by M. A. Foster
“And Harper,” Carter says, jabbing Cole in the side with his elbow.
“You know that Harper has been at this school since our sophomore year, right?” Evan informs them.
“Is she the redheaded waitress from Mac’s the other night?” I ask.
“Yeah, but someone hadn’t noticed her until now,” Carter replies. “Right, Cole?”
“Shut up,” Cole says with a laugh.
“You got the hots for Harper, Mackenzie?” I ask.
Cole shrugs. “She’s all right.”
“She’s not your type,” I challenge.
Cole smirks. “She’s female. She’s my type.”
“What about Ashton?” Evan asks.
“What about her?” Cole shrugs again. He can’t possibly be that dense.
“Cole—” I start to say but Brad snags my attention, tapping my thigh under the table and jerking his chin, gesturing to something across the dining room. Following his line of sight, I see Lexi, Jay, and another girl I’ve never seen before, with wild curly brown hair, heading our way, and my friend Justin trailing behind them. “She’s hot in a bikini, but damn, she’s sexy as hell in that uniform,” Brad murmurs under his breath earning a jab to his thigh. “Damn, who’s the firecracker?” he asks.
I shrug. “I think she’s new.”
“Look at Justin,” Brad says with a laugh. “He’s like the hot-girl wrangler.”
The commotion at the end of our table quiets to a low buzz as they approach our table. Justin takes a seat beside Carter, and Lexi squeezes in beside Evan, as Jay drops down in Cole’s lap and throws her arm over his shoulder. Whispers, gasps, and snickers drift from the opposite end of the table.
“What’s with all the glares?” Jay asks and then to Brad, she says, “They were all smiles at your party.”
“Welcome to high school,” Lexi jokes. “Ignore them. They’re just a bunch of jealous bitches.”
“Where’s Brooklyn?” Jay asks Brad.
“She eats lunch with the juniors,” he replies. “How’s your first day going, Jay?”
“Great.” Jay smiles and gestures to the new girl. “This is Cherry. She’s in my Project Mayhem class. Cherry, this is my cousin Cole, Brad, Zach—”
“And this is my boyfriend, Evan.” Lexi cuts in. “You’ve met Justin and that’s Carter.”
“Hey,” Cherry says with a small wave. Cherry is pretty and tall, like Jay, with a head full of light brown, spiral curls, bright eyes and skin the color of coffee with extra cream.
Jay stands from Cole’s lap. “Anyway, I just came to say hi. We’ve got to get back to class. We told Alex we were going to the bathroom.”
“Aren’t there bathrooms in the performing arts building?” Cole asks.
She smirks. “Exactly.”
“What exactly is the Project Mayhem class? Is it like the School of Rock or something?” Brad asks.
“Or something,” Jay replies. “Alex is no Jack Black. Oh, yeah!” She playfully smacks Cole on the arm. “Thanks for telling me about Alex. I mean Mr. Alex.” She rolls her eyes. “I’m calling Weenie after school. I’m sick of that bitch keeping secrets from me.”
“Who’s Weenie?” Brad asks.
“My lying-ass best friend who lies.”
“Alex wanted to surprise you,” Cole explains. “Don’t be a bitch about it.”
“Shut up.” She smacks him on the shoulder this time. “I’m not being a bitch. I love Alex. It’s just weird having him as a teacher because he’s practically family. Come on, Cherry. See you guys later.” Everyone says their goodbyes as Jay turns and walks away with her new friend, Cherry.
I look around the table to see everyone watching me. Chuckling, I shake my head as I push my chair from the table and stand. “Will you dump that for me?” I point to my tray and, without waiting for a response, go after my girl.
“WHAT’S UP WITH that guy Zach? Is he in love with you or something?”
Is he in love with you or something?”
“No.” I snort. “I don’t think he even likes me. We—” I start to explain but I’m cut off.
“Jay.” I look over my shoulder to see Zach jogging toward us.
“Are you sure about that?” Cherry laughs as we stop and turn around to face him.
“Hey,” he says, then looks over at Cherry and nods before bringing his gaze back to me. “Can I talk to you for minute?” His eyes flick between Cherry and me.
I look over at Cherry and smile. “Go ahead. I’ll be there in a minute.” Returning my attention to Zach, I ask, “What’s up?”
“I’m sorry for being an asshole these past few days. You were the last person I expected to see at Brad’s party.”
“Yeah, I could tell by the look on your face when you came out of the bathroom with that Piper girl. You don’t seem all that happy about me being here.”
“Nothing happened with Piper,” he starts to explain, but I wave him off because he doesn’t owe me an explanation. “And you’re wrong,” he continues. “I’m happy you’re here. I think I’m just in shock.”
“Why?”
“Because we haven’t seen or spoken to each other in a year.” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “Why?”
I cross my arms over my chest and huff out a sharp laugh. “Talk to your girlfriend.”
“I don’t have a girlfriend.” The bell rings, indicating that lunch is over. Zach blows out a breath and says, “Listen, I have football practice until six. Do you think we can meet up after?”
“Why?”
“Because we need to talk, Jay. It’s been a year.”
“Fine. Okay. Where and what time?”
“How about Mac’s at seven? That’ll give me time to go home and shower first. Is that cool?”
I nod. “Sounds good.”
“Can I get your number from Cole?”
“It’s the same number.”
His mouth pulls to the side. “Then you’ll have to unblock me.”
The corners of my mouth curl up slightly. “I unblocked you six months ago.”
Zach’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “I’ll see you at seven.”
BASS AND I walk into the kitchen from the garage and find Mom sitting at the island with papers spread out in front of her. “Hi, honey. How was your first day?” she asks.
“Interesting,” I reply, heading straight for the refrigerator and pulling out a large bowl of fruit. “What’s all that?” I nod to the papers scattered across the counter.
“Work stuff,” she says, gathering the papers together to put them in one neat stack before picking up a small envelope and holding it out to me. “I was told to wait and give this to you after your first day of school.”
My stomach bottoms out when I see “Jaybird” in my dad’s handwriting scribbled across the front. “What are these notes about?”
Mom gives me a sad smile. “They’re his way of being a part of the special moments in your life.”
Only Marcus King would think to do something like that.
I carefully tear open the envelope and pull out the card inside.
Jaybird,
I hope you had a good first day at school. I’m sure you were surprised to see Alex. I wish you could’ve seen his face when he found out he’d be working with you on Project Mayhem. It means a lot that the two of you are working together on something so important to me.
Thank you.
Love always,
Daddy
Sweet, simple words. Yet, because they’re my father’s, I feel another stitch in my heart unravel.
“You okay?” Mom asks.
“Yeah.” Sniffling, I slide the card back into the envelope and slip it into my purse. “The performing arts building is beautiful and I really like my teacher.” I smirk.
Mom smiles, accepting my need to move on. “Alex was very excited about that job. He wanted to surprise you. I think it’s great. And look at it this way, you’ll get in some additional practice for the tour next year. It
’s a win-win.”
“Everyone keeps saying that,” I say with a smile as I pop a strawberry into my mouth.
“You don’t sound too thrilled about it.”
“I am. It just feels like there’s more to it, that’s all.” I shrug. “I have this gut feeling you guys are keeping something from me.”
“You’re being ridiculous.” She waves off my accusation. “Tell me about the Project Mayhem class.”
“There are ten of us split into two groups of five. Today, we did mock auditions. Alex thought it’d be a good way to determine our strengths and weaknesses. He wants us to push ourselves out of our comfort zone to—” Our conversation is interrupted by the doorbell.
“Princess, that’s for you,” Bass calls out from somewhere in the house.
Mom and I shoot each other a confused look before we both head for the front door.
A man holding a clipboard is standing on the porch and beside him is one of the Joes. “Good afternoon. I’m Steve with Land Rover USA. I have a delivery here for Jayla King.”
Peering over his shoulder, I see the brand new white Range Rover parked in the driveway. Squealing like a teenage fangirl, I brush past Steve and run over to the driver’s side, opening the door. Sliding behind the wheel, I wrap my hands around the leather steering wheel, breathing in the new car smell as I take in the interior, black on black with a dark gray oak veneer finish.
A moment later, the passenger side door opens and Bass slides into the seat, holding the key. “I had this key custom made just for you. See this button?” He fingers a small red button on the key fob. “This is a panic button. It’s connected to your security. If you find yourself in a threatening situation, just hold the button down for three seconds and your security will come to you.”
“How very James Bond,” I joke.
Bass grins. “So, what do you think, Princess?”
“I think you did good, B. And your timing couldn’t be more perfect because I have somewhere to be tonight.”
“HEY, YOU’RE HOME early,” my mom says, turning from the sink to look at the clock on the microwave. “How was your first day back?” She picks up a bowl of veggies and shakes the water free before setting them on the counter.
“Fine,” I reply, dropping a kiss on her cheek on my way to the fridge to grab a Gatorade. “Coach cut practice early.” Twisting the cap off the Gatorade, I toss it into the garbage before chugging half the bottle down in one gulp.
“Oh.” She nods as I hop up on the counter and pluck a carrot from the strainer. “I talked to Rebecca today.” Here we go. Rebecca is Chelsea’s mom and my mom’s best friend.
“So? You talk to her every day.”
“Smartass.” She grabs another carrot from the bowl and tosses it at me, which I catch between my hand and chest and shove into my mouth. “And you’re wrong. I haven’t talked to her much because she’s been busy helping Chelsea get settled in at school.” She gives me a look.
My friendship with Chelsea took a shit last year after “the incident.” It all started at the prom after-party when I caught Reagan and Grayson screwing in a closet. I left the after-party and went to Cam’s. Chelsea ditched her date and came with me. Cam was in California—at the Mayhem Foundation charity dinner—so his house was free. I was planning to spend the night there with Reagan after the after-party.
Chelsea and I raided Cam’s liquor cabinet and went down to the beach. We talked, laughed, got drunk, and hooked up right there in the sand. Stupidest thing I’ve ever done. Besides Reagan.
It was a mistake and I regretted it immediately. We both did. We agreed to keep “the incident” between us and pretend it never happened. But things were still awkward and tense. Our friendship hasn’t been the same since.
“I planned on calling Chelsea this week,” I tell her. It’s the truth. I need to have a chat with my former best-friend-turned-backstabber. What the fuck was she thinking telling Reagan about Jay?
“I’m sure she’d love to hear from you. It’s always nice to hear a familiar voice when you’re in a new place,” my mom continues.
She won’t love hearing what I have to say.
“Chelsea is a big girl. I’m sure she’s already made plenty of friends.”
“Rebecca and I just thought….” She flicks her hand dismissively. “Never mind.”
Seriously, Chelsea?
I groan and drag my hands down my face. “You thought because we hooked up one time—which was a huge mistake, by the way—that we’d fall in love or something.” I shake my head. “I can’t believe Chelsea told you.”
“She didn’t.” She turns to me, leaning a hip against the counter and crossing her arms. “Rebecca did.”
“Great.” I throw my hands up. “Now Rebecca and Chris probably hate my guts.”
“Rebecca doesn’t hate you and Chris doesn’t know.” She turns back to chopping vegetables. “You’re not seeing that Reagan girl again, are you?”
I shake my head. “No.” I hop off the counter and turn to face her. “I can’t force myself to have feelings for Chelsea just because you and Rebecca want us together. Let me worry about my own love life.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. I wanted to know where things stood between you and Chelsea and I didn’t know how to bring it up. Again, I’m sorry. Honestly, I just want you to be happy.” She wraps her arms around me and squeezes me until I can barely breathe. She taps my chest and continues with dinner preparations. “I’m just glad you’re not with that little slut anymore. I don’t give a shit who her daddy is.”
I laugh at her little jab at Reagan, but she’s holding something back. “What else did Blabbermouth tell you?”
She raises her eyebrows in that way moms do when they’re being serious. “Jayla King.”
“Jesus Christ.” I tilt my head back and pinch the bridge of my nose before bringing my gaze to meet hers. “I’m not talking about Jayla with you,” I tell her, plain and simple.
“Why, not?”
“You know why,” I reply, shaking my head as I turn and walk out of the kitchen.
My dad is sitting behind his desk, leaning back in his chair, most likely reading a legal document.
“Hey, Dad.” I drop down in one of the two navy leather high-back chairs in front of his desk.
My dad looks up from whatever he’s reading. “Hey.” He smiles and sets the paper down on top of the open file before closing it. Leaning forward with his forearms on his desk, he clasps his hands together and rests them on top of the file. “Coach let you guys out early today, huh?”
“Yeah, he went easy on us today.” I shrug. “First day of school and all. I’m sure we’ll pay for it tomorrow.”
“How was your first day back?”
“Strange,” I say, tapping my fingers on the armrests. “She’s here.” My dad knows exactly who she is.
“I know.” He nods.
“Mom knows too. Which is probably why she’s trying to marry me off to Chelsea, again.” I roll my eyes.
“Probably,” he agrees with a laugh, shaking his head. “I never thought you and Chelsea dating was a good idea. Did you talk Jayla at school today?”
“Yeah, at lunch for about five minutes. On one hand, I want to be pissed at her—I am pissed at her—for ignoring me for an entire year, but on the other hand, I just want her. She’s so beautiful and I don’t mean just her face. Just… everything about her is beautiful. Honestly, I don’t know why I bother getting so worked up over it. It’s not like I could stay away from her even if I tried.”
Dad chuckles as he leans back in his chair and claps his hands behind his head.
“I’ve been kind of an asshole to her,” I admit.
“Don’t do that, Zach. Just talk to her. Maybe you guys can be friends again.”
“I don’t think I can be just friends with her. I asked her to meet me later so we can talk.”
“That’s a start. Do whatever makes you happy. All I ask is that you keep your priorities straight. Your gr
ades and football come before everything else. You got a lot riding on you this year, so keep your head on straight.”
WALKING INTO MAC’S, I spot Harper at the hostess stand and wave.
“Hi, Jayla,” she greets me with a smile. “You by yourself?”
“Zach is supposed to meet me here.”
“Okay.” She smiles, grabs two menus from behind the counter and heads toward the dining room. “Follow me,” she calls over her shoulder.
“How long have you worked here, Harper?” I ask.
“Just a few weeks.” She leads me to a table in a quiet corner. “I’ll bring Zach over when he arrives.”
“Thanks, Harper.”
Sliding into the booth, I pull out my phone and see a text from Cole. Where r u?
At Mac’s. Zach is meeting me.
K. Good luck lol
I shake my head and smile.
FORTY-FIVE MINUTES and four texts later, it’s clear that Zach stood me up. No calls. No reply to my texts. I wonder if he did this as payback for blocking him? If it is, then he’s an even bigger dick than I thought.
“I take it he’s not coming.” I look up to see Harper standing beside the table.
“Guess not,” I reply, leaning back in the booth and blowing out a breath. I can’t decide if I’m pissed or hurt. “Are you off?” I ask.
“Yeah. May I?” She points to the empty booth across from me.
“Please do. I look pathetic sitting here by myself. Want to have dinner with me?”
“I could eat.” For the next hour, Harper and I talk about nothing and everything while getting to know each other. I fill her in on my Zach drama and she listens intently, reserving judgement.
Harper is kind, but it’s obvious she keeps people at arm’s length. She’s got her walls built up sky-high as if she’s been through hell and back. I guess in a way she has. Her mom passed away just over four years ago and her sister died in a car accident a little over two years ago. Harper lives with her dad, but his job takes him out of the country for months at a time, so she pretty much lives alone and takes care of herself. I have so much respect for this girl and her strength. I might even hero-worship her a little bit.
