by Chris Cannon
…
After school, I walked into the house and saw my brothers sitting at the kitchen table eating Hot Pockets and watching reality TV.
I grabbed a soda from the fridge, making sure to walk in front of the TV so they’d see me. “I heard you threatened Bryce today.”
Charlie grinned. “Yes we did.”
“Why’re you still with him?” Matt asked.
“Since Brittney came on to him rather than the other way around, I didn’t think I should hold it against him.”
Charlie flung the empty Hot Pocket box at my head. “You’re better off without him.”
I ducked. “You do realize it’s your fault I’m with him. “
“How’s that?” Matt asked.
“You chase away all the nice guys. Bryce is the only guy confident enough to stick around.”
Charlie groaned. “Fine. Pick a different guy who isn’t a douchebag.”
I laughed. “Maybe I will.” Woo hoo! My plan was working. By the time my deal with Bryce was over, my brothers would be so grateful he was gone, they wouldn’t interfere with a guy I actually liked.
…
Bryce
Leaning against my locker, I glanced down the hall for any sign of Haley. Small groups of students hung out by their lockers. Since it was Friday, the conversations were louder than usual. Everyone was talking about plans for the weekend. At this point, I wasn’t sure what my plans were. Haley probably expected me to ask her on a date. Not that I would mind spending time with her; she was funny and fun to talk to, but when I asked her, it would be on my terms. So many things being out of my control lately made me twitchy.
Since Haley was nowhere in sight, I should feel relieved. Instead I was suspicious.
Nathan grabbed a notebook from his locker and slid it into his backpack. “You know Jane and Haley want us to ask them to see that Pirate movie.”
“I figured that. Do you plan on asking Jane on a date?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“When you make up your mind, give me fair warning.”
“Why?”
“Because, as you’ve discovered, Jane and Haley are a package deal. If you take Jane out, I’ll be expected to ask Haley out. We owe them a double date, anyway.” I turned to open my locker. “Just give me a heads-up so I can make plans.” In my life where I liked everything a certain way, Haley was an unknown variable that threw off the equation.
“I never agreed to a double date,” Nathan said. “That was all you.”
“Since you’re thinking of asking her out anyway, what does it matter?”
Nathan shut his locker and spun the lock. “It matters because this entire situation is your fault. I never would’ve noticed her, or been forced to take her on a date if you hadn’t screwed up.”
I heard someone suck in a breath, like they’d been caught by surprise. Both Nathan and I turned to find Haley and Jane standing behind us. Haley looked capable of murder. Jane looked like a kid who’d been told the Easter Bunny didn’t exist.
“Shit.” Nathan ran his hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean that how it sounded.”
Jane spun around and took off down the hall.
Haley took off after her.
Nathan shoved his backpack at me and took off after both of them.
…
Haley
I wanted to punch Nathan, hard…in the face…with a brick. Instead, I ran after my best friend. She fled down the hallway to the only known sanctuary in high school, the girls’ restroom.
I found her leaning over the sink with her forehead pressed to the mirror. Now what? I went into this pretend boyfriend situation with my eyes wide open. Jane, however, had been hoping for the real thing with Nathan. Hearing him say he never would’ve noticed her or been forced to date her had to hurt.
“Charlie would punch him for you,” I offered.
Jane looked at me from the reflection of the mirror. Her eyes looked glassy. A sure sign she was trying not to cry. “I thought…” She blinked and fanned her eyes. “I feel so dumb.”
“You’re not dumb.” Not knowing what else to say, I wet a paper towel with cold water, rung it out, and draped it on the back of her neck. “This should help.”
A girl I didn’t know walked in and assessed the situation. She pointed at my friend. “You must be Jane. There’s a guy out there who wants to talk to you. He asked me to come in and get you.”
“Really?” Jane’s tone sounded hopeful.
Oh hell. I didn’t have a good feeling about this.
Jane pulled the wet paper towel from her neck and tossed it in the trash. “Do I look okay?”
“You look like you’ve been crying.” The girl who delivered the message was more honest than I liked.
“You look fine.” I checked my watch. “Three minutes until homeroom. If you’re going to talk to him, it has to be now.”
“Okay, but you’re coming with me.”
I held the door open for Jane and followed her over to where Nathan stood across the hall.
He gave a weak smile. “I didn’t mean that how it sounded.”
“Really?” Jane crossed her arms over her chest, like she was trying to hold her emotions in check. “How did you mean it?”
“I meant I never would have noticed you if I hadn’t been forced into this situation—”
Jane sucked in a breath. “Just so you know, you stink at apologies.”
“You didn’t let me finish.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I never would’ve noticed you, but now that I have, it’s hard to un-notice you.”
“That’s not a real word.” Rather than meet his gaze, Jane scuffed her furry Uggs back and forth on the floor.
“You’re different than the girls I’m used to. You’re interesting.”
Jane turned to me. “Was there a compliment in there somewhere?”
“You’re not making this easy,” Nathan complained. “What I’m trying to say is I like you, and I think we should go out sometime, maybe catch a movie this weekend.”
Holy shit.
Jane bounced. “Really?”
“Yes.” The bell rang. “So we’re good now, right?”
Jane smiled so wide you could see her molars. “We’re good.”
Nathan headed back toward his locker, where Bryce stood talking to a blonde.
To sum up: the guy of Jane’s dreams, without being blackmailed, had asked her on a date, while my pretend boyfriend chatted up a hot girl.
Not wanting to be a bad friend, I forced a smile. “You have a date with Nathan.”
Her gaze followed Nathan back to his locker. “I’m sure once Bryce hears about this he’ll ask you to go on a date with us.”
I knew the exact moment Nathan admitted he’d asked Jane on a date. Bryce’s mouth fell open. He made a face like he’d eaten a lemon and then directed that sour look at me.
“Well, he looks thrilled, doesn’t he?” The warning bell for homeroom rang, and students flooded the hall, cutting off my view of Bryce. Just as well. I’d seen enough.
…
“We don’t have to eat lunch with them if you don’t want to.” Jane opened the cafeteria doors, and the smell of boiled hot dogs turned my stomach.
I considered heading toward the table where Jane and I used to eat, but I was trying to be a grown-up about this. Just because Bryce didn’t want anything beyond our fake relationship, didn’t mean I couldn’t suck it up and eat lunch with him so Jane could spend time with Nathan. It’s not like I wanted him to be my boyfriend for real. Sure he was hot, and smart and he had actually started a charity golf-a-thon at our school. I sighed. The actual problem was my ego. Why did he find the idea of going on a real date with me repulsive? I was cute, smart, and did charity work with animals. If you thought about it that way, we weren’t a bad match. Apparently, he didn’t see it that way, and that kind of pissed me off. That whole “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” quote was making a lot more sense to me now. Not that h
e’d really scorned me. Ugh! This line of thought was stupid.
Nathan grinned at Jane when she sat down. Bryce kept his eyes on his mac ’n cheese—the coward. As I scooted my chair in, I accidentally-on-purpose kicked Bryce in the shin. “Sorry, about that.”
“You expect me to believe that was an accident?”
“Nope.” I opened my chips. “I expect you to behave in a socially appropriate manner and accept my apology.”
Tension crackled in the air between us, like static electricity.
“Fine.” He leaned closer, using his height to loom over me. “I accept your apology and I’d appreciate it if you’d be more careful in the future.”
“Well, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t be a jerk for the next two weeks.” I met his gaze, refusing to blink. I had years of practice from standing up to my brothers. If he thought he could intimidate me, he was wrong.
“I made cookies.” Jane thrust a giant chocolate chip cookie in front of my nose. She passed one to Bryce and one to Nathan.
“What happened to the cupcakes?” Nathan asked.
“I didn’t have any powdered sugar to make icing, so there was no point in making cupcakes.”
“So the cupcake is a vehicle for the icing?” Nathan asked.
“Yes,” Jane said. “In the same way pumpkin pie is an excuse for whipped cream.”
“I hate pumpkin pie,” Bryce muttered.
“How can you hate pumpkin pie? That’s un-American.” Okay, so I didn’t care about his dislike of the Thanksgiving staple, but I refused to let him ignore me.
“I believe the phrase is, ‘as American as apple pie’ not pumpkin pie.” His calm, cool voice ticked me off even more. Could I kick him again and get away with it? Probably not.
I nabbed the cookie Jane set by Bryce’s plate. “Since you’re being such a jerk, I’m revoking your cookie.”
“I’m a jerk? You’re the one who started this fight by kicking me.”
“Wrong. This started when Nathan told you he’d asked Jane on a date and you looked at me like I had the plague.”
He straightened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Let me refresh your memory. You were talking to the blonde by your locker, and then Nathan reminded you about your impending double date with me. Just so you know, you have no poker face.”
He shook his head. “Maybe you should ask me why I made that face instead of assuming you know.”
Wait. “What does that mean?”
“It means, I was upset because, as you have already pointed out, I like everything a certain way, which means I like to be the person who makes the plans, rather than being told what I’m going to do.”
“So you don’t object to going on a date with me?”
“Before you kicked me, I wouldn’t have minded.” He gave me an expectant look.
Crap. I was going to have to apologize. “I’m sorry I kicked you.”
He nodded and ate his lunch.
I waited to see if he’d ask me to go to the show. Nope. Didn’t happen. Minutes ticked by while Jane and Nathan made small talk. I ate my turkey sandwich without tasting a single bite. How could I have screwed this up so badly? He’d have to forgive me for kicking him, right? It’s not like I keyed his Mustang.
After lunch, Bryce walked me to class, but he didn’t put his hand on my back, like he usually did. He didn’t even stop to say anything to me at my classroom door. He just kept walking.
I guess that was a preview of what was to come. When our time was up, Bryce would walk away from me and never look back.
By the end of the day, Jane was in as much of a snit as I was. “He has to plan on asking you to the movies. Maybe he’s tormenting you as payback for kicking him.”
“Who knows?” I hiked my book bag higher on my shoulder as we walked through the parking lot. “It’s not like you and Nathan can’t go on a date by yourselves.” I worked hard at presenting an indifferent appearance, but inside I was flailing like a frustrated toddler.
In the parking lot, there was a piece of notebook paper folded in perfect halves under the passenger side windshield wiper of Jane’s Honda Accord. I snatched it and whipped it open. Since Jane and Nathan are going to the show we might as well go, too.
Oh really?
I should be happy he wanted to go but the fact that he hadn’t asked me pissed me off. It felt like he thought I was willing to take whatever scraps he’d throw my way.
I balled up the note and stalked toward Bryce’s car where he stood talking to Nathan. Taking careful aim, I flung it at his head and ended up hitting him in the chest. “What the hell is this?”
He blinked. “It’s a note asking you if you want to go to the movies.”
“No. It’s not.”
He grabbed the ball of paper and uncrumpled it. Pointing to the words he said, “There it is in black and white.”
My head was going to explode. “Nowhere on that paper does it say you want to do anything with me. It sounds like you’re accepting some inevitable chore you don’t really want to do.”
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t know what your problem is today. I—” His gaze traveled past me to the people who’d stopped to listen. “Let’s talk about this in the car.” He climbed into his Mustang.
“Fine.” I joined him in the car, slamming the passenger-side door.
“You’re freaking out over a note I took five seconds to jot down. There is no hidden meaning. You said you wanted to see Pirates on the Run. I’m asking if you’d like to go on a double date with Nathan and Jane. There is no subtext.”
Was I in the wrong, again? It didn’t feel that way. I took a deep breath, blew it out, and asked the one question that was screaming in my brain. “If Nathan and Jane weren’t going, would you have asked me to go?”
“No.”
His answer was so quick and so final it was like a slap across the face. I reached for the door handle, intent on getting as far away from him as possible.
“Wait.” He grabbed my arm. “I wouldn’t have asked you to go because I don’t watch those kinds of movies.”
And I could breathe again. Sort of. “Well, at least our one double date will be out of the way.” I forced a smile I didn’t feel and exited his vehicle.
Chapter Eight
Haley
Saturday night, Jane ran around her room changing outfits like a crazy woman. “Does this look better?”
“Everything you’ve tried on looks great.” I yawned and checked my watch. Working off the money my dad had loaned me to repaint the car meant waking up at six this morning to help him plant mums at the library. After that, I had manned the cash register at the nursery until four. I then took an hour-long nap, showered and dressed. It wasn’t like I was going on a real date. I was just meeting a guy for a movie. Not a big deal. My main plan this evening was to keep all of this in perspective. Jane had a real date while I was working toward having a real boyfriend after I ended this fake relationship. Hanging out with a hottie like Bryce was a means to an end. The fact that he was enjoyable to look at was a bonus.
For my not real date, I’d chosen one of my new blouses and a pair of good-butt jeans. While I didn’t look as good as Jane, I wouldn’t embarrass myself.
“Are you sure this works?” Jane turned in a circle, showing off a fuchsia wrap top, a black miniskirt, and a pair of black Uggs with big furry pom-poms hanging from the laces.
“Love the boots. Are those new?” Jane could walk around in furry boots and look fashionable. When I tried to wear them, I looked like a demented Eskimo.
“Shhh.” She sat on the bed next to me. “Mom has been going crazy with her pre-owned clothes crusade. I snuck out and bought these while she thought I was with you.”
“In case she asks, what were we doing and when did we do it?”
“Yesterday after school, we hung out at your house, ate pizza, and watched TV.”
“Sounds good.” I checked the clock. It was quarter till seven
. “Your date should be here any minute.”
Was my date coming to pick me up? Nope. He planned to meet us at the theater. I wasn’t sure if this was due to his control issues or what. It didn’t seem worth arguing about, but I had told Jane and Nathan that Bryce would give me a ride home. I had done this for two reasons. I wanted to have a chance to talk to Bryce alone, because it seemed easier to communicate when no one else was around and I didn’t want to ruin Jane’s imminent good-night kiss.
As if on cue, a knock sounded on the front door. Jane bolted down the hall, shouting her good-byes and pretending she couldn’t hear her mother calling out from the kitchen suggesting Nathan come inside so she could meet him.
Nathan stood on the doorstep with an irritated expression on his face. Then he saw Jane, and the corners of his mouth turned up.
Of course, he was happy to see her. I went out to the car, letting Jane and Nathan have their moment.
Envy isn’t a healthy emotion. And I was happy for my friend, but I didn’t understand why Nathan wanted to spend time with her, while Bryce acted like he wasn’t sure if he liked being around me. And I hated that it bothered me and I hated even more that there was a tiny voice in my head wishing that maybe this could turn into a real date for me, too. I tried to stomp down on that voice, because I knew I’d be setting myself up for disappointment. Bryce had shown flashes of being a nice guy, but I wasn’t his type and he wasn’t my type. We’d both be better off with different people.
…
Bryce stood outside of the theatre looking like an Abercrombie model, wearing dark jeans, a pale blue shirt, and a black leather jacket. As we climbed out of the car and strode across the parking lot, I was privy to the Bryce Colton reality show, where two girls, each as tall as he was, engaged in a hair-toss and giggle-flirt fest.
He laughed and talked with both of them, touching each of them on the arm in a subtle way. As we drew closer, he spotted us, or should I say, me. Do you think he told those girls his date was here and graciously excused himself from the conversation? Nope. He made eye contact with me, nodded in acknowledgement and then…he continued his conversation.
