SKYLAR
Blake waited by my locker on Monday and covered his face when I approached. “Please tell me the five minute conversation I noticed on my phone this morning was me talking to your answering machine.” He peeked through spread fingers.
I bit my lip and shook my head.
His hands dropped. “How embarrassed should I feel?”
“You shouldn’t. It really was fine.” I concentrated on turning the dial instead of glimpsing around Blake to watch Jill in her short denim skirt hanging all over Cody. Her brown hair was combed into a side braid, and I was sure she used a half pint of foundation on her face. I’d spent all weekend telling myself to forget him. That he was every bit the player Zoe said he was.
Blake rested his forearm on the locker and leaned in. “I’d like to make it up to you. Dinner? Maybe just the two of us this time?”
I manufactured a smile, but my stomach soured. “I told you, my parents would never let me.” I’d started saying parents instead of dad. It made kids at school think I had two of them, and I liked how it sounded.
Blake’s arm slowly dropped, but his face pinched into a scowl. “Do you always tell your folks everything?”
“I don’t want to lie to them, if that’s what you’re implying.” Despite the calm in my voice, there was a chill. “Especially when I know I’m the rebound girl.”
He shifted his weight. “So, I guess I did screw things up with that phone call.”
“No. I appreciated your honesty. But I think we both know you’re not over Lindsay.”
“But I want to be.” His words came out so forcefully they had me backing away. “She walked away from us.”
I rested my hand on his forearm. The muscle was tight and warm. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“No, it’s not you.” His shoulders relaxed, and his finger touched the ends of my hair. “You’re perfect. And, if it’s at all possible, I’d like another chance. Friends who might become more?”
The look on his face was hard to refuse: the unguarded vulnerability, the cringing embarrassment, the sudden apprehension of a possible rejection. I spotted Henry talking with two seniors in the hallway. Something Blake made possible. Maybe I was passing judgment too quickly. “Okay. Friends.”
“But maybe more?”
Blake did puppy dog eyes really well and I caved. “Okay, maybe more.”
“Thank you. So listen, I have to take care of something. Tell Ms. Yarnell I’m in the office.”
“Okay.”
He took off in a fast walk, leaving me a clear view of Cody at his locker. Jill was gone, thankfully, but the questions lingered.
Cody spotted me, and the corners of his mouth lifted. I didn’t want his smile. It made my stomach flutter and my cheeks warm. He moved casually, crossing the space that separated us in three easy strides. “Two outstanding songs. You are redeemed.”
His casualness bothered me, like he’d done nothing wrong. “I sent you those days ago.” Before I heard about Lindsay.
“Yes. And I had to give them each proper air time before I made my decision.” He motioned for us to move.
He was acting differently. Not holding back. And he met my eyes every time we spoke. We weren’t touching, but the electricity between us could have zapped innocent bystanders. Stupid chemistry. I’d always hated that subject.
“I have one for you, too,” He shifted closer, and the heat of his body wrapped around mine. He smelled like hot, delicious cinnamon. Ugh. He was intoxicating. “I’ll text it later.”
“Why not now?” There was a challenge in my words. A demand to know what was going on between us. Because I wasn’t blind, and I wasn’t crazy.
His voice lowered to a whisper that sent chills down my spine. “Wouldn’t want the Madison spies to know my secrets.” There was nothing light about the way he said it. In fact, his tone hummed a warning.
“What secret do you have that’s bigger than mine?”
My words hung in the air a second before Cody’s eyes aligned with mine. “Listen to my song. It’s all right there.”
Heads turned when we walked into class together, and Chugger lasered a stone-cold stare at Cody all the way to our seats. Something had definitely happened this weekend.
The SMART board lit up with a map of Eastern Europe. I turned around to listen to Ms. Yarnell, but the whispers between Chugger and Cody behind me had my ears straining to hear them instead.
“You brought her home? Are you insane?” Chugger hissed.
“I did him a favor.”
“How?”
Cody didn’t answer, but the hair on my neck stood up as if both guys were both watching me.
Blake strolled into class minutes later with an apology and a pass from the office. He squeezed my shoulder and sat down.
By the time Ms. Yarnell began passing around the usual sheets, the tension at our table was suffocating. Blake glared at Cody, who refused to engage in a staring contest. I was grateful it was my turn to write. I wanted this horrible moment to disappear, but I also wanted to know what Cody was doing with Lindsay.
Time ticked on. They didn’t speak. They barely moved in their seats while I was as restless as a two-year-old in church. I tried to focus on writing four reasons why Communism failed, but could hardly think past the aggression bouncing around our silent table.
“Boys, are you helping Skylar with the work? This is a group effort.” Ms. Yarnell’s question stilled me. The fact she noticed, said it all. Only one of us ever did the work.
The guys huffed and moaned, but eventually leaned on the table.
“What’s the next question?” Cody asked, obviously preferring to help than to engage in conversation with Blake.
“I’ve got a question.” The hate in Blake’s voice froze my hand above the half-completed paper.
“And what’s that?” Cody’s exasperated words flew across the table, wrapped around Blake’s fierce expression and settled like a stone in the pit of my stomach.
“How does a guy stab his friend in the back and not feel remorse? Doesn’t even call the next day to apologize?”
Cody ignored the stab-in-the-back comment. “I just took her home. I knew she was bothering you, and you didn’t want her there.”
Cody and Blake had an entire conversation with their eyes, and the already stifling temperature rose again. With a squeak of his chair, Blake was suddenly next to me.
“Whatcha got left?” Blake leaned in until our cheeks practically touched.
Cody’s hand clenched, but he quickly slid it into his lap. “We’ve only got ten more minutes.”
A tickle from Blake pierced my side and I flinched.
“Number four is Bulgaria,” he said before adding, “and you smell like sunshine.” His hand slowly came off my waist and hung over the back of my chair.
I took a deep breath and tried not to wish that Blake and Cody would trade places.
Epic fail.