We didn’t walk far down the track before I steered us off the path and into the trees. We had to climb over a large fallen log, and I held out my hand to help Madi over it. She hesitated though.
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” she asked, peering up at me.
“Wow, you have like zero faith in me, Matthews.”
“Not zero,” she replied. “Like 12% … on a good day.”
“And on a bad day?”
“You don’t want to know,” she replied, a small smile curving her lips.
“You’re probably right,” I agreed. “Now come on, up and over with you.”
She shook her head at me, but took hold of my hand and allowed me to help her over the log. As she stepped onto the other side, she almost stumbled on the uneven path and gripped my hand tighter. Madi definitely wasn’t wearing the right shoes for our little trek, and she surprised me by keeping her hand firmly intertwined with mine as we continued through the thick undergrowth. I half expected her to pull away from me, but she kept hold of me while her eyes focused down on every step she took. I knew she was only holding my hand for support, but I wasn’t complaining. I loved the way her hand fit in mine.
My pace grew a little quicker when I saw light through the trees in the distance. When we reached the edge of the forest, I led Madi out onto a rocky ledge. My heart was racing with the same excitement and awe I always felt as I looked out at the view. Beyond the ridge we stood on, a thick carpet of greenery stretched out below us as far as the eye could see. In the distance, the leafy scene met a bright and endless blue sky. We were up so high it was like being on a plane, and it felt as though the horizon went on forever.
“Whoa,” Madi murmured. She let go of my hand and moved closer to the edge of the rock to take in the view before us. She was silent for several minutes, but I didn’t feel the need to fill the time with talk. Sometimes, silence was the best way to appreciate such a beautiful view.
I walked forward and sat at the edge of the rock, dangling my feet over the edge. Any tightness in my chest always loosened when I was here, and I hoped that Madi was experiencing the same sensation.
“This place is gorgeous,” Madi finally said, lowering herself to sit beside me.
“Yeah,” I agreed, my gaze still fixed on the horizon. “I always come here when I need to get away from things. It’s my thinking rock.” I hazarded a glance at Madi and saw she was nodding, as though what I’d just said had made total sense. I let out a small breath. I had half worried she’d think I was a crazy person for having a thinking rock.
“What do you think about?” she asked.
“Anything, everything,” I replied. “Sometimes nothing at all.”
“And what about now?”
A flutter of nerves ran beneath my skin at her question. “I’m thinking that I’m glad I brought you here and shared this with you.”
She smiled. “I’m glad you did too,” she replied. “Things don’t seem quite so bad up here.”
“No,” I agreed.
We returned to our previous silence, though the world around us was far from still. Birds chirped in the trees and a soft breeze ruffled my clothes. I could hear Madi slowly breathing in and out, and the sound was just as calming as the forest around us.
“I should probably get home,” Madi eventually said. I wasn’t sure how long we’d been sitting on the rock, admiring the view, but there was reluctance in her voice, like she didn’t want to leave. I’d finally done something right.
I nodded and stood up, holding my hands out to help Madi up from the ground. Once she was standing, she lingered in front of me, and despite her words, I knew she was struggling to leave this place as much as I was.
“Well, thanks for babysitting me today,” she said, tucking a loose hair that was being pulled by the wind behind her ear. “I’m sorry I wasn’t great company for your day of ditching.”
I hated seeing her self-doubt and wanted to pull her in and hug away her insecurities. I felt unsure how receptive she’d be though. Things were finally starting to go right; I couldn’t mess them up now. So, instead, I stuck my hands in my pockets to stop myself reaching out for her.
“Don’t be silly, you were great company,” I said, earning myself a smile. “Now, let’s get you back to the truck, my beautiful fluffy pancake.”
I turned and walked back toward the trees before she could react. I didn’t wait to catch the glare I knew was coming my way, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t feel it against the back of my neck.
“I thought you said the ‘f’ doesn’t stand for fluffy,” she shouted as she came after me.
I laughed. Today was turning out just great.
12
Madison
I had ten missed calls and countless text messages from Hayley when I checked my phone. After Cole dropped me off and I walked through the front door, my phone rang instantly with another call from her.
“Where are you?” she asked as soon as I answered.
“I ditched school today,” I replied, making my way upstairs to my room. “I wasn’t really feeling up to it. Jake and I broke up this morning.”
“I know. I heard. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all day. I can’t believe he would let you go!” I had to love my best friend for sounding so indignant on my behalf. “I’m already planning the perfect revenge.”
“Hold up, Hayles. We don’t need another revenge operation on our hands. It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not. Jake has been going around school all day telling people you’re a frigid tease and that’s why he had to break up with you.”
My chest tightened and I could barely breathe. How could he say that about me? That wasn’t even close to the reason we broke up. I couldn’t believe he’d be so cruel.
“He really said that?” I finally whispered.
“That’s what Tanner told me. Although I think we all know Jake’s only saying that because he’s jealous. He’s absolutely vile. I refused to sit with him and the rest of those posers at lunch.” My heart warmed at the thought of her taking such a stand for me.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I murmured.
“Are you kidding? I would have had it out with him right in the middle of the cafeteria if I’d come within ten feet of the guy.”
“You probably would have won too.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “I’ve got moxie.”
I laughed. She totally did.
“So, back to my revenge plan,” she said.
“No revenge plan!” That was the last thing I needed.
“You haven’t heard me out yet.”
“I don’t need to. Your last revenge plan totally backfired. Mr. Callahan and Miss French are getting married.”
I shook my head at the memory. Miss French had given Hayley a C on her math test, and Mr. Callahan had spoken to her parents about her needing tutoring in biology. So, Hayley decided to exact revenge on the two of them.
She took Mr. Callahan’s biology mascot, a giant stuffed toy heart, and hid it in Miss French’s desk. Then she wrote a ransom note for the heart. It was addressed from Miss French, and the letter demanded Mr. Callahan’s phone number in exchange for his toy. Hayley had hoped to embarrass them both, but her plan failed miserably.
“How was I supposed to know that kidnapping Mr. Hearty would end up being the catalyst for them falling in love?” Hayley asked. She sounded so devastated about it that I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You seem to be doing okay,” she commented.
I let out a breath. There was an ache in my chest, and my insides felt completely hollow, but I wasn’t falling to pieces like I might have expected.
“I guess things hadn't been going well between Jake and me for a while,” I explained. “It was almost like we were already broken up, only neither of us had said the words.”
I’d cried my eyes out when Jake had forgotten to pick me up from work the other weekend. I think in my heart I knew it was over then.
The more I thought about it, the more I felt like our breakup was actually a relief.
“I think I’m mostly sad that I’ve lost him as a friend,” I continued. “We were never that great as a couple, but he always used to be a good friend.”
“Yeah, well, he’s banned from being your friend. Good friends don’t say hurtful crap about each other,” Hayley responded.
“Yeah,” I agreed. I still couldn’t believe Jake had told people we broke up because I wouldn’t have sex with him. It was so cliché.
“Madison Matthews!” my mom shouted from downstairs. I rarely heard my mom’s aggressive tone used to call my name, and I knew it meant I was in trouble.
“Oh crap,” I muttered into the phone.
“Your mom?” Hayley asked. I wasn’t surprised she’d heard the scream through the phone. It had practically shaken the walls.
“Yep,” I replied. “I’m dead.”
“It was nice knowing you,” Hayley replied. “I’ll put flowers on your grave.”
I laughed and hung up the phone before slowly making my way downstairs. I hoped that my friend would also pick out a kick-ass inscription for my tombstone. I was fairly certain I’d need it.
It turned out I was wrong about my mom and I didn’t require a funeral. I was worried Jake might need one though after I explained the breakup to my mom. She was so livid she threatened to call his mother. It was a reaction typical of my mom. I was mortified at the thought and somehow managed to talk her down, but I had to love her for standing up for me.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t there to back me up and help me fight my battles at school the next day. Seeing Jake in the corridor first thing was like a punch to the gut. He completely ignored me as I walked by him. His gaze slipped right by me like I didn’t exist at all.
Worse still was the way Laurie flirted with him at lunch. I’d grown used to her behavior over the years, but it broke my heart to see him returning it. I thought she was after Cole, but now I was beginning to wonder if she was hedging her bets between the two boys. Either way, I couldn’t bear to watch, so I kept my gaze fixed on my food for the rest of the lunch hour.
There was also the whole “Cadi” thing to deal with. I felt like I was in mourning and yet people kept coming up to me in the corridors to tell me they were rooting for Cole and me. I even had one teacher tell me how much she wished she were young and in love again. I wasn't even in one of her classes, so to say it was a strange conversation was an understatement.
It was a relief to get to work on Thursday night. I rarely saw other kids from school at the gourmet pizza restaurant I worked at during the week. Crust was more of a weekend hangout, so I was looking forward to the few hours where I’d be able to interact with other people without the stupid True Love competition being brought up.
The moment I walked in the door though, I heard a squeal of excitement. “It’s the star of True Love,” Jazz shouted as I walked toward the staff room. “You have to tell me everything!”
I pushed down a shudder—so much for avoiding talk of the competition tonight. How did Jazz even know True Love existed? She was so busy with university, or working as a server in the restaurant, I was surprised she had time to bother herself with a high school dating contest.
“You watched the show on Sunday?”
“Obvi. One of the girls in my dorm has a sister in the competition so we all watched it together, but I had no idea you were in it! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wasn’t sure you’d be interested,” I replied. Jazz may be in university, but sometimes she made me feel older than her.
“Of course I am,” she gushed. “And I totally voted for you. You and Cole are so adorable together.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I murmured.
“Ah, yeah I did. We need to make sure that Laurie girl doesn’t sink her claws in him. Poor Cole doesn’t deserve that.”
I shook my head at her. “Do you even know Cole?”
“Nope, but I wouldn’t mind getting to know him. If you know what I mean,” she said, wriggling her eyebrows at me.
“I’m not sure that Cole could keep up with you,” I laughed. Jazz was incredibly beautiful. Her thick black hair and large, chocolate eyes always mesmerized guys when they came into the restaurant. She was also renowned for being a serial dater.
“What? I can’t help it if I get bored quickly,” she replied.
“How many dates so far this week?”
“Three,” she replied, with a shrug. She spoke so openly about it and I had to give her credit. Jazz really owned her single status.
I dropped my bag off in the staff room before joining Jazz back in the kitchen. She was flirting with Abe, one of the kitchen hands. He stared at her adoringly, but I knew nothing would come of it. Jazz was a firm believer in not dating co-workers. I think it was her only rule.
“So how is that delicious boy toy of yours going?” Jazz asked, ditching Abe and joining me as I walked back through to the restaurant.
“Are you talking about Jake?” I asked. “We broke up.”
Jazz grinned brightly. “So you can date Cole then,” she said, as if that were the obvious next step.
“I could…but that doesn’t mean I want to.”
She ignored my comment. “Don’t be silly, of course you do. He’s yummy. And if it doesn’t work out, there are plenty of other guys on the football team.” She sounded serious, like it was a perfectly natural thing to date the entire team. It made me seriously wonder about what she was like at high school.
“Please don’t tell me you dated the entire football team,” I said.
“Well, not all of them at the same time, obviously,” she replied. “There were only a few overlaps…”
I held up a hand as she went to continue. “I really don’t want to know.” And I didn’t. It was bad enough that she went into excruciating detail about her dates every week.
“But—“
I gave her a look, warning her not to continue. Thankfully I was saved from the sordid particulars of her relationship with the football team as a family walked through the front doors.
“We’ll talk later,” she said as she walked off to greet the customers. Apparently, I wasn’t saved after all.
Jazz was still chatting with the family when the next lot of customers walked in. My eyes widened as I caught sight of the group. As if by reflex, I dropped to the ground behind the bar. I took several deep breaths in to try and calm my racing heart.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I groaned, as I ran a hand through my hair.
It was kids from school. But not just any kids. It was the film club walking in with their cameras, and Cole and Willow were trailing in behind them.
I’d forgotten their single date was tonight. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
A head popped over the top of the counter and I nearly screamed. “Madi, there are customers here,” Jazz said, a wicked smile on her face.
“Yeah, I know,” I replied. “I’m not serving them.”
“They’re sitting in your section…” She glanced over her shoulder, licking her lips. “That Cole is even hotter in person than on film. On second thought, maybe I will serve them.”
A small wave of jealousy fluttered through me. Jazz got any guy she ever set her eyes on. I jumped up and received a knowing look from Jazz.
“Change your mind?” she asked coyly.
I glared at her, making her laugh. “It’s okay to like him, Madi,” she said.
“I don’t like him,” I hissed.
Jazz was talking way too loudly and at risk of getting Cole and Willow’s attention. Luckily they were seated in one of the booths at the far end of the restaurant and seemed pretty content talking with one another. Cole’s eyes didn’t stray from Willow as they spoke, and I experienced a strange pang in my gut as I watched the two of them.
“Uh huh,” Jazz replied, in an annoyingly cocky tone.
I shot her another foul look. “Why don�
�t you seem surprised that they’re here?”
Her grin grew larger. “Oh, didn’t I tell you they were coming in?”
“Clearly not.”
“I can’t believe I forgot,” she tittered. “We got a call last night from the film club to see if it was okay to film here.”
I pointed my finger at her. “You are pure evil.”
“And you are letting our customers wait…”
“Alright, alright, I’m going,” I said.
I took in a deep breath before I started making my way across the room. There were just two cameras focused on the date tonight, and Angus was seated with the rest of the film club at a booth directly across from Willow and Cole. With the cameras and the crew practically hovering over the date there looked to be little chance for romance.
I tried not to glare at Angus as I neared. This whole thing felt like a set-up. He was constantly asking me about my work schedule to make sure I was able to take part in the contest, and he knew perfectly well I was rostered to work tonight. I would definitely be having words with him later.
I approached Willow and Cole’s booth. My body was tense, and I felt an unusual bought of nerves as I drew close. I wasn’t sure why I was freaking out so much. I’d never cared who Cole dated before, and I shouldn’t care now. I guess I’d started seeing him a little differently after we ditched school together on Tuesday. He hadn’t behaved like the cold-hearted jerk I was so used to dealing with. He was more like the boy I had once been friends with, and I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed having him in my life.
“Hey guys, what can I get for you?” I asked, using the cheerful tone I adopted when serving. It didn’t sound as genuine as normal, but I hoped I was the only one who could notice. One of the cameras was right up in my face, which may have accounted for at least some of the awkwardness in my voice.
Cole’s head jerked up at my question, and his eyes grew wide with surprise. He looked like his brain was failing to compute how I was standing in front of him.
The Wrong Bachelor Page 11
