“I started all the secret admirer stuff because I thought it would help prove to you that my feelings were real. I didn’t mean for it to go on so long. I know I had to lie to do it, but I assumed it was the acceptable kind of lie…” I paused; still no answer.
“You looked so happy every time I left something, and that made me happy. I loved being able to show you how I felt. And I loved that you actually accepted the gifts as a real gesture of affection. For once you seemed to believe that, to someone out there, you were every bit as worthy as Beth. Bianca, you’ve never been second to your sister. Or anyone else. Not for me, at least. For me, it’s always been you.”
I finished speaking, proud and relieved that I’d finally been able to say everything I felt. A giant weight had been lifted from my shoulders, but my chest still felt heavy. Bebe wasn’t talking. In fact, I could hear more sniffles; she was crying again. I sighed and headed toward the door. My couple of minutes were up, and I didn’t want a teacher to catch me in here. The last thing I needed was to finish one of the crappiest days of my high school career in detention.
I grabbed the handle but spoke one more time before pulling the door open. “I’m leaving now. I promise I won’t bother you again. You know where to find me when you’re ready to talk. I hope that no matter how you feel, you’ll at least give me the courtesy of telling me the truth. I’m so sorry if I hurt you.”
With that, I left the bathroom. Lunch had ended, and the hallway was starting to buzz with people and gossip. It appears I’d made quite the commotion. True to their word, the two sophomore girls had kept the bathroom clear for me. There was already a line starting to form, and all the girls who’d been unaware of the drama going down inside were getting frustrated. I looked at the duo still dutifully guarding the bathroom door and winked.
“Thank you, girls. If I can ever return the favor, just let me know,” I said, flashing a smile. The tall girl raised one eyebrow, silently saying Yeah, right. The shorter girl got really giggly. The rest of the female population looked confused or stunned to see me exiting the women’s restroom. One girl was disgusted, like maybe I’d been doing something naughty inside.
Let them think what they wanted. I didn’t care anymore. I’d done what I needed to do. I’d told Bebe that I was her secret admirer and that I loved her. The ball was in her court now. I could only hope that her next move wasn’t a game ender.
BIANCA
I waited for Cam to leave the bathroom before I blew my nose. My face was streaked with tears, and snot was running everywhere. I didn’t want to be seen like this, but now that lunch was over, the halls would be crowded. I heard the door open, and for a second I was worried that Cam had come back.
A bunch of girls entered, whispering about the hot boy who’d just left the women’s restroom, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Then I realized that if they’d seen Cam leave, they’d know that I’d been in here with him. Great, now the whole world was going to think I was hooking up in the bathroom at lunch. Maybe I should let everyone see me looking so pathetic. No boy would make out with a face like this. Or maybe I should confirm their suspicions. I mean, who else besides me would be stupid enough not to kiss Cam just now?
I wanted to wash off my face again, but when I emerged from the stall, half a dozen girls stared at me. I went with option number two. “He was such a good kisser, it brought me to tears,” I bragged, faking confidence as I held my head high and strutted to the door. After leaving the bathroom, I walked as quickly as I could to the parking lot where Brady was waiting by his car. When he saw my face, a look of concern passed over him.
“Are you ok, Bea?” He paused, then shook his head. “Sorry. Stupid question; of course you’re not ok.”
I gave him a weak smile, and he opened my door for me. “Sorry it took me so long to get out here. Thanks for waiting,” I apologized.
“No problem,” he replied. He closed my door and hopped into the driver’s seat.
We’d made it most of the way home before Brady spoke again. “You look like you could use a Slurpee.” He turned into the 7-Eleven parking lot as he made the offer.
I smiled sadly. “That’d be great. I probably need a really big one today.”
We each grabbed the largest cup possible and filled them to the top, Brady with cherry and me with Coke. Then we walked to the counter. I pulled some cash out of my pocket, but he stopped me. “This one is my treat.” I didn’t have the energy to protest, so I just nodded my head in thanks and put my cash back in my pocket.
We got back in the car and drove the rest of the way to my house in silence again, each sucking thoughtfully on our frozen drinks. Brady turned the corner onto my street and pulled to a stop in front of my house. He unbuckled his seat belt and turned to me. “So, you want to tell me what that whole scene was about in the lunchroom?”
“Do I have to?”
“No, but having a Slurpee in hand always makes it easier to talk. Especially if you’re upset about something. And most definitely if that something you’re upset about is being the recipient of an unexpected serenade.”
I laughed quietly. “A Slurpee helps with that specifically, huh?”
“Yep,” Brady insisted. “It says so in fine print, right here on the bottom of the cup.” He pointed to the small white lettering around the lower rim.
I laughed again, this time a little louder. I didn’t want to tell Brady what was going on. He was the last person I wanted to talk to about this. But the reality was that I loved Cameron Bates, and if he truly felt the same way, I’d need to have this conversation with Brady at some point. No reason to wait until I was done being pissed at Cam.
I looked up at Brady and sighed. “You really want to know? The truth might not be what you want to hear.”
“Lay it on me, Bea; I can handle it.”
I took a deep breath, then gave Brady the abbreviated story. “Well, the past week or so I’ve been receiving all kinds of gifts from a secret admirer. He was giving me presents and telling me how much he liked me in romantic notes. I didn’t have any clue who that person was until today when the JV basketball team gave their little performance. Turns out that my mystery man is none other than Cameron Bates.” I waited for Brady to respond, but he was quiet for a minute before he finally did.
“And how do you feel about Cam?”
Wow, this conversation was getting awkward really fast. Just tell him the truth, Bianca. Don’t mislead him. It’s not fair to Brady.
“Honestly?” I looked at Brady apologetically, and his answering smile told me that he knew what was coming next.
“Honesty is always good.”
I took another deep breath, held it to the count of five, then blew it out slowly. “The truth is that I’ve been crazy about Cam since the day we met. I just never thought that he’d return those feelings. He’s never indicated that he liked me until now, and I always felt like he was way out of my league. You know?”
Brady looked at me with an intensity that I hadn’t seen in him before. “Well, I can’t say that I’m happy to hear that. I’m actually pretty disappointed.” He paused, thinking before he continued. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “But you need to be clear on something, Bianca. Cameron Bates is not out of your league. If anything, it’s the other way around. It’s important that you understand that.”
Brady watched me, waiting for acknowledgment of his statement, so I nodded once, eyes downcast. He kept going. “Also, it sounds like he really likes you, and if you like him back, then I don’t want to stand in the way of that.” He turned his beautiful smile on me. “And, as much as I like you, I don’t think I’m ready to bust out in song for you. Not quite yet, at least.” He was teasing me, and I was super glad that this conversation wasn’t getting any more uncomfortable.
“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t intending to lead you on. I didn’t know how he felt, and I really like hanging out with you. Plus, you’re easy on the eyes, so that helps a ton.” If he could tease and
I could tease, then maybe something would go right for me today.
Brady laughed. “Well, at least there’s that. I guess I don’t have to leave your house today feeling completely rejected.” He slapped his heart dramatically.
“Oh, please don’t feel rejected,” I insisted. “Promise me you won’t.” I stuck out my pinkie so he’d know how serious I was.
He grabbed my pinkie finger with his. “I promise.”
“Thank you. You have no idea what a relief that is right now.”
“I can imagine,” he answered, then paused. He had something else on his mind, and I was waiting for him to drop the bomb. “So, about homecoming. I would totally understand, given the current situation, if you wanted to cancel our date so that you could go with Cam.”
“No way!” I exclaimed as I reached for his hand. “I’m still kind of pissed at him and Beth. If Cam had wanted me to go to the dance with him, he should have asked first. I’m not going to ditch you at the last minute. Unless, of course, you don’t want to go with me now.” I looked at Brady, my eyes begging, hoping that he wouldn’t back out on me. “I’d still like to go to the dance with you. We are friends, after all, and it’d be lots of fun.”
“Well, in that case, I’d still love to be your date. I’ll just shove my dreams of a goodnight kiss back in my hope chest.” I laughed loudly and sincerely this time, grateful that Brady was being so cool about all this.
“Perfect. I’ve got an amazing dress. It would have been a pity not to wear it tomorrow.”
“I guess our plans remain in place. I’ll pick you up at six o’clock, and we’ll have an awesome dinner before tearing up the dance floor. Cam can drool over you from the sidelines, wishing he’d been able to man up sooner, and we can make him incredibly jealous.”
I leaned over and wrapped him in a huge hug. “In case you didn’t know this already, you are absolutely, positively the best guy on the planet.”
He hugged me back. “Well, if that’s so, then you can do me a favor and tell all the eligible ladies you know how wonderful I am.”
“You can count on it.”
. . . . .
CAMERON
Beth was waiting for me outside my classroom after sixth period. She looked crushed. This wasn’t good. If always-happy Beth was so down, things must be really bad. Bebe hadn’t shown up to sixth hour, which meant she probably wouldn’t be at basketball, either. I wasn’t too surprised. I’m guessing she went home, but I wasn’t sure how she got there. It was pretty far to walk.
“I screwed up, didn’t I?” I asked Beth.
“I’m afraid we both did. I think she’s just as mad at me right now.”
“I knew this would happen. I knew she didn’t like me that way. This is why I didn’t want to tell her in the first place. What am I going to do, Beth? I can’t let this ruin our friendship.” I was pacing the hallway like a caged dog, alternating between wringing my hands and running them through my hair. “She’s probably skipping basketball, for heaven’s sake. Coach Lambert will be pissed. She wouldn’t risk the wrath of the beast unless she really hated me.”
“I told you, she doesn’t hate you. She’s angry at you. There’s a difference. If every fight ended up in the loss of a relationship, Bea would have divorced me a long time ago.” Beth smiled. She was trying to make me feel better, but it wasn’t working. “I think she just needs some time. I can almost guarantee she’s mad about being lied to again. She probably won’t talk to either of us right now, but she won’t stay mad forever. She didn’t even make it twenty-four hours last time.” Beth linked her elbow with mine. I hoped she was right.
“Fine.” I threw my free hand up in frustration. “I’ll give her space. I told her I would. But she better not think I’ll leave her alone forever. This is not how things are supposed to end. We’re supposed to get our happily-ever-freaking-after.”
Beth released my elbow and placed both of her hands on my shoulders in an attempt to calm me down. “I’m sure she’ll be easier to approach tomorrow, after she’s blown off some steam. I know how she feels about you. She can’t really hide it, no matter how hard she tries. Bea won’t stay mad forever. But we better let her decide when she’s ready. The more you push, the harder she’ll fight.”
Beth was right. The last thing I wanted to do was push Bebe farther away than I already had. I blew out the breath, shoulders slumping in defeat. “I’ve waited this long; I guess I can wait a little longer. She only gets one day to be pissed, though. I’m not going to let everyone’s homecoming plans be ruined over this.”
“Um, Cam, I don’t think that we’ll all be going to homecoming together now. Do you?”
Crap. I hadn’t even thought about that. Beth and I were supposed to go to the dance with Bebe and Brady. There’s no way she’d want to go with Beth and me now. And even if she did decide to come with us, I wasn’t sure I could spend all night watching Bebe and Brady together, while I felt like a first-rate loser.
I looked at Beth. “Maybe we should cancel our plans for homecoming. I bet there’s someone you could find to go with at the last minute. I’ve already bought tickets. You and your new date can have them.”
“No way, Cam. You are not going to bail on me right now, unless it’s to take Bea instead. I’m sure that we can think of some way to make this right.” Her words sounded confident, but her expression was betraying her true emotions. I knew she wasn’t any more sure of her claim than I was. We headed toward the locker room in silence. Right before we got there, a light bulb went off in my head. I knew what we could do. I only hoped we could pull it off.
“Beth, I think I have an idea how to salvage homecoming. Unfortunately, the plan will depend on cooperation from Brady. I feel like a jerk asking him to help me out, but it’s the only way I can think of.”
Beth pulled out her phone and looked at the time. “I’m going to be late if I don’t get to practice right now. Just tell me what you want me to do.”
“Meet me here after practice, and try not to be late.” I instructed. “We need to catch Brady before he leaves today.”
. . . . .
Beth met me at the locker room after practice as planned. “So what’s your big idea?” she asked. I started to tell her, but right then, Brady walked out of the locker room with Mike.
“You’ll find out right now. Just go along with it,” I said, then jogged to catch up with Brady and Mike.
“Yo, Brady. Can we talk to you for a second?” They both turned to look at me. I gave Mike a glance, then added, “Alone?”
Brady raised one eyebrow in a look that said my request sounded questionable. He spoke to Mike in a low voice that I couldn’t hear, then Mike headed down the hall and Brady crossed toward us. “Hey, Beth.” He smiled at her, then looked at me. “What’s up, Cam?”
“Well,” I started, “Beth and I need to talk to you. About Bianca.”
“Oh yeah? This should be interesting.” He dropped his backpack and basketball duffel on the ground at his side, then leaned back against the wall, arms folded across his chest. “Go ahead. I’m all ears.” An amused smile played across his lips.
I looked at Beth, and she nodded at me once in encouragement, before I turned to Brady and spilled my guts. I told him how I felt about Bebe. I told him how I’d come up with a plan to woo her as a secret admirer. I even told him that Beth and I had sabotaged his date and that I was responsible for spilling the tray of drinks on him. He looked really annoyed at that piece of info, so I tried to make my apology as sincere as possible. I didn’t admit that I’d triggered the car alarm that kept him from kissing her that night, though. If I came clean, I’d have felt obligated to say sorry for that, too. But I wasn’t sorry, so I figured that little secret could stay with me for now.
When I was done, Beth stood by my side, staring at her feet in shame. I looked at Brady, waiting for him to punch me in the face. He didn’t punch me, though; instead, he shook his head as he addressed Beth. “You should be ashamed of yourself, Be
th.” Her head snapped up, surprised that he’d called her out first. “You’re her sister; you should have her back. Always.” Beth’s eyes welled up with tears, and her bottom lip trembled. Brady’s hard expression softened as he continued. “But, I understand that you were doing what you thought would help Bea, even though you went about it in the stupidest way possible.” He smiled when he delivered the blow, which took some of the sting from the bite.
He was less gracious as he spoke to me. “And you”—He stepped forward and pointed his finger into my chest—“should lose your damn man card. Not for doing a bunch of nice crap for Bianca, but for not being man enough to tell her how you felt.” I cringed at the insult but didn’t defend myself, because he was right. “All of that being said,” he went on, “I really like Bianca. And since I’m not a complete a-hole, I’m going to help you out.”
My eyes widened in surprise, and Beth spoke aloud for the first time. “How are you going to help us?”
“Bea and I had a long chat when I took her home today. Turns out that she’s nuts about Captain Dic… Um, I mean Captain Butthead over here.” Brady nodded in my direction, though he was talking to Beth. He’d caught himself before letting a curse word fly in front of her, but I knew what he was going to call me, and I deserved it. “Though, for the life of me, I can’t figure out why she likes him so much.” He shook his head as if he were truly mystified, but he was smiling and there was no malice in his tone. “Bianca’s friendship means a lot to me. I’m sure Cam has a big plan, or he wouldn’t have approached me. Am I right?”
I nodded my head slowly.
“Ok, then, lover boy. What’s the big plan?” Brady and Beth waited.
It’s now or never, Cam. It may be a stupid idea, but it’s the only one you have. I opened my mouth, and my words came out like vomit. Faster than I could process them. “Let’s switch dates to the dance…”
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