by Stacia Leigh
“Hello.” He leaned forward on the couch, elbows to knees while Oopsie tossed a naked Ken under the table and sang out, “Hi, Will!”
Only it wasn’t him.
“Hi, J.J.” Holly breathed into his ear, and his cheeks went limp. “I hope you don’t mind me calling. I need to talk to you.”
“Oh, hey.” Oh, no. He dragged a palm over his face. “Listen, Holly, I thought you were someone else. I can’t chat right now. I’m expecting a call.” She’d cornered him at lunch, and he wasn’t going to go through the same misery again. No thanks.
How’d she get his number? From the high school directory or from Gemma?
“Oh? Who are you waiting for?” she asked. Man, she was transparent.
“Will’s supposed to call. What’s up?” he asked curtly, drawing a wary, sideways glance from Oopsie. She slowly set her doll on the floor and inched closer, the little eavesdropper.
“I found out that Gemma and Ron are going on a date tonight.”
“A date,” he said and rubbed the back of his neck. He’d almost done it; he’d almost cleared his mind of Gemma by drooling over pork chops. Then Holly had to call and blow it.
“She didn’t call it that, but that’s what it is. They’re going to Moony’s for movie night.”
“What movie?” He knew exactly where they’d sit, in the spot, the darkest corner in the back row on the left. He made out with Gemma in the exact same corner whenever they hit Two-bit Tuesday nights. The words, “this movie sucks,” usually started the gropes and giggles until the closing credits rolled, and the lights came on.
“I’m calling to see if you want to go. That would really make her mad, wouldn’t it? To see you with me?”
“Why would it make her mad? According to you, she wants us to go to prom,” J.J. said stiffly.
“Yeah, as friends. But not as two people on a date.”
She was direct, which he could fully appreciate. Spit it out, get it out, and deal. Good advice for Will. Unfortunately for J.J., the ball was now in his court.
“Holly, I’m with Blue.” He drummed his fingers on the arm of the couch while he watched Little Oops walk her doll up the leg of the coffee table.
“Oh, J.J.” Holly tsk-tsked through the phone. “No one believes you’re going out with her. She’s your beard to make Gemma jealous. Go with me. We get along. We have a good time, don’t we?”
“C’mon, Holly—”
“You know why she broke up with you? So you’d sit up and take notice, and look how that turned out. You’re a free agent, and she’s going with Ron to the movies. Just wait until she sees you with me. She’ll be the one sitting up and taking notice.”
J.J.’s head spun with the lies and the betrayals. Holly’d said Gemma had moved on, but now what was she saying? Gemma would be jealous if he went to the movies with someone else? He’d watched her and Ron slobbering all over each other after lunch. He’d caught them in the act, but then Gemma had given him a sly look as if she’d known he’d been standing there. Was the kiss only for his benefit?
“Holly, I’m not sure—” J.J. sat up, fully aware of Oops tracking his every move.
“I’ll tell you everything. I’m her best friend, and I know what they’re up to. If she doesn’t tell me, then Ron will.”
“Holly! Geez, let me get a word in.” He stood and made his way out the back door for a little privacy.
“Fine.” She huffed.
“I’m going to be honest here.” J.J. cleared his throat and leaned an arm on the porch railing. “It would be too weird between us. Your friendship means a lot to me, and I’m not willing to risk it. Now, I know it sounds corny and everything, but believe it.” No way in hell was he taking her to the movies. Just, no.
“I see. So you’re sticking with Suzy, then?” He opened his mouth to answer, but Holly cut him off with a whine before he could even make a peep. “Why? Why her?”
J.J. rubbed the back of his neck and looked across the lawn to Suzy’s window. Why Suzy? They were in an assigned group together for one. They sat by each other in B.S. class, they were neighbors, and they each had something the other wanted. They had a mutual deal, and it worked. Plus, she wasn’t a gossip hound. Not at all. Instead, she was easy to talk to, funny, and a stunner with those baby blues.
Little Miss Priss. If you call me Flash, so help me… Flash, what a great nickname. His lips tugged up into a smile. Why hadn’t he thought of it? Oh, yeah, he had sisters, so he knew when to shut up, especially after he’d stood below her window and looked straight up her shirt. What a sight—
“Are you there, or did you hang up on me?” Holly’s voice cut in.
“Yeah, listen. Uh, Blue is…” J.J. opted for honesty. “I like her…she’s cool…we’re dating. And it’s real.” Well, sort of.
“Pfft, please. I’m not an idiot,” Holly muttered through the phone.
“I never said you were. C’mon, what am I doing wrong here?” He hated lying, but why was this conversation still going on? “I’ve gotta go, Holly. Will’s trying to call.”
“What’s Will up to?”
“Hey, what movie were those guys gonna see anyway?” If he couldn’t beat ‘em, then he’d join ‘em. “Maybe I’ll go. Maybe I won’t.”
“I heard he’s flunking out of school.”
“He isn’t. What movie?”
“I’m not sure…” Holly said.
He almost laughed. She was sure. As it turned out, The Mouth wasn’t the only one who could pump for answers.
“We’re friends, right Holly?” he coaxed.
“Yes,” she said.
“Then you should be honest with me,” J.J. said and gripped the railing. “Tell me the movie.”
“Okay.” She huffed into the phone. “It’s Hot Pursuit.”
Boom! J.J. hung up with Holly and pinched at the tension in his neck. He rolled his shoulders while studying Suzy’s dark window across the way, lights out and no crate. Where could the little princess be? He flicked his fingers over his phone screen and texted her.
JJ: Two-bit Tuesday. Up for a cheap flick?
SUZY: No.
JJ: Where are you?
SUZY: In my tower.
No was not an option. He cut through their yards to her window and rapped on the glass. The window slowly opened, and Suzy hugged a pillow as she looked down at him. Red hair fell wild and loose around her face and shoulders, like it had been picked at by a flock of nesting birds.
“Were you sleeping?” He peered up into her pale face. She didn’t look so good.
“I’m watching the sky turn to dusk. The days are getting longer.”
“O-kaaay,” J.J. said slowly. “Methinks you need to get out. Let’s catch a movie. You got a full hour to comb your hair.”
“No, I don’t feel like it.” She shook her head and squeezed her pillow tighter.
“What…you going to lie around all night? Boring! C’mon, I need you.”
“You do?” She slowly sat up. “How’s that?”
“You’re my girlfriend. We’ve got a job to do, remember? Drop your crate and let me up.”
“No!” She barked out with wide eyes. “I’m sorry. I mean, my mom is here.” Suzy flared out her fingers and studied her hangnails. “I’m guessing Gemma will be at the movies, then?”
“Yeah. It’ll be perfect. We’ll sit right in front of them. According to my source, we’ll have to step up our game.”
“And do what?” She narrowed her eyes.
“Improv.” He grinned. “I’ll knock on your window in an hour. You can drive us to the mall and practice some parallel parking.”
“Okay. But I’ll meet you at your house. No sense in you having to walk over here again.”
“No big deal.” J.J. shrugged. “What kind of gentleman would I be?”
“Seriously. I’ll meet you at your truck.”
J.J. sat back while Suzy glided his truck into a parking space near Moony’s Theater, her best driving effort to date. Okay, up until she bounced
the front wheels off the curb. He frowned at her across the dark cab while he unbuckled his seat belt.
“Sorry.” Suzy patted the steering wheel affectionately, her eyes gleaming behind her glasses. She loved his truck, J.J. could tell, but stand in line, babe…so did he. Ultimately, he approved, so he bit back the snarky “watch the alignment” comment that nearly spring-boarded off his tongue. One time soon, he’d take her for a drive and show her what his truck could really do. He’d rev the engine, take the corners like a boss, baha down by the lake and sling mud. Oh, yeah.
“Ready?” he asked, and she nodded, slipping down out of the truck, a river of copper hair following her. She swung around the front end, and he took her hand in his. Where was Miss Priss tonight? Her fleece jacket hung open to show a clingy, purple t-shirt, and her glasses pushed her hair away from her face like a headband, the copper tresses hung in waves, loose and free. Her blue eyes were lined with dark lashes, and they pierced him. They were on a mission involving his ex, so…stop staring at her, idiot! He pulled his eyes away and led her across the parking lot.
He bought their tickets and ushered her through the big glass doors lined with white neon lights. He chin-nodded and back-slapped some of the guys, and once he got preliminaries out of the way, he huddled with Suzy next to the snack bar to review the plan.
“We’ll go in and see where they’re sitting. My guess, back row, left corner, because it’s where we…” J.J. brushed the thought aside. “Once we see them, let’s sit a couple rows in front. Not too close. I don’t want a conversation but close enough so she can see.” He quickly scanned the foyer before turning back to her. “Popcorn?”
“See what?” Suzy narrowed her blue eyes at him. “I mean, she’ll see us walking in together, sharing out of the same popcorn container, and it’s like swapping spit right there. Isn’t that enough?”
“Always being difficult,” he chided and dug in his wallet for a few bills.
J.J. held the red-and-white tub of popcorn goodness in the crook of his arm as he guided her into the hazy theater mostly showing dated movies. He scanned the back row, but Gemma and Ron weren’t there. Interesting. Instead, they sat shoulder to shoulder a few rows into the middle, only chatting, but they were sharing popcorn. Sharing spit, like Suzy said.
“Let’s sit here,” J.J. murmured into Suzy’s hair a few rows farther down and kitty corner. Gemma would have the perfect view, considering the exceptionally low patronage for tonight’s Two-bit show. This flick must truly suck. Good, no movie distractions, only Suzy—
“Has Gemma seen us yet?” Suzy leaned forward and shrugged out of her fleece jacket.
Right. Not Suzy, but Gemma. Get it together, Radborne. Game on. He kicked up his ankle and rested it across his knee while stretching an arm across the back of her chair. He leaned toward her.
“Popcorn, buttercup?” He jostled the warm tub under her nose and watched as her eyes lit up with hunger. He rumbled deeply next to her ear, “You are unwise to lower your defenses.”
“Back to buttercup are we, and is that your sexy popcorn voice?” Suzy nibbled the kernels out of her hand.
Sexy. A grin tugged at his lips. He wasn’t even trying. Future reference: Suzy found his villain voice sexy. He twisted slightly in his chair, searching for Gemma and Sir Gonad in his peripheral. Boom, right there. Now, he could enjoy a perfectly sucky movie with his pretend girlfriend while making the ex jealous, a two-bit, two-for-one deal.
Before turning back around, he locked gazes with Gemma, whose eyes blinked wide. Ha! Surprise. Her mouth popped open like a gasping fish, and if he had a Junior Mint, he’d definitely make a basket. Ron glared and folded his chiseled arms.
J.J. smirked and turned to face Suzy, who busily stuffed popcorn in her face like it was her last meal. She licked butter and salt off her lips and dug into the tub for another handful. Since Gemma sat behind them, up and over, scrutinizing his every move, hopefully, and most likely taking notes, it was time to give her something to worry about. He lowered his hand and cupped Suzy’s shoulder possessively.
“Can I kiss you right now?” he said in his low, sexy voice, the one Suzy seemed to appreciate.
“What?” She froze, her hand hovering near her mouth. She lowered it and said, “No, I’m not kissing you. I’m eating popcorn.” She crammed the kernels into her mouth and chewed forcefully to make her point. She wiped the sides of her lips and said, “Besides, no pawing, remember?”
“It’s not pawing, and I seem to remember saying kissing might be required. C’mon, Blue.” J.J. pulled his arm off the back of her chair to toss a thumb over his shoulder. “She’s right there and can see everything. It’s the perfect time. Geez, one lip-lock isn’t going to kill you.” Suzy kept shaking her head, no, no, no, which made his temper flare. “What’s the big deal? Remember the agreement we made? You get to drive for steady—”
“Every time I don’t do something you want, you jerk the driving card out from under me.”
“Trouble in paradise?” A familiar voice poured sweetly over his head.
He jerked back in his seat to see Gemma in the aisle with her light blonde hair draped over one shoulder. With her head tilted to the side, she raised her brows in a mocking I’m-pretty-sure-I-know-what-you’re-up-to look. He clenched his molars painfully. This was the perfect set up with Suzy here, if she’d only cooperate. Now, Gemma was poking her nose into his business, close to busting his cover.
“Nah. Everything’s cozy. Right, buttercup?” He nodded yes, yes, yes at Suzy and telepathically yelled, We have a deal! Just go with it.
“That’s right, sweety pie.” Suzy nodded and with a pasted on grin, she lifted her hand to J.J.’s lips. He pulled back until he noticed the popcorn she was trying to feed him. Ah, the attentive girlfriend. About time. With her head back in the game, she played her part right on cue. He nibbled the puffy kernel out of her fingers and peered up at Gemma. See? Cozy.
“Please,” Gemma muttered with a twist of her lips. She hugged herself. “J.J., can I talk to you out there?” She nodded toward the doors, and his eyes followed as she added, “Ron went to get us a pop and some Red Vines, so it’ll only be a minute.”
“Sure.” J.J. turned to Suzy with his brows raised—This could be it—and handed her the tub. Gemma ditching the gonad. Gemma ending the games. Gemma begging for forgiveness. But if she did want him back, that meant…what? The end of Suzy?
He stood and took an extra second to brush the crumbs off his shirt as he studied Suzy’s blue eyes. Damn, they were super blue. He slowly turned away and followed Gemma with her swaying pockets up the aisle, through the doors, and into the brightly lit hallway. She led him around the corner and leaned against the wall, watching him from under her thick black eyelashes. She waited while a hefty mom and pop couple lumbered past.
“What are you doing with her, J.J.?” Gemma asked casually, but her long denim leg rocked back and forth with a nervous edge.
Good question. If he wanted Gemma back, though, he couldn’t tell her the truth, could he? He opened his mouth, but the right words wouldn’t come. How could he tell Gemma about Suzy? Would Gem appreciate how Suzy mystified him with her quiet and subdued nature? She was captivating and enticing even while she hid behind those nerdy, dark-rimmed glasses. And the turquoise tab on the zipper of her fleece jacket, the one snugged up tight under her chin? He wasn’t supposed to want to slowly pull that thing down, right?
What was it about Suzy’s aqua-blue eyes? Or was it her mermaid hair, loose and free one moment, then wrestled up tight and controlled the next? He liked her curves on top, the dip in her waist, out and down over her cushion. He shook his head. Why was he thinking about Suzy’s body right now? The lines between him and his pretend girlfriend blurred like he was looking through water. But there was something there, trying to take shape.
So…no. He couldn’t say anything at all.
Gemma’s lips turned up into a smile, and she pushed off the wall to drape her arms over his s
houlders.
“I knew it,” she whispered, and her breath warmed his neck. He turned; she turned. Their lips met, and J.J. opened his mouth to her kiss. She tasted comfortable, familiar, like a sun-ripened lemon, so sweet and tart and sometimes sour. Things between them were delicious yet complicated. Her hands climbed into his hair, and he nearly sighed. She was right when she said she always made the first move. Here she was, doing it again, reaching out to him, touching him. He was like a coddled cat, wrapped up and complacent in her arms.
He kissed her and waited for the magic to corkscrew his brain, but instead an image flashed, illuminating a laughing pair, Ron and Gemma. More games, more jealousy, old problems, and no solutions.
J.J. broke the kiss and pulled away. He looked into Gemma’s eyes, so dark they seemed as black as the lines tracing her lashes. A dusting of mascara had fallen onto her cheekbones.
“Let’s get out of here, you and me.” Gemma tickled the back of his neck. “I’ll tell Ron. He knows.”
“He knows what?” J.J. stepped out of her embrace.
“That you’re first with me. We’re simply on a break.” She gently clasped his hand and gave him a tentative smile. “That we’re getting back together, right?”
But was Gemma first with him? He’d thought about kissing Suzy. He’d thought about her zipper pull, a lot. He could hear her voice, her laugh, as clear as if he wore headphones playing her soundtrack. He could see her, sitting alone in the theater with popcorn in her lap and butter on her lips, and—oh, man—he wanted to sit next to her, share spit, air, laughs, warmth…just be with her. And mentally, weren’t his thoughts like cheating? Did Gemma think about Ron in the same way? After all the games, how could they trust each other anymore?
“No.” He slipped his hand out of her grip and stumbled when he took a step back. “I came with Suzy, and I’m leaving with her. I’m sorry, Gem.” He turned on his heel.
“J.J., wait!”
But he kept walking, faster now, toward the doors, back to the crappiest movie ever made, toward Suzy.