I giggled at the ridiculous image. I’m not sure either of our parents would’ve appreciated that kind of display, but the school definitely would’ve eaten it up.
A moment later, the sound of the crowd bursting into the back parking lot split the quiet. Oh yeah. I’d forgotten about the rest of the school. The few minutes we’d had in the perfect night air had made it feel like we were the only two left on Earth.
“So...about that sunrise?” Mason glanced meaningfully at my car as a few people gleefully shouted his name from across the parking lot. They were obviously still celebrating. “Want to get out of here?”
I nodded and jangled the keys. “I want that more than anything. Let’s go.”
His eyes crinkled in a teasing smile. “See? It’s not that hard to tell me what you want. You’re already getting better.”
“Ha!” I pushed him playfully before running around to the driver’s side door.
As soon as the doors unlocked, we both slid into our seats. And when the car was in drive, my wheels pointed toward the highway, Mason took my hand and wove his fingers through mine.
“We’ve got a few hours until sunrise,” I said, smiling over at him. I couldn’t believe my good luck. It felt like a dream to have him sitting next to me, his thumb tracing lazy circles over the back of my hand. “Any ideas of what we should do till then?”
He threw me a crooked grin. “Spin-the-bottle?”
My stomach clenched in response and my laugh came out all nervous-sounding. “You’re funny. My friend Charley is going to freak when she meets you. You’ve got to come with me to her celebration tomorrow morning. It’s her last chemo treatment.”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” he said, bringing my hand up to his mouth to brush his lips across my knuckles in a soft kiss.
And as we drove off in search of the night, I sighed happily. The last couple of weeks had changed me in ways I didn’t think possible. I hoped that in at least one way, I was a little less naive and maybe even a little wiser.
Yes, I still wanted everyone to find their slice of happiness — that would never change. But for the first time, I was able to see the possibility in my own needs. And how important it was to be honest with myself about what I wanted.
And right now, that included the boy sitting on the passenger side of my car in his basketball jersey, looking at me as if I were the most beautiful girl alive. No longer was I afraid of senior year coming to an end. The future was an amazing thing and full of possibilities — for both me and my point guard.
Epilogue
Mandy
“What if they hate it? What if everyone boos? What if the rest of the school grabs their pitchforks and chases me out of town?”
I held back a smile as Trina stared up at her sculpture, which had been installed on the lawn of Rock Valley High and was still wrapped in a pristine white cloth. The student council had decided to unveil it on today of all days — the Valentine’s day festival. It was a big deal, for both the single and coupled people in our school. Most of the funds raised went toward Prom.
Somehow, the festival always seemed to land on the first real nice day of the year. There were booths where you could throw pies, win games, stuff yourself silly with cotton candy, and get henna tattoos. Pies and cakes were auctioned off. A man in a gorilla suit would kidnap unsuspecting teens and put them in a fake plastic jail until their friends raised enough money to get them out. And at the end was a dance, where every sappy love song ever written would be played.
It wasn’t my kind of thing.
If I had my way, I wouldn’t waste a day like this playing useless games. I would be on that track behind the school, feeling the wind in my hair as I took the last curve on the 3200 yard run. My legs ached to move. To push past the lactic acid and really see how fast I could go.
But not today. Today, my role focused on playing the part of the best friend.
“First of all,” I said, putting my arm across her back. “I would be highly skeptical that anyone carries pitchforks with them anymore. So, I think we can cross that one off the list. But seriously, T, your sculpture is amaze-balls. They’re going to love it. Stop freaking yourself out.”
Trina wiped a hand across her face and glanced over at me. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Pitchforks went out of style in the 1800s.”
Her lips quivered in a reluctant smile. “Okay, I’ll stop. Thank you for that.”
“Not a problem.” I cocked my hip and winked at her. “Stop by again anytime for another best friend kick-in-the-pants reality check.”
That really had her laughing. I smiled in relief, glad that it had worked. There was nothing worse than a troubled Trina. The whole world went cold and gray when Trina wasn’t wearing her usual smile.
That hadn’t been a problem lately. Not after she got together with Mason Finnick. Now, it was all love-struck grins and goo-goo eyes. Between them and Audrey and Collin, it was practically Valentines all year long. If I didn’t love my friends so much, I’d be sick.
As if on cue, at that moment a pair of arms snaked around Trina’s waist and pulled her in tight. She giggled and squealed as Mason placed a sloppy kiss on her cheek.
“Has anyone told you that you’re amazing?” he asked, looking up at the covered statue. “I can’t believe I’m dating a world famous artist. Forget basketball. I’m retiring now to be your muse for the rest of our lives.”
“Not world famous!” She smiled humbly and looked down at the ground. “Yet...”
“But soon.” Audrey appeared at my other side, holding Collin’s hand. She wordlessly passed over her stick of cotton candy, knowing it was my weakness. “And seriously, I can’t wait to see it. Let’s get this show on the road.”
We didn’t have to wait much longer. A decent-sized crowd had gathered around us. Savannah strolled up to the front, looking far too important for her own good. As class president, she had taken it upon herself to unveil the senior class present to the school. Trina seemed relieved that the focus was off of her, but I couldn’t help feeling like Savannah was stealing her thunder.
“Thank you all for coming today,” Savannah announced with a toss of her long hair. I swear, I thought I saw a least a dozen of the younger guys start to drool as she shot a smile at the crowd. “The seniors of Rock Valley High are so excited to unveil our class present. It was a lot of time and hard work that went into creating this masterpiece. We’re thrilled to finally show it off.”
I noticed she didn’t mention Trina’s time and hard work, but that was typical. I snorted and bit the inside of my cheek, wishing I could say something. Audrey’s soft nudge of her elbow to my ribcage was a subtle reminder to keep my cool. I smiled at her in thanks, grateful to have someone remind me that today was about Trina.
Savannah marched up to the statue, where the rope that kept the sheet on hung down. “I won’t make you wait another second. Presenting our sculpture, Rock Valley High Forever.”
She tugged on the rope and the sheet fell away. The crowd around us oohed and aahed at the sight. I wasn’t sure how Trina had done it, but she’d taken her mangled mess of metal and welded them together to create a sculpture of a boy and girl walking across campus. They each wore backpacks and looked as if they were mid-stride, on their way to class. The detail she’d put into each person was incredible.
“Oh my gosh, Trina, it looks even better out here,” Audrey said, clasping her hands over her mouth.
“It’s amazing,” Collin added with a nod of his head. “Really.”
I added my agreement and pulled Trina in for a quick side hug.
“Thanks, guys,” she said, wiping away a tear on the corner of her eye. “You’re the best.”
Mason nuzzled her from behind again, his expression deadly serious. “Told you, babe. World famous.”
I found myself moving through the crowd, trying to get a view of every angle of the sculpture. Honestly, my best friend was an artistic genius. I couldn’t get over how
talented she was. Between her art and Audrey’s music skills, a girl could get kind of self-conscious about herself. It was a good thing I had my running. I wasn’t sure where I’d be without it.
Just as I was about to complete my round to view the sculpture, someone’s giant foot stepped in front of me, causing me to trip and nearly tumble onto the grass. I managed to right myself, but just barely. The first instinct I had was to apologize to whoever I’d stepped on, but that was quickly doused when I got a look at the owner of that ridiculously big shoe.
“Jayden Paul, you could’ve ended my track career with those clown feet of yours,” I said, placing my hands on my hips.
Jayden’s dark eyebrows were cocked and an amused smirk played on his lips as he looked me up and down. Most girls in school would’ve said he was hot. Honestly though, beside his meticulously styled brown hair and strong jawline, I wasn’t sure what they saw in him.
He had a good eight inches on me, with a trim torso, muscular arms, and ridiculously huge hands. I supposed that was what made him a great catcher for the baseball team. He’d been playing varsity since freshman year. It might have been his one redeeming quality, if he hadn’t been so full of himself.
“What’s up, Amanda?” he asked in a slow drawl that made me grind my teeth. Setting a dollar on the counter behind him, he picked up an aluminum pie pan full of whipped cream and held it up. “Want a bite before I toss it at Principal Styles?”
I grimaced and shook my head. “Hmm, no thanks. I heard how the baseball boys put ex-lax in the brownies at Savannah’s party. I don’t think I’ll chance it.”
“All right. But you’re missing out,” he said, dipping his finger into the cream and placing it slowly in his mouth. The movement drew my eyes directly to his lips and they curved into a smirk, as if he’d planned it that way. “You’re staring, Amanda. Don’t tell me you’re remembering a certain game we played in sixth grade.”
I immediately scowled, causing him to burst out in laughter. That was ages ago. I couldn’t believe he’d bring it up. Audrey didn’t even live in the same house anymore where Jayden and I had spent seven minutes in heaven in her tiny basement closet. It might have been my first kiss, but that didn’t mean it meant anything. A kiss because of a stupid dare was nothing.
Just like Jayden Paul was nothing to me.
“I’m glad you remember me so fondly,” Jayden said, still chuckling. His light brown eyes scanned my face, his head cocking to the side. “Because with an expression like that, who needs confidence?”
“Oh, believe me, you’ve got plenty,” I shot back. “I’m honestly surprised you can fit through the front doors of the school with that ego.”
He shrugged, clearly unfazed by my insults. “When you’re good, you’re good. I think you know a little something about that, am I right?”
“Hmm.” I narrowed my eyes at him.
Was that a compliment from Jayden Paul himself? It was difficult to tell. My mom always told me never to trust a man with two first names. We’d known each other since practically first grade, but it was still hard to get a read on him.
Usually, I tread a wide path to avoid interactions with Jayden. Mostly, it was to avoid the humiliation of being reminded of that first kiss. But also, because I couldn’t stand the cocky way he looked at me — as if he knew each and every one of my secrets.
“You know, I think I changed my mind,” I said, reaching out to scoop up a little bit of whipped cream on my finger. “I think I will have some of that.”
I moved as if I were going to put in my mouth and cheered inwardly as Jayden’s smirk dissolved and his gaze went directly to my parted lips. See? Two could play at that game. But instead of eating it, I reached up and dabbed it on his perfectly shaped nose.
“Thanks,” I said with a grin. “I needed that.”
He wiped his nose off and laughed as if he couldn’t believe I’d done that to him. Good. I liked to keep him guessing. Fully avenged, I turned on my heel and sped away before he could retaliate.
Boys like Jayden didn’t turn into men. Most of the boys in our high school were all versions of the same Peter Pan, refusing to leave Neverland and grow up. Trina and Audrey had found the few exceptions in Mason and Collin. But I wasn’t jealous of their newfound happiness. I loved that my friends were in love. I just had too much to accomplish before I ever wanted to have some guy slow me down.
Peter Pan could stay in Neverland with the Lost Boys, for all I cared. This Wendy had some magic fairy dust of her own to spread on the track.
Thank you for reading!
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Much love,
Lacy
Make sure to check out the next in the series, Mandy’s story – Dare You to Fall for the Catcher – and order it here before it returns to full price.
About the Author
Lacy Andersen is the author of several series, including the Billionaire Matchmaker, the Monstrana Paranormal Romances, Faking Ever After, and the Dark Angel Wars. When not writing or dreaming up stories to tell, Lacy is busy running after her kiddos, watching Netflix with her husband, or reading the latest releases. She has a serious addiction to cotton candy, loves to compete in any type of game, and is currently planning her next trip around the world.
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Dare You to Date the Point Guard (Rock Valley High Book 2) Page 18
