The Candy Cane Kiss: Briarwood High Series

by Dallen, Maggie

  I turned back to watch the smaller brunette chase after me, a few other girls following close behind her. I loved these girls but I really needed to talk to Noah alone. He hadn’t spotted me yet, but when he did I sure as heck didn’t want him seeing me approach en masse like I was ganging up on him or something.

  “Are you going to talk to him?” Maddie asked, all wide-eyed excitement like I was about to meet a celebrity and not Noah, my lifelong friend.

  I hadn’t exactly mentioned to her that I knew a hottie on campus, either. Trust me when I said that giving Maddie-the-boy-crazed-flirt that sort of ammunition would have led to a week filled with teasing and innuendos that I was so not in the mood for.

  “I can’t believe you’re going to go up to him,” one of the other girls said as she drew near.

  Well, now I just felt bad for having to burst their bubble.

  Sure enough, one of them asked, “What are you going to say?”

  “I was thinking of starting with ‘hi,’” I teased. “But maybe that’s too forward. What do you think?”

  They were staring at me like I’d lost my mind and I rolled my eyes. I mean, yes, everyone knew Noah was sexy as sin. He’d been droolworthy ever since he’d hit puberty. He’d shot up to six feet seemingly overnight and filled out in every other way as well. He was genetically blessed in the face—only amazing DNA could account for the strong jawline, the thick dark hair and those piercing blue eyes. But by the way he acted, one would think Noah deserved all the credit.

  Yup, Noah was a sexy stud and he knew it. Just ask any of the girls from our high school. His player status was legendary.

  But I loved him all the same. How could I not? He’d been Eric’s best friend since they were both in kindergarten. Which would have made me three? Yup, almost two years younger, so I was the little diaper-clad baby toddling around after them that first year we moved onto Devon Street.

  “Relax, you guys,” I said as I turned back to follow him around the corner where he’d disappeared. “He’s just an old friend.”

  He was just an old friend. So I shouldn’t feel this weird knot in my belly at the thought of talking to him. There was nothing weird between us. Nothing. Or at least…there shouldn’t be. He’d been going through a rough time, having to make some hard choices about his future. And of course it couldn’t have been easy to be around me, of all people. Baseball, softball…that was our thing. So yeah, of course he’d had a hard time being around me back then. But months had gone by. Surely by now we could go back to normal.

  But much as I told myself that, I couldn’t quite convince my stomach to unknot itself as I drew closer.

  I rounded the corner and spotted his back walking away from me. I’d know that lanky build anywhere, we’d chased after the same ball in my backyard more times than I could count. That killer right arm had taught me everything I know about throwing a curveball. And that butt…

  Wait, what? No. Stop looking at Noah’s butt, weirdo. He’s practically your brother.

  “Noah!” I called out.

  He didn’t stop.

  I ran a little faster. “Noah. Hey, Noah, wait up!”

  He slowed and then stopped. He clearly didn’t recognize my voice. When I reached his side, I came at him with a nudge to his good arm that had him stumbling to the side. I spun around to face him, blocking his path, a big dumb grin on my face. Have I mentioned that I’d missed this guy.

  Noah’s typical slow grin was slower than usual as his gaze moved over my me, taking in my heart-shaped face which was probably flushed pink from all the running, the long blonde ponytail, and the giant smile. His gaze clashed with mine and my smile faltered at the shuttered look.

  It was only then that I realized his slow, sexy grin was so slow it was almost…nonexistent. It had stopped spreading halfway and the effect was disconcerting.

  This was not his easy, affectionate smile I’d come to expect from him whenever he saw me.

  It was more like a smirk, actually.

  A lot of people would tell you that Noah was too serious. He had quite the reputation for being too intense—on the field and off. But he was never like that around me. With me he was different.

  But now…well, now I didn’t know what to think. Part of me, an admittedly paranoid, crazy part—was debating the possibility that Noah had been possessed by an alien.

  This wasn’t him.

  This was so not the Noah I knew and loved.

  There was none of typical amusement at the sight of me, none of that laughter sparkling in his bright blue eyes. The vivid blue eyes were cold and that ugly smirk was the only sign that he recognized me at all.

  “Cooper,” he said with the tiniest hint of a drawl, the only sign that he’d moved to our tiny Upstate New York town from the South. “I’d heard you be here.”

  No doubt from his mother, Elvira Mason, the former Southern Belle responsible for the subtle twang in his voice that I’d always found so soothing…until now. Because while he might have heard I’d be here at his college campus for softball camp, he hardly sounded happy about it.

  He sounded resigned, at best. And that was me being optimistic. Others might have said he sounded unhappy that he’d run into me.

  My smile was faltering big time but I clung to habit, to a million interactions that contradicted this moment. A lifetime of experience told me we were friends—more than friends. We were practically family.

  With that thought in mind, I ignored his weird reception and threw my arms around his neck for a big hug.

  One word came to mind.

  Awkward.

  It might go down as one of the most awkward embraces in history. Why? Because it was completely one-sided. I had my arms locked around him, up on my tiptoes with the full length of my body pressed to his long, torso.

  As for Noah? He was doing his best impersonation of a Greek statue. I knew from past experience watching him mow his lawn without a shirt that he had the hard muscular perfection of a Greek god beneath that faded T-shirt of his, but it was the frozen rigidity of his body that really sold it at this moment.

  He didn’t lift his arms at all, not even to give me a little pat on the back let alone an actual bear hug like he used to, back before things got weird.

  I tried to ignore the hurt of his rejection. It was just my pride that was wounded, that was all. As I pulled back from the one-sided hug with an even more awkward stumble backwards, I spotted Maddie and half the other girls from camp watching this interaction from a few yards away.

  Wonderful. My humiliation had an audience. I forced my smile back into place as I reminded myself yet again that Noah was just going through a rough time and seeing me probably didn’t help matters.

  It’s not like I caused his injury or anything; torn labrums could happen to any pitcher. Granted, it sucked massively that it happened so early in his career. Before he really got to even have a career. There’d been talk of surgeries, but in the end he’d decided that his career as a pitcher was a done deal. So really, it was not my fault that he’d had to quit baseball. It was nothing so dramatic that had him giving me that cold, resentful glare.

  At first I’d been just as confused as everyone else about his weird behavior toward me over Christmas break. I mean, his mom even apologized on his behalf, that’s how bad it had been.

  But it was my brother who’d finally hinted at what was behind the sudden shift.

  Eric had given me an impatient sigh when I’d asked him for the tenth time what Noah’s problem was. “Callie, the guy can’t play ball anymore. Give him a break.”

  My brother hadn’t exactly spelled it out for me but that comment had opened my eyes. For the first time I’d put myself in Noah’s position. I’d tried to imagine how I’d feel if our roles were reversed.

  What if I’d been the one who’d had my dream come true by being recruited for a college baseball team only to have it all ripped away because of a stupid injury.

  And then, what if I had to go home
for break and see my friend and neighbor who shared my love of the sport and watch as she trains to do everything that I could not?

  Okay, that might have been a little melodramatic, but that’s how I imagined it from his point of view, and that’s how I came to realize that his bad behavior had nothing to do with me and everything to do with what I represent.

  His lost opportunities.

  I tried reminding myself of that now in the awful tense silence that followed the epically bad hug, but it was so much harder to be empathetic when he was staring at me like that.

  Like he didn’t know me.

  Like I was some stranger—the annoying high schooler from the softball clinic sent over here to chat up the big bad college guy.

  I could feel my friends and teammates watching us and that didn’t help matters. Humiliation burned along my skin at the feel of their curious stares, their no doubt pitying glances.

  Because really, he was making me look like some high school girl with a crush. And that was so not the case.

  All my sympathy went out the window and irritation took its place. Why did he have to be such a jerk when I hadn’t done anything wrong? And why on earth couldn’t he at least pretend to be normal in front of my teammates?

  “Are you working on campus?” I asked.

  “Yup.” His gaze was too knowing, and rightfully so. He probably saw the truth from a mile away. Of course I knew that he was working on campus. He was doing an internship at the sports health center and working at Cazmo’s, the local pizza place. His manager’s name was Sam. Nice guy, apparently.

  I knew all this because his mother had told me.

  Even Eric had mentioned it to me last time we’d Skyped. Not the pizza place part, but the fact that like my brother, Noah would be staying near campus for the summer. Apparently once you leave our tiny town, it’s impossible to return for long.

  To be fair, though, there were about three decent summer jobs available and those were all taken by high schoolers like me who’d been able to work throughout the year. Not a lot of summer-only jobs in Upstate New York’s answer to Mayberry.

  I shifted uncomfortably in front of him, keenly aware of the gawking stares of my friends and trying not to get too royally pissed at the fact that Noah, my Noah, was looking over my shoulder like he was distracted, or maybe just bored by this conversation.

  “Look, I gotta run,” he started to say.

  At the same exact time, I’d started to talk too. “Can we hang out sometime this week?”

  The ensuing silence went beyond awkward. It was painful.

  His nostrils flared and for a second there I thought maybe I saw a weakness in his dickish demeanor. But then his gaze met mine and it was cold as ice. “Don’t you have to stay on campus? I thought you had a curfew.”

  He didn’t exactly sneer, but he came awfully close. He definitely managed to make me feel more like a toddler than an almost eighteen-year-old about to enter her senior year.

  “Yeah,” I said slowly. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t hang out for a little while. We could grab a coffee at the cafeteria, or—”

  But he was already starting to walk away. “Sorry, kid, I’ve got to run,” he said. “I’ve got this thing called a job. Why don’t you go ahead and run back to camp?”

  I stared after him. Anger simmered low in my belly, humiliation adding an extra special layer of awful to the churning sensation. I watched his retreating form and clenched my fists. Maybe there were some rocks close by that I could hurl at his head before he turned the next corner.

  I wouldn’t do it, but imagining it gave me a sense of grim satisfaction. That guy deserved to have some sense knocked into him. Because, seriously…

  What. Was. That?

  Who was that guy and what had he done with my friend?

  I turned back and saw my teammates gaping, their eyes wide and some filled with dreaded pity.

  I swear to God, I know him! We grew up together. We’re friends, I wanted to tell them.

  But when I strode over to them I just shook my head a bit and Maddie got the cue. She raised her voice and addressed the herd of staring girls. “Come on, guys, let’s get to the lockers.”

  She clapped her hands together loudly as if breaking the spell and that was enough to wake the silent audience. We all moved toward the locker rooms en masse, conversations starting up all around me.

  “You okay?” Maddie asked quietly.

  I nodded, even though that was a lie. I was so not okay. I was hurt. I was pissed…I wanted an explanation.

  And I’d get one, I decided. I had five more days here at Fairfield until that last day. The highlight of the week. What it all came down to. The main event. The showcase game, where the bleachers filled with friends, some family, and most importantly—recruiters.

  The recruiters, I reminded myself. That’s why I was here. And for me, there was one even bigger draw for the game. The coach for Fairfield University’s softball team always came as well. Fairfield was my dream school, mainly because of their stellar team, but also because of its relative proximity to my family and the fact that they had a killer sports medicine department, which was what I planned to major in.

  Still, even with the practices, and the bonding times with my camp friends, and with the showcase to prepare for—I’d find a way to talk to Noah. There was no way I was going to let him treat me like that, at least not without an explanation.

  Maddie looped an arm around my shoulders, her wild brown curls tickling my face as she pulled me against her in a side hug. She and the others couldn’t have heard his nasty tone or even the dismissive, condescending words, but our body language must have made it painfully clear that our interaction was anything but friendly. “Would it help if we snuck out for some ice cream tonight?”

  “Yes,” I said decisively. “Ice cream always helps.” Maybe it was the side hug, or Maddie’s cheerful tone, but just talking about going out for ice cream cheered me up considerably.

  “Amen to that.” I saw her look in my direction out the corner of my eyes. “Is that the guy you were telling me about? Your brother’s friend?”

  I nodded but kept quiet. I loved Maddie to death, our friendship had gone above and beyond teammates and camp friends. She’d managed to make ‘brother’s friend’ sound suggestive, like there was more to it than that.

  There wasn’t.

  He was Eric’s best friend. My friend. We were neighbors. End of story. But of course Maddie wouldn’t see it that way. I hadn’t told her much about our last interaction or even that I’d known he’d be here this week. But we’d been friends long enough that she knew all about my other friends, and she knew just how important Noah was to me.

  Not only was he a close family friend, he was the one who’d turned me into a softball player. Maddie was one of few who could understand the significance of that.

  Judging by the mischievous glint in her eyes now as she eyed me, Maddie was trying to make this something it wasn’t, like a lover’s quarrel or something ridiculously dramatic like that.

  Sure enough, her next words proved me right.

  “What happened between you two? Did he make a move or something?” She arched her brows. “He had the look of a jilted lover if I ever saw one.”

  I rolled my eyes but kept my mouth shut. If I tried to protest it would just encourage her. Trust me, I had experience in this department. Maddie was beyond stubborn when she got an idea stuck in her head.

  The year before she’d been convinced that we should double date while I was in town. The guy she’d been dating—a guy who hadn’t lasted beyond that week—plus his best friend.

  As if I’d wanted to think about dating when I was here for training.

  Needless to say, Maddie and I had a different view of boys and dating and romance in general. Basically, she was all for it. Some might even say the girl was boy crazy. I, on the other hand, had never really been all that into the romance thing. One day it would happen to me. One day I’d
have a crush and maybe then I’d understand Maddie a little better. But until then I was content to focus on my game, work on my skills so I could get a scholarship to college, and be entertained by Maddie’s dating stories and her guy drama.

  This was all to say that when I’d first mentioned Noah, way back when she and I had first met, she’d leapt to all kinds of conclusions about my friendship with him. The more I’d protested, the more she’d been convinced that I’d developed romantic feelings for the guy.

  That was so not the case, but I really didn’t want to have that conversation again, at least not now. In fact, I didn’t want to think about Noah at all right now. I had bigger things to worry about, like how I was going to make the best impression imaginable on the coach from Fairfield.

  But first and foremost, we had ice cream to grab.

  This was kind of a big deal. Noah hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d said that I wasn’t allowed to leave campus, or that we had a curfew. Ridiculous as it might sound, the college didn’t trust us to leave the campus so getting an ice cream meant sneaking off campus and then slipping back to our rooms undetected before lights out.

  The whole thing was pretty silly, but it was something of a tradition at camp. Since Maddie lived in the town of Fairfield, we used her car. It wasn’t all that hard to sneak out, and as long as we were back before bed check we were fine. It was a camp, not a prison. But half the fun of our little ice cream adventures was the sneaking in and out. For a bunch of dedicated, nose-to-the-grindstone, wannabe professional athletes, that little dose of devilry was akin to jumping out of an airplane.

  I got a rush of adrenaline just thinking about sneaking out, because yes, I was totally a goody two-shoes and there was no denying it.

  “Come on,” I said, “Let’s go shower and then change into our ninja-wear.”

  Maddie’s laugh had a few of the other girls looking in our direction. “Ninja-wear?” she echoed. “I hope you mean you brought something black and slinky.”

  I arched my brows. “For ice cream?”

  She shrugged. “You never know who you’ll meet when you’re out on the town.” She lowered her voice and widened her eyes suggestively. “Maybe your hottie neighbor will be there.”