I should’ve said that to him. It would’ve wiped that grin right off his ridiculously handsome face — but I didn’t. Instead, I harrumphed and slid off the rock formation to put my guitar back in its case.
“Where are you going?” He followed, standing tall over me as I latched the case closed.
“Home.”
I strode purposely toward the sidewalk. The bus would be by any minute. In about a half hour, I could be back in my room, writing a new song inspired by my sudden loathing for motorcycles and the men who drove them.
“Wait, wait, wait.” Collin cut off my path and held up his hands. “You’re not seriously leaving? Why?”
“You showed up late. Tore apart my song before you’ve even heard it. And it’s dinner time, so I’m starving. Three perfectly good reasons for a girl like me to go home.”
I went to step around him, but he cut me off again.
“Listen, it’s not my fault I’m late. Coach kept us after. We play Silver Lake on Friday. He showed us some reels of their best plays.”
Pursing my lips, I tilted my head to one side and gave him a passive stare. “Fine. You get a pass for that one.”
“And I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, Audrey.” An apologetic smile curled his lips and his dark eyes sparkled. “I’ll behave better from now on, I swear.”
Before I could stop him, he’d grabbed my free hand and lifted it toward him. For a mad second, I thought he was going to kiss it like Leo did to Kate in Titanic. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. It was only one of my top ten favorite romance scenes of all time. For Collin to reenact that, in Kenwood Park of all places, was both thrilling and scary. I felt my eyes grow wide with panic as he held tight to my trembling hand.
“Are we okay?” he asked, his gaze boring into mine.
My arm was tingling as if the blood supply had been cut off at the shoulder. I nodded my head like a Bobble Head doll on a dashboard and quickly pulled my hand out of his grip. I didn’t like the effect he was having on me. If he could get me to forgive him this easily, he could get nearly anything out of me. He was probably used to that. Girls fell at his feet.
“It’s fine,” I said, cutting my gaze to the yellow platform sandals I’d worn today. They were a good distraction from the chocolate brown eyes currently gazing at my face. “And it is a love song, but maybe it could use a little more romance. I just wasn’t sure how to make it better.”
Never in this life or the next was I going to admit to Collin that he could be right. However, I wasn’t above compromise. If he thought our love song needed more romance, then I could give a little. I only hoped that Mrs. Banks could somehow sense how much I was trying to make this partnership thing work. She’d better give me extra credit. I deserved an A+ in all of my music classes this year.
Collin shoved his hands in his front jean pockets and shrugged. “Honestly, I think you did the best you could. I mean, how is someone who’s never been kissed supposed to write about love? It’s just not realistic.”
My gaze snapped up to his face while my jaw nearly dislocated. Was he serious? Was he really going to hold my regretful bathhouse confession against me? Collin gave me an innocent little blip of a grin and turned on his heels to stride toward his motorcycle.
Now it was my turn to run after him as I lugged my guitar along and cut him off. He slid to a sudden stop when I spread my fingers on his chest and growled. “That’s awfully judgmental of you. Just because I’ve never kissed a guy doesn’t mean I can’t write a love song.”
“Does it?” He smirked. “I’m assuming if you’ve never been kissed, you’ve probably also never been in love.”
“I...uh...” This wasn’t how I’d expected this conversation to go. Or any conversation with Collin, for that matter. “That’s personal.”
“Sure. Well, if you don’t want to work together on this, then I can just leave.”
He looked down at my hand still on his chest and I felt my cheeks heat. I hadn’t realized I was still touching him. Tearing my arm away, I grabbed ahold of my guitar with both hands and glared up at him.
“No, I’ve never been in love, mister know-it-all,” I said. “If it’s so important to know, have you?”
He laughed and rubbed a hand on the back of his head. “Mister know-it-all? Are we still in third grade?”
I pointed my finger at him. “Answer the question.”
The humor faded from his face and he fixed me with a steady gaze. “I can’t fall in love.”
A laugh croaked from my throat. “You can’t fall in love? Are you serious? How do you know?”
“Let’s just say, that kind of thing doesn’t run in my family. It’s never going to happen for me.” He shrugged and then frowned. “So don’t go falling in love with me, okay? You’ll only get hurt.”
I snorted and turned away, so thrown by the direction this conversation had taken that I couldn’t put two words together. Me? Fall in love with him? As if. Maybe that would’ve been a problem, if he hadn’t been the world’s cockiest, most infuriating specimen of the entire male species.
“Hey, hey, hey.” Collin encircled me, coming to a stop in my path and throwing me a grin that held a hint of cockiness. “Don’t you worry, raccoon girl. I’ve got plenty of other experience that should help us write this song.”
I wasn’t sure why, but my face flushed with heat at his words and I couldn’t help but avert my eyes. Those kinds of conversations seemed better suited for the locker room. Or late at night at a girls’ sleep over. Not in Kenwood Park with Rock Valley’s star quarterback. It was unsettling.
“Look, the bus is going to be here any minute,” I said, still avoiding his eyes. “Maybe we should pick this up again later.”
The way the palms of my hands were starting to sweat was a good sign that I needed to get out of there and far away from those seductive brown eyes. Keeping my eyes on the ground, I began to move toward the bus stop, forcing my feet to move slower than the all-out sprint that they desired.
“You know, if you want to fix that little problem of yours, I’d be happy to help,” he called.
I had no clue what he was talking about. Against my better judgement, I paused my retreat and turned to look at him. “What problem?”
“Your kissing problem.” He gave me a wide-mouthed grin and then his gaze flicked to my mouth. I felt heat rise from my face as he took a step closer. “I hear there’s a cure, and I might just have it.”
Nerves bounced around my stomach like a pinball at the arcade. There was no way. Not in this lifetime or the next, would I take Collin up on his offer. Not even for the performance. He was officially crazy.
“It’s not a fatal disease and I don’t need your help.”
“Are you sure?” He tilted his head to the side. “Seems fatal to me.”
“Maybe to you and...your kind.” I cringed at my choice of words, but it was too late to take them back.
“My kind?” His eyes crinkled with laughter and he snorted. “What is that supposed to mean? Are you an alien sent to study us, or something?”
“No.” I swallowed and lifted my chin. I wasn’t ashamed of my virgin kissing status. As my mom liked to say, we all blossomed in our own time. Mine just happened to be taking longer than others. “I just mean, that for people like me, there are more important things.”
Like keeping my spot on the cheerleading team. Or nailing the centennial performance that seemed to be a joke to him. Or most importantly of all, making sure my mom didn’t fade away into her sadness.
“Right.” His mouth snapped shut and he worked his jaw, his gaze flattening. “Because that’s all guys like me worry about. Football and hooking up.”
There was so much hurt in his voice that I flinched. Wasn’t he just the one offering to cure my fatal disease? All I’d done was try to defend myself. When had I become the bad guy?
“That’s not—” I shook my head. “I didn’t—”
“Your bus is here, Audrey.” He nodded his he
ad in the direction of the street corner where the city bus had just appeared. “Better hurry home. Wouldn’t want your precious family to worry about you.”
Our gazes remained locked for a second longer. Collin’s eyes burned bright with frustration, as if he wanted to say more, but was holding himself back. I almost wished he would unleash. Explain to me what had just happened between us.
Walking past him, I took one last glance at his face. He was staring off in the distance, but I thought I saw what looked like pain in his eyes. And when I was on the bus, I continued to think about that expression, memorizing every little detail until it was etched into my brain. When I finally got home, I sat on my bed with my guitar on my knee and waited for a song to arrive to help me sort out what I was feeling.
It never came.
Chapter Nine
For the next two weeks, Collin avoided me like a supermodel avoided carbs. It didn’t matter how many times I texted, called, or tried to catch his eye in the hall. Or even if I tried to get his attention on the football field at games. He wouldn’t respond.
I went through a cycle of emotion. Confusion: wondering what exactly I’d said to make him so mad. Frustration: that he wouldn’t just get over it so we could move on with our song. And finally, desperation as Mrs. Banks’ deadline for our song ideas came steadily closer.
“What’s his problem, anyway?” I asked, taking a vicious chomp out of my apple at lunch while I stared at Collin from across the cafeteria.
He sat at the unofficial jock table, of course. Right between his linebacker and receiver. His hair perfectly tousled, that stupid cocky grin on his face, and his face lighting up as Miranda Devine, a senior on the dance team, came over to whisper in his ear. I bristled at the sight, chewing my apple so hard I thought I might split a molar.
“Roid rage?” Mandy offered across from me, sipping on her protein shake. “Maybe that’s how he got those muscles. Remember sophomore year when he used to get into all of those fights? I heard that a couple of the other football players got their hands on some.”
I considered it for a moment, then shook my head. Those fabulous biceps had to be one hundred percent real. “Nah, if it was steroids, he’d probably be chewing my head off instead of ignoring my existence.”
“I heard him tell Tyler in Lit class that his dad was out of rehab again,” Trina said, tucking her long hair behind her ears. “Can’t be easy living in foster care with your dad out. Maybe that’s it.”
My eyes narrowed as I studied Collin again, my vision colored with sadness. I couldn’t imagine not living with my family. Sure, mine had basically been decimated in the last year, but at least I still had Mom and Lexi. Collin had been living with strangers for the past three years. What if they were hard on him? What if they abused him? And who knew what had happened with his own parents. Suddenly, I was feeling a lot more charitable toward Collin and his ridiculous mood swings.
“I don’t know, but even if I have to march onto that football field during the middle of practice today and drag him off by the face mask, I’m going to do it,” I said. “Enough’s enough.”
As it turned out, I nearly did have to march on the football field. Collin was MIA until the very last bell, when I spotted him heading toward the athletes’ locker rooms. Stashing my backpack in my hallway locker, I sprinted after him and didn’t stop until I grabbed his arm and he spun around to look at me.
“What do you want, Audrey?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as his glaze flicked over my body and returned to my face. “I’ve got practice.”
“We need to practice, too.” I ignored his irritated huff and lifted my chin. “I know you’ve been avoiding me, but Mrs. Banks is going to expect a song from us soon. We have to work on it.”
His lips thinned and he quirked his eyebrows. “No, we don’t. You made yourself perfectly clear at the park the other day. This isn’t our performance; it’s yours.”
I ran a hand through my curls, sighing. Mrs. Banks could be terribly stubborn. She wouldn’t accept the fact that the pair she’d put together for this performance had decided to split. For all I knew, she’d cancel the entire thing.
I couldn’t have that. I needed this. I needed Collin. What did I have to do? Get down on my knees and beg?
“Please, let’s just get this done,” I pleaded. “We can’t start practicing until we have the song written.”
“I thought you already had a song.” He crossed his arms over his chest, making his biceps bulge.
“Well, you hated it,” I replied through gritted teeth, “so we need to write a new one.”
Did I really need to remind him that he was the one causing all the stink here? I’d given into his critiques for the good of the team. He could do the same.
His gaze lingered on my face for a long moment, and I thought I had him. But then his lips curled into a sneer and he shrugged. “No, I don’t think so. You have fun with your little song, Audrey. I’m out.” Turning on the heels of his boots, he stomped off toward the locker room.
His quitting should’ve made me ecstatic. This was what I’d wanted — my performance all to myself. No one else to share in the spotlight. I should’ve jumped for joy. Instead, it felt like my heart had flatlined.
Collin couldn’t quit after our very first rehearsal. That’s not how things worked. If anyone was going to quit, it was me. Especially after his harsh critiques of my song. He didn’t get to walk away from me. Not today.
Before I could stop myself, I marched right up to the boys’ locker room door and yanked it open. Plastering a hand over my face, I stepped inside and kept my eyes glued to the floor. No need to scar myself by seeing something that I shouldn’t. No girl needed to live with that at the early age of seventeen. With five confident steps forward, I barred myself in the doorway to the main lockers and ignored the influx of wolf whistles and warning shouts about a girl in the locker room.
“Collin Preston, I’m not leaving until you agree to sing with me,” I announced.
The place definitely had the distinct scent of dirty socks and sweaty gym clothes. I was glad I was wearing my mom’s Givenchy white top sneakers because I was pretty sure the entire floor was covered in athlete’s foot. Still, I had a mission to complete. And if utter humiliation wasn’t going to win my singing partner back, I didn’t know what would.
My cheeks were burning and I was pretty sure I was having a minor heart attack. Still, I stood strong, hoping he wouldn’t leave me hanging. He couldn’t ignore me. Not here.
“Audrey, what are you doing?”
Collin’s voice came from my right. He didn’t sound completely angry, so that was encouraging. Maybe just a little annoyed. Peeking through my fingers, I sighed in relief when I saw he was still clothed in his t-shirt and jeans. He was leaning against the lockers, shaking his head at me. His buddies around him had already changed into their practice jerseys, so I dropped both my hands to my hips and gave him my best impression of Mom’s disapproving glare.
“You don’t get to quit on me,” I said sternly. “We’re doing this song together, whether you like it or not, so I’d suggest you get used to the idea.”
He huffed and arched an eyebrow at me. “Seriously? You’re doing this here?”
“This is what happens when you avoid a girl for too long.” I crossed my arms across my chest, mimicking his pose from earlier. “And you’ve left me no other choice.”
The buzz around us was growing impossibly loud. Guys whooping and hollering, pointing and laughing at me. My nerves bounced around my stomach, feeling an awful lot like the painful sensation of a tickle session gone too far. My feet wanted to move toward the door. To turn tail and run. Still, I didn’t move.
“All right, everyone out,” Collin yelled, glaring at his teammates.
I could feel dozens of pairs of eyes on me, but I kept mine glued on the guy in front of me. As we stared each other down, the others began to move past me and out the door, until only the two of us remained.
&nbs
p; The locker room quieted. I was pretty sure my heart was beating faster than a hummingbird’s. The longer Collin was silent, the faster it pulsed. If he didn’t say something soon, it was going to explode.
“You know you’re crazy?” Collin finally asked, a deep frown forming on his face. “I thought you wanted this song all to yourself.”
“Maybe.” A trickle of sweat ran down the back of my neck. I curled my fists to keep from wiping it away. “But Mrs. Banks assigned it to both of us. I’m not letting you walk away.”
He flared his nostrils and shook his head. “I’m not sure that’s up to you. And I’ve got to get to practice. You should leave. Or not. It’s your choice.”
Despite the fact that I wanted nothing more than to exit this petri dish of foot fungus, I stood my ground, my skin flushing from my collar bone to my hairline. Collin’s amused gaze met mine head-on, his eyebrow cocking in a challenge. Grasping the bottom of his t-shirt, he swiftly pulled it up and over his head, revealing a trim torso and rows of abdominal muscles. I gulped, unable to stop my eyes from roving over his stomach. Was that a look that came standard with all high school quarterbacks? Or was all of Rock Valley just lucky?
My gaze moved back to his face and I blushed violently to see him watching me with a grin. He totally knew I was checking him out. Probably planned it that way. But it didn’t stop there. Shifting his hands to the top of his jeans, he moved to unbutton them and paused.
“I hope you know, you standing there isn’t going to stop me from changing for practice,” he said.
I squeaked and spun around, staring at the white painted cement block wall. The sound of jeans hitting the ground behind me made me sweat harder. I snapped a hand over my eyes again, just in case, and tried not to let my voice shake.
“Collin, I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings in the park the other day. I’m sure you care about more things than football and hooking up. I really didn’t mean it that way.”
Dare You to Kiss the Quarterback (Rock Valley High Book 1) Page 6
