“You’re going to have to find someone else to date,” Summer said.
“Someone safe,” Bailey suggested, “like a guy who’s already in the friend zone.”
Summer grinned wide. “That’s a good idea. You could like, be doing homework or something, but tell your mom you’re going on a date.”
I considered that. Not a bad idea actually. “Huh.”
“Hey,” Bailey blurted. “Jett!”
My face went hot. “What?”
“You two are partners now in Dating and Relationships class, right?”
“How’d you know that?”
Summer shrugged. “Caleb told us.”
“Caleb isn’t even in that class,” I said.
“Yeah, but he’s Jett’s friend.” Bailey pulled into a parking stall, shut off the engine, and spun around to look at me over her shoulder. “What are you getting so flustered about? You seem weird.”
“I already told you what I’m upset about,” I said, hating how she could read every detail of my face and voice and posture. We knew each other too well.
“You look really pretty today,” Summer said in the quiet pause. “Did you do your eyes different?”
“Maybe a little.” I thought back on the half-dozen tutorials I’d watched about how to make my green eyes pop. Not because I was attracted to Mr. Brown eyes (how could I be, I didn’t even like him) but because it seemed only fair to even out the playing field. I was dealing with a guy who had serious good looks on his side.
“Are you going to ask Jett?” Summer was already getting out of the car. Bailey was too. I released another groan.
“Can’t I just sit in the car all day?” I pleaded.
Bailey opened the back door and leaned far over to face me, her red hair complimenting the pink in her cheeks. “I don’t know what the deal is. You have a problem. We have a solution.”
I looked down at the arm she offered before reaching out with a limp hand of my own. We were halfway through the parking lot when I spoke up once more. “I don’t want to even see Jett right now.”
“Well, I’ve got a solution for that too. There’s an assembly today. You won’t even go to your first period.”
“We still have to go and let them take roll,” I said, but Summer shook her head.
“Not today. They’re skipping that.”
I didn’t have a clue why that tidbit made me feel even worse. “What would it even look like? If I did try and use Jett as my alternate dates?”
Bailey tipped her head to one side. “You’d just ask him to study with you a couple of times a week, which you’ll have to do anyway, and maybe, I don’t know, go to his place or the library or even to the Burger Bar. Make it look like a date.”
“And it’s not really wrong because you really are seeing a different guy in between each of your dates with TJ, which is what your mom wants,” Summer said. Bless her, always keeping things on the up and up. If my sweet friend’s personality was actually summer, like her name, I was something a little darker. Fall, I guess. Bailey was spring, because she was good at breathing new life into things. Guess that left cold and bitter Mr. Winter for Jett.
I grinned a little at that. It was probably a very good thing that I didn’t have my class with Jett today. I needed more time to clear my mind and come up with a plan of attack. Or was it defense?
“Oh my gosh, there he is,” Bailey said, smacking my arm with the back of her hand. “It’s Jett.”
My heart thundered like a team of wild horses were trotting through it. Jett was walking up the very steps TJ had crashed that dumb bike on yesterday.
Summer gave me a nudge. “Go ask him if he can study with you tonight.”
My throat clenched up. “No, I don’t want him to think I’m like, seriously trying to date him.”
“Then tell him you need his help,” Bailey said. “Just be honest about your situation. He won’t mind.”
“Yes, he will,” Summer blurted. She hurried to come around and stop me from taking another step, her eyes wide and worried. “You can’t tell him you’re using him. That’s just rude.”
“I think it’s rude if she doesn’t,” Bailey argued.
I looked past Summer to see Jett pull open the door and walk through. Man, even from behind you could tell he was attractive.
“You know what?” I said. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll find another way.”
Summer and Bailey looked at one another before setting their gaze back on me. “If you say so,” Summer mumbled.
Bailey shrugged in that way she always did when she was annoyed with me. “Fine. Whatever.”
I sighed, glad I’d been saved from that one. Call it pride or stubbornness or stubborn pride, but I did not want Jett to think I needed him for anything and I definitely couldn’t have him flattering himself by thinking I was secretly interested in him.
I thought about how not interested in him I was during the entire assembly. And throughout my next few classes as well. I’m not interested in Jett. The whole reason I’d even consider asking him to help me is so that I could keep on dating TJ. Sweet TJ who watched wrestling with Missy and made her smile and… I stopped myself there. Positive things only. I’d focus on the positives and help him change the rest.
By the time lunch came around, I was still torn about whether or not I should ask Jett to help out. At least I had until tomorrow to decide.
“So what’s the deal with the spin the bottle incident?” Summer piped as she stabbed a heap of lettuce onto her fork.
The cafeteria was alive with clanking chairs, sliding trays, and a million voices talking all at once. But at the sound of Summer’s question, all of it vanished. “Who told you about that?” I scanned the line to see Bailey, foot tapping the floor while her thumb tapped her phone screen. “What did she tell you about it?”
Summer hadn’t been at the eighth grade party like Bailey had, and the truth was, I didn’t like discussing the incident.
“Oh, Bailey didn’t tell me about it. Caleb did. But he wouldn’t say exactly what happened either. Just that you were mad or something.”
I rolled my eyes and wondered how fast I could spit it out before Bailey got back; I didn’t want the topic to dwell all through lunch. “A long time ago when we were in kindergarten, I chased him down and kissed him.”
“Aw, that’s so cute!”
I nodded and leaned forward. “Yeah, well I thought he was cute, no big deal. But years later we were at a party playing spin the bottle and when it was my turn, it landed on him.”
Summer squealed and leaned closer in return.
I didn’t want to admit that I was glad about it, so I skipped that detail and went on. “So I looked at him for a minute, trying to see if I should go to him or if he was going to come to me, and suddenly he says, ‘Come on over. This time, I won’t even make you chase me.’” Heat gathered in my shoulders at the mere recollection.
“That’s so darling!” Summer gushed.
I stared at her with a shocked face. “No, it was rude. Everyone at the whole party was like, ‘Ooohhhh,' and ‘aaahhhh,’ and ‘daaaaang!’ It made me look like some dumb little puppy dog who’d been chasing after him all those years only to spin the bottle in some contrived way so it would land on him.”
“Maybe you took it wrong.”
“I didn’t. You should have seen how smug he looked.”
Summer popped a grape in her mouth and nodded thoughtfully. “So did you kiss then or not?”
This is where the love/hate situation warred in my head. More with myself than with him. What would have happened if we had just kissed that day? What if it would have been amazing? Something told me that it would have been, and that something made me hate the decision I made.
I sighed, not wanting to share this part after the way Summer responded to the rest, but I did it anyway. “I started walking toward him, and even though everyone else had clustered into groups so they could get a better view, Jett stayed right in one spot. That really ticked me
off. It made it seem like I was just making the move on him all over again. And just as I got closer, this major smirk came over his face. Like this confident, I-knew-you-wanted-me sort of grin. And that was it for me.”
“So what’d you do?”
“I stopped walking, looked him in the eye, and said, ‘On second thought, I’m pretty sure that bottle was pointing somewhere else. Who was standing beside Jett?’”
Summer gasped and covered her mouth. “No, you didn’t!”
“Yep. I did.”
“And did someone speak up?”
“Three guys spoke up,” I said proudly. “Wes and Caleb, who really had been standing beside him, and this guy named James. He hadn’t been standing by him at all, but just the fact that he wanted to kiss me enough to lie over it…that’s what made me pick him.” My face flushed with embarrassed heat. “I planted a pretty good kiss on him, too. Right in front of Jett. And that was it.”
“Wow.” Summer leaned an elbow onto the table and reached for her sandwich. She lifted it to her mouth, readied to take a bite, but paused for a blink. “I still don’t think what he said was all that bad. You probably just took it wrong.”
“Took what wrong?” Bailey pushed her tray onto the table and set her milk carton alongside.
I shook my head no at Summer before she could say anything. “Nothing.” I looked down at the chicken sandwich on my plate, knowing I should be starving. This was not a good time to lose my appetite. It was, like, my only chance to eat normal food.
As I stared down at my tray, willing myself to at least shove in a few fries, I felt something shift at the table, like suddenly all eyes were on me. I lifted my chin to see that I was right. Summer, Maddie, and Bailey were all looking at me with wide eyes. Well, not exactly at me. It was more behind me. Even Lauren, who was walking toward us, tray in hand, had her eyes pasted on the same spot.
I spun to look over my shoulder, already knowing who I’d see. And there he was, those smoldering brown eyes fixed in my direction.
“Hey there.” He eased into a grin before hunching down to my level. His hand brushed my knee, and suddenly the tingles were happening everywhere. It didn’t help that he was wearing that same deliciously masculine cologne again. “I was thinking that maybe, since we weren’t able to get started in class today, we could get together after school and see what this project is all about.”
I stared at him while my brain tried to make something very clear to the rest of my oddly reacting body: He’s not asking you out, Harper. This was all about our school assignment. An assignment that included spending time with our partners outside of class.
“That’s probably a good idea,” I said.
He grinned. “Right after school good for you?”
I nodded, but I should’ve been shaking my head instead. “Well, I have to watch my little sister after school, but maybe later tonight I could come out? Like at seven or so?” I suddenly felt like a swindler for not telling him about my ulterior motive. But then I remembered that I really did have to study with him either way. What difference did it make if I used it to appease my mom?
“Hey, everybody. Look this way and let me catch a picture of you guys.” I glanced up to see Emmy, one of Sweet Water High’s photographers, peeking around the giant lens of her camera. “Jett, scoot a little closer to Harper.”
Jett surprised me by placing an arm around my back, cupping my shoulder, and bringing his cheek very close to mine. Did I mention he smelled amazing? My body responded with doses of heat and tingles and, most likely, two very pink cheeks as I put a grin on my face.
“Perfect!” Emmy hunched behind the lens once more. She wasn’t exactly Team Tasha either. I had a hunch she was capturing a picture of me and Jett to spite Tasha and her band of mean girls. Bless her for that.
“Thanks, guys,” Emmy piped before scanning the cafeteria once more.
Jett gave my shoulder a subtle squeeze, then shot to a stand and jutted his chin toward our table. “See you guys.”
“Bye,” they sang out in chorus.
“See you tonight,” he said, pinning one last look at me before walking away.
I gulped, nodded, then scanned over the faces of the girls at my table. Flushed cheeks, fluttering lashes, and wide smiles. Jett definitely had an effect on the opposite sex.
Who cared? That didn’t mean I had to let him have such an effect on me.
“Dang, he is so hot,” one mumbled.
My heart suffered a small pang. Yes, Jett really was. And what if Summer was right? What if he wasn’t so bad after all?
A knot of guilt spread through my gut. How was I ever going to help TJ change if I was this easily distracted? But then another thought seeped in, raising a more immediate question. Jett Bryant and I were researching the chemistry of a kiss. Together. Tonight. What in the world would that be like?
Chapter Four
I decided to study before going over to Jett’s house for the night. Not about our project, but about methods I could use to stay focused on my goals. My main goal for the time being was to stay with TJ.
Some might think that was shallow or lame, but I didn’t like quitters. I wasn’t a quitter. I was a fixer. Just ask Mom and her list of things for me to do. I hovered over said list as the minutes counted down. In less than five minutes, Mom would be home and I’d be on my way.
I’d already borrowed the Jackson’s ladder and replaced the light bulbs in the stairwell and the garage. Check. I’d fixed the issue Mom had with the remote in her bedroom. Check. I’d read with Missy, gave her the rest of the leftover casserole, and now there was just one thing left. Take out the trash.
The garage door opened, and Missy climbed off the couch and began hopping in place on the floor. “Mom’s home!”
“Yep,” I said, a flare of nerves building up in my chest. I snatched my bag off the counter and looped it over my shoulder on the way out the door. “See you later, Missy Moo.”
She grinned at me with her tiny teeth. “See you later, Harper Loo.”
I was halfway down the first stair when I remembered the garbage. Quickly, I darted back inside and crossed the kitchen. I steadied the base with my foot and pulled the thing free. “Bye bye, sugar pie,” I said this time.
“Bye bye, apple stink pie!”
I chuckled and pointed my finger at her. “Hey!”
Missy plopped back onto the couch and giggled wildly.
“What’s so funny?” my mom asked as she stepped inside. Two reusable grocery bags hung from her grip.
“Please tell me you have some protein bars in there,” I said. “I’ve been, like, living off apples and that scratchy bread for weeks.”
“I’ve got a few in here,” Mom said, “but I wish you’d give some of these new recipes more of a try.”
That wasn’t going to happen. “Alright, well I’m off to my date.”
“With Pastor Bryant’s son?” Mom asked.
“Yep.” I didn’t want to get into this. I’d texted her from school shortly after the plan was hatched and hoped she wouldn’t ask a bunch of questions. She hadn’t, but she might list them all off now.
“Well, I’ve always wondered why you didn’t date him, Harper. That is one good-looking kid.”
The garbage was growing heavier in my hand. “I’ll be sure to tell Pastor Bryant and his wife you said so.”
“Oh, honey, didn’t you hear? They’re separated.”
My eyes went wide. “What? I thought his mom was just helping her mother in Atlanta.”
Sadness always showed itself in my mom’s eyes. The way they’d get heavy and slanted. She shook her head. “Yeah, I think it kind of started out that way. I’m sure they’re keeping it under wraps until they know what’s going to happen. I think that, for a pastor who wants to keep it all together, it’d be even harder to go through something like this.”
I nodded as I considered that. “You’re right. Well, I won’t be out too late.”
“Okay. And hopefully
you can cheer Jett up. This can’t be easy for him either.”
No, it couldn’t.
I lifted the lid off the garbage and hoisted the bag into the bin. It was dark out, the hours getting shorter now that we’d “fallen back” in time.
On the drive there, the black night seemed to creep into the car and sit with me. Jett’s parents were separated. That was awful. It made me see him in a new light. A light where he wasn’t just a pompous guy with incredible good looks and a swelling ego. He was a guy who…who was probably trying to keep his family together, the way I had done. Well, not successfully, but I had tried. And tried and tried. But really, what was I going to do? Rescue my parent’s marriage at the meager age of ten?
But then his words came back to me. I full heartedly agree with this statement. You cannot make somebody change. I’d assumed he’d said that with Tasha in mind, seeing that he and his wild ex-girlfriend had recently broken up.
Sweet Water Chapel looked a little different to me as I passed it. Outdoor floodlights lit the place up from the outside, making the white, steepled structure stand out against the dark night. Pastor Bryant often said we were all broken in our own way; I just hadn’t imagined that he’d been talking about himself and his wife as well.
I squinted as I pulled into Jett’s cul-de-sac, noticing a man by the curb. As I neared, the headlights illuminating his tall, muscled build, I realized it was Jett, taking the trash out as well. He tossed a bag in, lowered the lid, then squinted against the light as he turned in my direction.
My heart skipped.
Quickly, I flicked off my lights, put it in park, and shut off the engine. I snatched my phone out of the cup holder and reached for my bag, when suddenly my interior light kicked on and a rush of cold air came from behind.
“Hi,” Jett said. “Can I help you with that?”
Bag in hand, I glanced over my shoulder and lifted a brow. “With what?”
He tucked his fingers beneath the straps of my bag and took it from me. “This.” I stared at him for a minute and tried to force myself to move.
Jett hoisted the strap over his shoulder and held his hand out for me to take. This was new. I stared at his offered palm, wondering if this was the kind of treatment Tasha got while they dated.
Chemistry of a Kiss Page 3
