You're What I Want (Y.A Series Book 4)

by Sarah Tork

  “That’s it, I can’t take it anymore!” Dad jumped up, bumped his knee against the coffee table, and fled the living room.

  Mom laughed. “That’s not attractive, Tony. It’s time to put your big girl panties on.”

  *~*~*

  *JENNA*

  It was almost eleven at night.

  I was still awake, restless on my bed, tucked—by myself, of course—in for the night. With my arm behind my head, I stared at my star-strewn ceiling, hoping that counting them would lead me to drift off to a world where I wasn’t required to feel or think, or reflect about my life becoming a disappointment.

  How many ways was there to describe how devastated I truly was?

  There were other schools I could hope to get a scholarship to, maybe the University of Florida, or Miami… maybe.

  When I told my parents yesterday about the girl from Argentina getting the scholarship over me, and many others, they took it better than I could have ever imagined.

  Especially Dad.

  And on that note, there was a knock on my door before it slowly creaked open.

  “Hey?” Dad whispered from the hallway, peeking through the doorway. “You awake?”

  “Yeah, I am.” I grinned at him as he opened the door and came inside wearing a shirt from ten years ago. It had a hole at the bottom, but he loved it anyway. It was a reminder of the first time he and Mom took Robby and me to the greatest amusement park in the world. That place was freaking expensive. Way back when, Dad had worked as a mechanic’s senior apprentice and Mom was a waitress at a steak house, and their pay wasn’t good, not for a family of four at least.

  In a way, that was another life lesson. If you wanted something, you worked hard, you planned, you saved, and eventually, somehow it would happen. My parents had saved whatever they could from their measly paychecks after our bills and mortgage were paid. When that special day came, Robby and I woke up to them screaming and hollering that it was Fun Day.

  Besides getting our house when I was four, that was the next best day of my life; hell it probably still was the best day of my life.

  Anyway… back to Dad. What was he up to?

  He stopped a couple of steps away from my door with a huge grin on his face. “I just had the most amazing idea.”

  I sat up, giving him a confused look. “An amazing idea?”

  He snorted. “Hell, a genius idea.”

  “And that would be?”

  Dad bent his knees like he was about to tackle me, but instead he raised his arms, drew an air square with one hand and filled it with what I assumed were letters with the other. “Picture this, Ralphy’s Pizza Restaurant sponsoring you from now on.”

  I laughed, shaking my head at him. Like I said, it was definitely something he would have thought of. The door creaked as Mom, in her pink bathrobe, pushed her way in.

  “What’s going on in here? I can hear you guys from down the hall.” She moaned, one eye still closed.

  “Natalie, picture this,” Dad practically squealed, twirling to face her now, drawing the air box with the air squiggles right over her.

  “Jesus Christ, Tony, this time of night,” she groaned, but there was amusement in her voice. This was her man and she knew not to expect anything less but these kinds of antics from him.

  “Brilliant ideas don’t wait for those who sleep; get with it, woman.” He grinned. “Now, picture this. Ralphy’s Pizza Restaurant sponsoring Jenna in all her swimming ventures from now on! College tuition, no problem!”

  “What!” Mom’s eyes jerked open, giving me a look that read ‘my husband’s crazy.’

  “You woke us up for this?”

  “A genius idea, woman!” he screeched. “Right, Jenna!”

  I jumped to my feet, balancing myself on my mattress with my arms shooting straight up to match his enthusiasm. “Right, Dad!”

  Mom’s face was horrified. “It’s eleven at night, don’t get us all excited now, how are we going to get back to sleep?” She grabbed Dad’s shirt and yanked him out of my room. “Get out of here, you crazy.”

  Dad let her lead him out, but not without one last parting statement. “Genius Dad, on duty, always.”

  His laugh turned into a rough one as Mom yanked him into the hallway and leaned back inside my room with her hand on my doorknob. “Don’t you listen to him, Jenna. The last thing we need is to be in that slimeball Ralphy’s debt. Go back to sleep. We’ll see you in the morning.”

  She closed my door and I heard them half joke, half seriously argue in the hallway en route to their bedroom.

  “But it really is a good idea, Natalie,” Dad exclaimed, and that was the last I heard of their conversation.

  CHAPTER 10

  *JENNA*

  Friday November 9, 2012

  “It’s going to be okay,” Coach Donaldson said, taking a seat in her chair after morning practice. We were in her tiny office next to the swimming pool. Class was starting in thirty minutes, but the way I felt—scared, tired and lost—class was the last place I wanted to spend the next five hours in.

  Thinking sucked. All I did was think, think about what I was going to do and how I was going to do it before September 2013.

  I sighed and leaned in my seat on the other side of her folder-cluttered desk. “How can you say that? My parents say that it’ll be okay too, but I just don’t see it. Without a scholarship, going to a school like State seems impossible. I need money. I’ll probably….”

  “Probably what?” Coach asked, pinching her brows together.

  “Get a job.” I shrugged. “Don’t have a choice now. Every spare second needs to be used to make money.”

  Coach shot out of her seat. “You’re not quitting the team!”

  My phone vibrated, chiming with an incoming text. Rising from my seat, I gave Coach a look that screamed ‘don’t be stupid.’ “That’s never going to happen. Anyways, I got to go.”

  With my backpack over my shoulder I headed out the door.

  “It’ll work out, Jenna. Don’t worry,” Coach called from behind me.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I mumbled and headed into the hallway, pulling out my phone.

  Tom: Hey Silly.

  Jenna: Hey where are you?

  Tom: Outside, the parking lot. Come to me.

  Normally I would have been waiting outside next to the pillar, but it was Friday and Annabelle was doing the whole having breakfast on Friday mornings with James thing. I headed to the parking lot, surprised at how busy it was with people hanging out next to their cars, listening to music on max volume. I searched for Tom’s blue car, spotting him leaning against it a few yards away, all by himself.

  My sad brown eyes met his sparkling blue ones. He smiled at me and it decimated my frown. I moved faster, hitting pavement and rounding three cars in seconds.

  “Hey,” I said, my belly doing flips as I stopped next to him. “What are you doing here by yourself?”

  He smiled, digging his hands in the pockets of his dark jeans. “Waiting for you.”

  I smirked. “Yeah, right.”

  Tom straightened off the hood of his car. “I’m not lying.”

  I went to him and leaned lightly on the hood of his car. “So… where are your bros, bro?”

  Tom grinned, taking a seat next to me. He pointed to the car across from his, where a guy and girl were making out in the backseat.

  I chuckled, shaking my head. “Well there’s Dana and Roy. So scandalous!”

  Tom pointed to another three cars down from his. “And there’s Peter, chilling with Becky in his car.”

  “Oh! I guess it’s a done deal now… good-bye, douche bag Johnny.” I grinned, feeling bewildered. “Why’s everyone kissing?”

  Tom leaned closer to my face. “Not everyone.” He hummed in a cute way.

  “Stop,” I hissed playfully, inches from his lips. I gave him a small push and he acted like it was a serious blow, falling off his car, holding his chest in mock agony. I still felt bad, so I leaned down and
pecked him on the cheek.

  Which had him feeling miraculously better. Caressing his cheek, Tom looked at me with a heated gaze. “Come here, silly,” he murmured, stirring something inside me and resulting in the immediate answer of hell yes.

  Overthinking everything Jenna was out the door… for now.

  He straightened his body and opened his muscly arms wide. I leaped into his arms, circling my legs around his waist.

  “Here I am,” I whispered, resting my forehead against his while he tightened his hold around my hips. I felt feather-light in his hold, like there’s no way he’d drop me.

  “There you are, silly,” he whispered, and I pressed my lips to his. Feelings intensified, and when cars began to honk we pulled back.

  Tom readjusted his hold over my legs. “Can we start the day with a kiss from now on?”

  Inside I was screaming, “Yes.” I’d love to jump into his arms and kiss him like crazy every single day. On the outside I was cringing, because I wasn’t supposed to like this—

  “Hey,” Tom said, jolting me from my thoughts.

  I sighed. “Yeah?”

  “I’m going to kiss you again, silly,” he said.

  Feeling the butterflies deep in my belly, I smiled. “If you must, Big Tom.”

  *~*~*

  *JENNA*

  I examined the baseball field as the resident stars of Royal Heights High tossed baseballs back and forth, while others strengthened their bat swings.

  Watching them eat air after losing control of their bats was kind of hilarious.

  Totally not hating here. There had also been some impressive home-run-worthy hits.

  My line of sight panned to the bleachers where I was unfortunately seated, watching. I wasn’t the only one watching. Girls filled the bleachers, barely a boy in sight.

  R.H.H.S cheerleaders practiced their pyramid on the soccer field, but a few of them found their way next to the baseball diamond, screaming at the top of their lungs in their bright-colored sport bras and boy shorts. “Go team, go team, go team!”

  I cringed. “Yeah, I don’t feel like we’re on Earth right now. What planet are we on again?”

  Annabelle leaned back in her seat. “We’re on planet Fangirl, in case you haven’t noticed already.” She gestured to everything in front of us, especially to where ginormous gonzalas were being pumped in and out dangerously close to the rim of too-tight sport bras. Keeping those puppies from spilling had to be a talent. But still, it definitely didn’t give them a right to be screaming this loud.

  Cringing, I covered my ears in protest. “It’s just a practice, Jesus. Their enthusiasm makes me want to vomit.” I shook my head at all of them, deeply disappointed. “By the way, how many of these things have you been to?”

  Annabelle sighed. “Would you be surprised if I said this was my first time here?”

  I looked at her in surprise. “Very surprised.”

  “It’s the truth,” Annabelle murmured, watching a mock game being set up.

  I snorted quietly. “I thought the second you and Boy Wonder were good to go in the public eye you’d be his personal cheerleader, following him around like a puppy pining desperately for its owner’s attention.”

  Three cheers for forced tolerance!

  My best friend rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Glad to see you think so highly of me, Jenna. Didn’t know I screamed desperation. Guess I gotta change a few things about how I present myself to everyone.”

  “All right,” I growled, feeling ashamed. “You can stop now, you’ve made your point.”

  Annabelle smirked like she got hers. “Just putting you in line, buddy.”

  “Ugh, I’ve taught you too well. Using guilt as a weapon… sigh.” I shook my head and focused back on the main event. After a few minutes of silence, something else came to mind. “Why is this the first time you’ve come to one of these things?”

  “No reason,” she answered, looking anywhere but me.

  “All right,” I sighed, not pushing it any farther. Instead, I looked higher up the bleachers where the “hot” girl crew nested, crowing like deranged banshees. “Well look who’s here as well.”

  Frowning, Annabelle followed my line of sight. “Oh, they’re here. They’re always here if there’s baseball practice.”

  “Does that bother you?” I asked.

  “No.” Annabelle turned back to the game with a sullen face.

  Great.

  She was sad.

  And I had no idea why… well, that’s a lie, I had an inkling.

  I looked away from Latisha and Stacey Two flaunting their status, and found a familiar duo basking in misery and jealousy a few rows down.

  “Well, look who decided to show up too.” I sneered at Donna and Stacey scrunching their noses and flicking their hair in a “like so whatever” kind of way.

  “Wouldn’t be the first time,” Annabelle mumbled while I focused on the valley-girl duel to my left. This was TV gold.

  “Anna, it’s times like these that I cherish the most.” I nudged her to look to her left where pouty lips were used as a weapon of choice. “Behold, a duel. Look at them, glaring evilly at one another. You think they’ll actually fight? I’m talking an all-out, claws-out, hair-pulling extravaganza!”

  Annabelle looked back at me and rolled her eyes. “Dare to dream. They’re gonna do nothing but stare daggers at one another.”

  “Hilarious, yet tragic.” I grinned like a kid in a candy store. “The least they could do is provide some comedy. I mean, watching Tom practice is swell and all, but there’s nothing like watching a band of idiots declare war over trivial matters of high school hierarchy.”

  “Totes.” Annabelle nodded. “But alas, your expectations will only lead you down a miserable and disappointing road. Your brown eyes glimmer with excitement, my dear.”

  Grinning, I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back. “Darling, I prefer the term ‘twinkle.’ What can I say, I get tingles when I hear ladies-in-waiting discuss first world problems like, who dares wear similar-colored thongs to me, and how they won’t stand for the injustice. I know it’ll only be a matter of time before things go… bad.” I wagged my eyebrows slyly, earning a ‘you’re crazy’ look from Annabelle.

  “What’s your obsession with thongs?” Annabelle asked, unzipping her backpack and taking out a bag of chips. “The ‘hot’ girl crew is more than the type and color of underwear they wear, you know.”

  “I know, there’s also lip gloss and twerking.” I smiled, feeling happy as she opened the bag and popped a chip in her mouth. I glanced back at the rival groups. “But I’m telling you, Anna, I’m willing to sacrifice both birthday and Christmas presents to see them get into an all-out brawl over who wears fake eyelashes, and who stuffs their bra.” I grinned slyly. “And who knows how to do… you know… better.”

  Her hand paused with the next chip halfway in her mouth. “No I don’t know, please elaborate.”

  My heart began to race. “Strike my last comment from the record, your honor.”

  “Motion denied.” Annabelle grinned slyly, leaning closer to me. “Explain what you meant.”

  “Girl, you are gonna be the death of me.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Totally taking a play from my book. I don’t know whether to wring your neck, or give you a tighter hug.”

  “Stop deflecting, Sabini.”

  “I’m not explaining crap!” I pulled away, knowing my face was turning red. Why was she doing this to me? Was she trying to make a point?

  “Didn’t know you knew about those types of things, Jenna.” Annabelle smirked, shaking her head.

  “I don’t know anything,” I growled lowly. “You probably know more than I do. Don’t tell me you’ve never….”

  Her face turned disgusted. “Ew, no way. I don’t know anything either, except for well… you know.”

  “Unfortunately,” I muttered, returning to watch the mock game that had just started. “Oh look, my man’s
playing… err ball now?”

  Annabelle chuckled silently. “Oh, Jenna. Never thought I’d ever hear you say those words.”

  “I know, I’m shocking myself more and more every day.” I helped myself to her chips and watched Tom position himself over home plate, holding a metal bat at an angle that’d been perfected over the years. I glanced over to the pitcher, and it was Roy. He kept swiping the edge of his cap and making weird gestures with his nose and eyes. “What the heck is Roy doing? Some sort of code?”

  “I guess.” Annabelle shrugged. “It’s part of the sport, from what I’ve heard.”

  “Damn, that’s not right.” I shook my head. “Is this a friendly sport or a prelude to a career in espionage?”

  “Hey, batter, batter, batter, batter, hey, batter, batter, batter, batter,” a few teammates jeered from the sidelines, making me very, very, very angry. My pulse and heart rate were racing dangerously.

  “They better stop antagonizing my boyfriend before I march down there and slap them all,” I hissed, wiping crumbs off my lips. “Tell me, since you’re the expert, is my face turning red right now?”

  “I’m the expert?” Annabelle snorted. “Girl, I’ll backhand you and make that face red myself. Quit it.”

  I stuck my tongue out and she whacked my shoulder. “Ouch, totally abusing me.”

  That behavior continued for the remainder of baseball practice. When practice was finally over, I’d honestly had a great time, thanks to Annabelle.

  But I wasn’t sure if I could do it alone.

  Unless there were snacks. Then I’d be here with bells on, cheering my man on with Cheetos crunching happily in my mouth.

  Standing, I stretched my arms out. “Well, it’s been swell, my dear. But frankly, being so close while you ogled your man boy was nauseating. Next time, I’ll bring tomatoes and perfect my aim with a specific target in mind.