“Oooh. Now you definitely have my attention,” I interjected, genuinely excited. My eyes must have been sparkling, because Andy laughed at my eagerness and continued.
“After dinner, we can head out back for a dip in the heated pool or a soak in the hot tub, depending on the weather. Since I know how much you’re dying to see me without a shirt on.” He winked, and I giggled. I giggled, for heaven’s sake. What was wrong with me? “Then, to finish off the night, we can watch a romantic comedy of your choosing in the theater room and snuggle up on the couch. Making out is optional, of course, and costs extra.”
“Even for me?” I whined.
“Ok, maybe I’ll make an exception for you. If you’re really nice.”
“Sounds like the day will be money well spent,” I affirmed. “Glad my boyfriend is such a planner.”
“Yeah, he sounds like a pretty cool guy,” Andy replied, chuckling to himself.
We focused on our paintings for the rest of the hour. Andy’s was already looking like fruit. Mine looked like a bunch of blobs. Maybe I’d add a misshapen boob, for Andy’s benefit. The whole time we worked, we played footsie under the table. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so giddy over a boy. I’d had a few other boyfriends since Rob, but none that gave me perma-grin the way Andy did.
We were in a groove, so neither of us noticed what time it was. The bell rang, and I looked up at the clock. “Would you look at that? Time to go already.”
“You want to get together later?” Andy asked.
“I wish I could,” I responded, disappointed. “I have an English paper due tomorrow, and I’m only halfway done. I’m afraid the only company I’ll be enjoying tonight is that of my computer.”
“Can I at least walk you to your car, then?”
“Of course.”
We gathered up our things and walked out to the parking lot. Once we were at my car, Andy opened my door for me. I lingered outside, because I didn’t really want to leave him. I was hoping he’d give me a kiss, but it looked like all I’d get was a hug. He pulled me close and rubbed his hand up my back.
“Are you sure you have to go?” he asked softly into my hair.
“Yes.” I sighed, then pulled away and slid into my seat. “Don’t I get a kiss good-bye, at least? I’m not sure I’ll make it the rest of the night without one.” I’d put the top back on my Jeep, so it’s not like we were fully exposed to the whole parking lot. “Pretty please?” I begged.
Andy looked around. There wasn’t really anyone close by us. Then he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. I grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him farther into the Jeep. He had to brace his hands, one against my seat and one on the center console, to keep from falling on me. But he didn’t pull back. If anything, he gave me more. I ran the tip of my tongue across his bottom lip, and he let out a small groan before breaking the kiss.
“Ok, that’s enough of that,” he said. His eyes looked hazy, and it excited me to think that I had the same effect on him that he had on me. “One more of those, and I’ll insist you forget about your English paper and come over to my house.”
“Well, in that case…” I started to unbuckle my seat belt, and he laughed at me. Then he stepped back and closed my door, keeping distance between us.
“Have fun.” Andy smiled. “Call me when you need a break.”
“So, like every half hour?” I said with a grin and put on my sunglasses before sliding my car into reverse. Though, after that kiss, I’d be lucky if I got anything done at all.
I was running around like a crazy woman when Andy walked into the cafeteria. In the past, the auction had been on the stage in the auditorium. But since we were serving dinner, we’d switched to the cafeteria. I’d come to school early and spent all my homeroom hour helping set up the runway platform. Now I was at a table checking in participants, making assignments, and directing traffic.
Andy approached me. “What do I need to do?” he asked gruffly, without offering a greeting.
“Hello to you, too,” I teased.
His reply was a little curt and accompanied by an eye roll. “I just spent the last fifty minutes talking to you in class. The hello is implied.” Andy seemed really annoyed, but I didn’t think he was annoyed with me so much as having to be there in general.
I started to explain the afternoon’s process. “We’re going to start the run-through in about fifteen minutes or so. We’ll be going in order, and you’ll be last. That’ll give you a chance to see how everyone else walks the runway and figure out how you want to do it.”
Andy frowned. “I was hoping I could stand up there really quick while you read off my date plans, and then I could head out.” Wow, he was really agitated. I hadn’t realized until now exactly how much he didn’t want to do this. He’d dropped plenty of hints, but he’d always seemed so good-natured about it. I didn’t know how to make him relax.
“Don’t worry,” I assured. “Boys are going before girls, so at least you won’t have to stay for the whole rehearsal. You can leave after you’re done.”
The DJ spoke into a microphone from across the room. “Testing, testing. Can you guys hear me ok?” I gave him a thumbs-up. Then he turned on some music to test the sound system.
Andy’s head whipped around. “You mean I have to walk down a runway to music?” He looked horrified.
“Only until you get to the end, and then they’ll turn it off so Mr. Matt can talk you up and start the bidding. Everyone gets a personalized walk-up song.” I tried to make it sound exciting, but his displeasure was growing by the second.
“You can pick your own song, if you want,” I offered.
Andy blew out a big breath. “Whatever. What should I do until it’s my turn to make a fool of myself?”
“Go over to that table.” I pointed across the room. “And Lilly will help you write a short bio and date description.” I smiled apologetically as I stood from my table and walked around to him. I leaned in close, but didn’t touch him since we were in a room full of people. No need to disgruntle him more. I tried to look repentant as I spoke. “I’m sorry. Hang in there. Remember, I promised to make it up to you.” Andy’s answering smirk was small but held the promise of revenge. “Thank you for doing this. I mean it. You’re really saving my butt here.”
“Hmmpf.” He left me and walked over to Lilly’s table.
“Man, he’s grumpy today,” a voice said behind me. I turned around to see Jake, waiting to check in.
“Tell me about it.” I huffed, blowing a strand of hair off my face. “I never know if I’m going to get smooth-flirty Andy or sulky-annoyed Andy. Is this really that big of a deal for him? I’ve been paying pretty close attention the last week and haven’t gotten much indication that he’s actually nervous about the auction. If I thought he was scared, I wouldn’t have pushed him to keep going. I’ve been walking on eggshells when taking him out in public, worried I’d send him into a panic attack. For all his self-imposed isolation, he always seems to do fine in a crowd.”
“He’s not scared,” Jake responded, looking around the room. I’m not sure what he was searching for. “He’s being a whiney-baby-butt-head about having to get on stage. Moodiness, it’s probably his biggest defect. He’ll be fine, I promise.”
“Whiney-baby-butt-head?” I repeated, trying not to laugh.
“You don’t think it’s an accurate description?”
“It might be a little accurate,” I conceded, smashing my lips together to keep from smiling. I shouldn’t be making fun of him, because he wasn’t even here to defend himself. “If he’s not scared, then why is he being so cranky?”
“I don’t know. We’re friends and we talk about things, but we’re also dudes. We don’t sit around sharing our feelings and stuff…” I gave Jake a look that said I knew he was lying. He rolled his eyes at me. “Ok, we do sometimes, but this isn’t one of those times. If you want to know why he’s being so hormonal, you have to ask him.” Jake paused in thought. “And call
him out on his emo-girly-attitude-issue, while you’re at it. Remind him that you wear the bra in your relationship.”
“I’ll add that to the top of my to-do list.” I laughed, unable to contain myself any longer. What was it with these guys and boobs? Maybe that was a dumb question. They were guys.
“So, where’s the runt?” Jake asked, switching topics, eyes still scanning the room.
I went back to suppressing my smile. “She’s over at the bio table. Why don’t you head over and she can help you write yours up?”
“Cool.” Jake nodded to me and took off. I was beginning to suspect that he thought of Lilly as more than a way to annoy his sister.
Ten minutes later, the DJ told me he was ready to go. I called over the male auction participants and gave them their orders. Rob was going first, of course. Jake was fifth, and Andy was tenth. I sat them in a row of chairs in front of the runway, then plopped down in the one on the end next to Andy.
We’d asked our senior class guidance counselor to be the MC this year. He was in his mid-thirties but insisted on us calling him Mr. Matt. He was a goofy guy, and I knew he wouldn’t be afraid to ham it up on the stage. Mr. Matt called Rob up to the runway, and the music wailed through the speakers. Rob walked it like a pro. Very sleek, one hand in his pocket. He smiled and seemed relaxed, like he did this every day.
I leaned over and whispered to Andy. “You could just walk up casually like that,” I suggested. Andy grunted but remained quiet. “Did you pick a walk-up song?” I asked.
“Not yet,” Andy answered. “I told the DJ I wanted time to think about it. He said that was fine and that he’d play something else for today.”
“Did you get your bio written out ok?”
“I didn’t know what to say. Anything I could think of sounded stupid. Lilly told me she’d think about it and write something for me.”
I snickered. “You’re going to let Lilly write your bio? That’s awfully brave.”
Andy shrugged. “It won’t be any worse than what I’d come up with on my own.”
“That’s what you think,” I taunted and nudged him in the side. Andy bit his cheek to keep from smiling. He knew letting Lilly write it was a risk, but this was his way of protesting, so I wasn’t going to argue.
After the next few guys went, it was Jake’s turn to get up. He’d picked that nineties song “I’m too Sexy” by Right Said Fred. Andy couldn’t help it. He looked at me and chuckled. “Figures,” he said. I don’t know how Andy remained so composed. Jake was dancing down the runway like he was at a disco. I was laughing so hard I thought I’d pee my pants. Jake stopped at the end, did a spin and struck a pose, pointing toward Lilly.
Lilly sat at her table, chin resting on her hands. She was sucking her cheeks in, trying desperately not to laugh and still look bored at the same time. She shook her head and rolled her eyes, but I knew she was probably geeking out on the inside. The more Jake flirted, the more Lilly pretended not to care. But he had her eating out of his hand, he just didn’t know it yet.
“You could always walk up a little more like Jake did,” I offered coolly.
Andy shook his head. “No thanks. I’ll skip the dancing monkey act.”
Finally, it was Andy’s turn to walk the runway. “After watching everyone, I think your best bet is to do something like Rob did,” I suggested.
Andy’s jaw clenched. “I should walk like Rob?”
“Well, not exactly like him.” I backpedaled. Andy obviously didn’t like my suggestion. I know he didn’t like Rob, but I was only trying to help him out. Rob had looked the least goofy of anyone up there. Andy had to understand that, didn’t he?
“I mean, be casual,” I corrected.
“Can’t I just be myself?” Andy asked, no longer sounding annoyed, but more defeated.
“Depends on how yourself walks the runway.”
Andy scrubbed his hand across his face. He headed up to the stage and stood at the end, waiting for the stagehand to give him the green light. The music started, and Andy gave me a flat look. The DJ had picked some sort of techno beat. Andy shook his head and walked unceremoniously to the front. He folded his arms across his chest, eyes defiantly staring at me, while Mr. Matt read the description of his date. Once that was done, Andy turned and walked off the runway just as carelessly as he’d walked up it.
Rob had sat down next to me when Andy got up, no doubt curious how Andy would perform. He cleared his throat. “Nice choice, Ivy,” he said sarcastically. “If Andy walks like that on Saturday, we’ll have to put a plant in the audience, just so someone bids on him.”
I glared at Rob, but I was worried. Not only about me looking bad in front of him, but about Andy looking foolish in front of the whole school. What had I done? Rob got up and walked away as Andy approached me. He reached down and grabbed his bag. “I gotta go. See you later, Ivy.” He headed toward the hall.
“Andy, hold on,” I called out, chasing after him. When I caught up to him, I grabbed his arm. “What was that all about?” I asked.
“What was what all about?” He feigned innocence.
I threw my hand on my hip and stared at him. When he didn’t respond, I dragged him out in to the hallway so I could confront him without an audience.
“You know what I mean. Why were you so unenthusiastic up there?”
“Maybe that’s how I plan on walking the runway.”
“For real? I know you can do better than that.”
“Better like Rob?”
I blanched. “Fine. Don’t walk like Rob did. But at least put a little personality behind it. Rob basically told me I was an idiot for getting you involved after your performance right now.” Those were the wrong words. Andy’s fists clenched, and his eyes closed briefly. He took a deep, calming breath.
“Listen, Ivy. I agreed to this because you asked me to, and I’m sticking with it because I said I would. But I’m going to do things my own way, not Rob’s way. If you aren’t ok with that, then you’re going to have to tell me to back out.” He turned to walk away, but I was angry now, too. I grabbed him before he could leave.
“What the heck is your problem today?” I snapped, then covered my mouth with my hand. I hadn’t meant for my words to sound so hostile. Andy’s eyes widened in surprise, but I had his attention now, so I decided to take Jake’s advice and call him out on his crappy attitude.
“I’ve been really patient with you because I know you didn’t want to do this, but I told you that you could back out, and you’re the one who’s chosen to keep going. I’m only trying to help because you expressed concern about looking stupid in front of everyone. You’ve been totally moody today, and I can’t figure out why. I haven’t done anything wrong, and I don’t deserve to be treated like this.”
Andy’s shoulders slumped, and he leaned back against the wall with his eyes closed. It seemed like an eternity before he finally spoke. “You’re right, Ivy. I’ve been irritable lately, and it’s not your fault.”
“Irritable?” I asked, my tone implying that the word wasn’t a strong enough description. “To quote your best friend, you’ve been a whiney-baby-butt-head with an emo-girly-attitude-issue.” Andy opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but then quickly snapped it shut. “Also, he told me to remind you that I’m supposed to wear the bra in the relationship, not you.” I smirked.
At that, Andy shook his head and a small, snorty laugh escaped. He watched me with sad eyes. “I’m sorry, Ivy, I’ve been a jerk. Will you forgive me?” His request sounded sincere.
“I will, if you tell me what has you so worked up.”
Andy sighed heavily. “Part of it is that I don’t really want to be in the auction, but you’re right, I’m choosing to stick it out, and that’s on me. Call me crazy, but I don’t want to let my sexy new girlfriend down.” He smiled briefly, then continued hesitantly. “The bigger problem is… Rob. He’s a trigger for me. Anytime I even hear someone talk about him, I turn into a raging lunatic. Forget about be
ing in the same room. I’ve spent the last three years avoiding Rob like the plague, and now I find myself in a situation where I’m being compared to him and judged by him. I know I should be able to let it go, but I can’t.”
Andy’s vulnerability was squeezing at my heart, and any lingering anger I felt dissipated. “I’m sorry, too,” I said. “I never meant to make you feel like I was comparing you to Rob. I wouldn’t do that knowingly. You can walk the runway however you want, even if it’s like you did just now.” I smiled, then stepped close enough that my chest was touching his, and I grabbed his hand, lacing our fingers together. “You can even wear your cargo pants and baseball cap on Saturday. I won’t say a thing, promise.” The corner of his mouth turned up, a twinkle in his eye.
“Is that so?” he asked with a smirk. I nodded my head vigorously.
“Please don’t be mad at me,” I begged. “I barely get to have any time with you over the next few days. I don’t want to spend it fighting.”
“Tell you what, I won’t be mad if you won’t be mad,” Andy said, pulling me into a hug. I sagged in relief. I looked up and down the hallway to make sure that we didn’t have an audience before I pushed up on my toes and kissed him. It was a chaste kiss, and it didn’t last long enough for my liking, but it had the desired effect. When I opened my eyes, they looked upon a smiling Andy.
“Mmm. That’s the only upside to fighting,” Andy said, referring to the kiss. “The bigger the fight the better the makeup, right?”
I kissed him again. “If that’s the case, then we should have a really big argument sometime soon,” I teased.
“How about tomorrow?” Andy asked, brushing his lips against mine.
I pulled back. “No can do. Tomorrow and Thursday are going to be packed full of auction prep. And I have a yearbook committee meeting after school tomorrow. Plus, I have to find time in there somewhere to do my homework. I’m glad all of this isn’t happening during volleyball or track season. I’d have to clone myself to keep up.” I laughed.
Perfectly You (The Perfect Series Book 2) Page 15
