mean to be rude.”

“Really?” Mimi sounds unconvinced. Fair enough.