“I know! We’ve been best friends for six years!”
Anna shook her head and gulped down her milk.
“Any room for me?” asked the irresistible voice of someone towering over me.
I finally found something to smile about again. “Sure, sit!” When he did, I introduced him to Anna. “This is Luke Pawlak. He’s new.”
Anna smiled—the kind of smile you smile when someone’s drop-dead-gorgeous. “Hi, Luke!” She shook his hand and continued her lunch, her eyes peeking his way every now and then. “Don’t mind me, I’ve got exams to study for, plus the ACT. I’m trying to finish eating quickly so I can get to my locker.”
Luke nodded and gave me a light smile. “How was your morning?”
I shrugged uneventfully, hoping he’d never find out. “So-so. And yours?”
He ran a French fry through a puddle of ketchup. “Interesting. Had math and history. At least math was good.”
A whistle sounded from the next table over—Tom, Jake, and Jenna’s table. We turned our heads to Jake. “Hey, that’s the guy in my math class!”
Luke turned to me. “Who’s that guy?”
I sighed. “The ex I told you about.” I rolled my eyes as Jake pecked Jenna’s cheek.
“Oh.” Luke was quiet after that. He ate his fries, glancing at me from time to time.
Tom eventually came by the table and sat beside Anna, who was in the process of leaving. He looked at Luke, unamused, and then at me. “So who is this?” he asked like it was his business.
“Luke,” said Luke. “Who’s asking?”
“Tom.” He scratched his head and sucked his teeth. Tom tries his best to annoy someone every second of his existence. If he’s not bothering somebody, he’s not living life to the fullest. “So you’re with Adonia now, huh?”
“We’re trying to eat,” I informed him.
Tom rubbed his chin thoughtfully, like thinking is something he has the mental capacity for. “So eat.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m losing my appetite!”
Tom pointed at my face. “Still a bit red from that volleyball I see.”
Luke raised an eyebrow. “What happened with the volleyball?”
Tom laughed like it was the highlight of his day.
“He smacked me in the face with it during gym today.”
Luke looked to him. “Why would you do that?”
Tom sneered at me. “Hey, you know, if you actually worked on participating in gym, you wouldn’t have gotten hit.”
“Maybe you should work on being less of an asshole,” Luke suggested.
“Who’s an asshole? You don’t even know me.”
“I know enough to know you’re an asshole, hurting a girl.”
“Oh, boo-hoo,” Tom taunted, “she’ll get over it.”
“Can you just go away?” I barked, pushing Tom’s arm off my side of the table.
“Stop having Sullivan invite Jake over to your house. Jenna’s getting sick of you putting the moves on her man.”
“I didn’t tell Sullivan to invite him anywhere,” I hissed. “And I’m not hitting on that horny worm, either.”
Tom shrugged. “That’s what he told us.”
“I don’t hit on the jerk, okay? It’s actually the other way around!”
Tom leaned in toward us. “He wants to talk to your boyfriend.”
I just stared at him. Then my gaze turned to Luke.
Luke smirked. “I’m free after lunch.”
Great, he couldn’t do it with me around?
An annoying minute later, Tom went back to his table and delivered the message.
We sat in a brief silence.
“Luke? Would you mind helping me with math homework tonight? I’m a little behind doing it.” Actually, I wasn’t, but I figured I’d be getting more, and I needed an excuse to see him.
“Sure.”
“We can meet at my locker and you can get on my bus,” I offered.
He grinned and pushed his plate toward the center of the table, his food barely touched. “Cool.”
I obsessed all day over what Jake and Luke talked about in the hall after lunch. I hoped whatever it was was true at least, but knowing Jake, I doubt it.
~ ~ ~
“Thirteen-thirteen Massacre Lane,” Luke said with some amusement as he waited for me to unlock the door. “Wow. How do you feel about this?”
“Not much I can do until college. Then I just won’t live here anymore!” I struggled to get my key out of the depths of my book bag.
When I finally opened the door, we stepped in. Dad was on the couch in brown sweats, his nose in a new Writer’s Digest, his hand independently scribbling notes on paper. “Hi, Adonia,” he said without looking. “How was school?”
“Okay.”
“Mom called,” Dad said, still reading. “She’ll be back for a week next week. And I’ve been asked by the University of Arizona to be a guest speaker for four days later this month. They’re paying big bucks!” He dropped his pen and rubbed his thumb and index finger together in the air. Then he looked up, stunned to see a guy with me. “Oh.” He got up and paced toward us, his hand out for Luke to shake. “And who’s this?”
“This is Luke. Remember, Dad, I told you about him?”
“Of course,” Dad said, still shaking Luke’s hand.
“Nice to meet you, sir,” Luke said.
“Luke’s good at math, so I asked him to help me with my homework.”
Dad looked perplexed. “Why didn’t you tell me you need help with math? I would’ve helped you myself.”
“Daaaad…” I moaned.
“Well, anyway. That sure is nice of you, Luke.” After looking Luke over for a minute, Dad said, “You know what, why don’t you two work in the kitchen? Best room in the house!”
I rolled my eyes. The man clearly suffers from extreme paranoia.
Dad told us to holler if we needed anything. And I walked Luke to the kitchen table.
Luke sat beside me at the table. “Big house,” he breathed, looking around.
I smiled nervously. I didn’t know what to do about not having any homework. I’d even hoped during math that Mr. Michaels would give us some, but he didn’t. He was too busy lecturing when the bell rang and he had no time.
I couldn’t come up with an excuse by the time Luke asked what I had to do. “On second thought, he didn’t assign any.”
He laughed. “Okay…” He looked around for a minute. Then he asked in a low, sexy voice, “So what do you want to do?”
“I just wanna hang out, actually. Maybe in a while we can leave?”
“Sure, that would be sweet.”
“So, what did Jake say after lunch?” I pressed.
“He didn’t say much.” After some silence he added, “You don’t believe that, though.”
I shook my head no.
He took off his coat and spread it across the back of the seat, revealing godlike arms, and a stunning chest. Then he smiled, like wondering what I was blushing at. Surely he had to know he’s hot!
“He really didn’t say anything worth mentioning. I think he’s just pissed he lost you.”
“Should I mention that Jake dumped me?” I blurted.
Luke looked dubious. “What guy would dump you?”
“One that hounds me, and gets sick of rejection.”
“Oh,” Luke breathed. “Well if he doesn’t respect you enough not to pester you, he doesn’t have your best interests at heart.”
And there it is—the sweetest thing I’d heard all day.
Just then, Jake and Sullivan entered the kitchen and raided the fridge. Once they were done, they opened their sodas, held their chips and salsa and stared at us.
“Is that your new boyfriend?” Sullivan teased. His hair was all messy, but by far cleaner than his tee shirt—he definitely had leftover lasagna and orange soda earlier. My brother’s about as clean as a pig at feeding hour.
“Yeah, this is Luke,” I said cheerfully.
> Jake rolled his eyes.
Sullivan cleared his throat after a sip of Sprite. “So Luke, what does my dad think you’re doing here?”
“Oh. I’m helping your sister with her homework.”
“Oh, the invisible homework!” Sullivan shook his head and hollered, “Daaaaad!”
Jake snickered and I groaned. Sullivan’s such a tattletale, yet he hates when I do it.
I got to my feet, grabbed Luke’s arm and started toward the door. “We’re going out,” I said as I nearly bumped into my father.
Dad stood before us. “What’s going on here?”
I sighed. “Dad, Sullivan’s pestering us, and we’re going out.”
“Where will you be you taking my daughter?” Dad looked up at Luke, his hands on his hips.
“Dad! We’re just going for a hot chocolate or coffee or something.”
He frowned indecisively. “Or something? Is your homework done?”
“Yes,” I uttered, halfway out the door.
“Be back by nine.”
We put on our coats and got into my mom’s Jeep. I cranked the engine and backed out of the driveway.
“Your dad seems really nice,” Luke said at a red light.
There were dozens of cars in front—it was close to rush hour. Rush hour makes me nervous, with all the stopping and going and stopping and going.
Luke must be kidding about my dad. Jake once told me Dad’s the most intimidating guy in the world!
“He means well. I guess he wouldn’t be so irritating if he actually worked someplace other than home.” Our eyes met. “What’s your dad like?”
“Well, my dad doesn’t live with me, I live with my mom. But my dad’s an okay kind of guy. He works a lot. He’s a CEO, so he’s always out brown-nosing clients.”
I shook my head. “If my dad didn’t work, I don’t know what I’d do!”
Luke laughed. “I guess he’s tough on boyfriends, huh? Being home all the time…”
I laughed and blurted, “You’d think that’s why I’m still a virgin!”
Instant. Deafening. Silence.
Yeah, I wanted to crawl under the car and die.
My breath caught in my throat. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at him. Not until the next red light, when I convinced myself to peek over. He looked away quickly, gliding his hand through his hair with a long sigh.
“So where are we going?” he asked awkwardly.
I cleared my throat. “We can go for some hot chocolate, if that’s okay.”
“Sweet.”
When we got to The Corner Diner, we sat at a booth in the corner (go figure!). Aside from us, a waitress, and cooks, the place was deserted.
We ordered and sat in silence. I wondered if I should bring up the comment about my virginity and tell him it was just a joke. But my virginity isn’t a joke, it’s quite real.
I took a sip when I got my drink. He didn’t touch his. “Are you okay?” he asked.
My heart fluttered. “Yeah, why?”
“You’ve been quiet since in the car. I was just wondering if something is wrong.”
I didn’t know what to say. And I couldn’t help but wonder if he was a virgin, too.
He tapped my hand and knitted his eyebrows, willing me to say something.
“Sorry, I was daydreaming!” About your virginity, or lack thereof!
He smiled. “Oh, it’s okay.”
“What’s your mom like?” I asked, desperate to get my mind off his virginity.
“Nice. Never home anymore. Everything I could ever ask for.” He smiled. “It’s great, because I can hang around you and relax.” He slouched down in his seat and hugged himself. “My house is pretty vacant these days.”
I nodded dreamily.
“So have you known Anna for long?”
“Not too long,” I said. “My best friend who’s on vacation now, she introduced me to her.” He eyed me. “Lilly’s in Miami Beach, tanning as we speak.”
His eyes widened. “Lilly?”
I nodded. “Yeah, why?”
He chugged down his hot chocolate and motioned to the waitress for the bill.
“Is something wrong?” I asked, and sipped my hot chocolate again.
He smiled simply. “No, there’s nothing wrong. I was just wondering.” He looked thoughtful. Then he said, “Hey, I’ll be right back.”
He walked to the register and waited for the waitress to ring him up. Then he came back, fell into his seat, and said, “Where to next?”
I grinned. “Wanna ice skate?”
~ ~ ~
At the outdoor rink, I taught him how to skate. Lilly taught me—she’d been skating since she was five. Now I was teaching him, and after he landed face-down in my chest twice, I wondered if he was just clumsy or a bit of a pervert.
“Sorry.” He turned lobster red for a second time.
The rink was pretty crowded. It’s one of the more popular hangouts for our school, besides the theater and fast food joints.
After a few more tries, Luke gave up and watched me skate. I felt bad abandoning him, so we got hotdogs and shared a root beer in the eating area.
It was pitch black out by 6:30, and the cold drove many people home. There were still lights and stars overhead, and despite the cold, Luke insisted he was having fun and wanted to stay longer.
Jenna was there with Tom, though she couldn’t skate, so she spent most of her time on a bench. I wondered if her boyfriend was still at my house. And why she and Tom seemed closer than she and Jake did in the first place.
“So what’s her problem?” Luke asked, motioning to Jenna as he moved sauerkraut from his plate to his hotdog.
“Jenna just hates me.” She was talking to a bunch of jocks on her bench. Her eyes wandered over to us on occasion, with the obvious intention of checking out my boyfriend.
“Isn’t it cold as hell in that skirt?”
I laughed. “Maybe she’s still here because she can’t feel her legs!”
After a few uneventful minutes Luke asked, “How long have you lived up here?”
“Too long,” I said. “Can’t wait to move out.”
“On your own…? Does that make you nervous?”
“I dunno. Can’t be any worse than life now! And you?”
He shrugged. “Didn’t have the best dad in the world, I’m used to being alone.”
“Do you miss California?” I asked.
“Nah. You’re not there.” He winked.
I felt myself blush. “Did you have a girlfriend there?” I pried. If he didn’t, I’ll die of shock.
“On occasion,” he breathed. “No one I was too crazy about.”
He may not have been too crazy about them, but I‘m betting they were all hotter than me. Lilly-hot, probably.
“Did you live in California long?”
“Well, I traveled a lot.”
“To exotic ski locations?” I grinned.
“Yup. Only cool thing about my dad, he loves buying me plane tickets. He’s supposed to get me a trainer up here. Whenever he gets around to it,” he said with an eye roll.
“I’m not my mom’s top priority, so don’t feel bad.”
“Weird. I can’t get enough of you,” he said flirtatiously.
I blushed. “At least someone can’t.”
Before long, my eyes began to droop. It was getting hard to keep them open.
“Are you okay?”
“I hate to go home before curfew, but I’m exhausted.”
“Why don’t you let me drive?” he offered. “You shouldn’t drive tired.”
I gave him the keys to Mom’s car. My contacts were drying up in my eyes and it was hard to concentrate on anything.
When he got me home, he handed me the keys. “I’ll just call a cab,” he assured me, since I was worried about how he’d get home.
“Is it far?” I asked.
“A couple of miles.”
“Let me drive you, I can manage a few miles.”
“
No,” he insisted. “Seriously, it’s not a big deal.”
“Okay. We’ll meet by my locker tomorrow?”
He nodded. “Same time, same place!”
I leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll see you then. I had fun.”
He grinned. “I had fun, too.”
We got out of the car and walked to the front door, behind which my father was waiting. Dad insisted that Luke not waste money on a cab—he’d drive him.
“Okay, sir,” Luke said with a dry throat.
V
Since Thursday was an early-out, Luke took me to Grizzly Mountain for a crash course in skiing. And I mean a crash course.
“My girl has to be good on skis,” he said, with a smile and a wink. I was jittery, because skiing isn’t much like ice skating.
After my hundredth fall, he explained stopping again. “When you want to stop, point your feet toward each other. Kind of like ice skating, it’s not as hard as you think.”
Says the guy who fell in my chest. Twice.
I fell behind on the advanced ski trail. I kept trying to ski like I’m “advanced” because I didn’t want him taking the starter trails with fifth graders. Thankfully, by five, I had it pretty much figured out.
By 7:20, night had fallen. We decided to give it one more run before heading back to his Jeep to go home.
He bought the Jeep on Wednesday—the only day I didn’t see him after school. His dad sent him money for it. I wish my dad bought me a brand new car! Luke says it’s lousy-parent-guilt-money, and an early graduation present to boot.
I guess I’m supposed to just be happy with my allowance—a whole twenty bucks a week. Dad won’t let me keep a job during the school year, and he seriously thinks twenty bucks makes up for it.
We took the lift up to the expert trail, at the top of Grizzly Mountain. An occasional light lit the trail, and moonlight lit the mountains that encompassed us. The sky was amazingly clear, painted with bright stars and a dancing blue-green aurora. It was very picturesque.
“Wow,” he breathed, his eyes on the sky. “I haven’t seen the northern lights since Iceland. This is really amazing.”
“I can’t imagine why you’d go to a place called Iceland,” I teased.
He chuckled, leaned into my ear. “Where there’s snow, I go,” he whispered. His breath made me feel funny. I was really tempted to kiss him.
My Best Friend's Brother Page 4
