ELEVEN

 

Nick was acting weird. He’d hardly said two words to me since we got in the car this morning. It couldn’t all be about a bad kiss, could it? If so, I must’ve been like the worst kisser ever. Oh, god, maybe I had terrible breath or something. Nah, I’d brushed my teeth.

Then what was it?

I stared at his profile while he drove, my stomach in knots.

“So, did you have a good weekend?” I asked, fishing.

Without looking over at me, he shrugged. “S’allright.”

My heart pinched. What was his deal?

He turned the corner in silence. I stared out the window, wondering if I should even bother saying anything else. So far, he didn’t seem interested in conversation.

“Your mom seemed fine,” he finally said, his words startling me after the lengthy silence. My head whipped in his direction. The confusion must’ve registered on my face because he continued, “When I called, she seemed okay. Like, with me calling.”

“Of course,” I said, still not following.

“It’s just that I wasn’t sure…”

Then it hit me. “Oh. You thought she’d be upset…about seeing us kiss?” My face warmed.

He nodded.

“No, she was fine.”

“Really?” His eyebrows raised. “Then how come I didn’t hear from you all weekend?”

Oh, god. My stomach tumbled to the floor. This whole time I’d been waiting to hear from him thinking he was upset with me, when he’d been at home doing the exact same thing. I sighed. “I’m sorry. I guess I thought…I was…well, I was embarrassed. And I kinda thought maybe you were upset with me.”

“Upset with you about what?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. About my mom driving up and interrupting our kiss.”

He laughed. “I mean, it wasn’t my favorite moment, but it happens.” We pulled into the parking lot of the school, and he guided his car into a parking space in the back of the lot. Then he turned to me. “But mostly I was worried your mom wouldn’t let me see you anymore.”

I bit my lip, my palms moistening. “Nah, she wouldn’t do that.” His lips curved upward, causing my heart to skip a beat. “She did set some ground rules though.”

“Ground rules, huh?” He cocked one eyebrow. It was so dang cute, my insides went all quivery. “Like what?”

“Like that we can’t be alone and stuff.”

He glanced around the car, an amused expression on his face. “We’re alone now.”

I cleared my throat. “Well, I think she meant at our houses or whatever.” My gaze meeting his, I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry about not calling you all weekend.”

He nodded. “Next time let me know what’s up so I don’t have to worry.”

“You were worried?” He never ceased to surprise me.

Scooting closer, he lifted a hand to touch my face. “Worried I wasn’t going to be able to do this again.”

A shiver ran through me as his face neared mine. I closed my eyes as our lips touched. As his fingers fumbled in my hair and our mouths fused, I lost myself in him. The morning started off rocky, but things were definitely looking up. And I was super relieved to find out he hadn’t been avoiding me because I was a sucky kisser. If anything, this moment was proving that I wasn’t. As our kiss deepened, it was clear he couldn’t get enough of me.

That made two of us.

Rapping on the window broke the spell. I drew back from Nick, dazed. He blinked, clearly dazed as well. There was lip-gloss smeared on his lips. He wiped it off with the back of his hand. I craned my neck. Brooke stood at the window, smiling at us. Great.

“Get a room, you two,” she spoke through the glass.

I sort of thought that’s what we were doing.

Meeting Nick’s gaze, we both smiled and shook our heads.

“She has a point,” Nick said. “Clearly, we need to find a more private place.”

“Agreed.” I laughed.

We gathered up our backpacks and got out of the car. The parking lot was filling up fast, and Nick spotted his friends pulling up a few feet away. Brooke sidled up next to me, wearing a smug grin.

“Later, Remy.” He lightly touched my arm before heading toward his friends.

“It looks like things worked out between you two,” she said, and it was hard to tell if she was happy about this or not.

“Yep.” But I was happy about it, and no one could burst my bubble this morning.

“That’s great,” she said, although her tone didn’t match her words. “But you might want to find a different place to make out other than his car.” She looked around, wrinkling her nose in disgust. “You don’t wanna get a bad rep.”

The last person who should’ve been lecturing me about a bad reputation was Brooke. Then again, maybe her rep was solid in 1993. I didn’t know. Nodding, I followed her into the school hallway. I’d been hoping to walk into school with Nick. Maybe hold his hand or something. But maybe another time. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ava with some of the other choir kids. Heart pinching, I wondered when I’d stop missing her. Or if I ever would. Without her I felt like a part of me was missing. Like I was walking around without an arm or something.

I missed her that much.

“What is with you lately?” Brooke asked. “You stare at that freak all the time with this weird look on your face like you have a major crush or something.”

My body flushed. “I don’t have a crush on her. I…” Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe I could get information out of Brooke. “I feel bad about how things went down between us.”

“Between you and the band geek?” She snorted. Again, I bit back the words, “not band, choir.” “Be grateful we saved you from her.”

“She’s not that bad,” I said sourly.

“Are you kidding? When you made the squad, she was like something out of a horror movie. I thought she was gonna come at me with an axe or something. Don’t you remember how crazy she acted. And don’t forget that she was the one who made you choose. We didn’t. Remember, we said she could hang with us, even though I honestly feared for my life?” She held up her palm, wearing an earnest expression.

“Right.”  The pieces were clicking into place now. And I was sure I knew how things had played out. I could only imagine how Ava would react to hanging out with Brooke and her friends. Plus, I was sure they weren’t as welcoming as Brooke let on. “She gave me an ultimatum,” I rattled off, like I was finishing the story. As if I was there. As if I remembered.  “And I chose you guys.”

Brooke smiled, slinging an arm over my shoulder. “Of course you did. Would’ve been stupid not to.”

She was kind of right. I mean, as much as I missed Ava, she shouldn’t have made me choose. A real friend would have stood by me no matter what. I’d wanted to be a cheerleader forever. And I’d had a crush on Nick for years. Shouldn’t Ava have wanted me to be happy? To get the things I wanted?

The bell rang out.

“C’mon.” Brooke tugged on my arm. Leaving thoughts of Ava behind, I hurried alongside her, thinking only of the future. Of having lunch with Nick. And maybe finding somewhere private later.

Like I said, today I was happy, and I wouldn’t let anyone take that away.

 

***

 

“Hey, you.” Nick caught up with me in the hall on the way to lunch.

“Hey.” I bit my lip, racking my brain with something further to say. I still wasn’t great at small talk with him. He made me nervous. But in a good way. A very good way.

I noticed a few girls glancing over, their eyebrows raising. Not that I blamed them. He looked hot in his navy blue shirt that brought out the color of his eyes. His blond hair fell in a tousled wave over his forehead.

“Excuse me, miss, is this guy bothering you?” Derek ran up to us, shoving Nick in a playful way.

“Dude, really?” Nick fake punched his friend in the arm.

“He can be hella annoying. I know.” Derek winked at me.

I forced a smile. It was weird being in this group and having Derek Butterfield talk to me like we’re friends. Two years ago, I tripped over Derek’s foot in the cafeteria. He swore he didn’t try to trip me, but I was never sure. Regardless, he laughed like it was the funniest thing ever. It was so odd to now have him laughing with me and not at me.

After I tripped, Nick had asked me if I was okay. At the time I wasn’t sure if he was messing with me or not, so I said I was fine and hurried off.

“Don’t listen to him.” Nick slung an arm over my shoulder.

That fluttery thing happened again in my chest. I swore if I kept hanging out with him I’d end up with a heart condition.

“Ugh. That Mrs. Johnston is the worst. As if I don’t have enough going on in my life, now I have to redo my math test.” Brooke appeared at my side.

“You flunked your math test?” My insides churned. I was kind of worried that I had too. Good grades had always been a given with me. I always prioritized homework and studying. Well, at least I had in 2018. In this lifetime, I had cheer practice, popular friends and a hot boyfriend. That didn’t leave a lot of time for studying.

Brooke nodded.

“But she’s gonna let you retake it?”

“Tomorrow,” she said, sticking out her bottom lip. “At lunch.”

Relief swept over me. So if I did flunk the test, at least I could retake it. “That’s cool.”

“How is that cool?” Brooke asked, her eyes bugging out. “It’s totally lame. Doesn’t she know I have a lot going on right now? Teachers always fudge grades for the football players. Why not for the cheerleaders?”

“It’s cause we’re studs!” Derek puffed out his chest.

Brooke rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

Melody joined us. “What’s up?” She eyed Brooke.

“Oh, nothing.” Brooke shook her head. “Just Derek being Derek.”

“Awesome, you mean?” He waggled his eyebrows.

“No,” Brooke said dryly. “That’s not what I mean.”

Derek frowned and puffed out his bottom lip like he was sad, but I could tell it was in jest. Melody and Nick laughed. Brooke rolled her eyes.

I smiled up at Nick. With his arm on my shoulder, the warmth of his body heat penetrating my skin, I was in a daze. All eyes followed us as we entered the cafeteria. It was surreal. Two weeks ago, I would’ve been one of those people staring, wishing I could be a part of the popular crowd. My legs were a little shaky, so I leaned against Nick for support. As if sensing it, his hold on me tightened. I loved that about him. He always seemed to know what I needed.

While Brooke and Melody headed over to get a soda out of the machine, I plunked down at our table next to Nick. I was bummed that his arm was no longer around me. Our thighs were so close they touched, so that made up for it. I didn’t dare move an inch as I pulled out my lunch bag.

“There’s no game this Friday,” Nick said.

My heart sunk a little. Not because I was looking forward to a game. A night off from cheering sounded amazing. But a night off from Nick definitely didn’t.

“So, I was thinking maybe we could go out,” he spoke slowly, a tad unsure.

I cocked a brow. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” One of his lips curled upward slightly into a sexy half-smile. My insides warmed. Reaching out, he took my hand, the pads of his thumbs rubbing against my flesh. Goosebumps rose on my skin, fast and all consuming, as if I’d broken out in a rash. “Wanna make sure I’m sticking to your mom’s ground rules.” How could he make the phrase “mom’s ground rules” sound sexy? I took a deep breath. He leaned closer, his gaze meeting mine. “I thought we could go on a real date.”

My heart lifted. “A date?”

He nodded. “Then we can be alone.”

I swallowed hard, my palms filling with sweat and my heart arresting. When I opened my mouth to say yes, Brooke plopped down across from us.

“That machine totally ate my quarter,” she practically shouted.

Melody slid onto the bench next to her. “You can have my soda if you want.”

“It worked for you?” Brooke’s eyes bugged out.

Melody nodded.

Sighing, I turned away from their stupid discussion about sugary drinks to face Nick. His eyebrows were raised as if awaiting my answer.

“No, I wanted diet coke,” Brooke was saying.

Were they seriously still talking about soda?

Ignoring them, I said, “Yeah, that’d be cool.” A smile broke on Nick’s face. I loved that I could make him smile like that.

“Oh, my god, that took forever!” Katie flung herself down on the bench next to me. It creaked and gave a little. I wanted to reach down and grip it to make sure I didn’t fall, but that would require letting go of Nick’s hand, and that wasn’t happening. Luckily, he lightly squeezed my fingers, keeping me steady.

“What did?” Brooke asked.

“Had to stay late in biology to finish my lab.” She groaned.

“Do you have Mrs. Brownstone? She’s the worst. You have her too, right, Remy?” Brooke asked. Couldn’t she see I was sort of in the middle of something? Irritation swam in my veins.

Nick winked at me, letting go of my hands.  “We’ll talk later,” he said before turning toward his friends. It was actually sweet, leaving me to hang with my girlfriends. It was a move I would’ve totally appreciated in my 2018 life. Ian used to get all butthurt when I wanted to hang with Ava instead of him. But Brooke wasn’t Ava, and Nick wasn’t Ian.

Right now, Nick was like my best friend. He was really the only person I wanted to be with.

But Brooke was pretty much my only girlfriend right now, and I sort of needed her.  “Yeah, I do,” I answered.

“Oh, my god, did you see what she was wearing today?” Brooke said, eyes wide.

“Yes! Her dress totally looked like a tablecloth,” Katie said.

While they all burst into laughter, I glanced over at Nick, wishing we could resume our conversation about Friday. But he was busy talking to the guys. Sighing, I took a bite of my sandwich.

Too bad it wasn’t Friday now.