"Maybe." She smiled again, but it seemed like she was trying too hard to look happy. She sat back in her chair. "What time is the dance over?"
"Midnight."
"Then you should be able to make it home by what, 1:00?" She sipped her orange juice.
Surprised, but grateful for the extra hour added to my curfew, I hesitated before I asked, "Could we extend it a little?"
She set her glass down and looked at me. "Why?"
"Nate has something special planned after the dance. He actually asked if I could stay out all night."
"What did you tell him?" Mom studied me, waiting for my answer.
"That I have a curfew."
After several moments of silence, she finally said, "2:00?"
"Thanks." I got up and reached over to give her a hug. "I'll be home safe and sound by 2:00." I left the kitchen, happy that she'd agreed to let me go, but unable to silence the annoying voice in my head that reminded me of all the times my mom had been right.
I sat in math class while chubby Mr. Dodd talked about quadangles or quadrapiles or quad-somethings. The thick, stale air in the classroom sat on my shoulders while the girls behind me whispered about prom. Of course, they didn't include me in any of their conversations. They'd made it more than clear that I was considered an outsider and wasn't part of their clique. I'd long-since stopped caring.
Kind of.
Besides, I had Erin. And Nate.
My mind began to wander to a much more interesting subject. I doodled on my notebook while imagining prom night. The music. A thousand lights twinkling above us. Nate dressed up in his black, form-fitting tux with a smile that ignited my heart. He'd pull me close to him, holding me tight, bathing me in his musky cologne. We'd sway to the music, losing ourselves in the rhythm and beat, with the warmth of his face next to mine—
"We'll begin the test now." Mr. Dodd's girly voice broke into my thoughts.
Test? Did he say test? Awesome.
I sat at my desk, shaking my head and berating myself for thinking about the dance instead of boring math. I turned around and asked Jasmine, the girl behind me, "What did he say the test was on?"
"Chapter twenty-two. And he said it was open book," she whispered.
"Really?" I hoped I'd heard her right.
She nodded.
After the test paper came to me, I opened up my book looking for the answer. Suddenly, a presence hovered over me. I looked up into Mr. Dodd's red face.
"Miss Scott, how can you be so brazen?"
"Huh?"
"Cheating. Right out in the open. That takes guts." He glared at me.
"But—"
"Close your book." He grabbed the test paper from me. "You have received a zero."
"I thought—"
"I don't care what you thought. Cheating is not allowed in my classroom. Ever."
I glanced back at Jasmine who flashed a you-are-such-an-idiot-for-thinking-I'd-ever-help-you grin.
"Miss Scott. You are invited to leave the classroom at once."
I slammed my book shut and shoved it in my bag. I was livid that he'd accused me of cheating, but it was a waste of time to explain what had happened. For whatever reason, Jasmine had set me up. She hated me and so did her little posse. I stood abruptly and yanked my bag from my desk then hurried out the door, determined not to let her get to me. I failed.
Tears of humiliation snaked down my cheeks as I made my way to a large boulder right outside the school entrance. School policy required that I keep up my grades in order to perform in the play. With a zero on that test, my chances of getting cut from the play were even higher now. Between Mr. Jordan and the school policy, it was entirely possible that I'd never play Marjorie on stage. I let out a groan of frustration.
I laid my head back, allowing the afternoon spring sunshine to warm my face as I dreamed of the day I'd graduate and move on to college. Girls had to be nicer in college, didn't they? I stayed outside until the bell rang.
Finally.
I had rehearsal and then it would be the weekend.
And prom.
As I came back into the building, I spotted Erin down the hall and rushed over to her.
She eyed me with suspicion. "Why were you coming from the front of the school?"
"I got kicked out of math."
Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "Why?"
I licked my lips, still upset about what had happened. "I was caught cheating on my math test."
"You? No way."
I nodded.
Erin blinked a few times. "But, you don't cheat. Or lie. Or disobey your parents. You don't party. You don't even cuss. And you definitely don't—"
"Are you done?"
Erin smiled.
I pulled at her arm and we started down the hall toward her locker.
"So what happened?" Erin asked.
"Jasmine told me it was an open book test. Except it wasn't." I narrowed my eyes. "I can't believe she got me kicked out of math. I wanted to slap her."
"Why didn't you?" Erin asked with a smile.
I gave her a look. "I just don't understand why she hates me so much. I've never done anything to her."
"That's easy."
I stopped walking. "What do you mean?"
"Nate."
"What? She hates me because of Nate?"
We huddled together as we started walking again. "They were together last year. Well, together would be a nice term. More like hooking up. A lot."
"Do you mean—?"
"Yes. She was all about Nate during the summer and when we started school, but he didn't want her anymore. Guess he'd had enough. She's been mad about it all year and anyone he's dated since then has gotten the Jasmine treatment."
The air rushed out of me like a popped balloon. Will he dump me like he did Jasmine and the rest of the girls he's dated? Does he even care about me?
"And you didn't think I should know this before now?"
Erin waved a hand. "Jasmine is ancient history. All that matters now is you and Nate. Don't worry about her."
"But—"
"Really. Nate's into you. Forget about her."
Much easier said than done.
We stopped at her locker. "I'm so excited for tomorrow night." She did a little dance. "We are going to have such a great time."
I was still a little worried about Nate's expectations, but decided I was probably overreacting—something I did regularly. He'd never done anything to make me think he wouldn't respect my limits at prom so I had no reason to think he'd suddenly change tomorrow night. I smiled. "Yeah, it'll be fun."
Erin opened her locker. "Jordan cancelled rehearsal today."
I jerked my head up. Jordan rarely cancelled rehearsal. "Why?"
"Don't know. The callboard just said rehearsal was cancelled." Erin pulled out a book. "Everyone is exhausted, though. And it's prom tomorrow night. Maybe his chest isn't completely void of a heart after all and he wanted to give us a break since we start late rehearsals next week." Erin gave a sarcastic laugh.
I was relieved we didn't have rehearsal, so I could avoid any forthcoming yelling about my zero on the math test for a few days. Confrontation wasn't my favorite thing.
Erin shut her locker and then flipped her hair behind her shoulders. "Let's celebrate by going to the mall. We can get everything we need to beautify ourselves for our hot dates. You should spend the night at my house afterwards."
I gave her a look.
"Really." She held her hand up. "The truth. We'll sleep at my house. Nothing else."
"Okay. I'll call my mom to see if it's okay."
Erin rolled her eyes. "I need to catch Mrs. Harrison before she leaves and talk to her about my ceramics project. Do you wanna wait?"
I shook my head. "I have a car today so I'll meet you at your house."
Erin walked down the hall so I strolled over to the parking lot only to find the reporter guy waiting by my car. As I got closer, my pulse quickened. I'd never been interview
ed before, and the idea terrified me—I didn't want to sound like a loser.
He stood straighter when he noticed me. "Hi." His voice was like warm honey.
"Hi."
"I'm Alec."
I gave a slight nod. "Crystal."
We stood in silence for a few moments. I tried to persuade my nerves to settle down, but they sizzled throughout my body. I mentally yelled at myself for noticing how attractive he was in his dark jeans and gray t-shirt. A t-shirt that hugged his biceps. And his pecs.
I tilted my head to the right. "This is my car."
He smiled and my stomach flipped. "I know. I wanted to meet you."
I cleared my throat. "For your article on the play? You're a reporter for the school paper, right?"
"Um, yeah." He jerked his head to the side and knocked his wavy, black hair away from his forehead.
"Is that why you've been following me?" I didn't want to stare, but I'd never seen such blue eyes before. Cobalt blue. And there was more. His eyes were so clear, so full of depth. Mesmerizing.
"I wondered if we could talk for a little while."
I tore my gaze from his and glanced at my watch. "Right now?" I told my heart to calm down—after all, he was a reporter. That was all. Whatever I felt was nerves, nothing else. Definitely not attraction. At. All.
"If now works for you."
He peered at me, as if searching my soul. His eyes were hypnotic. So much so that I didn't notice when someone walked up.
"What's going on here?" Nate demanded.
I took a few steps back, trying to distance myself from Alec and his eyes, dark lashes, strong jaw, and full lips. Especially the full lips. His lips? What am I thinking? Why am I noticing this guy at all? Focus on Nate—my boyfriend. My. Boyfriend. I turned to face Nate.
"Nothing." My voice sounded weak.
Nate moved toward Alec. "Doesn't look like nothing." Alec didn't step back, even though Nate was a few inches taller and more intimidating with his narrowed eyes and clenched jaw.
I pulled at Nate's arm. "It's nothing. He's a reporter from the school paper. He wants to interview me about the play." Nate's jealousy fascinated me. I'd never seen him, or any other guy, act this way over me. Of course, it wasn't like guys had ever flocked to me. A gangly, awkward, invisible girl wasn't exactly a guy magnet. And yet, here were two guys arguing about talking to me. Me. So weird.
Nate looked Alec up and down. "The school paper? Is that right?"
Alec nodded, keeping his gaze fixed on Nate. Unflinching. "I wanted to talk to her for a few minutes, if you don't mind." Sarcasm lingered over his words.
Nate frowned. "We have plans."
"We do?" I asked.
"Yeah." He didn't even glance at me.
"I must've forgotten." I gave a faint smile. We had no plans, but I didn't want to embarrass Nate in front of Alec by saying so. I felt like a useless ragdoll tossed between two snarling dogs, unable to do anything but watch.
Nate stepped next to me and glued himself to my side. "She'll have to talk to you later."
"Is that what you want to do?" Alec asked me.
I swallowed hard, trying to keep my gaze away from his eyes. "Yeah."
"You got a problem with your hearing?" Nate snapped. I could see a vein starting to bulge in his neck, and I was scared he might punch Alec. And for no good reason. What was going on? With Nate? With the Alec guy? Was I in an alternate reality?
Alec glared at Nate without blinking.
"I can answer your questions later," I said, hoping Nate would back down and we could leave. I hated scenes—especially when I didn't even understand why there was a scene at all.
"When?" Alec's gaze captured mine, and time stopped for a moment. My cheeks throbbed. I wanted to look away, but I was powerless to do anything but stare at him.
"Crystal?" Nate said, breaking the spell.
I shifted my attention back to him. "It's only an interview, Nate. No big deal. Right?" I said, refusing to chance interlocking my eyes with Alec's again.
"Right." Alec's voice slid into my ears, warming them.
I yanked at Nate's arm. "Come on."
"I don't like this," Nate said as we walked toward his truck
"You're overreacting." I noted the irony of our reversed roles since I was the reigning queen of overreactions.
"And you believe everyone only has good intentions. That guy's after you."
I reached up and touched Nate's cheek. "He's doing an article. Nothing else. No need to worry." I tried to convince myself of the same thing, but the crackling at the edge of my mind told me there was much more.
I followed Nate toward his truck, but couldn't help glancing over my shoulder. Alec was still watching us.
Nate opened the door of his truck. He turned back to me. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I acted that way. I didn't mean to . . . but that guy is into you."
I shook my head. "He wants to interview me for the newspaper. That's all."
He reached out and grabbed my hands, caressing my fingers. "Of course, I don't blame him, but . . ."
"But what?"
"You're my girl. Right?" He peered at me with intensity in his brown eyes—an intensity I didn't quite understand.
"Yes."
"Come on, I'll take you home." He seemed bothered by something more than Alec, but I didn't know what.
"I have a car, remember?" I reminded him. "Besides, I'm meeting Erin at her house so we can go to the mall together."
"Then I'll take you to Erin's," he said.
"I can drive—"
"Please? Come with me," he pleaded, a look of vulnerability in his eyes. He reached out and pushed a wisp of hair from my face. "Please?"
Sometimes, I was putty in his hands. "All right. I'll have Erin bring me back later to get my car."
I climbed into his truck, and we drove the few miles to Erin's house in silence, a storm cloud hanging between us. When he stopped the truck I said, "What's wrong?"
He took a few breaths then turned to me. "I lost my scholarship to CSU. Some stupid paperwork error. They said they were sorry, but the bottom line is that I don't have a scholarship anymore." He cradled his head in his hands.
"Oh, no. I'm sorry." I reached out and laid my hand on his back, disappointment pooling inside me.
"I've planned my life around going to CSU." He shook his head. "It doesn't make sense. How could they offer me a scholarship and then take it back? That's not right." He hit the steering wheel so hard it vibrated, reminding me how strong he was.
Note to self: never get on Nate's bad side.
"I'm sure something will work out." It sounded lame, but I didn't know what else to say to comfort him or to help him. I was no good at this girlfriend thing.
"I counted on that scholarship. Without it, I'm not sure what I'll do. All my plans to live with Charlie and study computer engineering are ruined." His thick voice betrayed his emotions.
I touched his cheek, hoping the gesture would communicate that I shared his frustration and confusion. How could a college get his hopes up like that and then smash them? So unfair.
He turned his face and kissed my palm. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
I wished I could take the hurt away and make it all better.
He grabbed my hand and held it tight in his. "I don't want anyone to come between us. I need you." He hesitated for a moment, and then in a soft voice said, "I love you, Crystal."
I was taken aback. Shocked. Stunned. Excited. Scared. Nate had never said the L-word to me. I wasn't sure how to respond, so I said nothing.
He traced the outline of my lips with his finger. "I've never felt this way before. About anyone."
I opened my mouth to respond, but he placed his finger across it. "You don't have to say anything."
I'd never been in this situation before and I didn't want to say the same words unless I meant them. And I wasn't sure that I would. Love? Besides, after what Erin had told me about him having so many girlfriends, I wonde
red how many he'd said the same thing to. Or was I the first one? Did he really love me?
He caressed my cheek and then started to gently kiss me. His soft, warm lips traveled from my mouth to my neck, making it erupt in millions of goosebumps sensitive to every touch of his lips. He moved back to my mouth and ran his fingers through my hair, kissing me deeper and more intensely. My heart thumped against my lungs, making it difficult to breathe. To think.
Maybe he really cared about me, even loved me. Maybe it was different with me than it had been with other girls. I wanted to show him that I cared about him so I continued to kiss him, allowing the passion inside me to build and grow—giving in to the emotions churning within me. The more we kissed, the more I realized that maybe I loved him back. Maybe he was right. I needed to loosen up.
We moved closer to each other in the truck. I didn't care who might see us because all I wanted was to feel his lips on mine and to kiss him longer and deeper. Without stopping. Thoughts I'd never considered floated through my mind, urging me to keep kissing him. More and more and more.
He slid his hand under my shirt and caressed my back with his warm fingers. My skin devoured his touch.
I wanted to—
Suddenly a car engine sounded outside. I jumped back against my seat trying to regain my composure and control my thoughts. I ran my fingers through my hair.
What am I thinking? Doing?
A dark feeling enveloped me as I realized how passionate we'd become in such a short time. I'd let my emotions cloud my actions. A strange sensation radiated through me, like something had been sucked out of me.
"What's wrong?" Nate leaned in to kiss me again.
"Erin just drove up." I turned and grabbed the door handle. "I need to go."
"But—"
"I'll see you tomorrow night." I opened the door. "Thanks for bringing me to Erin's."
Nate gave me a half-smile. I leaped out of his truck and watched him drive away, still trying to calm my frenzied heartbeat and fractured thoughts.
As Erin walked up to me, she asked, "Everything okay?"
I cleared my throat. "Yeah." I'd never experienced that kind of passion before, and it scared me. Terrified me. Maybe Nate wasn't the one I needed to worry about at prom. Maybe it was me. I'd never felt like this about any other guy, and maybe I didn't actually have the self-control I thought I did.
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