Getting the In-Crowd, Part 1

"Carrie, this is a mistake," I said, kicking myself the whole time. Most guys would take advantage of the situation, but not me. I was being a nice guy again. I hated it when I did that! "You're mad at Jimmy. I can understand that. But do you really want to do this?"

Carrie was the hottest girl in school. Her boyfriend Jimmy was the coolest guy. They weren't just part of the in crowd, they led it. She was also mad enough to spit fire. Jimmy had gone and cheated on her, again. What a jerk!

"You're right, I am mad at Jimmy," she replied. "But not half as much as I'm furious with myself. I swore I wouldn't take him back this last time and I did it anyway. My friends warned me. I knew he was a liar, but I let him convince me that he'd changed when I knew deep down that it wasn't so."

"I can understand all that," I said calmly. "But how did that lead to this? Why am I here?"

"Well, because you delivered the pizza," she grinned. It was the truth. I had a part time job at a pizzeria to save up for college next year. It wasn't a lot of money, but every little bit helped.

"That's not what I mean and you know it!" I snapped in annoyance.

"You're talking about the kiss?" she asked with mischief in her eyes.

"Yes! Of course I'm talking about the kiss! Do you always kiss the pizza delivery guy?"

"Think of it as your tip," she joked.

"I will," I said, suddenly unable to stop from laughing. "And it was certainly the best tip I ever received, but..."

"Why, thank you," she interjected with a smile.

"...You're welcome," I said, and then shook my head, trying to remember what I was about to say before she interrupted. Carrie's smile had that affect on guys and she knew it. She was playing with me and I would have been annoyed if I wasn't enjoying it almost as much as her.

"Look, you're the most beautiful girl in school. Every guy would love to have you looking at them the way you're looking at me..."

"And yet you keep trying to slip out the door," she grinned as she leaned against the door to stop my escape.

"Only because it's not real," I sighed. "You're only doing this for two reason. First, your mad at Jimmy and second, you're drunk."

"So?" she shrugged as she took another drink from her wine glass. "My parents aren't expected back for a couple of hours. Loosen up a little!"

"I'm not going to take advantage of a drunk just because she's my fantasy girl," I said, half explaining and half convincing myself.