Текст книги "Unspeakable"

Автор книги: Michelle K. Pickett

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 21 страниц)

I forced myself to look at his work. “Okay, the chain rule allows us to differentiate a function that contains another function.”

I reached over and pointed to his calculation as I explained the problem. He strained to see what I was pointing at before he reached out and pushed the sleeve of my hoodie up my arm.

“Don’t!” I jerked away.

“Sorry.” He held out his hands, palms forward. “I was just trying to move it so I could see. That’s a pretty nasty bruise,” he said, pointing to my forearm.

I pulled my sleeve down, not looking at him. “I don’t like to be touched.”

“Okay, no problem. I’ll just turn the page sideways so I can see what you’re pointing to. Is there anything else I’m screwing up?”

I took a deep breath to steady my racing heart. “Um, yeah, remember if one function depends on another, and can be written as a function of a function, then the derivative takes the form of the derivative of the whole function multiplied by the derivative of the inner function.”

“So basically, I’ve messed up the entire thing,” he said with a grin, looking at me.

I sucked in a breath when I looked in his eyes. I’d never seen eyes quite like his before. I was so close I could see that they weren’t just blue, but striations of different shades of blue. Leaning back in my chair, I looked down at my own work.

“You didn’t do too badly. It’s a hard concept to grasp at first,” I said.

“You didn’t seem to have any trouble… for a bimbo, I mean.”

I glanced up, and he smiled at me. I laughed. “Please take a moment to appreciate my vast knowledge and experience.”

“I’m amazed by your exceptional calculus skills.” He chuckled.

I inclined my head. “As you should be, Mr. Victor.”

The bell rang, and I started gathering my things. I shoved everything in my bag, threw it over my shoulder, and stood to leave.

“Thank you for your help, Willow.”

“Sure.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“‘Bye, Brody.”

The next morning, while getting ready for school, I pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans and a black tank with an emerald lightweight sweater that fell off one shoulder. Jenna bought it for me for Christmas, saying it made my hazel eyes look green. Scrunching my hair, I blew it dry, letting it fall in waves. I lined my eyes with my new eyeliner, smudging on some smoky green shadow on my eyelids. I looked at myself in the mirror and didn’t think I looked too terrible.

Jenna cornered me at my locker when I got to school. “You are totally going for it!” she whispered.

“Going for what?”

“Brody. The fireworks.” She smirked at me, her eyes twinkling. “This is gonna be so much fun.”

“I am not,” I hissed.

“Then why are you dressed to the nines this morning?”

I bit my lower lip to keep from smiling. “I’m not. Jaden likes this outfit, and this happens to be one of my favorite sweaters. You bought it for me if you remember.”

“Uh-huh. Whatever you say,” Jenna said over her shoulder as she walked toward her class. “I expect details. Lots and lots of details,” she sang as she walked away.

What am I doing? I don’t normally dress like this. What am I thinking?

I started to go into the bathroom to wash my face, but the first bell rang and I didn’t have time.

Crap.

I walked into biology. Brody glanced up quickly before returning to his notes. His head shot back up, and he looked at me a second time. His eyes stayed on me, watching as I made my way from the door across the room to our table.

A slight smile touched his lips. “Hey.”

“Hi,” I said. “How are you?”

“Good. You?”

“Fine. Better than the poor earthworms are gonna be. It’s a deadly day for—”

A hand roughly grabbed my arm. I winced as I was swung around. A second hand wrapped around the back of my neck before a mouth descended on mine in a hard, demanding kiss.

I turned my face away, pushing against the person with both hands. “Jaden,” I said through clenched teeth.

“Damn, baby, you look hot. I’m gonna have to follow you around all day to make sure guys keep their eyes and hands to themselves.” His hand traveled down my arm to cup my rear. I stepped away.

“Jaden, not in class.”

“Later, then.” He winked at me before he left.

“Just how short a leash does he have you on, anyway?” Brody asked, watching Jaden leave the room.

“That isn’t something you need to worry your little brain over, Ace. It’s overworked as it is. Just concentrate on biology and leave the rest alone,” I snapped.

“Where’s your collar to go with your leash?”

“Mind your own business,” I bit out.

Brody chuckled. “Whatever. Such a waste.”

“What is?” I asked with an exasperated sigh.

He shrugged a shoulder. “Nothin’. Let’s start carving up this earthworm. You’re not gonna get all girlie on me, are you?”

I rolled my eyes and slipped on a pair of gloves, making the first cut on the worm. The outside was covered in sticky slime. I pinched my gloved fingers together, opening them slowly, watching the slime stretch between them. I looked at Brody and smiled.

He tilted his head and watched me. “What?”

I darted my hand out and wiped it across the blue button-down he wore open over a soft, gray T-shirt. “How’s that for girlie?”

“Okay, so you’re not squeamish.” He laughed and shrugged out of his shirt. I nearly groaned when I saw his taut biceps flex, especially when I got a glimpse of a tattoo encircling one perfectly toned muscle.

Oh, he’s got ink. Can he get any hotter?

For the rest of the class period, we worked on the earthworm dissection. When we finished early, we turned in our work and sat silently at our table, working on other classwork. The silence was awkward and uncomfortable. I spent the majority of the time pretending to read over my notes, trying not to think about him sitting next to me, inhale in his direction and smell him, or, for the love of all of that was holy, look at him, while I counted the seconds until the bell rang and released me from biology Hell.

I was sitting in my usual spot in the library during independent study on Friday when Brody came over and drummed his fingers on the tabletop. “Can I sit with you?” He stood next to my shoulder where I worked on my calculus homework.

I looked up at him and nodded once. “You need more help with the chain rule?”

He didn’t look at me when he answered. “Ah, no, actually, I think I have that under control.”

“I figured as much. I saw your quiz score. I don’t think you had as much trouble as you led me to believe.”

“Guilty.”

I let the top of my pencil drop onto my paper and looked at him. “The question is why?”

He shrugged. “I wanted to sit with you.”

“It’s a free country. If you wanted to sit at this table, you didn’t need my permission or an excuse.”

Brody shook his head. “No, you’re not listening. I wanted to sit with you. The table is inconsequential.”

“Is there a particular reason you are insistent on sharing a table with me, Ace? We don’t particularly like each other.”

Brody smiled and leaned forward on his forearms. “Who says I don’t like you?”

“Okay. I don’t like you, then.” I drummed my pencil on my paper. “Besides, I’m dating someone. So if that’s what you looking for, I’m not interested.” I shrugged a shoulder.

“You want me,” he said with a grin. “Admit it. You want to go out with me.”

I didn’t answer right away. Instead, I took my time to write my name on my homework. Silence stretched between us. Finally, I looked at him. “You’re absolutely right. I’ve just been pining away for some guy with a reputation for doing ’em and dropping ’em to come along and sweep me off my feet.”

“Nah, you don’t care about reputations. You’ll go out with me.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Ace.”

The last bell of the day rang, and Brody smiled at me. He started to shove his things in his backpack. When I didn’t move, he stopped and looked at me. “Staying?” I nodded. “Why? Is there something going on I don’t know about?”

“Well, if you don’t know about it, then you probably aren’t invited.” I gave him a tight smile.

He chuckled, just a soft rumble in his chest. “Okay. I guess I’ll see you Monday, Willow. Have a nice weekend.”

Oh, crap. I should keep my mouth shut.

“I have a competition this afternoon and then the football game. It’s easier to stay than go home and come back.”

He stopped and looked at me over his shoulder. “What kind of competition?”

I felt my cheeks turn pink, and I looked down at my paper.

Why did I bring it up, and why do I care what he thinks about it, anyway?

“A chess tournament. Usually they aren’t on Fridays, but this one had to be rescheduled and today was the only available date.”

He turned and looked at me. “Chess?”

I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin. “Yeah, so?”

“Nothing. It’s, um, I think it’s great. It’s just not what I expected.”

“For a bimbo, you mean,” I said through clenched teeth.

“Am I ever gonna live that down?”

I bit my lip to keep from smiling. “Probably not.”

“Ah, I see.” He smiled. “You’re not as pissed as you want me to think you are.”

“Oh, no, I am. It’s just funny… a chess-playing, honor-society member, bimbo.” I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.

Brody rolled his eyes. “I did apologize for that comment. So you play chess and are a member of the honor society?” Walking back to the table, he stood next to me. “And you date the captain of the football team.” He drummed his thumb on the tabletop.

“Yes. Do you have a point?”

“You just seem more like you’d be his tutor than his girlfriend.” Brody shrugged a shoulder.

I tried not to laugh, but did anyway. “That’s how we met.”

Brody chuckled and nodded. “So, does he watch your tournaments?”

I snorted. “No.”

He drummed his thumb against the table again, looking to the side. He glanced at me quickly before looking down. “Ah,” he cleared his throat, “would you mind if I stayed and watched?”

“Oh, um, why?”

Brody shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t have anything better to do.”

What’s his angle? I can’t figure him out. Do I want him to stay?

“I can’t stop you from staying,” I said slowly.

“That’s not exactly what I asked.” He looked at me, his gaze locked on mine.

“I guess I don’t mind if you stay.”

What? Why did I just say that? He gave me an out. I just had to say no! Stupid, very stupid.

“Maybe we can grab a burger after?” he asked.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea—”

“Just as friends. Nothing more,” he said quickly.

“Maybe. I’m not sure…”

“How about this—if you win, we get a burger and celebrate. If you lose, well, you go do whatever it is you do after a tournament and I’ll leave you to it.”

“So you’re encouraging me to lose, then?” I asked, looking at him through my lashes.

He laughed. “I was hoping you’d see it as encouragement to win, so you’d get to eat dinner with me and enjoy my sparkling personality and wit.”

“Yeah, whatever you say, Ace.” I gathered my things and we walked out of the library, toward the gym where the tournament would be held.

“So, how good are you?”

I looked up at him. “Why?”

He opened the gym door for me and put his hand on my lower back, guiding me inside. I tried to ignore the currents of electricity that ran up and down my spine. “I want to know what my chances are of getting a burger.” He looked down. “I’m hungry.”

“I’m pretty good,” I said quietly. I didn’t add that I’d been on the chess team since fourth grade and was more than pretty good. In fact, there was only one person on the team better than I was—Tim, who was the team captain. I didn’t want to seem like I was bragging, but the chances of us getting a burger after the tournament where high… too high.

“I’ll bet you’re more than pretty good. I have a feeling you’re more than pretty good at whatever you do,” Brody murmured, his hand still on my back.

“Thanks. Ah, you sit on the bleachers. I have to go over there.” I pointed to the corner of the gym where the chess team had gathered. As I turned and walked away, his hand slipped from my back. My skin instantly felt cold from the loss of his touch, and I felt a prickle of disappointment I had no right feeling. “Oh, Brody?” I called over my shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“I forgot to tell you. We’re playing Stanton High.”

He grinned and winked at me. “In that case, I hope you slaughter ’em.”

“Hey, Willow, I was wondering where you were,” Tim said when he saw me walk up. “Here’s the assignment sheet.”

“Ugh, Paul? Really?”

“You can beat him.”

“I know I can beat him, that’s not that point. He’s just a sore loser. I have to listen to him whine through the whole game. It’s supposed to be a silent game, but he mumbles under his breath the entire time. I just want to reach across the table and shove his chess pieces down his throat to shut him up.”

Tim laughed like I was joking. I wasn’t. The guy I was playing was a total crybaby. I’d played him before and won. But Paul made my life, and the judge’s, miserable with his whining, insisting there was no way he could be in checkmate. It was maddening, frustrating, exasperating, aggravating, irritating, and any other adjective I could think of. Needless to say, I wasn’t looking forward to a repeat performance.

I walked to my table like I was walking to a guillotine. Paul and I shook hands before we sat down. Folding my hands in my lap, I stared at the chessboard in front of me, trying not to look toward the bleachers to see if Brody decided to stay and, if so, where he was. I failed. My eyes darted to the side. He was sitting directly beside my table, about five rows up on the bleachers. He caught me looking at him and grinned. I smiled back and quickly looked back at the board, waiting for the signal to begin the games.

The buzzer sounded and thoughts of Brody drained from my mind. I was completely focused on the game in front of me. There were approximately fifteen games being played at the same time, but the gym was silent, other than the clicking of the chess pieces and the pressing of the timers.

Thankfully, a judge hovered near our table. It kept Paul quiet. Our game was over quickly. Instead of insisting on rehashing every move, trying to disprove my win, he knocked over his king and shook my hand before he returned to his school’s corner to sulk.

In the corner designated for our team, I grabbed a Coke out of the cooler the PTO set out for us and a granola bar. When I turned to sit down, I glanced at Brody in the bleachers. He was looking at me with a smirk. He gave me a quick thumbs-up. I smiled and felt my cheeks heat with a blush.

Why am I blushing? It was just a stupid chess game. I’m dating Jaden. Jaden… who would probably plow through all the chessboards if he knew Brody was here watching me play. Jaden… who’s never bothered to show any interest in my chess tournaments—ever.

My next two games weren’t quite as easy as the first. The second I did well, but the third, I made an error early on that almost cost me the game. It was a very stupid mistake that made me wonder if I was thinking more about Brody than the game.

After the final game, I grabbed my things and started toward the door. I felt a twinge of disappointment when I didn’t see Brody anywhere. Sighing, I hefted the strap of my messenger bag over my shoulder and started to leave.

I’m dating Jaden. I should be happy Brody isn’t around. I don’t need the hassle. Jaden. Jaden. Jaden. Yeah, I gotta keep reminding myself of that. Jaden… who knows my secret and would have no problem going through with his threat of telling everyone if I break up with him. Yeah, Jaden, the love of my life.

“You are stupid good.” Brody’s breath was so close to my ear that it tickled when he talked. I felt his hand on the small of my back, making my skin tingle. His other arm reached out and opened the gym door for me.

“Stupid good?” I laughed.

“Yeah, and that means I’m getting a burger. Good thing, too. I’m starving. Which car’s yours?”

“The black one.” I pointed. He guided me toward my car with a slight shift in pressure from his hand.

“Stow your stuff inside and I’ll drive,” he said when I unlocked the door. “I mean, if that works for you. I just figured if you generally stay at school on Fridays, certain people would expect to see your car here.”

Jaden. Jeez, Brody’s thinking more about my boyfriend than I am.

“Ah. Yeah, that works for me.” I tossed my stuff in the backseat. All of a sudden, I was nervous. I was fine thinking I’d drive myself to and from the restaurant and we’d just sit and eat together, but riding in a car with him… that was different.

“I’m over here. The Jeep Grand Cherokee.”

“Hey, it’s Jaden’s girl! How ya doing?” a deep voice boomed across the parking lot.

I looked over my shoulder and froze. Four guys walked toward us.

“What’s wrong?” Brody asked.

“You have to go. Just turn around, walk to your Jeep, and don’t look at them. They’re on the football team. If they see you and me together…”

“Can I text you later?”

“Yes. Just please go before they get any closer.”

Brody ducked his head and jogged to his Jeep, slipping in and driving away before the guys walked past me.

“Hey guys.” I tried to sound normal. “Where’s Jaden?”

“He’s still inside, grabbing his gear. Who was that?” The guy pointed in the direction of Brody’s Jeep.

“I’m gonna go find Jaden before he leaves. Good luck tonight!” I hurried toward the school, pushing through the doors. My heart hammered in my chest; it was almost painful. I leaned against the wall next to the doors, trying to calm my breathing while I waited.

“Hey. What are you doing here?” Jaden asked when he saw me.

“I just came to wish you good luck,” I said with what I hoped was a convincing smile.

Jaden bent and kissed me. “Thanks, baby. I’ll text you later. Maybe you can talk your mom into letting you go to Jamieson’s for a while tonight.”

“Yeah, I’ll ask her.” I wouldn’t.

“See ya,” Jaden said. He pushed through the doors and jogged toward the field.

Oh, that was too close. Way too close. If I’m lucky, they won’t say anything to Jaden about seeing me with someone. Please, let me be lucky for once.

I was restless at the game that night. Jittery. I popped a piece of cotton candy in my mouth, already on my second stick and it wasn’t even halftime yet.

“Okay, spill,” Jenna said, grabbing the candy from my hand.

“What? Give me that!” I scrambled for my candy like a heroin addict would their next fix.

“You only eat this crap when something is bothering you. And even then, you don’t mow through it this fast. What’s up? Tell me now or I’m throwing this candy on the ground.”

“Give it to me,” I hissed.

Jenna dangled the stick of cotton candy from her fingertips. I watched it sway back and forth precariously. “Tell me.”

“He stayed to watch my chess tournament, and we almost went out for a burger afterward. I would have gone with him, but some of Jaden’s teammates walked out of the school just as we were leaving and saw us,” I blurted out all in one breath. “Now give me my damn candy.”

“Who?” she asked, a frown pulling on her lips.

“Brody,” I whispered. “Who else?”

“Oh, holy hottie, Batman! Give me some of that.” She grabbed a handful of my cotton candy and shoved it in her mouth.

“I know.” I took a bite of my candy, but it melted on my tongue too quickly. It wasn’t giving me the high I needed. “This isn’t enough. I need something stronger. Time for chocolate.” I made my way to the concession stand. My gaze fixed on my feet while I waited impatiently for my turn to order. “Three chocolate bars, please,” I said when it was my turn. “And the biggest Coke you have. With an extra side of caffeine.”

“Sure thing, sweetie,” the old woman behind the counter said, smiling at me. She pushed the chocolate through the small window and took my money, handing me my change and Coke. “And, sweetie?”

“Yes?” I looked up at her.

“Whoever has you drowning your sorrows in chocolate and caffeine probably isn’t worth it.”

I smiled at her. “Thanks.” Turning, I came face-to-face with Brody. He looked down at me, and his lips tipped in a grin.

“Got a sweet tooth?”

“Ah, yeah, a little. Did you get dinner?”

“Are you worried about my eating habits?” Brody asked with a quirked brow. “How sweet and totally unnecessary.”

Sighing, I tried to walk around him. “Forget it.” I couldn’t figure him out. This afternoon he was sweet and friendly, and now he was back to antagonizing and irritating.

I walked through the concession stands on my way back to the bleachers when someone grabbed my arm and pulled me into the shadows behind one of the concession booths, making me drop my Coke.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a jerk back there. I just didn’t want anyone overhearing us actually talking like… we like each other,” Brody murmured.

“Oh.” I hated how my voice sounded all breathy and my mind spun from the closeness of him. “You made me drop my Coke.”

That’s what I say? Deep. Real deep. Earth shattering, actually.

Brody laughed. “I’ll buy you another.”

I shrugged. “At least it wasn’t my chocolate.” I smiled.

“So, to answer your question, no, I didn’t get to eat. Do you think you could get away for a while?”

“Um.” I drummed my fingers against my leg, opening my mouth to answer, and then closing it again before finally asking, “Why?”

“’Cuz I could grab us a couple of burgers from the concession stand, and we could eat them in my Jeep. You do owe me a burger,” Brody reminded me, like I’d actually forgotten.

“Ah, where are you parked?”

“Way in the back. I decided to come at the last minute, so I think I got the farthest parking space there is. In fact, I think it’s actually in another county.”

I laughed. “Okay. I need a minute to see what I can do.”

“I’ll get the burgers. What do you like?”

You. Oh, crap, where did that come from? I’m seriously walking on a very thin line.

“No, don’t get them yet. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to come back or not.”

“I’ll take my chances. I’ll meet you over there?” He nodded at an unlit part of the parking area behind the last concession stand.

“Okay, but if I’m not back in five minutes, you’ll know I couldn’t get away.” I forced myself to walk calmly to where Jenna and Tim sat on the bleachers. As I walked, I opened one of the candy bars and threw the candy under the bleachers, keeping the wrapper. I did the same with half of another. I sat down between Jenna and Tim.

“Got your candy fix?” Jenna said with a laugh, looking at the chocolate bars.

“Yeah.”

“Uh-oh. I know that look. You’re gonna hurl, aren’t you? You ate too much of that crap and nothing else.” She picked up the empty wrappers and looked at them.

“Yeah, I’m not feeling too hot.” I purposely talked loud enough that Karen, who was sitting a row behind us, would hear me. She would tell Jaden everything as soon as the game was over. “Do you think you can take me home?”

Jenna gave me a funny look. “Yeah. What about Jaden? He’ll be looking for you.”

“I’ll tell Karen to tell him I’m sick and had to leave. He’ll be fine with it. He won’t have to worry about my curfew and can go to Jamieson’s party after the game.”

“Okay.” Jenna grabbed her things.

I turned to Karen, who, like I figured, was listening to our conversation. “Karen, I’m not feeling so great. Too much candy, I guess. Can you get a message to Jaden that I went home and tell him I’ll text him after the game?”

“Sure.” She studied my face. I tried to look sick.

“Tell him I said to have fun at Jamieson’s party.”

“I’ll tell him.” She watched Jenna and me walk down the bleachers after we said goodbye to Tim and the others in our group.

As soon as we rounded the stands, Jenna grabbed my arm. “Spill. Now.”

“I’m having a burger with Brody. You were the only cover I could think of. I know you don’t really like the games anyway, so I didn’t think you’d mind leaving early.” I cringed, waiting for her to say something.

“Nope, don’t mind at all. He’ll give you a ride home?”

I nodded. “I think so.”

“Well, have fun.” She winked and walked to her car. “I expect a full and very detailed report. It’s the least you owe me.”

“You’re the very bestest friend a girl can have, you know that right?” I gushed with a smile, swinging my clasped hands back and forth and batting my eyelashes.

“Of course,” she said and waved.

I ran to the back of the last concession stand where I was meeting Brody. He stood with his shoulder leaning against the wall, one thumb hooked in his belt loop. His other hand held a tray of drinks and a bag. He smiled when he saw me.

“I was just about to give up,” he said quietly and pushed off the wall.

“Sorry. I tried to hurry.”

“No problem. Let’s go. When do you have to be back?”

“Here, let me carry something.” I took the drinks from him, and my stomach growled.

Brody laughed. “You sound as hungry as I am. So? How long do we have?”

“Oh, um, I don’t have to be back. I said I was leaving because I was sick from too much junk food.” I smiled.

“Ah, three chocolate bars and a Coke on an empty stomach can make anyone sick.”

“Yeah, well, I’d already had two things of cotton candy, an ice cream cone, and a bag of chili cheese corn chips. Oh, and that was my second Coke.” Brody looked at me with raised eyebrows. And I shrugged. “I eat when I’m nervous,” I said.

“Are you even gonna have room for a burger?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m hungry for something that’s not full of sugar.” I grinned. “Something dripping in fat sounds good.”

Brody laughed and unlocked the passenger door to his Jeep, holding it while I got in and shutting it after me. I groaned. The Jeep smelled like him—oh so good. It surrounded me like a cloud. I wanted to open a window and let in fresh air because I knew I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything but his smell as long as I was in his Jeep. Brody opened the door and climbed in the driver’s seat. The smell of burgers filled the space, masking his smell, and I could breathe again. My head started to clear and stopped spinning.

“I didn’t know what you liked, so I had them put everything on the side,” he said, pulling out a tray full of lettuce, tomato, pickles, and cheese, putting it on the center console before reaching in and grabbing a handful of condiment packets. He took out a burger and held it out to me. I couldn’t stop staring at the mini buffet of burger toppings. “Hey, earth to Willow, do you want this?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry.” I took the burger and unwrapped it.

Brody started piling his burger with lettuce and tomato. He stopped when he noticed I just watched him. “Do you eat yours plain? Or did I not get what you like? ’Cuz I can run up there and get whatever you want.”

“No. No, this is great.” I put a piece of cheese on my burger, looked at it, and then grabbed another. I piled my burger with lettuce and squirted mustard all over it before taking a bite. “This is so good,” I said when I swallowed, chasing it down with a gulp of Coke. “Jaden always orders my food for me, and it’s never what I want. I like mustard—he orders mayo. I want onion rings—he orders French fries. I can’t believe you did this.” As soon as the words were out, I wanted to suck them back in.

“He doesn’t let you order your own meals?” Brody asked around a bite of burger.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. Let’s not… I don’t want to talk about Jaden.”

“No problem. So, how long have you played chess?”

“Fourth grade.”

“No wonder you’re so good. I used to play in middle school,” Brody said, before taking a sip of his Coke.

“Why don’t you play anymore?”

“We moved around a lot. It made it tough to do any extracurricular activities.”

“Ah. And now? Does your family still move around or are you going to be in Middleton for a while?”

“I think we’re here to stay.”

“Then you should join the chess club. I mean… ah, never mind.” I shook my head, taking another bite of my hamburger.

“What? Tell me what you were going to say.”

“Well, the chess club isn’t exactly something that would… your reputation isn’t one that would suggest… I’m not sure you’d enjoy chess club, that’s all.”

Smooth. Way to stick my foot in my mouth. Never mind just one foot—I just shoved them both in there. Jeez.

Brody looked at me for what seemed like hours before he spoke. “And you believe everything you hear about reputations? You judge people based on them?”

“I wouldn’t say I judge them—”

“Why are you here? If my reputation is such an issue for you, why are you here? Oh, wait, I get it. We’re in a car in a dark parking lot where no one can see you slumming it with the bad boy of Cassidy High, right?”

“No! That’s not it at all.”

“Then enlighten me, Willow. Why are you here?”

“You asked me.”

Brody blew out a breath and looked out the window. Throwing his half-eaten burger in the bag, he started clearing the remnants of the toppings and condiments from the Jeep’s console.

I opened my door and slipped out of the Jeep, throwing what was left of my sandwich into the field behind the parking lot. “I’m sorry… I…” I shook my head, turned, and walked toward the stadium.

Brody got out of the Jeep and called after me. “Where are you going? I thought you told them you were leaving?”

I shrugged. “I’ll tell them I’m feeling better and decided to stay. No big deal. I’ll see you Monday, Brody. Thanks for the burger.”

“Willow,” he called, just loud enough for me to hear. “Don’t go.”

I stopped with my back to him. “Give me one reason to stay.”

“Because I don’t believe you care about reputations, and I don’t want you to go.”

“That was two.”

“Then I should get extra credit.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

“I can’t, Brody. This was a mistake. I’m sorry.” Back in the stadium, I sat down next to Tim.

He looked over at me. “I thought you weren’t feeling good and were going home?”

“I’m feeling better. I didn’t want Jaden to worry, so I decided to stay.” I was surprised at how easily it was becoming to lie to everyone. I hated myself for it.

I pulled out my phone and texted Jenna.

Me: Are you home?

Jenna: Had to pull over. Was driving. No. Not home. Why?

Me: Didn’t work out. Still at the game. Come back?

Jenna: Yeah. Be right there.

Monday. I dreaded seeing Brody. I thought about texting him a million times over the weekend. If I had known what to say, I would have, but I didn’t, so I didn’t.

I stood in front of my closet, trying to decide what to wear. Make a statement and wear a T-shirt with a message on it or dress in something normal, as Jenna would call it? I opted for the message. I was in a crappy mood. It was a Monday, after all. So I pulled on a pair of black jeans and a black tank that read, I’m allergic to stupidity so I break out in sarcasm. I wore a long-sleeved, red button down that matched the lettering on my tank. Tying it at the waist, I left it unbuttoned so people could read the tank. I slipped on my red plaid converse tennis shoes that Jenna despised, but I loved, and grabbed my messenger bag, darting out my bedroom door.