Melodic laughter filled the car, which worried me for a moment before Jackson spoke. “Yes, thinking is good,” he answered, smiling over at me. “It means you have a brain, and I like girls with brains.”
I blushed and couldn’t help but feel giddy. I was sure he didn’t mean “like” as in “I want to date you and call you my girl,” but it was still nice to know he wasn’t into witless Barbies. Not that I thought he was to begin with, but it was always hard to tell with guys. Most of them chose boobs over brains, and even though my chest was bigger, I didn’t think what I had was that impressive.
I finally managed to say, “Well, that’s good to know.”
Jackson grinned and drummed his fingers along with the music playing softly on the radio. “So, have you seen the movie?”
“Not yet. I usually don’t like to see the movie until after I’ve read the book. Have you seen it?”
He shook his head. “I haven’t had a chance just yet.”
“Well, you’ll have to let me know if it’s as good as the book if you see if before me,” I said as he turned into the subdivision where I lived.
“Same goes for you,” Jackson replied. “I can’t believe they got Tom Hanks to play Robert Langdon, though.”
“Oh, I know. I definitely don’t picture him when I’m reading,” I agreed. “I think Audrey Tautou will be good as Sophie.”
“I’m not sure who she is, actually,” Jackson admitted, after considering for a moment, as he stopped at one of the many stop signs. “But the look of her in the trailer seemed to fit.”
“I’ve only seen her in Amelie,” I commented. “It was a pretty good movie, and I’m not usually a fan of foreign films. I hate reading subtitles.”
“Well, that shouldn’t be a problem with The Da Vinci Code,” Jackson assured me. “There will probably be some subtitles, but I think it’s probably mostly in English.”
“Good. Spanish is more confusing than I thought it would be, and I’ve heard French is even harder.”
“Ugh,” Jackson groaned. “It’s a miracle Mrs. Willis has passed me in Spanish each year. I’m horrible.”
“As nice as Mrs. Willis is, I don’t think she’d pass you unless you deserved it.”
Jackson shrugged like he wasn’t so sure.
“Miss Barkley could stand to be a bit nicer,” I commented, thinking of the latest paper she returned. I’d spent hours on it, but even with Tierney’s help, I’d only managed a B. It was frustrating. Stupidly, I’d been so sure it was an A paper.
“She is a bit . . .” Jackson seemed to search for the right word.
“Butch?” I offered. I didn’t mean it in a derogatory way, like Luke might have. She just seemed incredibly tough, abrasive even.
Jackson snorted and burst into cacophonous laughter that sounded nothing like his usual lilt. Once he managed to regain his composure, he smiled over at me with pink cheeks and sparkling eyes. “Yeah, butch is a good word for her. She can be an intense hard ass about stuff, but I think she’s a good teacher.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true,” I agreed, disinclined to say anything nice about the teacher that hated me, as we reached my house.
I unfastened my seatbelt and grabbed my bag from the floor before I got out of the car. I walked around to the trunk to meet Jackson. He maneuvered by bike out of the back. “Where does this go?” he asked, placing it on the ground and closing the trunk.
“Follow me,” I said, motioning toward the garage. I showed him where to park it before I motioned for him to follow me into the house through the door in the garage. “I’ll go get your John Green books.”
“Okay,” Jackson nodded, following me into the utility room.
“I’ll be right back,” I assured him before leaving him in the kitchen.
I considered keeping his books under the pretense of rereading them. It would have given me a reason to talk to Jackson again, but I knew I probably wouldn’t reread them right away, so it seemed wrong to keep them under false pretenses.
I jogged up the stairs and to my room and located the books where I’d left them on my desk. I looked them over, making sure they were still in pristine condition. After all, I’d promised to take good care of them, and I didn’t want him to think I hadn’t appreciated him letting me borrow his books. Once I was satisfied Alaska and Katherines were still in perfect condition, I ran back downstairs to the kitchen. Instead of finding Jackson alone, as expected, I found Skylar as well.
She and Jackson were talking, but Jackson turned when my shoe squeaked against the hardwood floor. I glanced down, grimacing, but, thankfully, I hadn’t left a scuffmark. Noticing Jackson’s inattention, Skylar turned as well. She didn’t say anything, though, as I crossed the room and held out the books to Jackson.
“Thanks again for letting me borrow these,” I said, smiling. “And thanks for the ride home.”
“It was no problem,” Jackson shrugged, smiling slightly, as he took the books. “On both accounts.”
He stood there for a moment, holding the books loosely at his side. He glanced from me to Skylar and then back to me before saying, “Well, I should probably get going.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Skylar offered, smiling in a way that I thought was much too friendly.
Jackson nodded and we exchanged goodbyes. Then I watched silently as Skylar escorted him back out through the garage door. Even though it really wasn’t that big of a deal, I couldn’t help but feel put out. I knew Skylar knew Jackson before me, but that didn’t mean she had to butt in.
Maybe I had wanted to walk Jackson out to his car. Maybe I hadn’t been finished talking to him. Or maybe I was just being immature.
CHAPTER TWELVE
If it were up to me, I’d always spend the early morning hours sleeping in. While I wasn’t as much of a grump as Skylar in the morning, I usually couldn’t form any coherent thoughts until after I had a shower—even if it was just lukewarm. There were, however, some things worth getting up early for. New clothes quickly jumped to the top of that list, and I was more than willing to give up a Saturday morning lay-in.
The new bras had taken care of the direst need, and I’d found a couple pair of really cheap jeans on clearance sale at Old Navy. Even though I’d become a bit more comfortable wearing the tighter t-shirts, it really wasn’t my style. I also had to borrow a few things from Tegan—namely shoes—to tide me over until my shopping trip with Mom.
I hadn’t immediately noticed that my feet had also grown because it wasn’t a huge difference, but my shoes all felt just a bit tighter when I slipped my feet inside. I tried to suck it up until the end of the week, but when I developed a blister, I caved and borrowed a pair of shoes from Tegan. Thankfully, she had enough shoes that it wasn’t a huge inconvenience to her.
I invited Tegan to stay over on Friday night and go shopping with Mom and I on Saturday morning. It was the first time she’d stayed over in a while, so she immediately noticed the tension between my parents even though they made an effort during dinner to be less hostile in front of my guest.
“I know it’s totally cliché, but you could definitely cut the tension with a knife,” she mused.
“Try putting up with it daily,” I sighed. “So not fun.”
Tegan grimaced. I was sure it was a foreign concept for her because her parents rarely ever fought. Even though this was more extreme than usual, it wasn’t the first time my parents hadn’t seen eye to eye.
When Saturday morning arrived, Mom woke Tegan and I at seven. I couldn’t say I was happy I only got to sleep in about thirty minutes longer than usual, but I forced myself out of bed and went to tame the beast on top of my head. For once, I actually got to take a hot shower and it helped to wake me up.
I took longer than necessary in the bathroom. I was sure that I wouldn’t regularly get to take hot showers until both of my siblings went away to college, so it was a rare and enjoyable pleasure that I wasn’t going to take for granted.
Back in my room, Tegan was dressed but dozi
ng on my bed. She was normally pretty chipper in the morning, but we’d stayed up late last night, watching a Wes Craven horror movie marathon. Even though I watched most of the movies through my fingers, it was too good to resist.
After reawaking Tegan, we went downstairs to meet Mom.
“I think we’ll stop for breakfast,” she said, glancing up from her purse, when we wandered into the kitchen. “I don’t feel like cooking this morning. What sounds good?”
I didn’t even have to think before I answered. “IHOP!”
Mom glanced at Tegan, who nodded her agreement. Then she smiled and pulled her purse up over her shoulder. “Well, get your shoes and let’s go.”
We didn’t often go out to eat—especially for breakfast—other than on special occasions, so I was pretty excited when the waitress sat the stuffed French toast combo in front of me.
Mom got a ham and cheese omelet, and Tegan got the pick-a-pancake platter. By the time we were all finished eating, I was stuffed and, even though the day had hardly begun, ready to go back to bed.
We arrived at the mall early enough to beat the crowds. We stopped in several stores and found several good sales to help replenish my wardrobe. By the time we were finished, the trunk was packed to maximum capacity.
Mom also let me pick out a few CDs as my birthday gifts. I got Boys Like Girls’ self-titled debut album, Bee Lee’s Awake Is the New Sleep, and Paramore’s All We Know is Falling.
Tierney introduced me to Ben Lee’s music. He was one of her favorite musicians, and it was almost always my first request when I was listening to music over at the Tylers’ house. I decided maybe it was time for me to get my own copy to listen to at home.
Stevie had inadvertently introduced me to both Boys Like Girls and Paramore. She always seemed to know about bands before anyone else, and I’d heard her playing both while hanging out with Skylar. Even though I found Stevie somewhat intimidating, I’d been curious enough to ask her about them. Skylar had been annoyed by my mere presence, but Stevie didn’t seem to mind. She was always all too happy to talk about music.
We stopped at Subway to pick up lunch for ourselves and everyone else. Subway was one of Mom’s favorite places to eat. She claimed it was because it was healthier than most places. I didn’t know if that was the truth or not. I usually got the chicken and bacon ranch melt without the green peppers and onions on wheat bread. I lacked adventure in my Subway experience.
At home, Tegan and I ate in my room and while listening to Boys Like Girls. Then we talked as we sorted through the old clothes in my dresser and closet. Mom came up to my room as we were putting the clothes that were too small into bags to be taken to Goodwill.
“I’m going to the grocery store,” she said. “Is there anything specific you’d like me to get?”
“Hot Pockets and Twinkies,” I answered. It was my usual request.
Mom usually bought both in bulk because they seemed to be popular around our household. Although that seemed to be the case with most anything that was ready to eat or could be made in the microwave. Those items were the first to go once dinnertime was shoved back almost two hours.
Luke had been complaining about there being no food since Wednesday, and when Skylar got home on Thursday night, she griped, “Where are the Ho Hos?”
“Well, I’m looking at one,” Luke quipped.
“Asshole.” Skylar smacked him on the arm while he guffawed like a hyena.
If our parents had been around, he never would have said such a thing, but because I was still irked at her, I actually smiled a little at Luke’s stupid comment.
Once the complaints about the bare cupboard and refrigerator made it to Mom, she’d promised she would go grocery shopping over the weekend. I rattled off a few other items of less importance before Mom announced she’d be back in a few hours.
Tegan and I returned to the bags of new clothes, and once they were removed from their bags and folded or placed on hangers, we put them away and collapsed on my bed.
“It’s been a long morning,” Tegan yawned as “Me, You and My Medication” played softly in the background.
“I concur,” I said, thinking of Catch Me If You Can, which I’d watched with Mom the other night, as my eyes grew heavy and sleep quickly overtook me.
When I woke up again, it was a little after three, and Tegan was still fast asleep. I sat up and stretched, listening to the satisfying pop of my bones as I shook away the sleep.
I took a sip from my Subway cup but made a face when I swallowed the watered down drink. I stood with the cup in hand and went downstairs to get something else to drink, hoping Mom had thought to get some canned drinks even though I forgot to mention it.
I could hear people talking as I made my way down the stairs. I’d always loved our staircase. The top half of the stairs sloped right above the main hallway on the first floor, and there was a landing at the midpoint that wound around and led down to the front entrance. I’d always considered it the perfect staircase for making a grand arrival to someone waiting at the front door.
From the way the voices floated up, I could tell their owners were standing at the front entrance. It was never an ideal place to have a private conversation because of the way voices seemed to echo off the openness of the high ceilings there. I’d heard far too many things from Luke, Skylar and even my parents that I probably wasn’t meant to—and didn’t want to—hear while they were standing there.
Curious, I stopped at the middle landing to listen for a moment, and the owners of the voices became clearer. I immediately recognized Skylar’s voice, and I thought I knew the smooth cadence of the second voice, but I was sure I was mistaken. I peaked around the landing, and, sure enough, standing there at the front door was Jackson.
Once my surprise wore off, my first thought was, “Oh my God. I just woke up and probably have bed head.” I hadn’t looked at myself in the mirror before coming downstairs to confirm this, but it was usually a pretty sure bet. I quickly pawed at my hair, trying to smooth it down before I continued down the stairs while wondering why Jackson was here. This would be his second visit in the span of a week since he’d just been here a couple of days earlier.
The corners of Jackson’s mouth turned up into a gorgeous grin when he spotted me, and he raised his left hand in a wave. I lifted my right hand, mirroring him, in an unsure wave.
Noting Jackson’s distraction, Skylar turned and the smile that was on her face faded slightly when she saw me. It turned into her politely annoyed smile. I figured she didn’t want to bare her bitch teeth with Jackson standing right there. She’d likely reserve that for later.
I wasn’t sure why Jackson was here, but from the look on Skylar’s face, I’d interrupted something. I’d have to apologize later for breathing and living in her space and disrupting her otherwise perfect insistence. Not!
“I was just about to ask if you were around,” Jackson commented as I reached the front landing.
“Really?” I tried to curb my surprise, but it wasn’t an easy task with a surge of happiness rippling through my veins at his words. Jackson Hart actually wondered about my whereabouts. Why wouldn’t I be giddy?
“Yep,” he nodded. “I actually stopped by to see if you were doing anything this evening.”
Stunned at his words, it took me a moment to answer. “Oh, I . . .” I was about to say I didn’t have any plans, but then I remembered Tegan was asleep upstairs. We didn’t exactly have plans, but I wasn’t sure why Jackson was asking.
One look at Skylar, and I could tell she was wondering the same thing.
“I know it’s last minute,” Jackson said. “I’d have called, but I didn’t have your number. Anyway, I had the night off from work and was looking around online to see if The Da Vinci Code was still playing anywhere.”
I raised my eyebrows as if to ask, “And?”
“Turns out they’re showing it at the Starlite Drive-In over in Pine Gulley,” he explained. “I wondered if you might want to go see i
t with me if you’re not busy.”
“Wow, really?” I was both pleased and surprised he would think to ask. Then I remembered Tegan yet again. I really wanted to go to the movie. I hadn’t been to the drive-in in years. It didn’t sound like a date or anything, so I decided to let Jackson know that Tegan was over, but Skylar beat me to it.
“She has a friend over,” Skylar said with such finality, as if I couldn’t possibly go and that was the end of the discussion.
I didn’t miss that Jackson hadn’t said a word to her since I’d walked downstairs. I was sure it was weird for Skylar because it was definitely weird for me.
Jackson seemed completely unfazed by this news. “That’s not a problem. Your friend can come too.” He shrugged and bounced slightly on the toes of his chucks. “Unless you don’t want to come, which is cool. I completely understand.”
“No,” I said quickly, glancing at Skylar who huffed softly while crossing her arms over her chest. “We didn’t have anything else planned. We’d love to come.”
“Sweet,” Jackson smiled, and he looked relieved, like he’d actually expected me to turn down his offer. He turned to Skylar, as if suddenly remembering she was there, and asked, “Did you want to come too?”
My heart sank at the thought of spending the evening with Skylar. I knew without a doubt she’d make it a miserable time. First of all, she hadn’t read the book, which I knew wasn’t a requirement to see the movie, but she’d also ask a million questions if she didn’t understand something. Plus, I was sure the whole night would end up being all about her.
“I would,” she began, smiling that too friendly smile I’d seen her flash at a guys so many times, “but I have to be at work in an hour.”
“Oh, too bad.” Jackson sounded genuine enough, but something in his stance made me think he was just as relieved as I was. “Maybe next time.”
“Definitely,” Skylar grinned, batting her to long lashes.
“I’ll go get Tegan,” I said after a moment. And possibly vomit, I mentally added. While it was clear I wasn’t the only who found Jackson attractive, I had no idea why Skylar was so flirty with him all of a sudden. He was Scott’s friend, after all; that wasn’t cool.
Infinite (Strange and Beautiful, Book 1) Page 15