by Keelan Storm
“Whatever, Jet. I’m fine,” she retorted, frustrated at how difficult climbing in and out of the confined area had become. She felt like a freaking sardine.
“You’re sure about that?” he asked with doubtful sarcasm.
She paused to look up at him in detest. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“Do you want some help, love?” Tucker asked, extending his hand towards her.
“No, I don’t want any help!” she snapped. “What do they think I am, crippled?” she thought, frustrated. They had walked out to find Tucker’s truck with a flat, and since her own truck was in the shop, cramming into Jet’s smaller car was the only option.
She gripped the headrest of the front seat and the side of the car and managed to set one foot on the pavement of the parking lot, carefully angling her body while she pulled against the car to her freedom. “There. See? No problem,” she remarked in self-satisfaction. She straightened her shirt and adjusted the clip that held her hair.
The three friends exchanged looks, but none of them said a thing. It was obvious Izzy was not in the mood for constructive advice.
“How is this gonna work once Destiny is here?” Annie asked as she pulled Izzy’s bag from the car, handed it to her, and shut the door.
“How’s what gonna work?” Jet asked.
“Us all fitting in the same car when we go somewhere together.”
“Uh, my truck,” Tucker replied.
“That and I’ll need to get a car. Since you’ll be taking the truck to college next year,” Izzy added at her sister’s exasperated look. “I can’t just rely on carpooling with Tucker or Mom all the time.”
It was a little upsetting to think about. She loved her and Annie’s truck, but she had to be reasonable. She had so much to be reasonable about now.
Tucker rubbed at the back of his neck as his forehead creased. How were they going to pull this one off? He was already working as much as he could handle with school, and next year he’d be even busier with basketball. His checks seemed decent enough now, but there was still so much they had to buy for the baby, and Destiny sure as hell wasn’t going to be cheap when she got here.
“Damn, and I thought we had all the hard stuff figured out.”
Jet clapped Tucker on the back of his shoulder. “Dude, calm down. It’s gonna be fine. You’ll figure it out.”
Tucker rolled his eyes. Sure, it was easy for Jet to say.
For a split second, he wished his friend had a baby on the way so that he’d know what it felt like to have the weight of the world, your small, early family’s well being, held on your shoulders.
“I bet Jet wouldn’t be so calm and collected all the time then.”
He quickly dismissed the thought, though. That was cruel. Jet was just being Jet, and, as much as Tucker loved his daughter, he wouldn’t wish his situation on anybody who didn’t want it. Hell, probably not even on someone who did want it at their age.
Isabel reached up and gave his upper arm a reassuring squeeze as they reached the back of the ticket line. “Don’t worry, Tuck. I think I’ve got it covered. I’ll just have to price around.”
They all looked at her, surprised and curious. “What do you mean you’ve got it covered?” Tucker hedged.
“I’ve got some money put away. I do work every summer.”
“Yeah, babysitting,” Jet retorted.
“And we’ve all been working summers since we turned sixteen, Izzy,” Annie added. “And I think we can all agree that we’re nowhere near having buying a car covered.”
“What? Do y’all think our parents have been paying me in pennies the past four years? Not two, Annie. I’ve been working since fourteen remember? It adds up.”
“How much does it add up to?” Tucker asked curiously. Maybe he’d been overstressing for nothing.
Isabel did her best to answer as casually as possible, but she felt the heat rush to her cheeks as she anticipated their reactions.
“About thirteen thousand.”
Jet’s eyes bugged, Tucker coughed in surprise, and Annie cried, “What?!”
She felt her blush darken as she continued. “It would be more, but Annie and I bought the truck, and I’ve had to pay for gas and stuff. I try not to spend too much…” She let her voice trail away at the end and shrugged.
“Thirteen thousand and you’re worried about pricing around!?” Annie commented through the shock. She knew Izzy had money in the savings, but she had no idea it was even close to that much.
“Well, I don’t want to spend all of it, obviously.”
“And this whole time I thought you were babysitting because you loved kids and wanted to help our parents, but you’ve really just been in it for the money,” Jet teased, giving Annie’s waist a reassuring squeeze as she tensed with their nearby classmates stares.
Isabel shot him a look. “I do love kids, Jet, and I was helping out our parents.”
“Sure you were,” he winked. “How much were they paying you anyway?”
“Three hundred per kid each month and about one hundred each over Christmas breaks. And it was a good deal, Jet,” she added before he could argue. “I was making less than minimum wage if you figure up the number of hours I worked.”
“And three hundred a month is cheaper than actual daycare?” Tucker asked incredulously, trying not to worry about whether they’d ever have to send Destiny.
“Much,” Izzy assured them.
They let the subject drop when they reached the front of the line, showing their passes. Izzy went on through as Jet paid for Annie and Tucker to get in. No sooner had they stepped through the entrance to the field did they hear an excited squeal and clicking of heels rushing towards them.
“You’re here!” Emma gushed as she ran up to them in her baby blue dress.
Holding up her hands to prevent collision, Annie gaped when she noticed the matching three-inch heels their over keyed-up friend was running in. “Whoa, Ems. Slow down,” she said worriedly.
“Sorry, I’m just so excited. And nervous…Oh, Annie! You look gorgeous!” Emma cried, finally slowing enough to take in her friend’s appearance. “Oh, you look so much better than me. You’re so going to win.”
“Emma, everyone already voted at school today. What we look like tonight has nothing to do with it. Besides, you look great, too.”
She ran her hands over the lace bodice of her dress covered in crystals that carried through the flowing layers of tulle of her skirt. “You really think so?” she asked nervously, looking herself over.
Annie was doing her best not to laugh. It was hard to imagine why homecoming queen was such a big deal, but as she watched her friend fret over the mundane ceremony, she had no problem sobering, hoping that someone who really did want the title would win. She couldn’t speak for Beverly, but God knew she certainly didn’t want it.
“Absolutely, Ems,” Isabel assured her during Annie’s silent contemplation. “Your dress is amazing. It really brings out your eyes. Ian’s going to love you in it.”
Emma groaned and dropped her head into her hands. “Ugh…no, he won’t.”
“What? Are you insane?” Isabel asked. “Of course he will. Won’t he, guys?” she said, looking from Tucker to Jet for help in reassuring their inexplicably distressed friend.
Jet and Tucker exchanged a look. “Is it safe to complement another girl on her looks?” they wondered, the word trap flashing at them in warning.
“Definitely, Emma. You look great,” Tucker encouraged, deciding if Izzy was the one giving the go ahead, it was safer for him to make the move.
Emma groaned into her hands again but looked up. “No, you don’t get it. Ian won’t think that because he won’t ever get the chance to see me tonight.”
“I’m not following,” Annie replied.
“He called me a few minutes before he was supposed to pick me up. He’s sick with some kind of stomach bug. He sounded awful,” she finished, sounding crushe
d.
“Well, that sucks.” Even she understood that walking the homecoming ceremony alone would be humiliating.
“Tell me about it,” Emma continued. “And he didn’t exactly leave me much time to find a replacement, ugh… What am I going to do?!”
Jet had been staring over towards the locker rooms, knowing he should be heading in that direction when a familiar form approached the locker room doors in perfect timing with Emma’s distress.
A calculative smile appeared on his lips, and he turned to Tucker, who amusingly seemed to be thinking the same thing. The two nodded in conspiratorial agreement before Jet spoke.
“Don’t worry about it, Ems. Tucker and I know just the guy.”
“Really? Who?” she asked in a tone that was so hopeful and relieved that Jet prayed she wouldn’t be disappointed when she found out who it was. She hadn’t really shown much interest before, but that was all the more reason for what he and Tucker were about to do.
“I don’t have time to explain now. Gotta go change. But don’t worry. Really. Tucker and I’ll make sure it’s taken care of,” he said with a grin and leaned over to give Annie a quick kiss. “You look great, sweetheart. I’ll see you at halftime. Look for the sexy guy in the uniform,” he finished in a whisper that only Annie could hear before giving her a wink and running off, leaving her to smile pleasantly to herself.
“You know who he’s talking about, Tuck?” Isabel asked once Jet was gone.
“Yeah, I’m sure Jet’s gone off to ask him now.” Tucker grinned mischievously. He knew exactly why Jet was evading that particular question, and he wasn’t stupid enough to be the one to give the girls a straightforward answer.
“So, he’s in football?” Emma asked, hungrily taking in the one clue the guys seemed willing to give her.
“Yeah.”
“But, what if he says no?”
Tucker chuckled. “Oh, I don’t think you have to worry about that.”
Emma sighed. “Well, at least I don’t have to worry about my escort not being dressed right. Jet’s going to be in uniform, too. You’re sure this guy will do it?” she asked one last time.
“Relax, Ems. We’re taking care of it.”
“Alright,” she agreed, clearly not as appeased as she’d like to be. “Thanks.”
“No prob. You wanna hear some good news?”
“Yeah, sure. Anything to get my mind off the ceremony. I’m about to go crazy with nerves. Especially since you won’t tell me who’s going to escort me.”
Isabel felt Tucker squeeze her elbow and realized what he was hinting at. She was glad he had thought of it. It wouldn’t be right to keep Emma out of the loop again. She had been such a good friend. She held up her left hand where Emma could see the ring and watched as she had a very different reaction than Annie.
“Oh my Gosh!” the excited blonde squealed, hopping up and down in her heels. “You’re engaged?!”
“Shhh…Emma, chill,” Tucker hissed, his eyes wide with surprise at her reaction. “Not so loud.”
“Why?!” she asked, still squealing, but a little softer now. “Don’t you want to tell everyone?!”
“Of course we do,” Isabel said, dropping her hand quickly to try to avoid curious eyes from catching on, “but not until we’ve told our families.”
Emma stopped hopping and looked at them, perplexed. “You haven’t told your families yet?”
Annie grinned. “Nope. They find out tomorrow. You’re in the circle of trust now.”
A slow smile spread wide across their small friend’s face, her eyes beginning to mist. “Oh, you guys…” That was all she got out before she jumped up and wrapped them all in a hug.
26
Homecoming
After Izzy had left to meet the dance team in the girls’ locker rooms, Tucker walked with Annie and Emma over to the stands and had to stop several times on the way for their friends to complement the girls and wish them luck.
He joined in with some lighthearted banter about how strange it was to see Annie in a dress, and when he overheard someone suggest it probably would have been Izzy if she hadn’t been knocked up, Tucker chose not to comment, thankful that neither of the girls had overheard. It was likely true after all, and he wasn’t in the mood to cause a scene.
Eventually, the girls left to find their seats with the rest of the homecoming court, and Tucker worked his way through the stands. He stopped to chat with some of the guys from track, but after a few minutes, he told them he’d catch up with them later. He had something to attend to before the game started.
After making a quick stop by the announcer’s box to update them on the name change in the homecoming ceremony that Emma was still hilariously clueless about, he searched the still growing crowd for any friends he might join.
He caught sight of his family a few rows down from the top, a couple sections over. He waved when his mother’s eyes caught his and made his way down the steep, metal stairs as quickly as possible without knocking into anyone.
Since most of his main friends were on the football team, he’d normally find somewhere to sit with Annie and Emma, which was often with some of their track friends, Emma’s volleyball friends, or near a guy the tiny blonde might be crushing on. But since the girls were both required to sit with the court tonight, and the stands were going to be overly packed for the big game, he figured he’d go sit with their families for a change.
He ran into a few more people from school on his way over, stopping to talk for several minutes to each one of them, except for one group of girls who were doing a poor job in their attempt to flirt and convince him to sit with them. Uninterested and annoyed, he walked off, not wanting to do anything that might encourage them. He and Izzy had been together for six months now, and they were deluded if they hadn’t figured out that his heart was off the market yet.
When he finally made it over, it was just in time for the national anthem. After going through all the pregame traditions, he settled down on the bench next to Tyler and Chris, joining in their conversations between plays. They did catch his attention during one play in the second quarter when they started pointing and snickering in Tabitha’s direction.
He turned to see what the big deal was and saw her smiling shyly over at the neighboring section. Checking it out, he saw a boy turning his head back down towards the field and was glad Jet wasn’t there to comment, remembering how he had been when the twins told him his little sister liked a boy. Tucker wanted to agree with the twins that Jet had overreacted but couldn’t truthfully, knowing he wouldn’t like it if his sisters wanted to get dressed up for a movie with a boy either, group thing or not.
Tabitha continued to send shy looks in the boy’s direction throughout the game. Between plays and their younger siblings’ chatter, Tucker scrutinized the boy for his friend. He’d expect Jet to do the same for his sisters.
He could have sworn he knew the kid from somewhere and racked his brain to place the face, but it wasn’t until he saw a familiar afro come up the steps and squeeze into the row next to him that he realized it was Cory Peter’s younger brother.
He smirked to himself and wondered what Jet would think of that as he turned his attention back to the field to watch rest of the game, yelling with enthusiasm each time the Sharks scored.
* * *
When it was time for the game to start, Isabel followed the dance team out to the field but waited on the track while the rest of the team lined up for the football players’ entrance. She understood why she wasn’t directly involved with everything anymore, but she still hated it. What was the point of being on the dance team if she couldn’t dance? At least, she still had her winter recital with Leo coming up before dancing was truly on an extended hiatus.
The only positive thing she could think about being on the sidelines was that she was still warm in her jacket while the rest of her teammates were freezing their butts off on the field. It had been chilly that after
noon with Tucker on the beach, but the frigid December air was expected to drop into the low forties past sunset.
She was a little happier once the game started, knowing that she’d at least be able to participate in the team cheering up here in the stands - even if the atmosphere most of her teammates presented her with was nearly as cold as the weather.
Several of the girls on the team were uncomfortable with the fact that she was pregnant and pretty much steered clear of her. That wasn’t such a big deal, but there was a good handful of them that were not afraid to express how disgusted they were that Isabel had managed to take Tucker off the market entirely, along with sticking him with a baby that could potentially ‘screw up his game.’
That was fine, though. She could handle it. Most of those girls had been out with Tucker before or wished they had. She chalked it up to jealousy and took a seat with Casey and Dinah, two of the few team members who were still on good terms with her.
Between cheering, the two asked her questions about the baby, and they took turns chatting about the guys that had given them their mum for the Homecoming game, a tradition Isabel and Annie hadn’t bothered with. Isabel because she insisted Tucker not waste his much needed money on the overly priced flower with ribbons, and Annie because she found them annoying.
When halftime approached, they lined up on the track for their part of the show. Isabel stepped off to the side as she had before the game began but was tugged back to the line as Casey and Dinah caught sight of the Homecoming court.
They gushed with her over Annie’s new look until it was time for them to head out, and Isabel leaned back against the railing to watch the show, giving Annie and Emma a smile and a wave. Jet and Emma’s mystery escort weren’t with them yet. She felt her curiosity prickle. Who could the guys have gotten? Emma was pretty and tons of fun to be around. It could be anyone.
* * *
