Текст книги "This Is So Not Happening"

Автор книги: Kieran Scott

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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

“Nothing. There’s not something out there that you are supposed to see,” Quinn replied, so desperate and frustrated she was turning pink.

Even Annie looked confused by that one. She made a final lunge, but there was no stopping me now. I ran outside into the bright afternoon sunshine and saw … nothing. Nothing but a bunch of cars full of wedding guests clogging the narrow street.

Annie stood next to me, panting for breath, and looked around. “Shit.”

“Where is he?” Quinn whined.

“Where’s who?” I asked, throwing my hands up and letting them slap down at my sides. Petals showered from my bouquet. “My dad? Because in case you haven’t noticed, it’s too late for him to swoop in and stop the wedding.”

“No, not your dad,” Quinn said, like I was just so stupid. “We’ve been trying to help—”

“Wait,” Annie said, touching Quinn’s arm. “There.”

Her brow crease flattened, replaced by a victorious kind of smile. I turned to look where she was looking. An Escalade edged forward in the traffic, revealing an army green Jeep parked across the street. And leaning back against the Jeep, his legs crossed at the ankle, his hands pushed casually into the pockets of his suit pants, was Jake Graydon. He looked breath-stoppingly gorgeous in a slim-cut suit and light blue striped tie, his hair gelled up a little bit in front.

Jake smiled slowly. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I felt this weird, tingling mix of excitement and apprehension, of hesitation and pure giddiness. I laughed, I couldn’t help it, and Jake pushed himself off the car, crossing the street to meet me at the bottom of the steps. Annie gave me a nudge and I tripped my way down there. Up close, the color of Jake’s tie made his eyes look almost impossibly blue, and he smelled clean and freshly shaven. I could feel my pulse thrumming in my wrists.

“Hey,” he said.

“It’s Sixteen Candles,” I blurted.

Jake nodded. “Annie made me watch it, like, ten times before she agreed to help me.”

I glanced over my shoulder, but Annie and Quinn had already disappeared. “I knew those two were up to something.”

“Ally, listen.” Jake paused and looked down at my flowers. For a second I thought he was going to take my hand, but he changed his mind. “I’ve been a total jerk,” he said, gazing into my eyes imploringly. “You tried to tell me, but I wouldn’t listen. It was like I didn’t … almost like I didn’t want to let it go. I just wanted to be mad at Chloe. I wanted someone to, like, hate for everything that had happened. I don’t know.”

He rubbed his brow with his hands, like making this speech hurt his brain.

“But you were right,” he continued after a moment. “And I only realized it after I told Chloe I was sorry. I just felt better, you know? And then I felt like an ass again, because you knew. You knew that it would work that way and I didn’t listen.”

I stared at him, my heart welling with something that felt like pride. Then he ducked his face and shook his head.

“This sounded a lot better in my mind,” he told me.

“You’re doing okay,” I encouraged him.

“Really?” he asked. “Because I wouldn’t blame you if you never wanted to talk to me again. But I … I just wanted you to know that you were perfect. You were amazing, actually. And I know I didn’t appreciate it. I treated you like crap.”

I swallowed hard. Part of me wanted to argue, but I couldn’t. Because in a lot of ways it was true.

“I almost didn’t come here because, I mean, how many chances am I gonna ask for, right?” His voice was throaty and his eyes were hopeful as he looked at me. “But then I realized it was too important … that I … loved you too much not to try. So is there any way, I mean … could I have a third chance?”

My heart pounded in my chest. I looked carefully into his eyes. This was the Jake I knew. The Jake I loved. But how was I supposed to know that he wouldn’t change again? That the guy who’d tortured Chloe and seemed to take so much pleasure in it wouldn’t suddenly come back? I vividly remembered that darkness that would come over his face whenever he saw her. The memory of that transformation still made me shudder.

“Jake—”

“Oh. Shit,” he said, just hearing my tone. He started to turn away. “I’m such an idiot.”

“No! I mean, don’t go … yet.” I closed my eyes, trying to figure out how I felt, what to say. “I just … I can’t do this right now. I’m supposed to be at the country club already. My mom …”

“So blow it off,” he said with a tentative smile. “Like in the movie.”

In that moment he looked so vulnerable, so open, it made me want to just take him up on the offer. Go somewhere and be alone with him and cuddle and kiss and talk and kiss some more. But I couldn’t. I didn’t entirely trust him. And not only that, I’d made a promise to myself that this day was not going to be about me.

“I have to make a speech, remember?” I told him. “My mom would die if I blew it off. Well, first she’d kill me, and then she’d die.”

Right then, the silver Town Car that was supposed to squire me and Quinn to the reception zoomed past, Quinn gazing up at us from the back passenger seat.

“And there goes my ride,” I said, lifting my flowers.

“So I’ll drive you,” Jake said.

My eyebrows shot up. Jake was technically not invited to the wedding. And if I brought him into the reception, I’d have to explain it to my mom. Something I didn’t remotely know how to do.

“It’s just a ride. I won’t even come inside if you don’t want me to,” Jake said, as if he was reading my thoughts. He took out his keys and twirled them once, catching them in his palm. His eyes danced. “Your limousine awaits, princess.”

Then he held out his free hand to me. And after only a moment’s hesitation, I took it.

ally

The note card on which I had written my speech—just in case—was starting to go soft in my hands from the disgusting amount of sweat my palms were producing. I stared at it under the table, my salad untouched, keeping one eye on the band director for the signal that I was up. Ever since we’d arrived at the Orchard Hill Country Club, I had been unable to relax. Even in the moments I wasn’t consciously thinking about my speech—like when I was inhaling mini crab cakes at the cocktail hour, posing for the ten billionth picture with my mom, Gray, Quinn, and her uncle Mason, or dancing to awful renditions of Britney Spears tunes with Annie, my heart was still pounding with nervousness. I just wanted to get this over with. Then maybe I could enjoy myself.

“If I may have your attention, please!” the bandleader suddenly announced.

My knee bounced up and knocked the underside of the table, causing everyone’s china to jump. Mortifying. Totally mortifying.

“We’ll now hear from the maid of honor and the best man!”

There was a smattering of applause. I rose slowly, rubbing my knee under the tablecloth. On the other side of the table, Mason buttoned his tuxedo jacket and strode purposefully to the front of the room. Why couldn’t I be that confident? And why hadn’t Gray made his daughter the best man and forced her to get up in front of hundreds of people and make a stammering idiot out of herself?

I glanced at Quinn as I passed her by. She was laughing in a totally carefree way at something Hammond had just said to her. Lucky.

Somehow, I arrived at the bandstand without tripping. The gazebo room of the country club looked like something out of a modern fairy tale. The ceiling was draped with a canopy of white lights, and every table was adorned with colorful swags of floral garland. Flowers burst from the glass centerpiece vases like fireworks, and the windows looked out over the lake, where hundreds of yellow, red, and orange paper lanterns bobbed in the setting sun. I took a deep breath and looked at my mom, seated at the sweetheart table with Gray directly across the dance floor. She was giving me that look. The one that said I could do no wrong. Damn, I hoped she was right.

“Ladies first,” Mason said, handing me the microphone.

My jaw hung open. Was he kidding? He was, like, forty something years old. He couldn’t give a kid a break and lead off?

“Uh, hi,” I said into the mike.

“Go, Ally!” Shannen shouted, earning a round of laughter.

I tried to shoot her an I hate you look and instead found myself looking at Jake. At the last minute I’d decided to let him come inside, and the maître d’ had said there was no problem squeezing him in at my friends’ table. My mother hadn’t even seemed to notice he was here, and now I was beyond glad he’d come. However stupid or weak or wrong someone on the outside may have thought I was, this day just hadn’t felt right without him in it. And besides, he was the one who had advised me on my speech. Now we were about to find out if he was right.

Jake lifted his chin and gave me a confident nod. I squared my shoulders and began.

“I’m Ally, daughter of the bride,” I began. My voice sounded weird and nasal, coming back at me through the speakers. And loud. Way too loud. I held the microphone farther away from my lips. “I was really psyched when my mom asked me to be her maid of honor … until I realized I was going to have to do this,” I joked. The laughter was more wholehearted than I expected and I felt my confidence rise. “But honestly, it made sense. Because my mom and I have always been best friends.”

“Awwww!” the crowd cooed.

I smiled. Who knew they were going to be so effortless? I could have written any kind of crap and they would have eaten it up.

“I’m sure you can all imagine that it’s not the easiest thing, watching your mom marry someone who’s not your dad,” I said, my stomach clenching a bit. “But if she was going to marry someone, I’m glad it was Gray, because it’s obvious to the world how happy he makes her, and anyone who makes my best friend that happy has to be pretty cool.”

I glanced at Gray and he smiled, nodding his head in thanks. My mom kissed his cheek.

“So thank you, Mom, for giving me the distinct honor of making this speech,” I said, with a touch of sarcasm that made everyone laugh. “And thank you, Gray, for being the guy who makes my mom’s face look like that,” I said, pointing.

My mom’s eyes shone and her cheeks were all pink with happiness. I earned another “aw” from the crowd, then turned to pick up my champagne glass.

“To the bride and groom!” I shouted, my relief at being done pouring through every last speaker in the room.

“The bride and groom!” the guests replied, lifting their glasses.

Then there was a round of applause and it was over. Just like that. After months and months of worrying. I handed the microphone to Mason and stepped back, so very happy that I was done. For a while I watched my mom and Gray react to Mason’s speech, but as it went on longer and longer, people started to get antsy and squirmy, including me. Looked like Jake had been right about the speeches. Short and simple was the way to go. I turned, just slightly, to see if he was still paying attention. I figured he’d be eating his salad or laughing it up with the Idiot Twins or something. But he was just sitting in his chair while my friends chatted and ate around him, watching me. I felt the intensity of his stare from my scalp all the way down my arms and into my fingertips, along my spine and down to my toes.

And just like that I knew. Whatever fears I still had, whatever distrust, whatever disappointments or questions, I knew that this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

jake

“Your mom seriously knows how to throw a party,” I said, gripping the Jeep’s steering wheel.

Oh, nice. Bring up her mother. That’s romantic. Jackass.

“As long as I don’t ever have to give a speech again, she can throw whatever parties she wants,” Ally replied.

She was sitting in the passenger seat, but as far away from me as possible. Across the water, the lights of the country club glowed. The gazebo room was full of dancing guests. Every once in a while a laugh could be heard through the open car windows. But the only thing I could think about was that this was where I’d kissed her the first time. How I’d kill to do it again. My pulse pounded in my ears. Would she ever let me do it again?

“I thought you were awesome,” I said.

“Please.” She rolled her eyes and flicked the window controls back and forth. Which did nothing, since the car wasn’t on.

“No. You were,” I protested, maybe a little too loudly.

“Well, I couldn’t have done it without you,” she said.

I felt a rush of pride. Maybe all wasn’t lost.

“Seriously, if it wasn’t for your advice, I would’ve rambled on longer than Mason did.”

“Yeah. That guy crashed and burned,” I said with a laugh.

Ally laughed too. She rested her elbow on the armrest and her temple on her hand and looked over at me. I suddenly felt like some awkward dork with bad breath and no clue.

“What’re we doing?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” My fingers curled around the wheel so tightly, they hurt.

“Jake—”

There it was. That same tone she’d had outside the church. Like I was pitiful and she was about to let me down easy. I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t hear that right now. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth.

“Will you go to the prom with me?” I asked.

The moment of silence that followed was the longest moment of my life. The crickets chirped outside. Something surfaced in the lake, then went under again, leaving ripples that went on forever, making the paper lanterns bounce and sway.

“I thought you had a date for the prom already,” she said.

I blinked. “What? No. Who?”

She lifted her shoulders, looking out the window. “I don’t know. Some sophomore? That’s what I heard.”

“Yeah, well, don’t believe everything you hear,” I said. I cleared my throat. Pressed my right hand against my thigh. “Do you have a date already?”

I held my breath until it felt like my lungs would burst.

“No,” she said slowly. She looked down at her hands, picking at her painted nails. She almost never had painted nails. “I wasn’t planning on going.”

“So go with me.” I turned in my seat. “Come on. Remember last summer? We used to talk about it all the time. How we’d make up for last year this year?”

Last year I’d screwed up by asking someone my friends wanted me to ask, and Ally had gone with Marshall Moss. It had been one of the most pointless nights of my life. And torturous, watching her flirt and dance with that dude like he was the only guy there.

“Come on, Ally. Just say yes.” I pleaded. “I’ll make everything up to you, I swear.”

Ally’s hands dropped into her lap and she sighed. That sigh took the air right out of me. She was going to say no. This was it. This was where she let me down easy. This was the real end.

Then she looked up at me and bit her lip. “Can I think about it?”

Think about it? Was she kidding? Like this wasn’t torture enough, now she was going to drag it out? My neck burned. Here I was, basically begging her, and that was her response?

But then I looked into her face and instantly cooled off. Of course she wanted to think about it. I was her asshole ex-boyfriend. What did I think I’d done to deserve a quick “yes”? Stage one scene from one stupid old movie, which wasn’t even my idea? Not enough. Clearly there was more work to be done.

“Sure,” I said, my heart heavy. How was I going to fix this? What was I going to do? “Yeah. Just … let me know.”

ally

My birthday. This was my eighteenth birthday. Was I doing something fabulous, like hanging out at a day spa with Shannen, Chloe, and Faith or hitting a few clubs in the city? No. Was I doing something quaintly low-key, like having dinner out with Annie and David and my parents and laughing while the waiters sung their off-key version of happy birthday? No. Was I sitting on the couch in the living room, watching Cake Boss with Quinn while she texted with Hammond and waiting for my dad to show up to take me out for a $9.99 special at Chili’s?

Yes. Yes I was.

I shifted in my seat and let out a sigh. My father was fifteen minutes late and hadn’t called. I wondered if he was going to stand me up. That would just be the icing on the cake. Pun very much intended.

“I wonder what Mom and Dad are doing right now,” Quinn mused, checking her watch before absently shoving a piece of popcorn into her mouth.

She’d started doing that lately. Calling my mom “Mom.” It was just weird.

“Probably sipping wine, watching the sunset over the beach, being totally, disgustingly, in love,” I said flatly.

They had called earlier that day to wish me a happy birthday and tell me they were bringing me back a killer surprise when they got home. But I didn’t even care about presents. I just missed my mom. I’d kept her on the line for way too long, talking about nothing, just because I didn’t want to hang up.

“Wow. Someone forgot to take her happy pills this morning,” Quinn said, nudging my leg with her socked foot. “Maybe if you’d’ve talked your dad into taking you somewhere cooler than Chili’s—”

“Hey, my dad’s not made of money like some people,” I shot back.

Quinn raised her hands in surrender. “Sorry. Sheesh. Cheer up already. It’s your birthday.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I replied, sinking into the couch.

“You never know, you know,” Quinn said. She set the popcorn aside, grabbed the remote, and turned off the TV abruptly. “Maybe something unexpectedly fabulous will happen.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “I think you take too many happy pills.”

She was opening her mouth to retort when the doorbell rang. I grabbed my bag as I jumped off the couch. “See ya!”

“Have fun!” she shouted after me.

I ran through the kitchen, down the hall, and through the foyer, psyched to finally be getting out of the house. But when I flung the door open, it wasn’t my dad standing there. It was three people in ski masks. Shannen, Chloe, and Faith. I could tell by the hair sticking out around their necks. Behind them, Faith’s car idled in the driveway.

“What’re you guys—”

“No talking!” Shannen said, pitching her voice superlow. Then Chloe and Faith yanked a pillowcase over my head and led me toward the car.

“You guys. What’re you doing? My dad’s gonna be here any minute to take me to—”

“I said, shut up!” Shannen barked. “This is a kidnapping.”

I sighed as someone ducked me into the backseat of the car. “But my dad—”

“Shut up or you won’t get your present,” Faith ordered as a couple of car doors slammed.

I rolled my eyes under the pillowcase as the three of them started to whisper, but suddenly I couldn’t stop smiling. Whatever these three crazies had in mind, I was in. Maybe Quinn was right. Maybe something unexpectedly fabulous would happen.

ally

At first I tried to keep track of where the car was headed by counting turns, but it took about five minutes for me to get completely confused. I attempted a few questions, but Faith, Shannen, and Chloe just kept telling me to shut up, so I finally bagged it and just settled in for the ride. For a while they sang along to the stereo while I sat there and nodded my head to the beat. It felt like we were in the car forever. So long that I started to wonder if they really were taking me into the city to club-hop. If so, I was definitely not dressed appropriately.

Finally, the car skidded to a stop, tires squeaking. I was thrown forward, then back, and I felt my neck crack.

“Oops! Sorry!” Faith said, killing the engine. “Girls, get the prisoner.”

I waited for the door to open next to me and put my foot out onto asphalt. There was no street noise—no honking or voices or random music playing—so we were definitely not in the city. Two of my friends took my arms and steered me around. We walked up an incline and then made a right. Suddenly I could hear voices. Lots and lots of voices. And music being played from speakers that sounded like they were everywhere. Had they taken me to some kind of outdoor concert? And if so, were people disturbed by the sight of a girl with a bag over her head?

“Where the hell are we?” I whispered.

Then we stopped. Someone whipped the pillowcase off and a thousand voices shouted, “Surprise!”

I blinked in confusion, trying to focus. We were standing under one of the baskets on my basketball court. Well, Jake’s basketball court. We were in Jake’s backyard, which used to be my backyard. And pretty much every one of my friends from school was crowded onto the court under a big white tent. David’s band was set up in one corner, and a huge spread of food was placed along the opposite side of the court from the bleachers. Annie stood at the front of the crowd, her Flip camera trained on my stunned face. My dad broke out and came over to envelop me in a hug.

“Are you okay?” he asked me.

“Um, yeah,” I stammered out. “Just … shocked. You were in on this?”

“Like I’d really let you spend your eighteenth birthday at Chili’s?” my dad said incredulously. “But no, your friends planned it. I was just the cover.”

I turned to look at Shannen. “You guys did this?”

“Nope,” Shannen said, shaking her head and knocking her fists together. “This one was all Jake. The whole thing was his idea.”

Just then, Jake emerged and tossed something at me. Something blue and silky and crumpled into a ball. I caught it against my chest and unfolded it in front of me. It was a basketball jersey with my number and the words BIRTHDAY GIRL printed on the back.

“Happy birthday,” he said, standing in front of me with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He’d gotten his hair cut, and he wore this light blue Lacoste polo that made him look like a model. So not fair, having an ex who looked like that. And I hadn’t even had a chance to get changed out of my distressed jeans and green-and-white-striped T-shirt.

“Um, wow. I—”

I didn’t know what else to do or say. I was so overwhelmed, there were no words.

“Did we miss it?”

“Mom?” I blurted.

I whirled around to find my semi-tan mother, and a super-tanned Gray, striding through the gate with Quinn right behind them. My mother’s shoulders drooped when she saw me.

“Oh! We missed it!” she pouted.

“You’re here!” I shouted.

I threw myself into her arms and she kissed the top of my head to a round of teasing “awww”s. I felt like a complete dork, hugging my mommy like I hadn’t seen her in years, but I couldn’t help it. She wasn’t supposed to be back for three more days. And besides, I had all this pent up Jake-related emotion inside of me and I had to hug it out somewhere.

“Happy birthday,” she said, cupping my face as she pulled away.

“Told you something fabulous could still happen,” Quinn chided me.

She sauntered over to the drinks table and joined Hammond and some of her friends. I couldn’t believe she’d actually managed to keep this a secret from me. I couldn’t believe any of them had.

My mother and Gray went over to say hi to my dad and Jake’s parents, and everyone else started to mill around. A bunch of people came up to tell me just how hilarious my face was when they’d whipped the pillowcase free, and the music started up again full-blast. The faces whirled by so quickly, accompanied by happy birthdays and hugs and kisses, but through it all I kept searching the crowd for Jake. Where had he gone? Was he upset I hadn’t said anything? Was he hiding out in his room or something?

But then, as I was hugging Marshall, I caught a glimpse of Jake over his shoulder. He was directing one of the waiters on where to set up the cake, like a true party planner. He must have felt me watching, because he looked over at me and our eyes locked. I stared at him for a good, long minute, my heart so full it was taking up my entire chest.

“Thank you,” I mouthed to him.

He smiled. If possible, he looked hotter in that moment than he ever had before. “Anytime.”

jake

When people began to leave, I started to get tense. I tried to keep an eye on Ally, but there was so much going on. The cake, the pictures, the dancing, the good-byes. I just wanted her to stay. If she left with her parents or one of her friends … I didn’t know what I was going to do. Honestly. I didn’t know.

But then I saw her dad hug her good-bye. And a while later her mom and Dr. Nathanson left with Quinn. Annie snagged a ride with Marshall, and David’s band started packing up. There was a scary second there when it looked like she was planning to hit the diner or something with Shannen, Chloe, and Faith, but they left without her too. Soon the court was almost empty. Ally stood near the gate with a couple of Norms, laughing about something, but her eyes kept trailing over to me. I pretended to help some of the worker guys clean up, but I didn’t even know what I was doing. Every inch of my skin tingled. It was like I was about to get on a rollercoaster, but I couldn’t see where it was going.

Please just let me get her alone. Please, God, just let me get her alone.

Finally, I heard her say good-bye to her friends. She walked over to me slowly, her hands behind her back, crossing one foot over the other. It was a flirt walk. This was promising.

“Hey,” she said.

She must have been able to hear my heart pounding. It was obvious to the world. “Hey.”

She smiled and hugged herself, looking around at the tent, the decorations, the gift table. “And you thought my mom threw a serious party.”

I cracked a grin. “I’ll admit it. I had some help.”

“I figured,” she said. “But thank you. I can’t believe you did all this.”

“Really?” I said, stepping closer to her. “Can you really not believe I’d do this for you?”

My voice sounded throaty and my chest was warm with hope. Because I meant it. I’d do anything for her. She just had to believe it. She gazed up at me, searching my eyes, and I leaned in closer. My lips actually tingled. For a second, her eyelids went heavy, and I swore she was going to let me kiss her. Finally, finally, finally. But then, suddenly, she pulled away. I felt like I was going to die. Seriously. Right then and there.

She turned around and walked slowly away.

“Where’re you going?” I said.

“Just getting something.” She popped open the door of the shed that held all the sports equipment and came back with a basketball. “How about a little one-on-one? It could be your present to me.”

I smirked. “Oh, so the party and the jersey weren’t enough?”

She looked me in the eye and very, very sexily shook her head, her hair falling forward in front of her face. I swallowed hard.

“Okay,” I said, clapping my hands together. “I’m in.”

We decided to play to eleven. Ally took the ball out first, being the birthday girl and all. As I crouched in front of her, I realized that my goal for this game was just to not get humiliated. There was no way I could beat her. This had been proven before. And besides, I didn’t want to beat her. It was her birthday. And yeah, I was still hoping to get that kiss. Losing probably wouldn’t put her in a kissing mood.

“Ready?” she said, dribbling between us.

“Ready.”

Instead of cutting right or left, she came right at me. I backed up fast, almost tripping myself, but she still slammed her shoulder into mine. I felt myself blush as her body grazed past me. She took the ball to the hoop and hit an easy layup, then retrieved the ball and tossed it back to me.

“One–nothing,” she said, taking the defensive position.

I just watched her, tossing the ball from hand to hand. Had she made contact like that on purpose? Was she just messing with me? I decided to test it.

I took the ball just a few steps away from the midline, stopped moving, and lined up the shot. As the ball arced through the air, Ally jumped for it, and missed. When she came down, she tripped right against me. The ball swished through the hoop.

“One–one,” I said, my breath short, even though I’d barely moved.

She looked up at me with those big brown eyes, her chest pressed against mine. “Nice shot.”

Then she took her time moving away, her hand trailing across my pecs.

Yeah. She was definitely doing that on purpose. The rest of the game was pretty even, both scoringwise and flirtingwise. She took the ball up and I grabbed her hand, holding her back as she strained against me. She still made the shot, tossing the ball underhand at the hoop. I raced forward to try for a layup and she bent down to tackle me at the waist. By the time she got to eleven, we were both giggling like idiots and flushed from contact as much as the exercise.

“Nice game,” I said with a laugh, reaching out to slap her hand.

Her fingers slipped against mine. “Nice game.”

We both sat down on the bottom bleacher. Our knees were touching. I turned toward her, my shoulder grazing hers, and placed my hand on her back. She didn’t move. I slipped it up slowly, trailing my fingers under her hair. She closed her eyes and tipped her head back into my hand. Her whole neck was exposed and I wanted to kiss it so badly I started to salivate. But I controlled myself.

The kissing, as much as I wanted it, was not the ultimate goal here. One step at a time.

“Hey,” I said.

She opened her eyes and looked at me.

“Go to the prom with me,” I said, holding my breath.

Ally slowly smiled. She bent forward, grabbed the ball, and stood up. My hand dropped down. What the hell was she doing now?

She dribbled the ball methodically to center court, lifted it, and hit a sick and perfect three. The ball bounced back toward her and she stopped it with her foot.

“Hit that shot, and I’ll go to the prom with you,” she said.

I rolled my eyes. Man, she was really toying with me tonight. I shoved myself up off the bench and lifted the hem of my shirt to quickly wipe my face.

“Here.”

I held my hands up for the ball. She popped it up with the toe of her sneaker, then tossed it at me. I adjusted the ball a few times, spinning it between my palms. My pulse was racing. I had to make this shot. I had to. My pride, my prom—hell, my chances with Ally—were on the line. I walked over to her. She inched away so I could stand right where she had been standing. I lifted the ball, bent my knees, said a silent prayer, and took the shot.

The ball crashed against the backboard with a loud rattle, and bounced off into the night. My heart sunk.

“Ouch,” Ally said, grimacing.

In that moment I honestly thought she was pure evil.

“Guess that’s that,” I said, irritated.

Then she jogged over, picked up the ball, and brought it back. She held it out to me.