by Amanda Ashby
“No hand holding.”
“Wait. What? Norah, you know we can’t date if we don’t at least hold hands.”
“Not all relationships need to be physical,” she tried to protest.
“This one does. If it’s going to work,” he said. Mainly because he’d probably forget, like he’d done last night when he’d hugged her. It had been nice too. Her curves had melted against him and she’d smelled of good things. Flowers and vanilla.
She took in two quick breaths. Trying to calm down again?
She obviously didn’t like being physical in public. Or maybe that was what her past boyfriends had been like? Speaking of which, he couldn’t remember who she’d dated. He’d have to ask later.
“Fine. We can hold hands when appropriate.”
“Agreed. What about hugging?”
“No.” Her voice was sharp. Yeah, she definitely had an ex who hadn’t liked PDAs. He nodded and raised a second finger.
“What else you got?”
“We need to figure out how we first….well…met. I don’t think saying you crashed into my table will work.”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I was naked and you were drawn to my magnetic charm. Then you dazzled me with your world saving and convinced me to join Team Toilet,” he quipped with a grin. He’d promised Via he wouldn’t flirt, but it was going to be a long three weeks if Norah kept getting freaked out every time they spoke. Plus, it was cute the way she blushed.
“Please don’t call it that,” she said, though the tightness around her mouth had faded. See. It worked.
“As a dutiful boyfriend, I will honor your request. So, where did we first meet?”
“I wash cars at my stepdad’s dealership. It’s right across the road from Sprig’s Park, and I—” She paused and her cheeks brightened. “I’ve seen you there sometimes. Jogging.”
“You have?” It caught him by surprise. He knew the dealership but couldn’t recall her being there. He tried to picture her washing cars in the middle of summer. Long legs in shorts and her T-shirt wet and clinging. His pulse spiked, and Zac regretted that they really hadn’t met like that. He might have to find out when she was working next.
“Just every now and then. So, we agree that’s how we met?”
“Works for me. Oh, and I was away camping for four weeks over the summer, so I told Myles we did the long-distance thing. You missed me terribly.”
“Don’t push it,” she said, but there was a teasing note to her voice. She was definitely relaxing.
“Thought it was too much,” he admitted. “So, what else do we need to figure out?”
“What about soccer? I’m pretty clueless. Should I research it?”
“You’d do that?” He raised an eyebrow. She’d already surprised him once by agreeing to go along with the plan, but this was just as unexpected. Most of the girls he knew didn’t have any interest in soccer either. The difference was they’d never pretended it was necessary.
“Yeah. If you think I should…”
She trailed off, her eyes wide. Tiny flecks of black ran through them, and her lashes were crazy long. She blinked, and he realized she was waiting for an answer. What was the question? Oh. Soccer rules.
“No, but thanks for offering.”
“Sure.” She dropped her gaze and bit into her lip. “What about family? It’s you and Via, and are your folks still together?”
“I’m older than Via by twenty-one minutes. That’s very important. And my parents are sickeningly together.” He frowned. “I don’t remember if you have any brothers and sisters.”
“Only child, but not for long. My mom’s pregnant. My dad left when I was six and died two years later, but she’s remarried now. To Greg,” she said in a cool voice, making it impossible to know what she thought about it.
But it sucked her dad died.
“I can remember that.” He nodded, not sure what else to say.
“Good.” She gave an efficient nod, sending her dark hair rippling forward around her face. Yup. Definitely cute. “Do you have anything you want to ask?”
“I’m more of a make it up as I go along guy,” he admitted. “We can always text if we remember something else. Speaking of which, can I have your phone?”
“Phone?”
“To give you my number,” he added as she fumbled in her messenger bag. She unlocked the screen and passed it over. He tapped in his number and then held it up to take a selfie.
“W-what are you doing?” Norah blinked.
“I’m putting a photo of your hot, hot boyfriend in there,” he said. Her face went rigid. Wow. Whoever her exes were must have been really, really uptight. No touching and no photos? He then called his own phone to capture her number before pointing the camera in her direction. “Smile.”
“Zac,” she protested. “I’m really not sure this is necessary.”
“Um, yes it is. What’s the first thing people check out? Your phone. Clearly I’m going to be the romantic one in this relationship.”
“You’re romantic?” She arched an eyebrow. “Up until yesterday your biggest claim to fame was you didn’t date.”
“I’m elusive and complicated.” He leaned back against the locker, enjoying the confusion mounting in her eyes. “It’s what you like best about me.”
She opened her mouth to protest but was interrupted by a rush of people. “We should go,” she said, and they joined the trail of students all walking to the cafeteria. To the right was the spot where Norah had been sitting with her card table. And in about five seconds she’d be his girlfriend. Next to him, she shuddered.
He tried not to read too much into it. He swallowed and turned to her. “You ready?”
“I guess,” she said, and he reached for her hand. She flinched, as if he’d jabbed her, but he tightened his grip.
“It’s appropriate,” he assured her, and she gave a reluctant nod.
Her fingers were warm against his. A surge of adrenaline pumped through him. He always performed best under pressure. When he was a kid he loved acting, and these days it was all about the big game. In a way, what he and Norah were doing was both.
He grinned, and they stepped through the doors.
Several people stopped and stared at them, and a couple held up their phones to take photos. Good. The sooner it spread, the sooner this whole mess would be sorted.
Next to him, Norah’s shoulder bumped his, and her hair brushed his sleeve. The same floral scent caught in his nose. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he liked it. He also liked that despite her nerves she was still helping him out.
“Come on,” he murmured in her ear as he led her to the table where Myles and Kennedy were sitting. “Let’s get people talking.”
5
Norah had done some questionable things over the years. There was the time she’d tried mixing peanut butter and chilies. Or when she’d begged her mom to take her on a roller coaster and had promptly thrown up. They suddenly seemed like fond memories compared to this.
“You okay?” Zac murmured in her ear, his mouth so close to her cheek that her skin prickled in response.
Define okay.
“Of course,” she said, glad his hand was still in hers. Her sneakers squeaked as she walked, and a perfume of hotdogs and ketchup hung in the air. There was a small chance she was going to throw up.
The things she did to save the world.
“Over there.” Zac leaned in, his arm grazing hers, like half the school wasn’t staring at them. For someone who’d never dated, he sure seemed to know what he was doing. Then again, it wasn’t like she had anything to compare it to.
More people held up their phones, not even trying to hide them. Fodder for their social media feeds. She glanced over to the far end of the cafeteria where she usually sat. There was a flash of pink hair, along with some dark wild curls. Norah managed a smile as she lined up at the counter. She randomly put food onto her tray, trying to ignore the churning in her stomach. She doubted she wo
uld be able to eat a thing. Once Zac had his own lunch, they walked over to the table in the center. A sea of faces turned toward them. She recognized Pete and Max and Taylor Arnold, a cheerleader. There were a couple of seniors she only knew by sight, and at the far end were Myles and Kennedy.
Myles was casually twisting a strand of Kennedy’s long copper hair around his fingers. He’d been whispering in her ear but stopped and looked over, dark eyes narrow and hard. Kennedy’s perfect face was passive, but her shoulders went stiff. It was some welcoming committee.
Zac didn’t seem to notice.
“Hey, you all know Norah, right?” He pulled out a chair for her. She would have liked the chivalry if it weren’t for the fact she was about to sit with a bunch of bloodthirsty predators.
“Sure. Chemistry last year,” Pete said. He had a pale face, hooded eyes, and thick lips that revealed a full mouth of teeth when he smiled. “You stopped some kid from blowing up the lab.”
“The perils of mistaking methanol for water,” Norah managed to say as she slipped into the seat. She dragged it forward, hoping the table would give her some protection. Zac sat in the chair to her left and angled it in so his leg was touching hers. Another jolt of heat went through her, but it helped distract her from the fact everyone was still staring.
“Yeah man, it was hilarious.” Pete thumped the table before tilting his head at her, his hooded eyes curious. “So, how long have you two been hooking up?”
Norah winced, not quite sure how to be in a world where people casually talked about relationships, but Zac shrugged.
“Over summer.”
“Kept that quiet, didn’t you?” Max leaned in and swiped a fry from his friend’s plate. Pete smacked his hand away and the fry went flying into the air and landed on the floor.
“And save Norah from having to meet you animals? Damn right I did.” Zac grinned as his leg began to bounce up and down against hers. She managed a weak smile. Tomorrow, for a bit of light relief, she might consider fire walking.
“Good call.” Pete took a swig of soda as Taylor leaned forward. She was Kennedy’s best friend and had a short black bob that clung to her heart-shaped face.
“Norah, tell us how you managed to tame Zac.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Norah had a sinking feeling Taylor had probably been one of his past flirts.
Next to her, Zac’s leg went still. She plastered on a calm smile that didn’t match her pounding heart. Panic chewed at her nerves as everyone at the table was staring at her.
“I wouldn’t say I tamed him, but he promised he’s house-trained, so I guess that’s a good start,” she said, and for several agonizing moments there was silence until Pete let out a bark of laughter, closely followed by Max. Taylor didn’t laugh, but some of the frostiness left her eyes.
“And a great kisser,” Zac added with a wink. “I do like to keep my promises.”
“You’re so full of it.” Max threw a fry at him. This one bounced off the side of his head and into Norah’s lap. Just in case she wanted this conversation to become any more surreal.
“How did you two lovebirds get together?” A cool voice came from the end of the table and everyone turned to Myles. His dark hair was swept back from his brow, and his coal-black eyes bored into her. He hadn’t shifted his position, but the long thread of Kennedy’s hair was now curled around his finger.
Norah’s mouth filled with sand. Which of course made speaking tough. She followed Zac’s advice and took in a calming breath of air before releasing it.
“She was checking me out while I was training. What can I say? I’m irresistible,” Zac cut in. The teasing lilt and the curve of his smile was infectious, and she realized that his over-the-top flirting was for a reason. To help her relax. After all, he had a lot on the line. Strangely, it lessened the building panic, and she gave a casual shrug.
“He says irresistible, I say klutz. He ran into me. Literally.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie, and it earned her another burst of laughter. The tightness in her chest lessened. She had no idea where the words had come from, but she was pleased they’d appeared, just when she needed them.
“Dude. You’ve got so much game.” Max chortled. “So, what happened then?”
“I put my spectacular moves on her,” Zac said.
Myles made a growling noise from down the other end of the table. She sucked in her breath.
“We spoke on the phone loads while he was away. That’s when I really got to know him,” she said, again amazed that she was managing to speak at all.
“Yeah,” he agreed, glancing along the table. “Though I gotta say we almost had our first fight. Not cool covering me in soda yesterday, Kennedy.”
Kennedy’s lip twitched, but she was saved from replying when Max swiped half of Taylor’s sandwich. She hit his arm and the conversation became more generalized.
“That was awesome.” Zac’s voice was in her ear, his hair brushing her skin. She knew he was only doing it to be like an attentive boyfriend, but her stomach didn’t know the difference between fake and real. It fluttered.
“You think? I wasn’t sure.”
“I am.” His voice was still low, barely audible above the chatter. “Yesterday I got shouted at and covered in soda. Today I got to walk in here completely dry, holding hands with a pretty girl. Definite improvement.”
Did he call me pretty?
She was saved from replying by the sharp sound of the bell.
Pete stood, almost knocking over the remains of his lunch as he swung his bag over his shoulder. Max punched him and was then nudged out of the way by Myles, who had strolled over until he was opposite them.
“So, Norah,” he said in a slow drawl that made her shiver. “I take it we’ll be seeing you at the party Saturday after next.”
Party?
There’d been no mention of a party.
“Oh yeah.” Pete spun around and grinned. “It’s at my house. It’s going to be huge. You miss it and life won’t be worth living. I’m serious.”
“She can’t make it,” Zac said in a calm voice, but Myles coughed, as if he didn’t believe him. His face tightened, and something twisted in her stomach.
He’d told her how important it was to get back on the team.
And I agreed to help.
Except this was getting way out of control.
“My plans have changed. I’ll definitely be there. It will be epic,” she said in a rush, as if she always went to parties with jocks and cheerleaders. And who said epic? Zac was the first to recover.
“Really? That’s great.” He gave her what she was fast calling his trademark smile. “I told you I was irresistible.”
“Norah, feel free to dump him anytime you want. Someone needs to destroy that ego,” Taylor suggested as they left the cafeteria.
“Your words wound,” Zac said in a light voice, but the gleam had left his eyes as he turned to her. “Can I walk you to your next class?”
“Um…sure,” she said as someone pushed past, sending her crashing into him. His hands shot out to catch her, and she found herself pressed against his chest. Heat radiated from him as his arms tightened around her.
Max let out a whoop of delight. “Get a room.”
“See you around, Norzac,” Pete said and let out another bark of laughter. “Norzac. Like what I did there?”
“No, because you’re an idiot,” Taylor retorted, following Myles and Kennedy out of the cafeteria. Finally Zac let her go, and she took an unsteady step away from him.
“Bye, Norzac,” Pete called out from halfway across the room.
Norah grimaced. “Please tell me they didn’t give us a moniker?”
“Yup. I guess it’s official, Norah Richmond,” he said as he captured her hand and held it up like a victory punch. “We’re dating.”
xxxx
“Then what did he say?” Piper demanded, bouncing up and down in her chair, despite the fact Norah had already told her every detail throughout
the last two periods of the day. “Then what? Then what?”
“Who cares what he said?” Gareth put down the flyers he’d been carefully folding in half. His tangled hair covered his eyes, but his mouth was set in a scowl. “It’s fake, people, fake.”
“Yes, thank you, Gareth. We never would have remembered without your constant public service announcements.” Piper turned on him, silver eyes stern. “Between the three of us, we’ve had a total of zero romances, so excuse me for getting all the details in case I ever need them.”
Norah, who’d been writing on the whiteboard in the library study room, put down the marker and walked over to Gareth.
“You seem wound up.”
He ran a hand through his wild curls. “I’m fine. I just don’t see why Zac Mackenzie gets to swoop in here and rile everyone up.”
“The only one riled is you.” Piper flicked her hair back, and Norah put her hands into a T shape. She’d been giving her friends time outs since sixth grade. It didn’t stop them bickering, but it cooled them down.
“I’m not riled.” Gareth growled and crossed his legs. It was somewhat ruined by the Garfield socks poking out from underneath his stovepipe jeans.
She’d caught up with him after English and thought she’d managed to explain it all to him. Obviously not well enough.
“He’s already got us one big donation, and it’s not like people are knocking down the door to volunteer.” Norah held up her arms to demonstrate the empty study room.
“Yes, but you’re selling your soul, Norah.”
She flinched. “Hey, no souls are being sold. Think of it as an exchange of services.”
“With tongues,” Piper interjected.
“No tongues,” she said firmly. Which was for the best. Hand holding and leg touching were already playing havoc with her crush. She’d probably go into nuclear meltdown if there was kissing.
“I still don’t like it. And where is Mr. Hotshot?”
“He’s running a few minutes late.” She glanced at her phone. She’d quickly learned Zac was a serial texter. In the last two hours he’d sent her fifteen messages, some saying hi, some asking what YouTube channels she watched, and one random one telling her his history teacher had mustard on his tie.
