“That was fun,” Lance says. His hands are in his pockets and he’s rocking back and forth on his orange and navy tennis shoes. He looks pretty darn cute.
I smile and start to open my mouth to say something, but Amber speaks up first.
“Yeah, a blast,” she says under her breath. “Look, we better get going,” she adds with a nod toward her car.
“Okay, see you on Monday …” Nick says, only it kind of comes out like a question.
“Mm-hmm,” Amber mumbles.
Lance looks like he wants to say something more, but she’s already pulling me away. I wave over my shoulder at him. He waves back and then I turn back toward Amber.
“Geez, I would like my arm to stay attached to my body, you know.” I yank my wrist back.
“I’m sorry. I had to get out of there.” We climb into her car.
She starts it and turns to look at me, disappointment in her blue eyes. “I’m sorry about that,” she says, crinkling her nose. “But the good news is, at least you don’t have to worry about me dragging you along on any more double dates.”
“Yeah,” I say, looking for Lance in the side-view mirror. “Good thing.”
Chapter Five
“What the hell was that? Who were you texting?” I yell at Nick as I slam the car door shut and jam the key into the ignition. The date couldn’t have gone worse. It’s no surprise Amber dragged them away as fast as humanly possible. Damn Nick and his damn cell phone.
“It was my mom.” He’s slumped down in the passenger seat, staring through the windshield.
“What?”
“She was checking in,” he says, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You know how she is.”
I do know how she is. Crazy overprotective. I should have known.
“Why didn’t you just say something? You looked like a complete tool!”
“I don’t know. It’s embarrassing.”
I don’t know what to say. I was all ready to chew him out, but now I feel kind of bad for him. To fill the silence I tell him about how it went with Mabel at the movie.
“Why the hell didn’t you just put your arm around her when she was freaking out?” He shakes his head like I’m a complete and utter moron.
“I don’t know. I just kept picturing her smacking me and walking out.”
“You’re an idiot, man. That was your shot.”
He would have had no problem putting his arm around her. He’s better at that sort of thing than I am. I’m good at the joking around stuff, he’s good with the smooth shit. Well, usually.
“Ya know, you weren’t exactly Casanova tonight,” I snap back at him. He doesn’t say anything and I feel like a jerk.
“I guess neither one of us were on our A game, huh?” I finally add as I pull up in front of his house.
“No shit,” Nick says softly before sliding out of the car.
Later that night I’m staring at the ceiling of my bedroom, playing over the evening in my head. The horrible dinner. The movie. Mabel leaning in so close to me our noses almost touched. There is no way I’m going to fall asleep.
I was totally ready to ask Mabel out again before Amber hauled her away.
I realize I could still ask her out, just the two of us, but I know she only went along this time because Amber talked her into it. I think if we hung out some more I’d maybe have a shot, but now? I don’t know. She’ll have the rest of the weekend to remind herself she doesn’t really like me.
If Nick hadn’t been such a freaking loser, we could have planned another double date. I go back and forth between being pissed at him and feeling sorry for him. I know he feels even worse than I do. I have never seen him act so stupid in front of a girl.
He must really like her. Personally, I don’t see it. I mean, Amber’s hot and all, but the truth is she’s kind of boring, too. Mabel is gorgeous and actually fun to hang out with. Not that I’ll get another chance to do that.
I roll over and pull the blanket over my head and groan. This sucks! I need some excuse to talk to her.
Then suddenly it hits me. I can help Nick and myself.
With a plan in mind, I finally fall asleep.
***
I’m standing at my locker on Monday morning, pulling my books out of my messenger bag, when Lance shows up. I’m a little surprised at just how happy I am to see him. My lips curl into a smile like they have a will of their own, even though I try to play it cool.
“Hey,” he says, leaning against the locker next to mine and lowering his voice. “So, how did you think the date went?”
“Um, well.” So much for playing it cool. My tongue is totally tied. What the hell is wrong with you? It’s Lance. My God, get it together!
“Yeah, pretty bad,” he says with a sigh. “Nick is totally crushed.”
Oh, their date. Not ours. I have an urge to smack myself. Not for assuming he meant us, but for being so disappointed that he didn’t.
“Poor Nick,” I say sarcastically.
Lance laughs. “Yeah, he’s not exactly used to disappointment. It doesn’t come often to the Golden Gods. He’s been a huge baby about it. It’s been a lot of fun for me.” This time he’s the one being sarcastic.
I know how he feels. It’s been a pain in the neck dealing with whiny Amber this weekend, too. She spent so much time analyzing every moment of the date, speculating on everything from who he was texting to whether or not it would have gone better if she had worn her hair up, that I almost fell asleep with my phone on my face.
“Well, maybe he should have turned his phone off and actually said more than two words to her,” I say, slamming my locker shut. I spin around to face him and almost smack my face into his chest. His shoulder is against the lockers, but he leans forward. I fall back against my locker and try to recover my breath.
“Cut him some slack, he was nervous,” he says with a shrug. “She’s like Aphrodite to his Zeus.”
Of course he would see her as Aphrodite. I don’t know why I’m feeling jealous. It’s not like ours was a real date anyway.
“Ares,” I say under my breath.
“What?”
I sigh and look up at him. His forehead is all crinkled up and he looks totally confused. And totally adorable.
“Aphrodite didn’t go with Zeus. Actually, she hooked up with a lot of Gods and mortals, but not Zeus.” I sort of went through a Greek God phase in junior high. Other girls my age were writing “I heart Zac Efron” on their notebooks while I was daydreaming about Eros.
He stares at me for a minute. “Do you always have to make me feel like an idiot?” he asks, one side of his mouth turned up a little.
“No. But it’s fun,” I say, trying to keep a straight face.
He pouts, slumping his shoulders and jutting out his bottom lip just a little bit. “Maybe I should talk to Amber instead. She’s much nicer to me.” He glances over his shoulder like he’s trying to find her.
“Okay, what do you want, Lance?” I say, and it’s no longer a struggle to repress a smile; he has effectively killed my sense of humor.
“Well,” he says, his voice low. He leans back in, totally ignoring my obvious irritation. “I was hoping you could convince her to give him another chance. Seriously, I don’t think I can stand his whining for another minute.” His blue eyes are all twinkly again and I find myself fighting not to smile back at him again.
“I don’t know. He was really pretty boring. And kind of a jerk.”
“What, you expect him to have looks and a personality?” He raises his eyebrows and I almost laugh.
“I’m just kidding,” he continues. “Look, Nick’s a really nice guy. The texting thing was not his fault.”
I’m ready to scoff but he stops me, resting his hand on my arm. I’m not sure if the spark I feel is from static electricity or my own imagination.
“Seriously,” he says. “It was his mom; she’s sort of a helicopter parent. Don’t tell Amber that, though. He was really embarrassed.”
I let out a sigh. I guess I can’t blame him for that.
“Maybe the four of us could get together at my place this weekend?” he asks, kicking the toe of his shoe against the floor. “It would be a little more relaxed setting. His mom wouldn’t keep texting if he was just at my place,” he says with a quick smile. “We could watch a movie or something. Not horror,” he adds, holding his hands up and grinning at me. “What do you say?”
I look up into his bright blue eyes. I hate myself for the way he causes butterflies to go crazy in my stomach.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I say with a sigh.
Dimples crease his cheeks, and my heart melts. How the hell did this happen?
He starts to walk away, but spins back and raises an eyebrow at me. “So, Aphrodite hooked up with mortals, too, huh?”
“Sometimes.”
“So, like, incredibly funny football players with impeccable taste in movies?” he asks, gesturing to himself.
I laugh. “Only really hot ones.”
His head drops for a second in defeat, then he looks back up at me and scrunches up his nose. “So, I have no shot?”
Suddenly I’m not sure if we’re joking about Aphrodite, or if he’s hinting about Amber.
“I’m thinking no.”
“Oh well, a guy can dream.” He sort of laughs again, but looks a little embarrassed. He takes a few steps backward. “Thanks, by the way. You’re really helping me out.” Then he turns and walks down the hall.
I’m still trying hard to convince myself that I have no feelings for him, but I’m ashamed to say, I watch him walk away.
Chapter Six
I’m out for a jog Friday evening when I see her. She’s standing in the park, by the playground. Her hair is up in a high ponytail and she’s wearing ripped jeans and a sweatshirt. She looks cute as hell. I slow down. I could go and say hello.
I’m practically running in slow motion, staring at her. The sun is low and she looks gorgeous with the sunset behind her. The wind has messed up her hair and she keeps wiping it back out of her eyes. Suddenly she turns her head and sees me. Crap. She’s going to think I’m some kind of crazy stalker.
But to my surprise she smiles and waves. I pick up my pace and run over to her.
“Hey Lance, what are you up to?” The sound of my name on her lips drives me crazy and I struggle to keep my breathing even.
“Just a run. How about you?” I am suddenly very aware of the sweat dripping down my chest. I zip my sweatshirt up a little higher and pray that I don’t stink too much yet.
“I promised Sophie I’d take her to the park before it gets too cold.” She points at a little girl on the monkey bars. Her sister. She has Mabel’s same dark complexion and big, open smile. She’s hanging upside down by her knees and sees Maybie pointing at her. She gives me a wild, arms-flailing wave. “Hi!” she hollers. I laugh and wave back.
“It’s beautiful today,” I say, indicating the weather, although I’m staring at Mabel. I can’t help it. She’s looking up at me those big, dark eyes and I’m frozen. I swear a spaceship could land on the slide and an army of little green men could march out and I wouldn’t even notice.
“Yeah. I hope it stays nice for a while. I’m not a big fan of winter,” she says, smiling. She turns and looks at the sunset. It lights up her face, making her skin look like gold.
The conversation comes surprisingly easily. For whatever reason I have no problem talking to her like this. It’s only when I try to form the words “will you go out with me?” that I suddenly can’t make any sound come out of my mouth.
“Your sister looks just like you.” I glance at the little mini-Mabel. “Do you have any other brothers or sisters?”
“Nope, it’s just us.”
“Oh.” It’s not the answer I expected. “That’s kind of a big age difference, isn’t it?” I look at the little girl and try to guess how old she is. She looks about five, maybe six.
“Um, yeah,” she says with a little laugh. “I was ten when I found out I was going to have a little brother or sister. I was so not happy. Typical only child stuff, I guess.” She shrugs, looking over at Sophie. “Of course now I can’t imagine life without her.”
“I know what you mean. I’m the youngest of six and—”
“Six?”
Her eyes are wide with shock and it makes me laugh even though it’s a question I’m used to getting. “Yeah, six. But they’re all out of the house now. It’s really weird. And quiet. Very, very quiet. When I was little the house was always filled with chaos.”
“I suppose it’ll be strange for Sophie when I leave next year, too. I hadn’t really thought about it.” She turns back to Sophie, but she’s gone.
“Wait, where did Sophie go?” Mabel asks, stepping toward the monkey bars.
I spin around looking for her. There are little kids all over the place, but I don’t see Sophie. She’s not on the slide, the swings, the merry-go-round.
“She’s got to be here somewhere,” I say calmly. Maybie has her hand over her mouth and her eyes are darting back and forth.
We walk around the park for over ten minutes, calling her name. We search every hidden spot we can think of. Under the slide, in the tower, behind the cut-outs of cowboys. There’s no trace of her, and it’s starting to get dark.
“Oh my God, how did this happen? Where could she have gone?” Mabel is practically spinning in circles. Her eyes are red. I feel totally useless.
“I was supposed to be watching her,” she yells at herself, her voice shaky.
“We’ll find her,” I say, because I don’t know what else to say.
“And what if we don’t?” She finally breaks. Tears fill her eyes. There’s a giant boulder in the pit of my stomach and my throat is pinched shut. Without even thinking about it, I take a step closer and put my hands on her arms.
“We will,” I say, doing my best to keep my voice steady and confident.
She falls into me and lays her head on my chest. Despite the seriousness of the situation my heart starts beating at double speed and my stomach does somersaults. She’s warm and soft against my chest and it takes every ounce of willpower I have not to lift her chin and kiss her right here in the middle of the park.
“Um, okay, think,” I say, trying to focus. “We haven’t looked everywhere.”
She starts to nod and pulls away, wiping at her eyes. “Okay, okay. Um, I don’t know. I can’t think,” she says in a rush.
I scan the playground again, trying to think of anywhere we haven’t been. “What about the fountain on the other side of the park?” Water shoots up out of the center and it looks like something a kid might be drawn to. It’s the only place I can think of where we haven’t already searched.
“Yes!” She looks up at me for a second, her eyes wide. “She loves that stupid fountain. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that!” She turns away from me and bolts. I run after her.
“Sophie,” she yells as she goes.
Then, on the far side of the fountain, I see a little figure stand up. Sophie. Mabel drops to her knees and wraps her arms around her.
“Where were you? What were you thinking?” Mabel scolds while she hugs her. When she pulls away, I see that Sophie is totally soaked and has left a big wet imprint on Mabel’s shirt. “What happened?” Mabel asks.
“I fell in the fountain,” Sophie says matter-of-factly. A laugh escapes me and Maybie gives me a dirty look.
“I can see that, you’re sopping wet,” she says, wiping Sophie’s wet hair off her face.
Sophie rubs her arms. “I’m cold.” She’s shivering and her teeth are starting to shatter. It might be warm for fall, but not warm enough to run around in wet clothes.
“Here,” I say, unzipping my sweatshirt. “Why don’t you wrap her up in this?”
Mabel looks up at me with so much gratitude I worry I may start blushing. “Thank you,” she says, taking the black-and-orange Tiger’s sweatshirt and wrapping it around Sophie. “We bette
r get you home, Sophs.”
“I’ll walk you back,” I offer and Mabel turns and looks up at me. My stomach ties into a knot and I quickly add, “I mean, if you want.”
“That would be great,” she says, quickly looking back down at her sister. She stands up, lifting Sophie with her and slides her onto her hip. Sophie’s a fairly small girl, but not so small that carrying her the ten or so blocks home will be real easy for Maybie.
“Hey Sophie,” I say, leaning down to get eye level with her, “could I carry you home?” She narrows her eyes, looking me up and down for a second. “I guess so.” She puts her arms out to me. I sling her up onto my back.
“You smell funny,” she says, her little arms around my neck. Mabel laughs, then bites her lips shut.
“Gee thanks, Sophie.” I laugh, even though I can feel my face heating up.
I carry her piggyback style all the way to their house. Mabel and I talk the whole way there. We’re walking close on the narrow sidewalk, and every time her arm brushes up against mine I feel a ripple of goose bumps spread across my skin.
When we reach their house Sophie starts squirming to get down. I set her on their front step, my back now wet and cold, and squat down in front of her. “No more falling into fountains. Deal?” I give her my best serious look.
It’s a total fail. She giggles, shrugs off my sweatshirt, and runs into the house without a word. I stand back up and turn to Mabel, who looks like she’s trying not to laugh at me.
“I guess that was a ‘no deal,’” I say, scooping up my now-wet sweatshirt.
“I guess so.” She looks like she’s trying not to laugh at me, but the corners of her mouth are turning up despite her efforts to keep them down.
“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow night,” I say. “You and Amber are still planning on coming over, right?”
“Yeah, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to go, but I can be very convincing. It’ll be fun.” Her sparkling eyes make me think she even means it.
I know I’m beaming at her like an idiot, but I can’t help it. At least until she says, “Hopefully Amber and Nick can figure it out this time.”
My heart sinks and my shoulders slump. This is their date, not ours.
Secondary Characters Page 3
