“Hey, my Three Minutes in Heaven,” Griffin drawled near my ear as Aiden and I walked by. He was with Hailey, standing close to her, messing with her iPod. Still, I could feel his eyes on me as we passed and he was still looking at me when I glanced back afterwards. His eyes lingered on me as he bit at a small grin, looking yummy and seductive without even trying. But then Hailey nudged him and he went back to talking with her, probably instantly forgetting all about me because he was like that. Out of sight, out of mind. When a girl wasn’t right there in his sight, she was completely out of his mind—he instantly forgot about her … or in this case, me.
“I hate that guy,” Aiden growled, apparently noticing I’d glanced back.
“Oh, and I adore Fauna,” I said, making it sound like we were in the same situation. But we weren’t. Not even close.
Fauna actually really seemed to like Aiden—like, a lot. And Griffin was just messing around—playing with me to stir up Aiden.
So …
Grrr.
CHAPTER 6
Slowly, over the next week, things seemed to be getting better between Aiden and me. I mean, we weren’t fighting anymore and he was being extra attentive and sweet and writing me romantic poems and love songs and stuff. And I’m such a sap, a total sucker for that sort of thing.
So, I was beyond distressed when I got to school the next Monday morning. Jazz had given me a ride since Aiden had hockey practice before classes. But just as we came in the school building Destiny grabbed my arm looking all anxious and worried. Just from that—her expression—my heart was in my throat.
“Aiden’s about to get his head bashed in,” she said.
A violent tremor rushed through my body as she gestured down the hallway. There was a large crowd of students gathering near Aiden’s locker, too many for me to see what was going on—but I could figure it out easy enough. One of Aiden’s teammates was about to make good on the mounting threats. Aiden bugged them. He was loud and annoying, trying to prove he was tough. It pissed them off.
My heart was exploding. I rushed toward the mob of onlookers, then tried to fight my way through the crowd to Aiden. I got close enough to see it was Jake Edwards fighting with him—huge, mean Jake Edwards.
“Stop it!” I shrieked. “Leave him alone!”
I tried pushing through the rest of the crowd to get to Aiden and Jake. My frantic plan was to pull them apart and make Jake stop pounding on Aiden. But just as I was almost there someone grabbed me around the waist from behind, pulling me back.
It was Griffin.
“Don’t go in there,” he grunted as I fought to break free of his hold. “Grange, you’re going to get hurt.”
“No! Aiden’s getting hurt,” I cried. “Griffin, let me go! I have to stop it.”
Griffin quirked an eyebrow, but still held my wrist. He eyed me up and down as though making it clear I was tiny. “How are you going to stop it?”
I swallowed, about to stutter something out but then realized he was right. I would get massacred if I got near the violent, wild fist throwing.
I swallowed again, looking up into Griffin’s brown eyes, totally pleading, though I knew it was pointless. Griffin disliked Aiden. Really, really disliked him. Still, I had to try. “Will you stop them? Please?”
“Me?” Griffin raised his eyebrows, eyeing me as though I asked him to throw the cafeteria trashcan over his head—something disgusting and nasty.
“No.” He let go of my arms, taking a step away from me. “No. No way. The punk has it coming.”
“Griffin, please. He’s getting clobbered. Please!”
Griffin winced as I begged.
“Please, Griffin? Please, please?”
He gazed up at the ceiling flinching his jaw. Finally, he stared into my eyes seeming to be contemplating my request though visibly repulsed by it.
“Please?”
He let out a breath, punching the locker next to him, then reached through the crowd and grabbed Jake’s arm as though it was nothing.
“Fight’s over,” Griffin said.
“What? No way. What’s with you, man?!” Jake tried to break free of Griffin’s hold but Griffin pinned his arm behind his back.
“It’s over.”
I ran to my bloody, stupid boyfriend, too worried and anxious about him to thank Griffin or even acknowledge his help.
But that afternoon in cooking class we made fat double-chocolate cookies. I mean, they were huge. And we each got to take two. So I put one in a baggie for Aiden and the other I put in a baggie for Griffin.
I was going to give it to Griffin right after class, but then I couldn’t. I mean, I waited at his locker planning to give it to him, but when I saw him coming I chickened out and ran away. So instead, all during French class I worked on a “thank you” poem. It was pretty too. I liked it.
But I made it kind of “vague” and almost impossible to understand. Because I decided I would leave it for Griffin anonymously. He would never know it was from me or what it was for. He would just know that he did something nice and someone appreciated it. I thought that was kind of romantic.
I left class early saying I needed to use the restroom, then I hurried and used it so it wouldn’t be a lie. Then I ran to Griffin’s locker and slipped my poem through the little slot in the door and then, quickly, I taped the cookie, still in its baggie, to the outside of Griffin’s locker.
Then wham, I took off running down the hall super fast so I would be nowhere near him or his locker when he discovered the cookie and poem.
CHAPTER 7
So, that was that was that—pretty much. I’d thanked Griffin in my own, shy, twisted way. Then, I went to work on forgetting about him. It ended up being way harder than I thought it would be. Way harder. The thing was—his kiss.
I found myself thinking about it a lot. Like, constantly. Way, way, way too much. Way too much. At night before going to sleep, when I was writing a love song or poem, when I was brushing my teeth or taking out the garbage—all the time. Even when I was kissing Aiden.
I couldn’t help it! Thoughts of Griffin’s kiss would just creep up into my everything and turn my brain all mushy and oozy. It was bad.
And it was that way for weeks. Weeks and weeks. So, when Aiden and I finally broke up for the first time I was crushed … but not devastated. Because well, his kiss didn’t exactly do it for me. Not anymore.
So, when I caught him sitting all close to Fauna in the school library, not kissing but practically. I mean, they were basically fused together as they were “studying” and he—he played with a lock of her hair. Played with it! Like curled it around his finger as he gazed at her like she was a love goddess come from the hockey rink to make all of his “guy” fantasies come true.
Seeing that—it was like a punch in the stomach. By Aiden. And his actions. And his eyes—the way they were looking at her all, I want you.
Oh man.
Witnessing that scene—trauma to my heart. I clutched my stomach, reeling from the pain. Seriously, I almost died from a broken heart right there. But instead I took a ragged breath telling myself I’d had enough. I couldn’t take this, not anymore.
I mean, he liked her. He did. I could tell by the way he was looking at her and smiling at her and drooling on her. It was sick. Made me sick. I started to shake and sweat and practically double over from pain.
He was my boyfriend. But the way he was acting with her, you would never guess it. Not in a million years. It was more like they were in love and going to start making-out any second—right there on the library table.
Okay, I knew that wouldn’t happen. I knew that. Aiden would never technically cheat on me, not technically. But to me—at that moment—he was cheating on me. With his eyes. And heart. And hair-curling-fingers.
So, instead of going into the library and talking to Aiden as I was supposed to—as we planned—I ran home and cried. And cried and cried. I felt as though a knife had been slammed into my heart. And back. By Aiden.
CHAPTER 8
The next few weeks were horrible and black and involved a lot of me curled up in a ball. The thing was, I was confused. And hurt. Confused by my feelings. Hurt that my so-called boyfriend (or ex now) had the hots for some other girl.
Though Aiden would text me time and time again saying things like, “I miss you, Ally,” and “Just talk to me, Ally,” I would never text him back. I was waiting (hoping) for something bigger. Something he would do or say to convince me I had made a mistake, something to reassure me that we were still right for each other. Something. Something to help me feel confident in our relationship again and help me believe we still belonged together. I needed that.
I was waiting for it … but it never came.
Then one horrible Monday I rounded the corner heading to Biology but stopped dead in my tracks. There was Aiden up ahead at his locker—holding hands with Fauna.
Everything inside me died. I couldn’t move or breathe.
Aiden must have felt my eyes on him because he looked up at me as he was smiling and talking. His eyes turned pained and he winced, dropping Fauna’s hand like it was on fire. Fauna noticed. She turned her attention from her friends to give Aiden a bewildered look. Then her eyes followed his gaze to me standing there in the hallway watching them.
Seeing them together my heart shriveled. Everything inside me died, right there at Aiden’s locker. Everything. It hurt so bad.
And then! As though I was the problem—Fauna glared at me. She glared at me! She squinted her eyes, then she put her arm through Aiden’s and snuggled up to him. Aiden looked tense and uncomfortable as she did it, his eyes cutting to me, but he didn’t push her away.
That finally got me moving. I ran to the girls’ bathroom and hung out in a stall trying to breathe and not cry. But it didn’t work very well. I missed most of second period on the verge of tears.
Then later that day while I was in French class trying to listen to Miss Feefee and not think about my boyfriend actually now being my ex-boyfriend I got a text from Aiden.
It said, Look, what did you expect, Ally? You won’t even talk to me.
I didn’t answer his text. Instead I messed with my eyes, wiping at them over and over. They kept pooling up but I kept shoving the huge tears away before they could spill down my face.
Only …
I wouldn’t have answered Aiden’s text anyway, even if I wasn’t busy trying to block my emotions and keep from bawling. I didn’t answer because there was no way I could. I didn’t know what I expected of him. I had no clue. I just kept hoping he would somehow woo me back. Even now I still hoped that. But it was dumb. I knew that. I didn’t want a boyfriend that was all into another girl. And he was. So …
Ache. Pain.
But the confusing thing was: I was kind of into another guy. Sort of.
Only, I didn’t want to be. At all. It was so dumb—having a “thing” for The Griff. Stupid. Okay, Destiny had a huge thing for him. But she was into tough guys. He was her “type.” Sort of. Not really though. She didn’t actually date anyone. Ever. She just lusted after them … from afar. But she talked a good game, always saying stuff like, “If I ever got the chance I would jump on The Grief Master and smooch those soft-pillow lips of his until I couldn’t breathe.”
She was always saying stuff like that. It was funny. Though I did have to admit although Griffin was all tough and “kill them!” on the hockey rink, so incredibly rough and scary, his lips were gorgeous and silky soft—like fluffy pillows.
And his kisses had been so gentle and sweet and Mmmmm.
Ugh!
Ugh, ugh ugh!
I didn’t want to think about them—Griffin’s kisses.
I didn’t want to think about Griffin.
It was totally all Aiden’s fault that I was suddenly a puddle over The Griff. Totally. Pretty much. If he hadn’t gone into that closet with Fauna I would have never, ever, ever gone in there with Griffin.
But now, as it was … I was a mess. Aching and yearning for a guy that was all wrong for me. It was pathetic and hopeless and made me feel stupid.
So, I totally tried to stay away from Griffin, though that plan sucked and hurt kind of bad since I had a major crush on him and ached to see him every minute of the day. Still, it was cake to avoid him since I didn’t have any classes with him. But I would see him around school sometimes, usually with a skanky girl or two.
Whenever he would catch me watching him he would give me a slow grin, like he found my crush on him entertaining, and whenever we would pass in the school halls he would call me his, “Three minutes in Heaven.”
Little did he know he really was mine. Only yeah, okay, he probably did know. The way he grinned at me—he totally knew. Ugh!
But anyway, I tried to be over him. And over Aiden. I decided to like this other guy, Milo, instead. Tried. He seemed right for me. He was in a lot of my honors classes and on a lot of the same school committees as me. He seemed sort of perfect. And safe. Like he couldn’t break my heart since I didn’t really, truly like him, but I figured I could like him “enough.” Enough to get me through my tormented heart, get me through my break-up and my ridiculous crush. Maybe. Hopefully. If I really, really tried. I mean, he was nice and seemed to like me a lot and we had a lot in common.
Plus, he was in the school play and had a singing part and I was kind of into singers these days since Griffin sang in his hot band. So I kind of smiled at Milo a lot and tried to act interested in him whenever he would talk to me, which he did a lot now ever since Aiden and I broke-up.
Anyway, it seemed like a good plan—having Milo for a distraction, moving on. At least that’s how I felt … sometimes.
For the rest of the week I smiled at Milo as though my world was bright and sunny and like he helped make it that way. I smiled, smiled, smiled—while inside I was dying.
But then that next Friday during lunch hour Milo came and sat in the cafeteria with Destiny, Jazz and me. He never did that before and it was kind of like a huge step—moving from us just chatting together, sort of semi-flirting between classes—to actually eating together.
I kind of cringed as he slid into the seat beside me though he had on a sweet, little sly smile—like look at me, look what I’m daring to do. It was cute. Only he was sitting in the spot where Aiden used to sit and though, in a way, it was a relief to have someone sitting there—taking Aiden’s spot—it also made my stomach feel like it was full of rocks. Because it wasn’t Aiden in Aiden’s spot and I wasn’t quite sure I was ready to have someone else take it.
It was confusing. It would have had my friends scratching their heads if they knew, since I’d longed to have someone take Aiden’s spot like Fauna had seemed to take mine.
So, I was filled with convoluted, mixed emotions. Still, I sat trying to act glad that Milo had joined us unexpectedly. Because all week I had been sending the poor guy signals, confusedly leading him on—like I was ready for this, someone to take Aiden’s spot.
Unable to eat my lunch due to the rocks in my stomach, I sat frozen trying to listen as Milo was telling me about this concert he was going to next Friday. I was pretty sure he was going to ask me to the concert—pretty sure—so I acted interested in the band, though I wasn’t really. And I felt all anxious and sick and I wasn’t sure if it was just nerves because I hadn’t dated a boy other than Aiden in over two years or if I really just didn’t want to go to the concert with Milo—hang out with him for a whole, entire night. The thought sort of made me depressed and made my heart ache.
Still, I listened to him—or pretended to listen to him—with a fake smile plastered on my face, but inside I was thinking: What do I want?
I had no idea. Did I want to somehow get back together with Aiden? Did I want to break-up totally forever, so there was no going back? Did I really want to go forward, dating another guy even if I didn’t really even like the other guy?
What do I want?
It just ran through my head, over and over—what do I want?
What do I want?
What do I want?
And then … he walked by.
Griffin.
That totally captured my attention—for a second. Got my heart all racing and my palms all sweaty. And I think I might have moaned. I know Destiny did. But I might have too. In any case, for a second that was the only thing in my head—the only thing. That memory of Griffin and me alone in the closet. There was nothing else, not in the whole world. No cafeteria, no anxiety about “spots” or dates. Just Griffin’s gentle warm hands and his hot, seductive mouth.
It had me panting.
But then—gasp!—Griffin turned back towards our table, like he could feel my eyes on him.
Oh!
My heart ricocheted off my rib cage and I jerked my gaze away from him as though the sight of him repulsed me, though he’d already caught me staring at him all dreamy eyed and hungry. Still, I looked away and refused to look back at him, only it was hard because now I could feel his eyes on me. Still, I tried not to look at him—tried so hard—knowing what I’d see if I looked. Griffin’s amused grin. So I didn’t look. Instead, with my ears flaming and my cheeks hot and flushed, I started talking to Milo a mile a minute in this squeaky high-pitched voice, having no idea what I was even saying, just hoping Griffin could see I wasn’t a dorky fan-girl with a dorky school-girl crush on him—I didn’t even know he was alive, didn’t have a clue, because I was totally, totally into the star of our school play. Totally.
That’s what I wanted it to look like.
And I guess it did.
At least to Aiden.
I know because right then I got a text from him.
I clicked open my phone wondering what he had to say. All week he’d been texting me messages like “Lets talk, Ally. Please.” Stuff like that. But when I saw this text, my stomach dropped.
The Heartbreaker Next Door (The Hockey Team Book 1) Page 12