EIGHTEEN

 

Toilet paper.

Everywhere.

Hanging from the trees, covering the bushes, strewn all over the front lawn.

Teepeed. Really?

That’s a first.

I didn’t even know people still did this.

Cleaning up toilet paper was seriously not the way I wanted to spend my Sunday morning. But I didn’t have a choice. Mom woke me up bright and early, handed me a trash bag and sent me outside. She sent Preston out, too, but he’d already managed to disappear. Normally I’d go after him, but I was pretty sure I knew who did this.

And it wasn’t one of Preston’s friends.

“Whoa.” Nick made his way over to our lawn, his eyes wide. He wore a pair of gym shorts and a tank top, tennis shoes on his feet. His tanned arms were toned, his shoulders broad.

My body went hot. But I forced myself to act normal and not stare. How would I react to Ava if she said this?

“Yeah, I know, right?” Bending down, I picked up a piece of damp toilet paper and threw it in the trash bag. Eww. Not only was this going to take hours, but it was also pretty disgusting.

“Who’d you piss off?” Nick’s gaze scoured the yard.

“Melissa Hawkins,” I muttered under my breath.

“The girl your ex is with?”

“Not anymore,” I explained. “He broke it off with her last night to get back with me.”

“Oh.” His eyebrows drew together. “So, you and Ian are back together, huh?”

“No way,” I said. “How stupid do I look?”

He smiled.

I was legit standing in a pool of toilet paper. “Don’t answer that.”

“Okay, I won’t.” Nick laughed. “Good call on not getting back together with Ian. You deserve better.”

My cheeks flamed, and my heart flipped in my chest. To keep him from noticing, I fixated on the toilet paper.

“Need some help?” he asked.

“Oh, no.” I waved away his offer. “You don’t have to.”

“I know.” He headed over to the bushes lining our front porch and started tugging at the toilet paper stuck in the branches. “But I got time.”

I turned, studying his outfit choice. “Were you on your way to workout or something?”

“Nope. Just a run,” he said, his back to me. “To clear my head.”

I wanted to ask what his head needed to be cleared out from, but he had said the words so softly I wasn’t sure I was supposed to hear them. Nick appeared by my side, a wad of toilet paper in his hand. When he threw it into the bag I was holding, our arms brushed. I shivered. His familiar scent enveloped me. My pulse took off. I swallowed hard.

“I didn’t realize you knew my sister.” His words caught me off guard.

My head snapped up. “Huh?”

“You liked one of my pictures…”

My head swam. I blinked a few times. “Um…yeah, I sort of know her. You know, from when she lived at home.” With my thumb, I pointed to his house like an idiot. Like he didn’t know where she lived. Oh, geez.

He nodded, laughing in an embarrassed way, which surprised me. Why was he embarrassed? I was the one stalking his IG account. “Oh. Right.”

“How’s she liking school?” I said quickly to keep him from asking me anything else.

“Not sure.”  A sad smile flickered over his lips. “I mean, she says she likes it, but we mostly text. We don’t talk or see each other that much.”

I dropped the trash bag on the ground and stepped toward Nick. “Things still aren’t great between she and your dad?”

He froze, his gaze piercing mine. Shit. Did I say that out loud? 2018, Remy! 2018. Remember what time period you’re in.

“How’d you know about that?”

“Um…well, I…um…I…” traveled back in time, and we dated, and you told me. Yeah, let’s not say that. “Um…I…” But I should probably say something other than “um” and “I.”

“Oh, I get it.” He ran a hand through his hair, his gaze flitting back to his house. “You overheard Dad and I fighting the other day, huh? Sorry. I know I can get kinda loud.”

He was fighting with his dad? Just like in 1993? Wild. “No worries.”

“My family’s kinda going through some shit right now.”

I nodded. “Who’s isn’t?”

He threw some more toilet paper into the bag. “Your dad still working out of town?”

Now it was my turn to be surprised.

Winking, he said, “I overhear things too.”

My insides turned to mush.

“Remy?” Mom stood on the front porch wearing sweats and holding a coffee mug.

Oh, god. That’s right. I’m still in my sweats too. I glanced down at my t-shirt and sweat pants. Reaching up, I fingered my messy bun. Great.

“Oh, hi.” She waved to Nick. Then she looked at me and raised her eyebrows in appreciation. I narrowed my eyes and subtly shook my head, praying Nick didn’t pick up on the silent exchange. “Where’s Preston?”

“Beats me,” I said.

“That kid.” Shaking her head, she muttered something unintelligible and went back inside.

Nick laughed. “Looks like your brother’s in trouble.”

“Always.” Reaching up, I yanked some toilet paper down from a branch. But it ripped in half, so I didn’t get much.

“Sounds like he and I have something in common.”

Shocked, I swung around. “Really?”

“Surprised?” He cocked a brow.

My knees wobbled. I nodded.

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “You kinda seem like the golden boy or something.”

Nick laughed. “Golden boy, huh?”

“Well, you know, quarterback of the football team, popular…” Why was I explaining it?

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I guess I am a golden boy.” He stood tall, his hand on his hip and his chin tilting upward like he was a statue.

I giggled. Losing the pose, he laughed too and threw me a wink. Then we both went back to cleaning.

“You can leave whenever you need to,” I said after several silent minutes.

“I’m good.” When he reached up into the tree, I found myself mesmerized by the definition in his muscles. He caught me staring and flashed me an amused smile. Clearing my throat, I quickly averted my eyes.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

Ava: What’s going on?

I thought of all the time I’d spent with Nick in 1993 and how badly I’d wanted to share that with Ava. Finally, now I had something I could share.

Me: I was teepeed.

Ava: What? By who?

Me: Guess.

Ava: Ian?

I hadn’t thought of him, but maybe.

Me: I was thinking Melissa, but it could also be Ian.

Ava: Agreed that it’s probably one of them. Need help?

Me: I have help.

Ava: Your mom?

Man, my social life really is lame, huh?

Me: No.

Ava: Pres?

Me: No.

Ava: Your aunt?

It was getting worse.

Me: Nick.

Ava: No way.

Smiling, I glanced up. Nick’s back was to me. With slick fingers, I clicked on the camera app. My arm trembled when I lifted the phone to take a picture. It came out all blurry. Sweat formed under my armpits. Working hard to steady it, I took another picture. Blurry again. Dammit. Finally, on the third try it came out a little better. Too bad that’s when Nick decided to turn. One side of his mouth curled upward.

“You’re not gonna use that to blackmail me, are ya?”

My chest was so tight I couldn’t breathe. I shook my head. “No. I…um…I was taking a picture of the yard to send to Ava. She didn’t believe me that I got teepeed.” Nice save.

“Ahh, ok.” I wasn’t sure if he was convinced or not, but he appeared to be.

I sent the picture and immediately got a text back. It was a thumbs-up emoji followed by a bunch of heart emojis. Shoving the phone back into my pocket, I went back to work.

“Saw you at the game on Friday,” Nick said. “Do you go a lot?”

I shook my head. “We went because Ava’s got a thing for a guy in marching band. But football’s not really my jam.”

“Not your jam, huh?” He smiled, one eyebrow slightly raised. “What is your jam? Besides singing?”

“I like writing and reading,” Oh, god. Did I think this was a job interview?

Nick laughed, but not in a condescending way. More in an amused one. “What about a guilty pleasure?”

Wait. What? My mouth was like the freakin’ desert. I needed some water. Stat.

“Guilty pleasure?” I squeaked.

“Yeah, you know…like French fries.”

“French fries?”

“What? You don’t like ‘em?”

“No, of course I like French fries.” Who didn’t? “I guess I never thought of them as a guilty pleasure.”

“Really? What do you consider a guilty pleasure then?”

Licking my lips, I swallowed hard. But my mouth was still painfully dry. “I don’t know, like reality TV probably.”

“You like reality TV?”

It wasn’t something I usually copped to, but I found myself nodding.

“We should combine the two. Eat French fries and watch reality TV.”

“You were serious about the French fries?” I asked. “That’s your guilty pleasure?”

“Yep.”

“Oh. I thought that was just an example.”

“No.” He shook his head. “I love French fries. When I was younger I even went through a phase where I ate nothing but French fries.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“What do you eat them with?” I waited for him to say some specialty sauce or that he dips them in milkshakes the way my brother sometimes did.

“Ketchup.”

“For real? Ketchup. That’s it?”

He nodded. “That’s it.”

After we both laughed lightly, there was a lull in the conversation. We both went back to cleaning up.

As I rounded up a handful of toilet paper, I realized I still hadn’t told him my big news.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” I said abruptly, dumping the contents from my hands into the trash bag. “I got the choir solo.”

“That’s awesome.” He walked toward me, putting up his fist and bringing it toward mine.

A fist bump? Really? Oh, well. At least it was something.

I made a fist and connected it with his. It wasn’t a hug or kiss or anything even remotely romantic. Still, it made me feel close to him. A fist bump was something you did with your friends. Your buddies. Your peeps.

And being his friend was definitely a step up from his neighbor he barely spoke to. It was a start, at least.

Preston came running toward me from the side yard with a smile on his face and his phone in his hand.

Annoyance flared. It’s not like I wanted him here bugging me, but I hated how he always got out of everything. “Where’ve you been?”

“Um…I was cleaning up the side yard.” He smiled innocently in a way that always worked on Mom.

I narrowed my eyes. “They didn’t teepee the side yard.”

“Uh-huh,” he argued back.

I was about to respond when I clamped my mouth shut. No way was I fighting with Preston in front of Nick. “Whatever.”

“Hey.” Preston bounced his head toward Nick. “You’re our neighbor, right?”

“Yeah. Nick.”

Preston waggled his eyebrows at me. Then he turned to Nick with a teasing smile. “Trust me, I know your name.”

Panic welled up in my chest. I threw Preston a don’t-you-dare-say-what-you’re-thinking look.

“You do, huh?” Nick raised his eyebrows, his gaze shooting between Preston and me.

My entire body went rigid, every single muscle tensing up.

“We don’t need any help, Pres,” I said through gritted teeth. “We’ve got it.”

“Sweet.” With a large smile, Preston hurried toward the house. “Later.”

It wasn’t until he was inside that I heaved a sigh of relief. The yard was pretty much cleaned up. There were only a few pieces of toilet paper stuck in the large tree that stood in the center of the yard. Unfortunately, they were coiled around some pretty high branches. Nick could reach the high ones, but I would only be able to grab the lower ones.

Standing on the opposite side of the tree trunk from Nick, I stood on my tip-toes and stretched my fingers as far as they could reach. The tips brushed against an edge of the toilet paper.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Nick said in a half-concerned, half-joking way. “I can get the rest.”

“I can do it,” I said, my competitive, determined side coming out to play. I pushed up on my tiptoes a tiny bit more, and my hand folded around the toilet paper. I yanked as hard as I could, but I didn’t get any of it. Instead, my body flew backwards.

Closing my eyes, I braced for the impact when my back hit the ground. Only it never came. Nick’s arms enveloped me, scooping me up. I allowed him to lift me, enjoying the feel of his strong arms encasing my body. Once I was upright, I stared into his blue eyes. The intensity of his gaze stole my breath. It was like the first time we kissed. The way a fire burned behind his irises. A buzz like an electrical current shot through my body. I prayed he’d kiss me. I’d been dying to feel his lips on mine ever since I came back. This was the closest I’d come.

“Told you you’d hurt yourself.” He laughed, releasing his hold on me. His expression was easy-going, friendly. Maybe I’d imagined the intensity; the fire.

Maybe I was the only one who felt it.

 

***

 

“The game? We’re singing at the next home game?” My stomach churned, bile making its way up my esophagus. I never would’ve tried out for the solo if I’d known. I’d been trying to process this ever since we left choir this morning. It was lunchtime and my head was still spinning.

“It’ll be fine,” Ava attempted to assure me, but it didn’t work. I knew her too well. I could hear the lie in her tone.

“Why are we doing this? We’ve never sang at a game before.” Well, at least not in this lifetime.

“Look on the bright side,” Ava said.

“What’s that?”

“Nick’ll get to hear you sing.”

Ugh. “Not helping.”

Nick wasn’t into me, and he’d never be now. Not once he saw me up there singing with the choir and marching band. He was going to think I was a joke.

I was right when I broke up with him the night before I came back. I told him he wouldn’t like the real me. He only liked the fake me. The cheerleader. The popular girl.

“Why not? You said he liked your voice.”

“We’re a joke, Ava,” I snapped. “That’s how the cheerleaders and jocks look at us. We’re the nerdy band geeks.”

Ava frowned. “Since when do you care what they think?”

“I’ve always cared, Ava.” I sighed. “You’re the one who doesn’t.”

“You know why I don’t?”

I shook my head.

“Because of you.”

“Me?” I’m taken aback by her answer.

She smiled. “You’ve always been there for me, Rem. You’re my BFF, my bestie, my soul sister, my girl. I don’t need anyone else.”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. I knew what she was saying. I’d been without her, and it had sucked. “Oh, Ava. That’s so sweet.”

She put out her hand. “Don’t you dare start crying or some shit.”

Laughing, I blinked back the moisture that began forming in my eyes.

“Plus, music is what you love, and you’re good at it. Who cares what anyone else thinks about that?”

I nodded. Ava was right. About all of it. I’d worked hard for this solo, and I wasn’t going to let Brooke or the other cheerleaders, or even Nick, mess this up for me.

“Looks like you’ll be joining us for another football game.” Sam plunked down next to us, his gaze locked on Ava.

I flashed her an I-told-you-so smile.

“Looks like it,” she answered dryly.

“Maybe we could hang out afterward?” he hedged.

“Maybe.” She shrugged, picking at the top of her water bottle.

Seriously? “We can totally hang afterward,” I said brightly, offering Sam a smile.

He smiled back, but his eyes lingered on Ava, confusion clouding them.

I nudged her lightly in the side, but she was oblivious. She took a swig of her water and stretched her legs out. What was the deal?

“Um… Ava, can you come with me for a minute?” I tugged on her arm.

“Where?”

“To the um…bathroom.” Ugh. It was all I could think of.

Ava’s eyes widened. “Oookay.”

We both got up, and Ava trailed behind me down the hall. As we left, I could feel Sam’s eyes on us.

“We’re really going into the bathroom?” Ava whined as we approached the girls’ restroom. “I was hoping it was code for something. We’ve never really been the kind of girls who go the bathroom in pairs, and I was kinda hoping we’d never become them.”

“We’re not,” I assured her. “I’m perfectly capable of…doing that…on my own.”

“Thank god.” She blew out a breath, and her bangs flew up.

A group of girls passed us, chattering loudly. They went into the restroom. We both giggled.

“So, what’s up?” Ava asked.

I raised my brows. “What’s up with you?”

Her face went blank. “You’re the one who brought me here.”

“To ask what’s going on.” When she didn’t offer anything, I continued, “With you and Sam.”

She smiled and leaned closer. “He’s totally into me, right?”

Huh? “Yeah, so why are you acting all…indifferent and stuff?”

“I’m givin’ him what he wants. Guys like a challenge, Rem,” she said confidently.

Do they? Was that what was wrong with Nick and me? Was I making myself too available? Too obvious?

“Hey, there you are.”

Oh, god. It was Ian.

Groaning, I turned. “What do you want?”

“Hey, what’s with the attitude?” He threw up his palms as if he was surrendering. “I just wanna talk.”

“No, thanks.” I spun around.

“Seriously, Rem, what more do I have to do to get your attention?”

So, it was him who teepeed my house. I glanced at Ava. Her cocked eyebrow look told me she was thinking the same thing. “You can leave me alone. If I’m interested, I’ll find you.”

His fingers closed around my wrist. “I gotta say, this tough chick act is pretty sexy. But we both know you’re gonna come back.”

“No, I’m not.” I fought to get my arm out of his grasp.

“Seriously, Ian, step off,” Ava said firmly.

“You can’t take a hint. Can you, man?” Nick appeared next to Ava. Where had he come from?

I inhaled sharply.

Without releasing my arm, he stepped closer to me. His gaze traveled from me to Nick and then back to me again. “What’s going on with you and this guy?”

I thought about Ava’s words. About playing hard to get. It was certainly working with Ian. I’d never seen him so into me. “Nothing. He’s just a friend.” Nick turned to me sharply, and I swear I saw a flash of disappointment in his eyes.

Ian released my arm and shook his head. “Well, when you’re done with your ‘friend,’ you know where to find me.”

After he stalked off, Nick lightly touched my arm. A shiver ran up it. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” I held my head high.

“You sure?”

“Yep. I can handle myself just fine, Nick,” I said, a little more harshly than I intended.

Frowning, he let his hand slip from my arm. I felt a twinge of regret, but it was too late to back down now. I pivoted on my heels and stalked down the hallway toward the quad. Ava trailed me.

“What was that about?” she asked when she caught up.

“You said guys like a challenge, right?”