by Jenni James
Maybe this world wasn’t so bad after all.
And maybe my dad was right—maybe there were some great guys out there.
I imagined Dad and Zane meeting and chuckled. Of course Dad would love him. How could he not?
Zane was absolutely perfect.
CHAPTER SEVEN: Devil’s Advocate
The next morning, my little sister, Katelyn, bounded into our room, and like a typical eight-year-old, she jumped on my bed. “When’s Zane coming back over?” she asked as she belly flopped right on me.
“Oomph!” I moaned and rolled over. Katelyn managed to remain on top of me. “Good grief. When did you get so big?”
“Zane! Zane!” She started bouncing. “I want Zane!”
I could hear Maralyn move above us. “Katelyn, go away. It’s too early in the morning for this.”
“Why do you want Zane?” I asked. I didn’t realize she cared that much.
“Because Mara says you’re going to marry him someday.”
“What?” Maralyn and I both said at the same time.
“I did not.” Mara tossed down a yellow pillow. It ricocheted off the side of the bed and landed on the dresser.
“Uh-huh.” Katelyn was going to make me sick with all this bouncing. “You said that he loved Ellie and they were going to be together forever.”
How could this family move so fast? I was barely processing that I liked the guy and they were already marrying me off. I groaned. “Not true. We’re just friends.”
“That’s not what Mara says. She says you’re—”
Maralyn popped her head over the side. “All right, monster. Get off Ellie and go get ready for school.”
“But I want to see Zane again.”
“Leave her alone.” Maralyn chucked another yellow pillow. This time, it bounced off Katelyn. “Ellie, you know you can tell her to get up.”
I knew I could, but I wasn’t sure how to do it without being mean. Besides, how many big sisters get to have this kind of attention from their little sisters? I grabbed Katelyn and began to tickle her. “Why are you so nosey, huh?” I asked around her squeals and giggles.
“Ugh.” Maralyn flung herself up on her bed. “You guys are going to make sure we don’t get any more sleep today.”
Katelyn and I both ignored her until I finally let up, and we each sighed in relief. Then she snuggled her way up to me as I lay back on my pillow. “I think Zane is nice. I like him.”
I ruffled her hair. “Me too.” Her bright blues eyes looked at me. Nobody should ever be this happy so early in the morning. There should be a law against it. “But why do you like him so much? You hardly got to see him.”
“I know.” She flipped around and looked up at Maralyn’s bunk with me. “That’s why he needs to come over. If you’re going to marry him, we need to know him better.”
“Ah, I see. Well, what if I told you I wasn’t going to marry him?”
“Then he needs to come over more so he falls in love with you and then asks you to marry him.”
If only life were that simple. Heck, forget marriage—I’d be happy enough if the guy asked me to prom.
Katelyn brought the comforter up to her chin. “I’m not leaving until you say he’s coming over again.”
“How about if I promise that the next time I see him, I’ll invite him to our house?”
“Nope.” She shook her head. “That’s not good enough. I need to know he’ll be back for sure.”
I grinned. “Katelyn, life isn’t about already knowing what’s going to happen to us before we wake up. It’s about going slow and steady and experiencing everything out there at the time it’s supposed to be there. Don’t rush anything. Just sit back and enjoy it.”
I could tell she was way too much like Maralyn to agree with any of that. “I don’t understand everything you said right now, but it doesn’t matter. I like things to come fast. I don’t like waiting.”
Maralyn chuckled. “Smart girl.”
I tossed the pillow back up at her. “Hey, don’t encourage another Dashwood. I don’t think Bloomfield could handle one more.”
“So, have any new feelings developed for Zane yet?” Maralyn asked.
I shrugged, even though she couldn’t see me. “I still like him, if that’s what you mean.”
She grumbled something and then climbed off the bed. “You’re hopeless.”
“What do you expect me to say? That I’m picking out my wedding dress?”
“Wedding dress?” Katelyn smiled.
“Er, it was just a joke,” I tried to protest.
“I want you to admit that you have feelings for him, out loud, so we can move on to the next step.”
“Next step?” What was she talking about? And honestly, there was no way I was going to admit anything to anyone out loud. With my luck, I’d lose him just as soon as I opened my mouth to speak.
“You know—getting Zane to ask you out so you can show off to the school that you have a boyfriend.”
I sighed, gently pulled away from Katelyn, and got out of bed. Between the two of them, this was going to be one long day. Thankfully, I’d be spending most of it at school.
The day only seemed to get longer once I was at school. In fact, by the time I’d said good-bye to Zane and walked into my second-hour class, I’d pretty much decided this day was never going to end.
“Hi. So, you’re new, right?” A pretty girl with light brown hair sitting at the desk on my left was looking right at me.
I wouldn’t have believed she was talking to me, but I was sure I was the only new kid in this class. I set my laptop on the desk and put my bag on the floor. “Yes.”
“Ellyn?”
And she knew my name. It was always awkward when someone knew me but I didn’t know them. “Yes.”
She smiled brightly as I sat down. I wasn’t sure what to say next.
“How do you like the school?”
“Um, it’s okay.” I glanced around and noticed the place was still pretty empty. The warning bell hadn’t rung yet.
“Good.” She looked a little nervous. I wasn’t sure if it was me making her nervous or something else. And then she blurted out the craziest thing. “So, I see that you and Zane seem to know each other already. Are you old family friends or something?”
“Uh, no. I just met him yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” She laughed loudly.
I wasn’t sure what was so funny, but the laugh was too forced, like she had hidden anger issues or something. People were beginning to stare, so I opened my laptop and tried to ignore her.
“Do you know what?”
I looked up. “What?”
“I think I like you.”
She didn’t even know me. “Thanks.”
“I think we’re going to get along and be friends in no time.”
I seriously had my doubts. “Oh.” This must have been the oddest conversation I’d ever had. Okay, it probably wasn’t—I had some real doozies sometimes—but this had to rank in the top ten.
“So, how did you meet Zane?”
Why did I feel like I was being grilled all of a sudden? “He was my aide yesterday to show me around school.”
The girl flipped her hair over her shoulder as the warning bell went off. “That makes sense.” Then she leaned over and whispered, “I’m Loni, by the way.”
“Hi.” Where were my manners? That’s probably why she was acting like this. “Sorry. I should’ve asked you earlier.”
“Asked me what?”
“Your name.”
She brushed it aside. “No, that’s fine. So, I was wondering—did you and Zane spend all day together yesterday? Someone mentioned that he walked you home from school.”
“We didn’t spend all day together, but yeah, he walked me home.”
“Was something wrong with his car, then?”
“No. Why?”
She shrugged and popped a piece of gum in her mouth. “Just curious. I’m surprised that he left his car at s
chool.”
I grinned, and my heart sort of grew a bit. “Yeah, he’s really sweet.”
Loni’s eyes met mine, and she smacked her gum. “He is. Really sweet.”
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just nodded.
“But if you didn’t spend all day with him, why was he late to the family party at his house last night? Wasn’t he with you?”
Did this girl know everything? “Were you there?” And then it dawned on me. “Oh, are you Zane’s sister?”
“His sister!” She looked shocked. “No. Not even. He doesn’t have one.”
Just then, the second bell rang. Students clambered to their seats as the teacher stood up. “Hey, class. Today we’re going to continue to discuss chapter thirteen. If you could all pull it up on your computers—and make sure it’s the chapter thirteen for history, not language arts.”
Everybody around me chuckled, and then a guy near the front protested a little bit. “Hey, I only did it twice!” Poor guy. I knew what that was like.
Suddenly, Loni dropped her bag, and scrambled around the side of her desk to pick it up. She knelt right next to me.
I noticed the teacher was writing something on the board.
As Loni collected the bag, she whispered, “Zane said he was with you last night, and that’s why he was late to his family thing. Were you guys on a date or something?”
“I wouldn’t call it a date.” Seriously, this girl was beginning to bug me. “Why do you ask?”
“Because he’s a really nice guy with a big heart, and girls tend to take it the wrong way.”
My chest began to grow cold. “What you mean?”
“I mean, he’s pretty much amazing, and girls fall for him all the time. What’s not to fall for, right?”
I swallowed. Was she warning me off? “I don’t know.”
“And fact is, he’s not supposed to be dating anyone. Ever.”
“He’s not? Why?”
“Because his dad is a controlling loser.” Her eyes flashed with rage before glossing over again. “Apparently, he’s on a date fast until he agrees to see things his dad’s way. So no girls at all until Zane drops this idea of becoming a scientist.”
Could anyone really be that cruel? “Are you kidding me? He can’t date until he becomes a—”
“Until he agrees to take over his dad’s chain of car dealerships, yes. His dad is a millionaire, and he wants the same for Zane.”
“But Zane hates selling cars! He’d be miserable.”
Her sharp gaze connected with mine again. Those eyes searched me for a second. “That’s why it’s a huge secret. You have to promise me not to tell anyone at all, or he’d be grounded from prom. And that can’t happen!”
“What’s the secret?”
She ducked her head and quickly collected her things.
“Loni Steele, do you need some help there?” the teacher asked from the front of the room.
I glanced up and met the teacher’s gaze straight on as she continued, “Or perhaps you’d like to keep speaking with Ellyn Dashwood, since apparently, that has become much more important than class. Would either of you like to share what you’re talking about?”
Loni stood up. “Sorry. I was just asking if I’d hurt her when my stuff fell.”
The teacher’s dark eyebrow rose, but she didn’t say anything.
Clutching her laptop, Loni quickly sat down. As soon as the teacher began to write on the board again, she leaned over and whispered frantically, “Don’t tell anyone, ever, that I’m Zane’s girlfriend.”
CHAPTER EIGHT: Bucket of Ice
I was pretty much numb when I walked out of class. I tried to slap on a smile, but I wasn’t sure I had succeeded.
“Ellie! Ellie!” I heard Maralyn down the hallway before I could see her.
“There you are,” she exclaimed as she weaved her way through everyone heading to their next class. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
She pulled me around the corner into a small alcove between the office and classrooms.
This so wasn’t like her. Maralyn never came to find me during school. Suddenly, my stomach clenched. Oh, my gosh. Did something happen to Mom or Katelyn? “What’s wrong? Is everyone okay?” Why was she grinning at me like this?
“I know we’re in the middle of school and all, but there’s a guy in my business math class I had to tell someone about! Since I don’t have any best friends right now and you’re my most favorite sister, I had to come find you. Gah! I think I’m in love.”
“Wait. What?” I blinked, not sure I heard her right. Was something wrong or not?
“A guy! Eeeh!” She clasped her hands together. “He’s so perfect, too.”
Oh. Relief poured over me. Figures it would be about her latest crush. “Okay. That’s nice.” Why does she do this to me? “Is he taking you out?”
She laughed. “He doesn’t even know I exist yet.” Then she waggled her brows. “Give me a few more hours, and he’ll be mine soon enough.”
Of course he would be. “So, what’s so exciting?”
“I don’t know. My heart was racing, and I was so happy to finally find someone in this school who could do that to me. Sure, there are some hot guys here, but none of them have that ‘wow’ factor. His name is Harrison Crawford, and he was out of school yesterday, which is why I didn’t see him until today. Now all I have to do is get him to notice me, and then everything will be awesome.”
“His name is Harrison?”
“Yep.”
“As in, Harrison Ford, the Star Wars guy?”
She looked at me funny. “Yeah, I guess.”
I still couldn’t believe she’d scared me like that just to tell me about a cute guy. “Huh. It’s a weird name.”
“No, it’s not! It’s an incredible name. It’s like a movie-star-romantic name.”
I think my jawed dropped. If it didn’t, it should have. How could she and I be so different? Seriously. I didn’t even have to say a word. She caught on that I wasn’t excited.
I could see her happy face slipping a little. “Okay. Well, the bell’s gonna ring any minute now. I just wanted to come tell you my news.”
A part of me began to feel a little bit guilty. I mean, how many sisters go out of their way to find each other and share stuff like this? I attempted a grin, even though my own issues and the scare were sending conflicting signals. “Hey, thanks for sharing. Sorry, I don’t mean to be mean or anything, but I’ve got a lot going on right now. Let me know when he asks you out. It’ll be fun to meet him.”
She beamed back to life. “Oh, you’ll love him. I’m sure of it!”
“Probably,” I lied.
“And when I catch him, we can go on double dates with you and Zane. This will be perfect!”
Thankfully, she ran off before the reality of what she’d said completely registered. Yeah, I finally seem to go somewhere with someone, and bam! I was right where I knew I’d be. Alone. All at once, I was consumed by this stupid urge to cry for no reason. Good grief. I blinked my eyes and leaned back against the wall, hidden by a tall fake plant thingy. The warning bell rang, and I closed my eyes. For the first time ever, even when I was being bullied, I wished I had the guts to ditch school.
I didn’t know what my problem was. It wasn’t like I hadn’t prepared for this sort of thing. It wasn’t like I didn’t know all along. Getting my hopes up only ever brought pain.
So why let it get to me now? I took a deep breath as the final bell rang. It was only a day we were talking about, anyway. It’s not like I’d had months to fall for him. One day. That’s it. I was an idiot, and this was over. Kaput. Final.
Time to face this world like a big girl. Squaring my shoulders, I sniffed and walked out of the alcove with my head held high.
And ran right into Zane’s chest. Gah!
“Hey, are you all right?” He pulled away. “I was just looking for you. I didn’t see you go into chemistry
, so I wanted to make sure you weren’t lost.”
I quickly brushed at my hair and put on a smile. “Yeah, I’m good. How are you?”
“Uh, so are you lost? Do you need help?”
I pointed toward the end of the hall. “I don’t think so. It’s down there, right?”
He looked over. “Yep. That’s the right way.”
Then we both just stood there. Saying nothing. Because what do you say to the one person you wish you could have, but can’t? Nothing. It’s just smarter that way. “Where’s your class?” So much for not speaking to him.
“Oh, this hour, I’m an aide at the counselor’s office. So I’m pretty much free to roam the halls.”
I nodded. That made sense.
His eyes searched mine, and I glanced away. “Ellyn, are you okay? Did something happen?”
Just my overly sensitive heart being ripped to shreds and pounded on for no practical reason at all. We’re just friends. That’s all we are. It’s all we’ll ever be. Friends. The end. Then I said the last thing I could ever imagine saying. “I met Loni Steele today.”
He blanched—as in, he literally went white before my eyes. “Y—you did?”
He didn’t have to look so dang guilty. “Yep.” I took a deep breath. “I’m sure she’s nice. I really don’t know—we haven’t talked much. But I’m sure she is, if you’re her boyfriend and all.”
At least Zane had the decency to lower his head and look remorseful. He ran one hand through his hair. Then those hazel eyes glued themselves to mine. “You must hate me.”
“Why?” I shrugged. “We’re just friends, right?” It took every ounce of my self-control to stand there through this awkwardness. Everything I had.
He shook his head as if to say no, and my heart suddenly began to beat again. Just a tiny bit.
“If I’d known I’d meet you … If I’d had any idea a year ago, maybe this would be different right now.”
“A year ago?” What did he mean?