Labeled

by Jenni Linn

  Chase: Do not pick her up tomorrow.

  "Oh my gosh!" I groan, handing her the phone back with wide eyes. She doesn't even hesitate. Her fingers moving over her phone at high-speed, "Wait, what are you saying?" I lean over the center console to peek at her screen, but I can't see the messages. I sit back in the seat.

  "I'm not gonna make it easy for him." She smiles at me and says, "Let's see what he says first."

  "Oh no." I laugh, covering my face with my hands. Her ringtone chimes and I uncover my face to watch her reaction.

  "Ohhh. He's good."

  "What! What? What is going on!" I hunch over again, but she pulls the phone away. "Why are you doing this to me?"

  This goes on for another minute--her fingers moving and the phone pinging, I'm biting my fingernails to the quick. My nerves are eating at me. There's a tap on my arm so I swing my gaze to Taylor's face. She smiles and hands her phone over with a shrug. "He's picking you up." I take the phone from her hands and take a deep breath before reading their conversation.

  Taylor: I don't think she wants you to.

  Chase: Taylor, you will not pick her up tomorrow.

  Taylor: Or what?

  Chase: I don't want to play dirty with you, but I will.

  Taylor: Hasn't Wes told you? I like to play dirty.

  That makes me laugh. "Oh my gosh, Tay!" but I don't look at her, I keep reading.

  Chase: Not going there. I think it would be quite difficult to pick her up in a missing vehicle.

  Taylor: And how in the world would you manage that?

  Chase: It's a secret--one I doubt you want to mess with ;)

  Taylor: I knew I liked you, Chase Daniels.

  Chase: Right back atcha, Taylor Sullivan.

  Taylor: She's all yours.

  Chase: I hope so.

  My heart sores at that last text. Oh my. I place her phone back into the cup holder and turn to look at her, "I guess he's picking me up tomorrow."

  She nods.

  "I am so nervous."

  "Go get some rest. Don't be nervous."

  I take a deep breath, "Okay. Yeah. Thank you."

  "Anytime doll face. Now bring it in."

  I giggle and lean in to hug her.

  "I wanna hear all about it tomorrow."

  "Duh." I pull on the door handle to let myself out and hop down onto the pavement. Once I reach my front door, I wave to Tay as she drives away before heading inside. My parents are in the living room. Dad’s passed out in his chair and Mom is doing a puzzle on the sofa.

  "Hey, Mom." I sit next to her, laying my head on her shoulder.

  "Hey baby, have a good night?"

  "Of course, I was with Tay."

  She laughs lightly. "She was always a wild child. I mean that in the best way possible."

  "Yeah," I agree, "I'm heading up."

  "Is Taylor picking you up tomorrow again?" she questions.

  "No, uh, Chase is."

  "Hmm..is everything okay?"

  "I don't know." I sigh.

  "I'm always here if you need me. I may be old, but I was young once. I may understand better than you think." I wrap my arm around hers and squeeze. "Thanks, Ma. I love you." She reaches her hand up and pats my cheek. "Love you too, honey."

  "Kay, well I'm going up."

  "Goodnight."

  Good Surprise

  I wake up way before my alarm clock, but instead of laying in bed and allowing my nerves to take control of me, I get up and keep myself busy. I take a long hot shower and shave my legs until they are nice and smooth. I dress in some black leggings and a cream lace top. It's a rare occurrence when I take the time to blow out my hair, but I have time to kill and a mind to occupy. When I'm finished my hair looks gloriously shiny and straight. I dust my face with some light makeup--nothing crazy--and do my usual eyeliner. I take a quick glance at the clock and sigh. Looks like I still have a good forty-five minutes yet.

  The butterflies are starting to take flight in my stomach. It’s so intense I feel like they’re going to fly out my mouth. I take a deep breath, flip my hair over my shoulder, and peek at myself in the mirror before heading downstairs. Vance is sitting at the island, which takes me by surprise. I walk around him. "What are you doing up so early?"

  "I got shit to do," is all he says. Mom turns, giving him the stink eye. "Sorry. I got things to do," Vance repeats. He turns to me and asks, "Chase picking you up this morning?"

  "Yeah."

  "He's been acting weird lately. He say anything to you?"

  "No, why would he say anything to me?" Nervous laughter escapes me.

  "I don't know. He mentioned that girl, Nic, the other day. Things didn't seem to be going so well, and he's just been off since. You’re a girl...some days. Just thought he might ask your opinion or something." I smack his shoulder and grunt, "No, he hasn't."

  "Okay," He knocks on the table and stands up, "I'm off." He struts out the kitchen and, only seconds later, the front door slams.

  "You're on your own this morning. I didn't make anything," Mom informs me, but I already guessed that. There didn’t seem to be anything cooking, and the kitchen didn't smell like yummy goodness.

  "That's okay. I'm not that hungry." I reach for a banana laying in the wire basket in the center of the island. "This will work," I say, peeling it and then taking a bite.

  "I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that you're this ‘Nic’ your brother just mentioned." My chewing slows, and I glance up at her. "Why would you think that?"

  She arches her eyebrow. "So, has it gotten serious now?" she questions.

  "No. Actually, I'm not even sure. He played it off like I was misconstruing things. Like I was some dumb young girl. I haven't talked to him in two days," I tell her.

  "Baby, put yourself in his shoes. I can't imagine that being an easy situation for him."

  "What do you mean?" I ask, slightly annoyed. "I didn't put myself out there, he did! He went out of his way to flirt with me, to get my number, to text me, then BAM I'm just some little girl who misunderstood?"

  "He got scared," She pauses and then laughs a little. "Did I ever tell you about what your uncle did to your father?"

  "No, I don't think you have."

  "Chase reminds me of your father." I make a face at that comment. "Stop," She scolds and continues, "Your uncle Tommy threatened your father. He avoided me for a couple of days until I approached him and made him talk to me. He was scared. And I only have one brother. You have four, whom Chase is all friends with. Look at it from his way."

  "I get that, I do. But he made me feel so childish and I do not appreciate that."

  "Be honest with him. No one said you have to make it easy on him. A little groveling is good. Your father bought me flowers for a week straight. I forgave him the second I found out what happened--what your uncle did--but he didn't have to know that."

  I laugh. "Thanks, Mom."

  There's a knock at the door and both our heads turn, slightly confused at who would be knocking now. I look at the clock. It's not quite seven yet. I slide off the stool and move toward the door and peek out the side window. A large silver truck sits out front, no doubt Chase’s. Hm. He's early. I pull the door open to reveal him standing on my doorstep, looking way better than I last remember. He's wearing a maroon button-down shirt and black slacks. I scan his face as a small smirk plays on his lips, his blue eyes shining brightly.

  "You're early," I point out.

  His smile widens. "I am, for good reason. Can I come in?" I move back, allowing him to cross the threshold and close the door behind him.

  "Grab your bag, please. I'd like to talk to your mom quickly. Privately."

  "What?" I question, clearly confused. "About what?"

  "You'll find out soon enough. Go get your things," he says moving past me into the kitchen and I watch as Mom pulls him into a hug. I want to eavesdrop but I realize I left my bag in my room, so I rush up the stairs, and back down. They're talking too low for me to hear,
and his back is facing the kitchen's entrance. I huff to myself, and take a seat on the stairs, anxiously playing with my hair until he appears in front of me.

  "Ready?" he questions, putting out his hand.

  "Yeah." I place my palm in his warm one, and he gently pulls me forward until I'm standing.

  "Okay, let's get going then." He keeps a hold of my hand, pulling me along behind him. It seems like a friendly hand holding, not the intimate kind where your fingers are threaded together. "Bye, Mom!" I yell before closing the door behind me.

  Chase opens the passenger door for me, helps me up into the truck, and closes the door before heading around to his side. He's never done that before. This is...different. He hops up, and starts the truck before looking at me. "Thank you for letting me take you to school."

  "It's not like I had much of an option, you told Taylor she wouldn't have a vehicle if she didn't agree to your terms," I retort.

  "Yeah, I did. I don't regret it." His eyes move away from mine.

  "What did you say to my mom?" I ask as he steers the truck down my driveway.

  "I'll get to that. But first, I'm sorry." He pauses. I don't know if he's waiting for a response--or if he's going to say more--but when he doesn't say anything, I decide to.

  "You made me feel stupid."

  "That was never my intention. At all. I hate myself for that. You are not stupid, you are one of the smartest girls I've ever known. I'm the stupid one. But look, I've done a lot of thinking these past two days. One thing that is for certain are my feelings for you."

  His admission causes my breath to hitch. I definitely assumed...but he never confirmed them. To hear the words straight from his mouth is almost like a shock. He glances at me and places his broad hand on his chest, “They’re here.” My anger instantly melts away. He looks back at the road. "I tried to push them away, to turn these feelings off, but there's no off switch. What I feel is real, and they're not going away."

  "Why would you try to fight it? You have to know that the feelings are mutual."

  He nods with a smile. "Yeah, and that made it harder to try and do the right thing."

  "The right thing?" I question.

  "You know Vance has been one of my closest friends since....forever. He is so protective of you--and rightfully so. We're guys, and guys are looking for one thing." I cross my arms over my chest, somewhat annoyed by his admission. "But sometimes a girl will take you by surprise, and they're all you think about. They can start as a friend, and you just want to be around them all the time. Slowly, the feelings evolve until it's so much more than sex."

  He pauses to look at me, so I dare to question, "And I'm that girl?"

  We're a block from the school when he abruptly pulls over to the side of the road. Putting the truck in park, he turns to me. His eyes scan my face. He reaches out to pull my hand from my lap and I allow him to infuse his fingers with mine. There's a ‘zing’ in my heart that’s touching me to my very core.

  "You are. You definitely are. I've been pretty miserable the past couple of days. Your family is more like a family to me than my own. Your brother is like a brother I've never had. He's always had my back. I felt like my feelings for you were betraying him. I was afraid of what my actions in pursuing something with you would cause. I don't want to lose you and your family, but my pushing you away was doing just that."

  "Okay. "

  "I'd like to take you out tonight, will you let me?" he asks full of hope.

  I'm quiet and shocked at these turn of events. I’ve been silent too long, so he squeezes my hand. "V?"

  "Yes," I agree. His face lights up. His beautiful smile is on full display. The fact that my agreeing to go out with him has him this happy makes my heart soar. He uses the hand that is holding mine to pull me forward and uses his unoccupied arm to wrap around me in a warm hug. He holds on tight, seeming to be breathing me in.

  "I haven't been this happy in a long time. Thank you," he whispers. I’m speechless at his heartfelt confession. He pulls away, but his face is close to mine, and his eyes are scanning me. His arm that’s wrapped around me moves to my arm, rubbing up and down in a comforting gesture. "You alright?" he questions. His eyebrows have furrowed.

  "Yeah," I say low, and give him a smile. "You've just taken me by surprise this morning."

  "A good surprise, I hope." He pulls away when I nod. "Let's get you to school." He keeps our hands intertwined and uses his left hand to awkwardly put the truck in drive. I try to pull my hand away, but he squeezes my hand and looks over, "No."

  "Kay."

  He's successful using only his one hand to maneuver the truck back on the road. We're mere feet away from the school entrance when he drops the bomb on me.

  "I'm going to speak to your brothers later."

  "What?" my response is loud, "You can't." The joy I was feeling has turned to fear. He glances at me then back at the road. "I don't want to go behind their backs."

  "They won't allow it, Chase…they just won't," I say worriedly. "Please can you just...wait?" He sighs as he pulls up in front of the high school. I can tell he's having an internal battle with himself. "What are they going to think when we both turn down going to the track tonight?" he asks.

  "We'll think of something, just please don't say anything yet," I beg, squeezing his hand. I have to get out of the truck but refuse to move until I hear him agree. I don't even care if there's a string of honking cars.

  "Alright," he agrees, reluctantly.

  I lean over and kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you," I whisper, then swiftly jump out of his truck. I feel like I'm on top of the world. I’m sporting a smile so large I must look like a clown, but I don't care. Chase Daniels confessed he's ‘in-like’ with me and is taking me out tonight. I have a date with Chase Daniels!

  You’re Beautiful

  "Well, well, well...look at you. All sunshine, rainbows, and shit," Taylor says as soon as she sees me approach her in the senior hallway. "I assume Mr. Daniels had a lot of nice things to say?"

  "That, he did!" I confirm.

  "Well, do tell. "

  I don't hesitate in telling her every little detail, unable to wipe the permanent smile from my face. I never realized how many muscles you use to smile. "Jeez, my face hurts," I muse while rubbing my cheeks.

  "It's about damn time he got his head out of his ass," Taylor chides, "You do realize that Wes races tonight, right? How are you going to get out of going?" I ponder on it but my excuse of hanging out with Taylor won't work, as she'll have to be at the track to support her man.

  "Damn," I whisper, "I don't know." I pull my phone from my back pocket and send Chase a text. My smile returns in full force.

  Me: Hey, Wes has a race tonight. We're gonna have to go.

  I know that he's at work, so I don't expect him to text back right away. I tuck my phone away and notice that Tay is watching me with a peculiar expression on her face. "What?"

  "Nothing." She smiles then wraps her arm around my shoulder, gently pulling me down the hallway with her.

  Taylor's blonde hair is swinging back and forth as she bobs her head to the song playing on the radio, also occasionally belting out some out of tune lyrics. We're a couple of minutes from the garage when my phone rings. My hand instinctively reaches forward to turn down the music, and a muttered, "Hey!" comes from Taylor. Glancing down at the phone in my hand, I see Chase's nickname displayed on the screen. My heart takes off in a wild rhythm that’s beating out of control.

  "Oh, lover boyyy," Taylor sings.

  I laugh and answer the phone. "Hey,"

  "Hey, you. Sorry I didn't text you back. Work has been pretty hectic. I finally have a moment."

  "Wow, that sucks."

  "Yeah," He agrees. "It's so good to hear your voice."

  A giggle escapes from my mouth, surprising me. I clear my throat. "We spoke this morning," I point out.

  "Yeah, almost eight hours ago. That’s too damn long. How was your day?" he asks. I love that.


  "It's school. So yanno...it sucked."

  "So, no guys asking you out? No one I have to beat up?" he jokes.

  I snort. "No."

  "Alright, good," his voice goes soft, "I can't wait to see you."

  It's so weird to hear this confession coming from him--his deep voice expressing his need to see me. It fills me with warmth.

  "Me too, but about that...what's the plan? Wes has a race tonight."

  "Yeah, we'll have to go. Maybe we can go to Chrissy's after, so it won't be much of a date. I'm sorry."

  "As long as I get to spend time with you I don't care where we go," I confess.

  "I feel the same, but I still want to take you out."

  This makes me smile, but it's short-lived when I hear gagging coming from my left, and I glare over at Taylor who is sticking her finger in her mouth. I roll my eyes.

  "What is that noise?" Chase asks.

  "Taylor is being gross."

  "That's not surprising."

  "Nope."

  "Are you on your way to the garage now?"

  "Yeah, are you going to stop in?" I ask, hopeful.

  "No, probably not. I'm not sure when I'll get done. I'll see you at your house. What are the chances that you'll be able to ride with me?" He asks.

  "I don't know." I sigh and look at Taylor. She's focused on the road, but I know she's listening.

  "We should try and talk to your brothers, V."

  "I don't know, Chase." I look out the window. "I want to focus on us before getting them involved. Like, what if we don't work out?" I ask.

  "And what if we do?" He retorts.

  "Then I think we should tell them one by one. Telling them all in a group is just a bad idea." I can see Taylor nodding in my peripheral vision, silently agreeing with me. "They feed off of each other."