Try Me (Extracurricular Activities #2)

by Neve Wilder

dropped down onto a big rock studding the loamy soil. Silver Ridge sprawled below us. At night, it looked like a reflection of the sky, and I made a mental note to bring him back to see it sometime. He probably had already, but not with me. Fuck, maybe I needed to curb my enthusiasm some before I started writing him terrible poetry. I chuckled at the thought, and as Mark found a spot beside me, he plucked a leaf from my hair, showing it to me before asking, “What’s so funny?” “Nothing.” The way we sat with our knees tucked near our chests reminded me of the night at Kacey’s when Mark had found me near the water’s edge. “What were you doing that night at Kacey’s down by the dock?” “Looking for you.” Mark chuckled. “Wasn’t that obvious?” I shrugged. “We hadn’t spoken off the court in…how long before that?” “A long time.” He rolled one shoulder and rested his cheek on top of his folded arms. “I’m sorry about all that. I mean, how I treated you. I should’ve…I don’t know. Should’ve done…something.” I laughed softly. “You let me in your room a couple months later and jerked me off. That was helpful.” Mark grimaced, but I hadn’t meant it as a dig. I’d felt crazy that night, like I was going out of my head, my thoughts running rampant, my skin too tight. The lights and the noise and the cars outside had shrieked. Focus came in shards and fragments, and my heart wouldn’t stop pounding. I thought if I didn’t get away from all of it, I’d explode. I wasn’t supposed to leave my house, ...