We stayed there, looking at the stars, until midnight when I had to get back inside the house. After I got ready for bed, I laid in bed for over an hour, wondering what tonight had meant. Something had happened between us, but I had no idea what. I couldn’t put it into words.
But for the first time since Lucas moved to Sweet Water, I fell asleep thinking about Parker instead.
Chapter Seven
I stared at the front door of the senior center as a wave of nervousness rose in me. I had to do this. It was for civics class. I couldn’t graduate without it. I gripped my plastic container of rubber stamps and supplies and forced my feet to move.
I opened the door and the woman behind the desk smiled at me. She had short, brown hair and kind eyes. “You must be the volunteer.”
“Yes.” I shook her hand. “I’m Hannah.”
She stood. “I’m Barbara. Nice to meet you. I’ll show you to your room.”
I followed her down a hallway that smelled of cleaning solution. She opened a door and ushered me into a large room. A few round tables were scattered around the room, with one long table near the front. A corkboard hung on the wall with bright flowers stapled to it, and a list of activities the center would have that month. I noticed my name on the board and swallowed down my apprehension.
“This is the activities center. Feel free to set up on that table over there.” She gestured to the long table.
Staring at the big room, I worried I wouldn’t have enough supplies. “How many people will be doing this today?”
“This will be a small group today. Nine or ten ladies.” She squeezed my arm. “You’ll do fine.”
Her words sent a soothing warmth over me. I smiled at her as I set my plastic tub down on the table. “Thank you.”
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Barbara left.
I lifted the lid of my craft container and started setting items out on the table. I had a couple of acrylic picture frames that I had turned upside down and filled with rubber stamps. I scattered the stamps down the center, then set out different colors of stamp pads and pieces of cardstock.
I had a few stamp-cleaning pads, but they were dry. I had forgotten to bring my spray bottle. I grabbed them and glanced around the room. No sink. Shoot. I’d have to find a bathroom. I quickly raced across the room and out the door. The hallway was empty and I rushed down, searching for anything that looked like a restroom sign.
As I turned the corner, I collided with someone. “Oh!” I said, bouncing off the guy.
I lifted my gaze and found myself staring at Lucas. My mouth went dry and I had the sudden urge to throw up.
“Sorry about that,” he said, grabbing my arm. Was I staggering? Was he trying to steady me? I wasn’t sure, but the hallway did seem like it was spinning. Lucas looked at me. “Oh, it’s you.”
“Yeah,” I agreed with him, my brain not working properly. What was Lucas doing in the care facility? Had he seen me come in? Was he looking for me? My heart pounded with the realization that he was standing just inches from me.
“How are you? Are you okay?”
Now he was looking at me like he wasn’t sure if I had suffered brain damage from my dunk in the pool last night. I shook my head. “No, I’m fine.”
A smile played on his lips. “Which is it? No, you’re not okay, or yes, you’re fine?”
I couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. The guy I had dreamed of for so long was finally standing there, right in front of me, and I couldn’t function like a normal human being. Why was I such a dork? I felt a massive blush sweep over my face and down my neck. “I’m fine,” I repeated.
“Good.” He ran a hand through his hair and I about choked on my spit. He was beyond gorgeous. But now he was staring past me. “Are you volunteering here too?”
And that’s when I noticed what he was wearing. A white volunteer shirt. I felt like such an idiot. He was there to complete his civics class requirement, just like I was. He was not following me. Duh.
“Yes.” I held up my rubber stamp cleaning pads. “I’m just trying to find the bathroom.”
He quirked an eyebrow at me. “They’re down that way,” he motioned.
I nodded and stepped around him, now only wanting to get away from him. “Thanks.”
He gave me a half-wave and continued down the hallway, disappearing into a room.
I ran to the bathroom, my hands shaking. Lucas was here. And he had talked to me. And I had acted like a complete loser. I splashed water on my face and tried to calm down. This was not going to be the way this ended. I was going to get my composure back, and I was going to run into Lucas again and be a different person. I was going to be suave and sexy. I was going to show him my intelligence. I was going to make him fall in love with me, and we’d live on the ocean and have three perfect kids and live the perfect life.
I ran the stamp-cleaning pads under the water and blotted them with a paper towel. See? I was calm already. I checked myself in the mirror, giving my reflection a smile. There. That’s the girl Lucas was going to fall for.
I headed back down the hall but didn’t see Lucas along the way. He was probably on the other side of the building with the patients. That was fine. I was volunteering at the same place. Surely, we’d see each other again.
I walked back into the activities room and saw that all the ladies were already in the room, seated around the long table. Barbara entered, pushing a woman in a wheelchair. “Agnes, this is Hannah. She’s going to help you make a card today.”
I forced myself to smile at her. “Hello, Agnes.”
The old woman glared at me and didn’t say anything. Great. I was a failure already. My whole job was to make these ladies happy, and Agnes hated me.
Barbara wheeled her to the table and locked the chair. Then she came to me and leaned down. “Don’t worry about Agnes. If she doesn’t participate, don’t let it upset you. She rarely will, but I like to give her the opportunity. I don’t like to see her sitting in her room all day long.”
I nodded, the anxiety rising in me. Barbara must have sensed it because she patted my shoulder. “If you need help, don’t be afraid to come get me.”
Barbara left, and I turned to see all the women staring at me. All except for Agnes, who was staring down at the table. I took in a breath and let it out. “Welcome to our rubber stamp activity today. We’ll be making cards for our loved ones.”
“I want to go to my room,” Agnes announced.
For a brief second, I thought I was going to pass out, but then one of the ladies laughed. “Oh, you always say that, Agnes.” The room filled with chatter and laughter, and the tension eased off my shoulders.
I picked up a rubber stamp and a pad. “It’s best to rub the stamp on the pad first, then tap it, like this.” I continued to show the ladies how to layer paper on the card, and then they took over, picking up the stamps and chatting with each other. Agnes glared at me but didn’t say anything.
I helped the women clean their stamps and showed them how to glue different colors of paper together to create a card. After a while I glanced at the clock, and the time startled me. Had it already been a whole hour? We were almost out of time, and I hadn’t even needed to stretch it out. Relief poured over me. “Okay, we need to clean up the stamps now.”
One of the women came over to me. “Thank you for doing this today. I enjoyed it very much.” She showed me the card she’d made. It had a flower on the front and a happy birthday message inside. “It’s for my granddaughter. She lives in Texas with her husband. I hardly ever get to see her.”
“That looks great. I’m sure she’ll love it.”
Several others came up to me after I’d packed up and told me how much fun they had. A warmth flowed through me. I’d done it. I’d finished my first hour of volunteer work, and I hadn’t messed it up.
Agnes slammed her hand down on the table. “I want to go back to my room now.”
“Yes, Agnes. I’ll go get Barbara, and she can take you
.”
“No.” Her gaze met mine. “I want you to take me.”
I swallowed. Was I allowed to take patients to their rooms? I didn’t even know where it was. “Um…”
“Come on. I don’t have all day.” She tried to push herself away from the table, but all that did was move the table, making a terrible scraping sound on the tile floor.
“Just a sec. I need to get Barbara.”
“No, you don’t. You need to take me to my room. Now.” She pushed again, but this time she must have been out of energy because the table didn’t budge.
I was frozen between just doing what the woman wanted and getting permission when Barbara walked into the room. “How did it go?”
“Agnes wants to go back to her room.”
“I want her to take me.” Agnes pointed at me, and it felt like she was tattling on me or something.
“That’s fine. Hannah can take you.” Barbara leaned down and unlocked her wheels. “She’s in room one-twenty-five.”
I stood there for a second, staring at the wheelchair handles sticking out of the back. I’d never wheeled anyone in a chair before. What if I bumped her legs or something?
“Well? We going to wait all day?” Agnes said, glaring at me again.
“Nope.” I forced myself to walk to her, and then I took the handles. “We’re going right now, Agnes.”
Barbara gave me a smile and waited for me to push the old woman. I pulled her back away from the table, then started toward the exit. Barbara held the door for me as I pushed Agnes.
“You could go faster,” Agnes complained.
Barbara rolled her eyes then patted Agnes’s shoulder. “Give the girl a break. This is her first day.”
“First day?” Agnes turned to look at me. “When are you coming back?”
“Next Wednesday for Bingo night.”
“Well, come get me, then.”
Barbara’s eyes widened. After I pushed Agnes to her room and we left her by the window, Barbara leaned closer to me. “Wow, she never asks to leave her room. What did you do today?”
I tried to think if I’d done anything. “Nothing special.”
“She’s taken a real shine to you.” Barbara smiled as we walked back to the activities room. “I’ll make sure she comes to the next activity you do.”
I nodded, unsure if that was a good thing or not. I grabbed my plastic tub and headed toward the front door, listening to Barbara talk about some of the patients. A mix of relief and excitement washed over me. I’d done it. I’d completed my first day. And I was even volunteering at the same place Lucas was. Today was an awesome day.
Chapter Eight
I sat next to Parker on the stone wall, near where the popular kids gathered before school. The cold stone seeped through my jeans, chilling my legs. Parker had his nose in another comic book.
My gaze involuntarily slid over to Lucas. He sat on one of the picnic tables, his feet on the bench, his arm slung around Charlotte, who was beside him.
My heart fluttered as a breeze picked up and he ran a hand through his perfect hair. My brain played this in slow-motion and my knees went weak. Good thing I was sitting down.
Parker and I had been hanging out near the cool kids all week before school, but I had yet to catch Lucas’s eye again. I nudged Parker, who had started wearing the leather jacket each day. “You ready for your test in chemistry?”
He didn’t look up from his comic book. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“You’ll be fine, like always.” I patted him on the back but made sure I didn’t make contact with his skin. I’d been trying hard not to touch Parker since Saturday evening, when my body decided to get all weird on me.
I leaned over and looked at the page he was so engrossed in. Green Star again. The guy had a serious obsession. But as my gaze flickered back to Lucas, I had to scold myself. My current obsession was probably just as annoying to Parker as Green Star was to me.
I fidgeted on the wall, my legs starting to go numb from the chill. Why wasn’t Lucas looking at me? He looked at me at the party. And talked to me at the retirement home. Hadn’t we had a small, but totally sparkly, conversation? He should be looking at me.
And then it dawned on me. It was when Parker kissed me that Lucas had smiled at me. If I was going to get his attention again, I would have to do some more lip locking with my pretend boyfriend. I elbowed Parker. He looked up from his comic book, one eyebrow raised. “What?”
“Kiss me.”
Something flashed through his expression that I couldn’t quite read, but he made no move to come closer to me.
“Kiss me,” I repeated, whispering. “I want Lucas to see.”
He frowned and seemed to think about it, his gaze landing on Lucas and his gang for a brief moment before returning to me. He blinked, then looked down at his comic book. “No.”
Why was Parker being this way? “Come on. You said you’d help me get Lucas.”
When he raised his gaze, I wasn’t prepared for the intensity in his gray eyes. “Not like this.”
I grew desperate. “Please? I promise it won’t mean anything.”
He flinched and went back to reading. “No.”
“Ugh! I can’t believe you’re backing out now. The bell is going to ring in five minutes and I’ll miss another day’s opportunity. I don’t want to wait another twenty-four hours. You said you’d do this. Please?”
I knew I was being a total brat, but I suddenly wanted Parker to kiss me more than anything. If it would make Lucas look at me, I wasn’t above begging. Pleading. Making myself into a fool. Yeah, I needed help.
Parker closed his comic book and slid it into his backpack. Then he hopped off the wall, dropped his backpack to the cement, and reached up for me. For some weird reason, my heart started pounding in my chest. He was going to kiss me. I knew it.
I jumped down and Parker slid his arms around me. I closed my eyes and waited, feeling the stupid fluttery feelings again at his touch on my lower back. I didn’t want to contemplate why my body was acting like this. I didn’t have a crush on Parker. He was just…Parker. My best friend.
I imagined what Lucas would see when he looked at us. Parker, tenderly holding me, leaning in closer and closer. But nothing happened. When his kiss didn’t come I opened my eyes to find him just looking at me.
“Well?”
“I’ll kiss you. But I want you to do something for me in return.”
Why was his voice all husky now? I leaned in closer to him to hear him better. “Okay.”
He stared into my eyes and I noticed tiny flecks of gold in his irises. How had I never noticed those before? They made his eyes kind of gorgeous. His gaze dipped to my lips and he drew me in until our lips were practically touching. “Kiss me back,” he whispered.
Duh. Of course, I’d kiss him back. That was implied, wasn’t it? But for some reason, I couldn’t talk. The fluttery feeling enveloped me and all I could do was nod at him.
He moved a fraction of an inch and his lips came in contact with mine. Our first kiss had been spontaneous. Rushed by my own impatience to show Lucas I had a boyfriend. If that kiss was a waterfall, this kiss was dripping honey. Being in Parker’s arms took away the chill that had seeped through me from sitting on the stone wall. His lips worked in a slow rhythm across mine, and a flame ignited under my skin. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. My world became the kiss, and I never wanted to leave.
Parker’s words drifted through my mind. Kiss me back. I hadn’t quite known what he meant, but as he kissed me, I realized I wasn’t obeying him. I was so stunned by the fire that flickered through me I had been frozen, rooted to the spot where I stood. I slowly let go of his leather jacket I had fisted in my hands and slid my arms around him.
I allowed my lips to follow his slow dance, and his arms tightened around me. My body pressed harder against his chest and I could feel his heartbeat join in the cadence of the kiss.
Kiss me back.
The wor
ds once again sounded in my ears as our kiss grew in intensity. Parker moaned, a soft sound in his throat. Chills erupted over my skin. I thought he had been trying to make it look more realistic this time by telling me to kiss him back, but as the kiss heated, I couldn’t help but wonder if he had meant something else.
The bell rang and I sprang back from him, both embarrassed that I had allowed myself to get so wrapped up in the kiss, and shocked that perhaps Parker had wanted to kiss me. For real.
He stared at me and I could see something in his eyes that I had never seen before. My heart sped up at the thought of what it might be. It looked like…desire.
I grabbed my backpack, a sudden urgency to get away from him crashing through me. “I gotta go,” I said as I sprinted toward the door.
“Hannah,” he called after me, but I didn’t look back. I couldn’t face him right now. I had no idea what I was going to do with my suspicions. If Parker wanted more than just friendship from me, what in the world would I say to that? I couldn’t lose my best friend.
I couldn’t mess up what I had with Parker. He was the best thing that had ever happened to me. He’d been there for me when my mother left. He’d been the one person I had to cling to when my world shattered around me. Parker had helped me pick up the pieces.
My mouth went dry as I pushed through the throng of students in the hallway toward my first class. I didn’t want to think about the kiss, or Parker, or my own feelings that had started stirring with the soft stroking of his lips on mine.
“Hannah.” Parker’s hand wrapped around my arm and I jerked to a stop, turning to him.
His eyebrows knit together in concern. “Are you okay?”
A zillion things flashed through my mind at once. No, I wasn’t okay, but I couldn’t tell him that. I wasn’t ready to think about the possibility that things were changing between us. That perhaps he thought of me differently than I thought of him. That maybe Parker had feelings for me. Feelings that scared me.
I pushed my shoulders back and forced a smile. “I’m fine,” I lied. “I just realized I had to turn in an assignment before class or it’s going to be late. That’s all.” I swallowed, making myself return his gaze.
Falling for My Best Friend Page 5
