Now, judging by her glare, I had to assume that something about my take on the situation had angered her. Maybe she’d thought I’d disrespected her stepbrother or broken some unwritten friend rule by kissing her stepbrother.
The thought had me worrying my lower lip.
I’d never meant to hurt her feelings. In fact, I hadn’t given Max or our friendship a second thought. But maybe I should have.
Stupid unwritten rules. I was always the last to learn of them.
I was currently the object of a whole lot of curious stares, and even though these were my friends, I had no idea why.
Well, I had some idea.
“I don’t think you’re telling us the whole story,” Max said, crossing her arms over her chest as she fixed me with a no-nonsense stare.
I sighed. “What more do you want me to say?”
“How about explaining why you ran away when he clearly wanted to exchange numbers or make plans to see you again?” Max finished.
“How do you know he wanted to do that?” I asked.
Max and Avery exchanged a look and I felt a surge of irritation. I couldn’t shake this feeling that all of my friends were holding silent conversations, which would have been annoying even if those conversations weren’t about me.
But this week, I suspected I was the unspoken topic of their silent exchanges.
Avery moved toward me, her expression gentle and sweet. “Charlotte, did you give West a chance to tell you how he felt?”
I frowned because the answer was obvious. I’d already told them how I’d left.
“You ran away before he could hurt you.” Hazel nodded in understanding. “It’s a common response when people fear rejection.”
I stared at her for a long moment, wondering when exactly Hazel had taken an interest in psychology.
I still wasn’t a fan of the soft science.
Her words were still registering, tugging at me in a way I wasn’t fond of when Emma spoke up.
“Maybe you should hear what he has to say.”
Her look was so optimistic I wasn’t entirely sure how to respond without hurting her feelings.
Lulu wore a matching look of expectation. Hope, even. It left me speechless because the only thing I could think to say was...why?
What was the point?
So instead, I shrugged.
This was inexplicably taken as a positive sign even though I hadn’t said a word. I saw smiles all around.
Lulu linked her arm through mine and tugged me away from my locker and toward an exit that I never used. It led to the football field, not the parking lot.
“Where are we going?”
“If he showed up and wanted a chance to talk, would you let him?”
“I, um—” I glanced around me in alarm and saw that the entire group was huddled around me, herding me toward the door. “Um, I guess?”
Sure. Why not?
If we were talking in hypotheticals, would I kiss him if he tried to kiss me again? Of course. His kisses had been the highlight of my life.
But he wouldn’t try because he’d probably moved on to some other girl—someone more befitting his quarterback status—and I was long forgotten.
I steeled myself against a prickly, stabbing sensation that was becoming far too familiar.
It persisted no matter how I tried to shake it by focusing on my studies or the results of the competition.
We’d won.
I should really feel happier about that, but all I’d been able to muster when Robert told me was a vague sense of satisfaction.
More than anything, I’d spent those first few moments after he’d told me the news battling the urge to tell West.
In that moment I’d been absurdly grateful that I didn’t have his number or I might have caved.
And how pathetic would that have been?
No. It was best that I’d ended it when I had and the way I had. No one had gotten hurt.
I stopped short as Hazel’s words came back to me, finally making it past my defenses and to my unsuspecting brain.
Was that what I’d done? Pushed him away so he couldn’t hurt me with rejection?
“Charlotte? You okay?” Max’s voice was shockingly gentle as she and the others stopped around me.
I nodded.
Yes.
No.
I wasn’t entirely sure.
I took a deep breath, ignoring the rest of the questions and comments coming from my friends. I’d made my decision and acted with the knowledge I’d had at hand.
There was nothing to rethink or analyze.
And besides, why I’d run away—and yes, I could admit that I had run away—didn’t really matter in the end, did it?
All paths led to the same ending. And it wasn’t a happy one, not for us.
“I’m fine,” I managed to mutter, barely noticing that my feet were moving once more as Max now linked her arm through my other arm so she and Lulu were half dragging me, half pulling me toward the exit.
It wasn’t until we reached the door that I was with it enough to protest. “Wait, where are we—”
But then Emma threw open the door, and I was being shoved through it with Lulu’s encouraging voice in my ear. “This is for the best, I swear!”
And then the door shut behind me with a thud.
What the...?
“Hey, Charlotte.”
My body went still at the sight of him.
“West?”
His smile was slow and sexy and just a little sad.
I blinked rapidly as my heart picked up its pace. A panicky sensation shot through me. No. I didn’t want to talk about this.
I didn’t want him to touch me or be nice to me or kiss me.
Liar.
Okay, I did want that. I wanted all of it. But I wasn’t sure I would survive another kiss if it meant walking away again.
I stumbled back a step, Hazel’s earlier words coming back to me.
Was I afraid?
Yes. Heck yes. And with good reason.
But also...he was here.
West was here, at my school, presumably here to speak to me.
“What are you...why are you....” I swallowed and licked my lips. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to talk to you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you.” He walked toward me slowly. So slowly it made my heart thud painfully against my ribcage with every step.
He stopped a foot away. “Why are you staring at me like I’m an ax murderer here to cut off your head?”
“More like cut out my heart.” My eyes widened with shock and his brows hitched up in surprise.
In my defense, those words just...came out. Those stupid, metaphorical, not at all like me words just slipped out of my mouth while my brain was busy paying attention to the way he looked. (Hot.) And the way he smelled. (Amazing.) And the way he was looking at me. (Terrifying.)
“I’m not here to hurt you,” he said. He tucked his hands in the pockets of his jeans. All I could pay attention to was the way his long-sleeved T-shirt stretched across his chest.
Part of me wanted to run to him, to burrow into his chest and listen to his deep voice vibrate. A bigger part of me wanted to run.
But this time I had a feeling that he would follow.
He’d said he wanted to talk. I wiped my clammy hands against my skirt. Talking I could do. No one ever died from talking. “What did you want to talk about?”
“You left before I could ask for an explanation,” he said.
I shifted, toying with the strap of my bookbag. “Explanation?”
“You’d said you were thinking about fiction.”
I nodded. This was true.
“What about it?”
The question made me wince. It was one I’d rather not answer. But considering he’d come all this way, and considering my friends had gone to the effort of dragging me out here... I supposed he deserved any answers he wished to hear.
�
��I was thinking how I’d learned quite a bit from watching those movies with you,” I said slowly. “I agree with your theory that fiction offers excellent insight into emotional matters.”
He waited silently before finally prompting me. “And?”
“And,” I said with a sigh. “It also drove home the difference between fiction and reality. That ending to Sixteen Candles...?” I couldn’t stop my flinch. It had hit me hard when we’d left his room that night and the hazy sweet feeling of being pressed against his side was replaced with coldness and the privacy of my room had given me no room to escape the inevitable.
Reality.
“What about the ending of the movie, Charlotte?” Impatience laced his voice and had my gaze shooting up to meet his.
“It was unrealistic.”
He stared at me for a long moment. “What?”
I cleared my throat and shifted my weight under his stare. “It was absurdly unrealistic for them to end up together. I mean, she’s a nobody. An outcast. And he’s super popular. A beloved athlete who could have anyone and—”
“And you think their getting together was unrealistic,” he finished.
I couldn’t really read his flat tone but the ticking muscle in his jaw was a pretty clear indicator that he did not like my assessment.
“Charlotte, it’s just a movie.”
I nodded. “I know that, but it got me thinking. I mean, they barely knew each other, they had nothing in common and—”
“Enough.” He held up a hand to stop me. “Enough talk about a movie and fictional characters. This is about us, Charlotte. You and me.”
I nodded again. “I know that.”
“Do you? Because you just compared us to a couple from an eighties movie.”
“Yes, but my point was—”
“I know what your point was. And I think it’s bull.”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” He shifted closer. “I think your hypothesis is ridiculous.”
My mouth parted in shock. Maybe it was his use of the word hypothesis.
I had not seen that coming.
His lips twitched upwards a bit. “I think you ran away because you had feelings for me and you weren’t sure what to do about them.”
I swallowed. I wanted to deny it, but I couldn’t quite do it because I could hear the truth in them. Worse, they seemed to be far too compatible with Hazel’s conjecture.
Combined, their words had me holding my belly as a sick sensation swept through me. “I think maybe...” I cleared my throat. “I think perhaps you’re right.”
He nodded slowly, but he didn’t look smug. “I know I am.”
I had to tilt my head back to maintain eye contact when he moved forward another few inches. “See, here’s the thing, Charlotte. You are way smarter than me, and honestly...I love that about you. I love the way you see the world and I love your weird little quirks and your dry sense of humor.” He arched his brows. “I even like your lack of style and your inability to pick up on subtext and innuendos.”
I blinked a few times as my heart seemed to absorb those words at the same time my brain processed them.
It hurt. The way my heart reacted was physically painful. My chest grew tight with all the feelings and my eyes...
Oh shoot. Not again.
He lifted a hand and brushed away a tear. “Don’t cry, Charlotte,” he said softly.
I shook my head. “I didn’t mean to. I don’t even know why I am.”
“I do.” He moved closer still and suddenly his arms were around me, holding me close.
I could feel his voice against my cheek as well as hear it as his hand ran through my hair and held me to him, cradling me to his chest like I was something precious.
“You see, Charlotte, some guys would probably be intimidated by that big brain of yours, but I’m not. You know why?”
I shook my head against his chest.
“Because while you might know everything about...well, everything—”
I gave a short sniffly laugh at that and he tightened his arms.
“You might know everything. But I know you.”
His words made me feel hot and cold at once as terror and unbelievable joy shot through me, leaving me torn and exhausted. I pulled my head back. “If you know me, then you know why this won’t work.”
He frowned down at me. “Explain that, please.”
I licked my lips, my hands clenching into his T-shirt as I held onto him even as I tried to push him away with my reason and my words. “I don’t know how to be close to people. And you...you...”
He leaned his head down until he was so close I could feel his breath against my lips. “I have a lot of friends,” he said.
“Exactly, you—”
“I have a lot of friends, but not many people in my life who make me feel the way you make me feel. You bring out the best in me, and you make me want to be better and smarter and try harder—”
“But—”
“And I’d like to think I could be good for you, too.” His eyes were so intent, so focused on me.
Me. The real me. The me that no one else seemed to see.
But he did.
I could feel myself caving, the need to love and feel love winning out over all the fears that told me it wouldn’t last. That this couldn’t be reality. That fairytales never ever came true, especially not for freaks like me.
My lips were trembling and tears were streaming down my face as he stroked my hair back from my face.
“If you give me a chance, I think I could be good for you...and George.”
A blubbery sobbing laugh escaped at that and I was gone. I was officially a goner. My heart didn’t stand a chance. “I knew you’d take my heart,” I whispered. “Maybe not with an ax, but you took it.”
“Yeah?” His brows shot up and happiness filled his eyes making my belly do a flip in response.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Then does that mean...” He cleared his throat. “Does that mean you’ll be my girlfriend?”
Girlfriend. The term had me crying all over again and I couldn’t say why...but I was pretty sure West knew.
I nodded quickly. “Yes. I’d like that.”
He laughed softly and I wanted to ask him why he was laughing but then I forgot all about his laughter because his lips were on mine and...heaven.
I was in heaven as he kissed me long and he kissed me soft and he kissed me hard...
He kissed me for so long that I lost track of time. I lost track of everything but the fact that I was here in his arms...exactly where I wanted to be.
For the first time in my life, I had it. I’d found it. My person. Someone who understood me and who cared about me and who made me feel like I had a partner.
A love.
Eventually he pulled back and removed my glasses to better wipe my still weepy eyes. Whatever he saw in my expression, he could tell that my mind was racing almost as quickly as my heart as I struggled to process this new turn of events.
“What are you thinking right now?” he asked.
I felt a smile tugging at my lips. “Love.”
His grin was huge and his embrace was tight and safe and...home. “Good,” he said when he dipped his head so his lips were right next to my ear. “Because that’s exactly what I’m feeling.”
Epilogue
One year later...
West
The only thing better than leading my team to victory?
Spotting my girlfriend in the crowd after the game.
“You were so great out there,” she said as I pulled her into my arms for a hug that lifted her off her feet.
Her arms wrapped around my neck and the fierce kiss she planted on me had me grinning against her lips. “Thanks, babe.”
“Did you want to go out and celebrate with the team?” she asked as I set her back down and linked my fingers through hers.
“I wish I could, but my tutor will kick my butt if I don�
�t get an A on my math test tomorrow.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re already prepared. You’re going to ace that test.”
“Yeah?” I wasn’t pretending to be nervous. Despite Charlotte’s faith in my academic abilities, I still wasn’t quite as confident.
But I did have the best tutor in the world, who also happened to be the best girlfriend in the world, so I had that going for me.
I pulled her close and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as I steered us through the crowds, returning smiles and acknowledging all the pats on the back at our big win.
“You ready to drive home tomorrow?” I asked.
She nodded. “All packed.”
“And your parents are still okay with you spending Thanksgiving at our house again?”
She nodded. “They have other plans.”
For some reason her lack of sadness over that sad statement made me feel disappointment on her behalf. I hated the fact that her parents treated her like an afterthought, but ever since last Thanksgiving, she’d become an honorary member of our slightly odd blended family.
Max, Alison, Lou, and Tristan had welcomed her with open arms and while no one could explain why exactly, her presence seemed to be the missing link in that house. Once she joined in the mix, Max’s mom and our dad finally got what they’d been hoping for—a family. Which made her the beloved golden child in their eyes and they doted on her like she was their long-lost daughter. So weird, but that was my family.
A weird non-traditional family with a host of issues, but a family nonetheless.
“When do you want to leave? Tomorrow morning after your test or the next day?” she asked.
She wrapped her arms around my waist as we reached the parking lot. Part of me wanted a night alone with my girl, but I was being greedy. Since she’d enrolled at St. Archer’s this fall we’d had plenty of alone time. But I’d never get enough of my girl, and I couldn’t keep her all to myself all the time. She had friends who missed her. “Let’s go a soon as possible. Max and her boyfriend are getting in tonight and I know they want to spend time with you and your other Lakeview High friends who are in town for the holidays.”
She nodded against my chest as I ran a hand through her hair. On Halloween I’d convinced her to braid her hair and she’d won the costume contest at a local restaurant for her dead-on take on Wednesday Addams.
First Kiss with the Quarterback (How to Catch a Crush Book 4) Page 10
