by Amy Sparling
“Jess?”
I exhale. He really does sound sexy on the phone. Boys are the worst.
“Yeah, it’s me. What do you want?”
“You sound cute,” he says, and I can tell he’s grinning. My stomach flutters.
“Don’t flirt with me, Max. Why are you calling me?”
“I’m calling to tell you I think I figured out what happened.”
“It’s pretty obvious what happened, Max. Your girlfriend found your phone and told me to leave you alone. I’m trying to follow her wishes but you keep talking to me.”
“There is no her,” he says. “I promise.”
I sigh into the phone. “Not this again.”
“I’m serious. And I can prove it.”
I swallow. “How?”
“I’d rather explain in person,” he says. My body tenses. “I think we should meet.”
Chapter 9
“Um…”
I don’t even know what to say to that. Mainly, I’m thinking that I could listen to his voice for hours. I’m also wondering what a guy could look like after sounding that freaking cute on the phone. I’m also thinking this is crazy.
“Please, Jess?”
“Why can’t you just explain to me on the phone?” I say, but I can already feel myself cracking. As much as I want to hate him and not listen to a word he says, I can’t stop thinking about the possibility. The maybe.
Like maybe he’s not lying.
“Because I think we should meet. If you meet me in person, you’ll see that I’m a good guy. I’ll prove to you that this was just a stupid misunderstanding. Even my mom is blown away by how stupid it is.”
I grip the phone tighter. “You told your mom about this?”
“Yeah, I had to,” he says. “I needed her advice.”
“And what did she say?”
“She said I should meet the girl I’m crushing on to make sure I really like her.”
Butterflies flutter around my stomach. “I see.”
He chuckles. “I know, I know. It’s crazy. We’ve only talked through texting but you seem so cool. I can’t let you get away without making one last attempt to win you over.”
“But, you don’t know me,” I say, desperation filling my voice. Because even though this is sounding really good, I have to be realistic. Maybe he’ll take one look at me and think I’m not his type of girl. I mean, looks-wise, I am average at best. Abigail always says my long brown hair is the prettiest thing ever, but that’s just hair. My face? It’s just normal.
Just boring.
It’s the reason I’m still single.
“I want to know you,” Max says. “If we don’t click then, fine. We’ll just be friends. No big deal. But I think we should meet and I can clear my name so you no longer think I’m a liar.”
“How do I know you’re not some serial murderer?” I say, and I’m only half joking.
He laughs anyhow. “Let’s meet in public. What about that Starbucks off fifth street that’s always super busy? I’ll be there tomorrow when you get off school. I’ll wear a blue beanie. You can show up and scope me out and if you think I look like a murderer then you can leave.”
I get this rush of excitement at the idea of meeting him. “That sounds like an okay idea…”
“So you’ll do it?” he asks, his voice eager. “Yes,” I say, grinning. “You’ll be wearing a blue beanie.”
“Blue beanie,” he confirms.
I take a deep breath. Maybe this is crazy. But maybe it’s not. “Okay.”
“Okay,” he says. “I can’t wait.”
♥ ♥ ♥
After school, I’m a bundle of excited nerves. I didn’t tell Abigail about my clandestine meeting with Max because if it turns out that he’s just a big liar, then I don’t want her to know. Also, part of me is worried that even if he really doesn’t have a girlfriend, he won’t like me. I can’t handle the embarrassment that would bring, so I keep it all to myself.
But I do text my mom and tell her I’m going to Starbucks after school. You know, just in case he is a murderer.
I grab the pepper spray key chain my dad got me and attach it to my house keys, and then I start walking toward the Starbucks which is only a few blocks away. Fifth street is right between his town and mine, so even though we went to different school districts our whole lives, we’ve always lived close to each other. I wonder if we’ve ever been at the same place at the same time.
As I approach the Starbucks, I know that we’re about to be in the exact same place at the same time.
My nerves are on fire with how anxious I am, but somehow I manage to open the door and let myself into the packed coffee shop. This Starbucks is pretty big, with three different sitting areas, all filled with people and laptops and coffee. I’m glad it’s so busy, because the only thing scarier than meeting a guy you’ve never seen before would be if I walked in here and he was the only person inside.
I do my best to seem casual and normal as I stroll up to the front counter. I don’t look around as if I’m searching for someone. If Max is already here, he’s probably watching each person that comes inside, which means he’s probably seen me before I’ve seen him. The very thought makes me nervous.
What if he doesn’t like me? What if he’s staring at me right now, hoping I’m not the girl he’s supposed to meet because he doesn’t like the way I look?
Oh God. I take a deep breath and pretend to check the time on my phone. Then I take out some cash from my back pocket and pretend to scan the menu board even though I already know what I want to order.
I’m third in line, so while I wait, I glance to the right, at the shelf of coffee mugs for sale. Very casually, I glance around. I don’t see any blue beanies on this side of the store.
I take a deep breath and look to the left.
That’s when I see him.
Sitting at a narrow table that’s made for just two people, is a boy in a blue beanie. He has dark hair poking out of the bottom of it, tanned skin, and broad shoulders. He’s staring down at his phone, which is sitting on the table next to his coffee. He’s not even bothering to look around at the people coming inside, so I allow myself to watch him for a few minutes.
I can’t believe what I’m seeing. He’s totally hot.
Like, drop dead gorgeous.
He picks up his coffee and tips it to his lips, and I watch like some kind of stalker as his bicep flexes before he sets the coffee back on the table.
“Miss?” the barista says.
“Sorry,” I say, quickly stepping forward in line. It’s my turn now and I hadn’t even noticed. I order my iced coffee and then step to the left to wait by the pick-up counter.
Max still hasn’t looked over, and I wonder if he’s as nervous as I am, although he doesn’t seem like it. He seems relaxed, totally at home in this coffee shop.
When my coffee is ready, I briefly consider taking it and leaving, letting Max forever wonder what happened to me. But even though I’m scared that he won’t like me as much as I want to like him, I’m still too curious about this fake girlfriend thing. He swears he’s not a liar, and I guess I want to find out for sure if he’s telling the truth.
So although I’m so nervous I think I might drop dead out of fear, I force myself to walk over to his table.
Max slowly looks over as I approach, his eyes locking on mine. They’re the perfect shade of blue—so much better than Mr. Hawkins’.
“Hi,” I say. “I’m Jess.”
His lips twist into a grin that reaches all the way to his eyes. “Hi,” he says. “You’re even prettier than I imagined.”
Chapter 10
A feel a deep blush rising from my neck to my cheeks. “You’re pretty, too,” I say in an attempt to be funny. Max gives me this lopsided smile, but he doesn’t blush, and I’m immediately jealous of how calm and collected he is.
“Want to sit down?” he asks, gesturing to the chair in front of him.
I set my coffee on the ta
ble and then sit down, and then the next thing I know, I’m face-to-face with the guy I’ve been texting. “What kind of coffee did you get?” he asks.
“Iced vanilla sweet cream.” I bite on my bottom lip. “But we’re not here to talk about coffee.”
He grins again, and there’s this shyness to his expression that makes me smile. “Can I just say, that…you have the most amazing smile ever?”
That only makes me smile bigger. I roll my eyes. “No compliments until you explain to me about your girlfriend.”
He nods. “Right. You mean to say that I will explain about how I don’t have a girlfriend.”
I fold my arms across my chest and try to give him a stern expression. “I’m waiting on this explanation.”
He laughs. “Okay, so, you totally confused me the other day. My phone didn’t have any unusual texts at all, but then I realized someone could have deleted them.”
I nod. “Duh.”
He grins every time he looks at me, and this time is no different. “So anyway…” he says, sliding his fingers around his coffee as he gazes up at me. “I was totally confused because I didn’t even leave the house last weekend. My mom had a bad arthritis flare-up so I was taking care of her. And then it hit me.”
His eyes widen and he makes his annoyed face, curling his lip. “Her nursing service.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“There’s this nursing company that sends nurses over to care for people with illnesses. Mom needs a nurse pretty much full time when she’s having a flare up. But when it goes away after a few days, she’ll be fine for a while and I can just take care of her. But this week one of the nurses stopped by to bring her a new heat compress for her back, and she brought her daughter, who is this chick I can’t stand. Her name is Ashley and she’s a freshman at my old school.”
I lift an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. “Brenda is the nurse, and she’s great. She’s really sweet and my mom likes her, but she brings her stupid daughter with her all the time, and this chick is like—” He scowls. “She’s obsessed with me. The first time she met me, she asked me to go out with her, and she’s totally not my type so I said no, and then she got pissed and kept asking me. And now every time she comes over, she tries to talk to me and it’s the most annoying ever. I usually just leave the house and wait for Brenda and her evil daughter to leave before I come back.”
“Okay…” I say, giving him a penetrating glare. “This story is sounding a little bit believable.”
He tilts his head and gazes at me with this expression that makes my heart speed up and my toes tingle. “I’m getting to the proof part.”
“Okay,” I say. “I’m waiting.”
“So…” he says, grinning at me. “This weekend, when they stopped by the house, I was in the shower. My phone was on my bed. When I got out of the shower, they had already left, but I could smell Ashley’s perfume in my freaking bedroom. It really pissed me off, because I figured she had come looking for me and then left when she didn’t find me. But then I realized that she could have gone through my phone.”
“So where’s your proof?” I say, even though I’m pretty sure I believe him anyway. No one can fake being this sincere.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. “I called Brenda and explained the situation, after talking to my mom about it. She’s the one who told me to call Brenda because she remembered Ashley disappearing for a while when they were at our house.”
While he talks, he pulls up something on his phone, and then he hands it to me. It’s opened to his saved voice mail messages.
“Listen to the first one,” he says.
I press play, then hold his phone up to my ear. While I listen, he watches me, his eyes glued to mine.
“Hi Max, this is Brenda,” A woman says on the voice message. “I just talked with Ashley and she admitted to messing with your phone. I am so sorry, Max. I had no idea. I will not be bringing her with me to any of my client’s homes anymore, especially not yours. I’m so very sorry that she violated your privacy like that. Please tell your mom I have taken care of the situation, and I hope she’ll continue to let me take care of her. Thank you.”
I set the phone down. A few moments of silence pass between us while we have this little staring contest. A little wrinkle appears between Max’s eyes. He’s pleading with me silently, asking me to believe him.
“That does sound pretty convincing,” I say at last. I let out a shaky breath. “You have no idea how horrifying it was to get those texts from her.”
“I’m so sorry, Jess.” Max reaches out and takes my hand from across the table. The feeling of his warm hand on mine sends a shiver of delight up my arm. “I know it sounds crazy, but I had so much fun talking to you. It felt—I don’t know—like—”
“Like we’re perfect for each other?” I suggest.
He smiles and I’m still not used to how cute he is. “Yes. Exactly like that.”
“I feel that way too,” I say softly. I don’t know where this boldness comes from, but I like it. I like Max.
And I think he likes me.
“So, am I forgiven?” he asks, his shoulders lifting up in this boyish way.
I nod quickly. “I think so.”
“Good,” he says. He turns my hand over, so that my palm is facing up. His fingers slide lazily up and down mine. “Because my next question is really important.”
“And what is that?” I ask, my breath catching in my throat.
His other hand reaches across the table, and he takes both of my hands into his. Then he meets my eyes with a mischievous and terribly sexy grin. “Want to go on a date with me?”
“Yes,” I say, unable to hide my excitement. Relief replaces all of that ache in my heart, and I grin like crazy as he grins back at me, and as we hold hands across the table, I can tell we’re thinking the same thing.
This is the start of something wonderful.
♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥
My Un-Famous Neighbor
Chapter 1
While the other one hundred and three students who go to my high school are no doubt sleeping in late on their first day of summer break, I am awake at five in the morning. There are only a handful of stores here in Spockle, Texas, my tiny little hill country hometown, and my parents own three of them.
Well, technically they own the building. Cross General Store is our business, and my parents rent out the adjoining space to Dr. Clark’s family practice, and then to Uncle Ben, who runs a fishing shop on the opposite side.
Our store also has the only two gas pumps in town, so pretty much everyone comes here for everything. We are located right off of County Road 16, which is the only road that comes or goes from Spockle. You might think you know small towns, but you don’t. Not until you’ve been here.
Normally I love the small town life. I mean, sure, I hate that we only venture to the mall a few times a year because it’s three hours away, but we do get mail delivery so I can buy pretty much everything I want online. That is, of course, when our very slow dial-up internet service actually works.
But the people are nice, and I know all of them since I’ve lived here my whole life, and my parents run the only general store in town. We have a beautiful lake, and rolling hills, and miles and miles of state park land to get lost inside while you’re reconnecting with nature. The only downside to living here is that there are exactly fifty-three guys in my high school. Half of those are freshman or sophomores, so ew, and the other half are all like brothers to me. I mean, I’ve gone to school with them all since we were five years old. A few of them live on my street, so I’ve known them even longer.
Mom says I should just chill out about boys and wait until I go to college because then I’ll meet tons of them. But it’s still annoying. I’ve dated a few guys over the last two years, but it never lasted long.
With Blake, we just felt like friends who couldn’t seem to move into lovers territory. It was hard when you know eac
h other’s entire lives, like how I puked on him in third grade, or how he peed his pants at a birthday party when we were six.
Then Brandon asked me to homecoming last year, which was fun because my best friend Risha and I made a trip to the mall for dresses, and the Spockle High School rented out a building an hour away for our dance, and pretty much every kid in school went, so it was packed. But when he kissed me, it just didn’t feel—well, romantic. There was no spark. And I’ve heard there always needs to be a spark.
And then there was Jake.
But Jake doesn’t count. He was Risha’s boyfriend, even if it wasn’t officially official. They’d been attached at the hip since junior high and everyone knew they were in love and would marry and have kids and raise them here in this small town.
That is until he kissed me.
It was four freaking months ago and Risha still hates me. I didn’t kiss him back. I pushed him away, and Risha still hates me.
I didn’t even like Jake, and Risha still hates me.
So I guess it’s no big deal that I have to wake up at five in the morning and go help my dad at the store. It’s not like I have parties or sleepovers or fun things to do. It’s not like I have a best friend anymore.
Cross General Store is set up kind of like a hybrid of a gas station, a small grocery store, and a diner. On the far right, there’s the long countertop bar in front of the grill and coffee makers and our milkshake machine. Behind it, are eight tables that are pretty much always filled with the same people. The older retired guys are the first to arrive, getting coffee and pancakes and eggs and talking about boring stuff until they leave. Then families and younger people show up for breakfast.
In the middle of the store are the grocery aisles, where we sell normal and basic foods. Not the fancy stuff like at big grocery stores, although we do carry gluten free foods now that Mrs. Hamilton has been diagnosed with Celiac disease.
Then on the left is the regular gas station stuff. We even sell some Spockle, TX T-shirts and souvenirs that my parents ordered as a joke, but people actually buy them. We get a lot of people just passing through our town onto somewhere better, and they stop here for gas and food. They think it’s hilarious when they see our souvenir section, and they often buy something to remind them of our tiny little town.