by Kara L. M.
About an hour later the group returned and we headed back to the car. I couldn't help but be jealous that Trey had turned his attention to Carly. Even if I rejected him I was hoping it would be like the movies when they try harder or at the least don't turn into a jerk and grab your willing friend. I couldn’t be mad at Carly, even if she knew I was interested in Trey it had only been for the five minutes it took us to drive here.
I scrambled for the back seat unable to look at Trey. He turned up the music in the car so loud my chest rumbled from the bass. We drove down the hill and sped back home. Once I was at my house I opened the door quietly. I had never been home this late before but since I was stranded at the park until the guy who hit on me was done making out with my friend I didn't have a choice. My Mom was waiting for me in the kitchen. She was in pajamas sipping some hot drink and staring at me.
“You know I trust you a lot which is why I never gave you a curfew tonight but if you're not even going to text me where you are I think that it was a mistake trusting you.” She said sternly. “Oh Mom I'm sorry I was at the park with some friends and me and Katie ended up talking and then we had to wait for a ride home”. “Well next time you need to take the time to let me know, I texted you and you never responded and I was this close to calling the cops.” She said exhaustively. “Well get to bed and remember that just because you're going in to high school you're still a kid and I need to know where you are.” “Got it Mom I really am sorry”.
I brushed my teeth quickly, washed my face and snuggled in bed. “What a weird night” I thought to myself. I kept thinking over and over again about Trey. Why did I think I maybe wanted to kiss him? He wasn't that cute was he? I wonder how long Carly and him kissed and if he likes her now? I was starting to feel bad about how I ruined my chance at my first kiss but then a buzz of my phone alerted me to a text.
“Is this Liv?” An unknown number read.
“Yes.. who is this?”
“Zeke, I was in the parking lot before you guys left for the park but I had to help a friend so I couldn't come with you guys”.
I thought who was Zeke? Oh the tall brunette guy with the blue truck. He was pretty cute.
“Oh hey! You didn't miss out on much.”
“Good to hear, I know Samantha pretty well and she gave me your number. Well if you ever want to hang out let me know”.
My stomach tickled in excitement. Another boy wants to hang out and not just to take me to the dark side of the park and have his way with me.
“Yes that would be fun.” I wasn't sure what to end with so I hesitated to push send. Should I say let’s do something this weekend? Or do I wait for him? Uh I don't know. Um.
“That would be fun let’s do it”.
I hit send. Nothing came back. Should I have written a day? I should have at least asked him a question to keep this conversation going. Uh I hate how I think too late. I sat in bed excited and concerned over the text I had sent. Finally the guilt of not missing my first kiss had washed away. Trey wasn't the only guy interested. Someone else liked me and now hope sprung forth. I squeezed my eyes closed picturing what Zeke looked like again and fell asleep.
Chapter 3: Summer school blows
The weekend passed quickly. I had an extended family get together Saturday night and Sunday was family day. I texted Zeke each night and I learned that he knew Samantha from playing soccer with her brother. He was also starting high school this fall, was 16 and drove a truck. He also loved old bands like Metallica and Def Leopard. I only recognized a few of the names of the songs from the stuff my little brother played. But with all the thinking about Zeke I had forgotten summer school started today. The texting whirlwind had almost made me forget that I was to sit with the degenerates from all of the other middle schools within the hour. What do you even wear to a class full of people who don't care about grades? I wasn't one of them. I didn't belong there. I settled on my yellow sun dress. It was probably too much but I didn't care. It was summer school and I might as well shock the bad boys in the class with how cute I looked.
My mom drove to Rick’s Bagel shop before dropping me off. She was always thoughtful, trying to make the best of a poor situation. You could see in her eyes when she dropped me off that she genuinely felt bad about this. I was happy that she had agreed that the whole thing was ridiculous. I spied the portable I was suppose have class in and headed over. Portables are temporary one room structures built on the outside of a high school to allow more room for a growing student body. But there plastic façade and lack of air flow made them smell like death.
“Uh how is this happening” I said as I walked up the steps and entered into the dark and musty room. Why on earth do they make us take classes out here? I guess more punishment for being stupid.
I picked a seat towards the front. I was a good student, there was no need to fake that I wasn't. I noticed a few girls in the back and several boys walked in after me. A guy with spiky brown hair and a black t- shirt sat next to me. He was cute and I finally felt like getting ready wasn't a complete waste of time.
Then I saw him, six foot tall blonde perfection wearing a crisp button up shirt and khaki shorts. His skin was a natural olive tan that brought out his ocean blue eyes. His attractive level would raise flags in Utah let alone summer school. He was obviously a model from New York or something, but I wasn't complaining. He passed by my seat and I inhaled his delicious scent. I casually spied over my shoulder to see him take a seat in the back. His tousled hair fell perfectly above his eyes. I thought about the fact that he was probably a smart guy who was too lazy to turn in assignments. A pit in my stomach formed when I realized he may be thinking that I was a complete idiot to make it to this class.
A short round man with little hair came through the door wearing a frown. “Welcome to pre-algebra, let’s get started.” You could tell he didn't want to be here anymore than the reject students he was banished with. When class was over I was disappointed that mystery boy didn’t say a word to me. I had even taken my time packing up my stuff hoping for an introduction.
Later that night I opened my algebra book. I still can't believe I am being forced to do math in the summer. The sweet carless days were behind me before I even had a chance to enjoy them. I knew I would only return to that classroom on Thursday to make my Mom happy and to show the New York model that I was the smartest girl there. A buzz of my phone pulled me out of my thoughts. It was from Samantha.
“Liv, Nic, Zeke's friend, and I are going on a date this weekend, we should do a double!”
“That’s so great! But honestly I am not asking Zeke to take me; if he wants me to go he will ask”.
“Oh gosh you can be so dramatic! I mean it’s just a movie, send him a text I am sure he would love to!”
“Thanks but I don't want a pity date.”
I love Samantha but sometimes I could do without her nagging. Not every girl wants to ask guys out. I applaud her bravery and her sense of getting what she wants but I am old school in the ways of love. I want to be courted and for him to choose to ask me out, not a pressured group date.
“Buzz.” My phone went off again.
“Hey girly so Nic and Samantha are going to see a movie on Friday, you want to go?”
My eyes lit up in excitement and confusion. Of Course I want to go but wait, what did Samantha just do? My blood boiled.
“So please tell me you did not just text Zeke to take me out!”
The minute of waiting on Samantha dragged on. What was I going to do? I guess I will go, but now that she had butted in who knows if he would have asked me on his own or not. She ruined the magic of dating! “Buzz!”
“Don't be mad he wanted to go anyways it was only a matter of time before he would have asked himself.”
I shook my head as if she could see me. Maybe she was right, if our friendly texting would have eventually led to a date I guess this awkward nudge may not be the worst thing in the world. Only time will tell.
“I would l
ove to.” I wrote to him.
“Good I was getting worried you were taking your time coming up with an excuse ;)”.
Wednesday came and I headed to Carly's to pick out an outfit. Her Dad gave her a credit card when she was fourteen and as a result she had a closet exploding with the latest styles. Many of her clothes and shoes still had tags on them and I tried to avoid borrowing those since I could never pay her back if I ruined something. It was always an adventure digging through her closet; Carly had a perfect curvy body that made any outfit sexy. Which meant I had to dig a bit deeper to find something that worked with my shape.
“How about this red top and these skinny jeans?” I said eyeing myself in the mirror.
“Ok Liv I know this is just a movie but you like Zeke right? You need to step it up a notch.” She said as she handed me a cream lace top that looked as expensive as it felt.
“Oh I can't wear one of your nicest shirts.”
“This is hardly my nicest.” She grinned.
I slid the lace top over my white camisole and checked my reflection in the mirror. “Wow” I thought to myself. The top curved over my body in the most appealing way, making my “a” cup seem more impressive and my waist tiny and small.
How on earth did designers know how to flatter a girl’s body so well? A sting of jealousy hit my heart as I realized I could never afford to dress like this on my own. “Gorgeous!” She squealed. “Don't forget to wear my diamond heart necklace.” She ran over to her jewelry box and pulled out a necklace. She walked back over and started to put it around my neck. “Oh thanks Carly but honestly I have never touched a diamond I really don't feel comfortable”. She laughed. “Of course you don't that is why this one isn't real, I mean it’s almost real”. “Oh like cubic zirconia?” I said. “Sure, like that”. She was hiding something but whatever I looked in the mirror and the fake diamond sparkled brilliantly. I was finally excited for Friday. Who cares if Samantha set it up? Zeke seemed genuinely concerned I wouldn't say yes and now I was going to look and feel great!
The sun rose Thursday morning and my arms became heavy weights. Even they knew summer school math class was horrible. I stared at my closet and flipped through the hangers trying to find a reason to be excited to go. “Ten minutes Liv!” My mom yelled down the hallway. “Ok mom!” I yelled back. Frustration poured over me as I couldn't find anything that went together. I eyed my pink sweat pants tempted to slide them on and just be ugly but then I spotted the outfit for date night. I knew the lace cream shirt was a bit fancy for a movie but summer school? I would look ridiculous. Five more minutes till I have to leave. Sweats or date night outfit? Well ridiculous or not I would at least be ridiculously hot at summer school! I put on the cream silky shirt and blue jeans and admired myself in the mirror. “Looking good!” I said out loud. I ran to my dresser and carefully placed the necklace on. I quickly applied eye makeup, lip gloss and grabbed my math book.
My Mom gave me a look when I hopped in the car. “You look great, are there cute boys in your class or something?” She asked with curiosity in her voice. “Nah Mom I just figured if I have to brave this stupid class I might as well pretend like I am in normal school and feel good about myself!” I smiled as I re-checked my outfit. There was no way I would mention blonde guy. All he was is a crush, someone to stare at to pass the time of my sentence. “See you soon.” I said as I shut the car door and walked confidently to the portables. I stepped into the stinky room to see he was already in his desk behind where I had sat Tuesday. I didn't know whether to watch his face for his reaction or keep it cool and keep my eyes on the back of the wall.
I decided to watch his face, yep he noticed. No smile or creepy stare just a quick glance that seemed to last longer than normal. I drank it in. I sat down in my seat and the brown spiky hair guy turned to me. “Hey I am Jake. So what high school are you going to this fall?” He asked. “I’m Liv, Brighton High”. I said with a smile. He continued to talk about how he would be attending the school whose wretched portables we were in until the teacher started class. He handed us our first test and then quickly graded it on the spot. I got a 98%. I was happy but didn't know if that meant summer school is easy for dumb people or if I didn't belong there. Either way it didn't matter because “he” noticed.
“Wow ninety eight, are you suppose to be here?” I turned around and noticed for the first time that he had the most perfect white teeth surround by his plump full lips. My stomach tickled at the sight of his ocean blue eyes staring at me playfully. “Oh I had a weird situation with my teacher; he failed about of half the class and retired to Mexico so no one could change the grades but him.” He nodded unsurprised by my answer. “I'm Austin.” He said looking at me expecting the same. “I'm Liv”. Just as I was about to get to know him the teacher snapped “Liv you would do your best to listen to my homework instructions for this weekend”. I flipped around in my seat and nodded. I didn't listen to the teacher but I swear I heard Austin laugh. I rose from my seat and peeked out of the corner of my eye to see if Austin would follow. He started talking to the guy next to him so I kept walking until I left the portable. I walked towards the parking lot feeling a little disappointed that he didn’t walk out with me when I heard running feet approaching. “Liv! “He said in his deep velvet voice. “You forgot your necklace.”
I glanced down at his hand and about died! That wasn't even mine to lose! My immediate excitement of his presence was lost in the thought of some summer school student that may have found this and pawned it. He noticed the shock in my eyes. “It looks really nice so I wanted to make sure you got it”. I felt relief as it touched my hands. That was a close one. I will never wear Carly’s stupid jewelry ever again. “Here let me help you put it on, a beautiful necklace for a beautiful girl.” He complimented. My heart skipped a few beats. “Thank you, and sorry for my reaction earlier I was sick about losing it”. His hands brushed my neck and sent shivers down my spine. The shock was similar to static electricity but it felt nice instead of painful. I heard the clasp snap.
“Totally understandable, wouldn't want your boyfriend to think you don't care about him anymore.” He smiled with a hint of evil in it. I couldn't help but laugh. “Oh yes my boyfriend Carly, no this is a friends and I was dumb enough to wear it to summer school.” He stared at me with surprise “Dumb? Oh I see because you never know if the thugs from summer school may swipe it from you”. I felt horrible. “No, no it’s just the only diamond I want to wear will be on my finger if you know what I mean. I don't want the pressure of having nice stuff.” He grinned and began to walk way. I was afraid I had offended him but then he turned his head back and said “I will keep that in mind.” He winked. I melted. Partially from his blue eyes staring into my soul and also from the wedding ring talk that I had somehow found myself in. My mom pulled up and I hopped in her car, grateful for a quick getaway.
Chapter 4: Zeke is not a geek
That night I stared at my phone wishing Austin would text me. Of course he didn't have my number but he was all I thought about. I relaxed in my pink pajamas and black shirt. I wondered if he would have noticed me today if I wore this instead of my designer outfit. I knew one thing was for sure that if I had worn sweats we would have never had the interaction with the necklace which is all I could think about including the flirty look on his face as he asked about my boyfriend.
A knock came at the front door. I heard my little brother scurry down the stairs to answer. A boy’s voice filled the foyer. I dreamed it was Austin but I knew better. “Liv it’s for you!” Peter sang in the most annoying tone. “Coming!” I yelled. I saw Zeke standing at the door in a green t-shirt and jeans. He was better looking than I had remembered with his spiky brown hair and green eyes.
“Hey girly I know our date isn't until tomorrow but I wanted to see if you wanted to go for a walk?” I froze on the stairs as I remembered my outfit and smiled. “If you don't mind taking me out like this!” I made a fashion pose in my sweats. He laughed. “I think
I can afford to take you anywhere on a dark walk”. I slid my shoes on and headed outside. Utah nights were pleasant in the summer. They cooled down enough to make walking nice and the moon rising over the Rocky Mountains was beautiful.
“So I know we text a bit but I didn't hear from you today and I wanted to make sure your cool with our date tomorrow because honestly no pressure.” He said. I opened my mouth in shock. He texted me? My phone must have been on silent because I threw it on my bed after failed attempts of hoping for Austin. “Oh my gosh I am so sorry! My math class today was intense because we had a test I must have had my phone on silent! And to answer your question of course I want to go.” His shoulders relaxed. “Ok it’s just Samantha texted me to ask you out which annoyed me because I had plans to already and I wondered if you knew about the situation.” He explained. “Samantha is crazy!” And we both laughed.
It was hard not to like Zeke. He had a cute smile and genuine kindness about him. To hear him be open with me made me like him that much more. We continued to walk and chat about high school in a few months and about his soccer team tryouts. Before I knew it we were back at my house. Zeke gave me a big hug and it felt nice. As I got ready for bed I tried to be excited about Zeke but Austin kept popping into my head. Why did his two fingers brushing my neck feel like electricity was running through my body while the hug from Zeke had felt nice and nothing more? It was as if the electricity from Austin’s fingers were still pulsing through my body. Oh gosh I really need to go to bed. Obsessing over a guy who has talked to me twice isn't healthy!
Date night came quicker than expected. Samantha couldn't stop texting me about what we may do after the movie.
“I hope they take us to the park!”
“Maybe they will or we could get ice cream or something.” I wrote back.
“Really? You want ice cream? This could be your first kiss! I am so excited!”
