Like back when I was hiding. I’d sort of expected her to turn tail at the sight of me. She typically seemed in a hurry to get away from me, not join me. But today she’d actually sought me out and sat next to me.
At first, I’d been heartened by the fact that she hadn’t run away in the opposite direction. But then she’d informed me that she’d thought Emily and I were still a thing.
Me. And Emily. I could feel Emily’s beaming smile aimed at me now. She’d lit up like a Christmas tree when I’d made my big appearance as Prince Charming, leaning over to whisper something in some girl’s ear.
It wasn’t a secret that my mom ran this troupe, so she couldn’t have been too shocked to see me. Not as shocked as I’d been to see her, at least.
“How long does it take to put a shoe on?” There was that clenched-teeth hiss again.
“An impatient Cinderella. That’s a new take on the role,” I said through a smile of my own as I leaned over and kissed her hand in mine, making her squirm and the little girls around me say aaah in unison. “In a hurry to meet up with another prince?”
She gave a little snort of a laugh as she smiled. I felt like a king. Or...a prince, I guess. I’d give just about anything to get a real laugh from her.
I’d heard her laugh before. When she was joking around with Callie and Willow. When Savannah was regaling us all with a story. Once at something Flynn had said when she’d been helping him set up chairs for a Fourth of July event.
I’d been tempted to tackle Flynn and beat the crap out of him for making her laugh when she only ever acted like a skittish colt around me. But Flynn had taken one look at my expression and rolled his eyes.
You know me better than that, the exasperated eye roll seemed to say.
And I did. Despite the rumors that swirled around the guy or the people he tended to hang out with when he wasn’t working with us, he was a solid guy. He wouldn’t make a move on Ruby when he knew all too well that I’d been harboring a thing for her for years.
He knew. They all knew. Savannah had taken way too much enjoyment out of teasing me earlier. But...she had relinquished the role of Cinderella just so I could have this shot, so I couldn’t be too angry. Savannah got a bad rap, but when it came to her friends, she had your back.
Savannah’s parting shot came back to me now, and I hesitated in the middle of lifting Ruby’s foot. I kept my gaze on the purple sparkly toenail polish before me—another unexpected. “Uh, so about that kiss...”
I heard Ruby’s breath catch despite the whispers and giggles going on around us. When she didn’t immediately say anything, I looked up and saw panic in her eyes again.
“We don’t have to do that,” I rushed to reassure her. “It’s not mandatory or anything.”
And there was no way I was going to pressure the girl I liked into kissing me when she was looking at me like that.
Like I was some terrifying beast.
I cleared my throat and said the cheesy lines my mom had written ages ago for this very moment. Cinderella didn’t have any lines, but Ruby leaned forward to hiss, “I can’t do the kiss. I’m sorry, I just…can’t.”
I shook my head and made a show of having the birthday girl come see for herself if the shoe fit. When she nodded and beamed, I helped Ruby up and pulled her into my arms. “Two seconds of terrible waltzing to no music, and then you’re done. You can—”
“Hide,” she finished.
“Excuse me?” I pulled back to her face.
“As soon as we finish, I’m gonna go hide.” She looked like she was confessing to some terrible sin and my heart twisted, my whole body warmed. Before I could think it through, I tipped my head forward and lowered my voice. “I’ll hide with you.”
Her cheeks turned a vivid red. Crap. First I was trying to convince her she should kiss me in front of a lawn full of strangers, and now I probably sounded like I was coming on way too strong, and—
“No offense, but you’re not very good at it,” she whispered as we whirled.
I let out a shocked laugh. “What?”
She shook her head, and some of the light brown hair that had escaped her updo tickled my cheek. “It’s not your fault. You just clearly don’t have a lot of experience.” She looked up with a flare of alarm in her eyes. “With hiding, I mean.”
My lips parted, but nothing came out. Who was this girl, and why was she forever making me lose my senses? “And you do?” I finally managed.
She nodded with more enthusiasm. “Oh yeah. Hiding is kind of my specialty.” She lifted a shoulder, her lips curving up on one side as she added, “Not to brag or anything, but I scoped out the best hiding spot as soon as we got here.”
“You did?” My brows drew together in concern and fascination by this odd creature. “Do you...I mean…”
But her attention was drawn to something or somebody in the crowd, and her gaze grew distracted.
“Do you always do that?” I finished. “Scope out the parties for hiding spots, I mean.”
She nodded, her gaze still distant. “Always.”
“Interesting.” I kind of muttered it to myself because...really. That explained so much.
I opened my mouth to say something else, but the birthday girl’s mother chose that moment to loudly announce that the catered lunch was all ready and that they should start helping themselves at the buffet.
“A buffet.” Ruby echoed it in disbelief, and I got it. I totally did. The town we lived in was weird in so many ways. There was really no such thing as a middle class in our town. It was either super rich people who went all out with their birthday parties and hired actors and caterers and pony rides, or you were...us.
The people who worked at the parties for the rich folks.
I’d grown up here, so I was used to the class divide. But for Ruby, who’d only moved here two years ago, it seemed to still take her by surprise.
“You’re free to run away again, Cinderella,” I said, letting her go reluctantly. I wasn’t exactly big on dancing—on waltzing like a moron, in particular—but it had felt way too good to hold her in my arms. “You’d better hurry before Callie’s lemon turns into a pumpkin.”
She smiled up at me. Callie’s beaten up old car was a constant running joke amongst the staff, but she was one of few of us who had a car of her own, so she was the unofficial princess chauffeur.
“Cinderella puns,” Ruby said with a cute little grin. “I like it.”
I gave a little flourish with my arm as I executed a ridiculously gallant bow that was totally in keeping with the prince routine. “At your service, my lady.”
A laugh. An honest to goodness, genuine laugh. It was soft and sweet and—
“Jackson!” Emily’s voice cut into the moment, and I watched Ruby’s smile disappear in a heartbeat. “I didn’t know you were going to be working here today.” Emily’s hand was on my chest, and I watched in horror as Ruby slipped away.
No, she ran away to hide. Without me.
Emily’s nose wrinkled up in disgust as she ran her hands over the synthetic material of the tunic. “Ew, how do you wear this all the time?”
I stared down at her, just barely holding back a sigh.
There were so many reasons why Emily and I never made it past two dates. This was one of them. She was part of the rich crowd, and while I didn’t judge people for having money, I had little tolerance for snobbery. When your single mom worked her butt off every day to cater to these people, it was kind of hard not to cringe when they looked down at us, no matter how nice they were.
Even now, Emily’s wrinkled nose was morphing into an amused smirk. “You were so cute playing Prince Charming. And those girls playing princesses. Just adorable.”
My smile covered a wince. Yeah. Real adorable. That was why Savannah, Callie, Willow and the others spent their precious free time catering to spoiled children and their demanding parents. Because they were just that adorable.
Her hand still lingered on my chest despite the fact
that the material was offensive to her. Another reason we didn’t last. I didn’t mind PDA, but Emily was one of those people who was touchy feely with everyone. Particularly every popular guy at Lindale High.
She pouted at me now. “I wish I would have known you’d be here. I would have dressed up as a princess too.” Her eyes lit up. “Ooh, I could have been your Cinderella.”
I tried not to flinch. “You’d have to be hired to be part of the troupe,” I explained.
But also, she was basically reminding me with every word out of her mouth how much you couldn’t pay me to date her. She was thoughtless and spoiled and wanted whatever she thought she couldn’t have.
Including me.
The only time she took an interest in me was when she thought someone else might have captured my interest. There was a reason she took those photos and happily let people believe we were an item when it suited her. I had this feeling that she’d called dibs on me years ago and now refused to let anyone else forget. I’d never really cared all that much because I’d assumed everyone knew that it wasn’t the real deal.
But somehow Ruby hadn’t gotten the memo. Somehow the girl I’d been crushing on for two years was the only one who actually believed that Emily’s clingy hugs and kissy-face selfies meant something.
All it meant was that Emily was an entitled brat. And right now, having Emily’s manicured hands running over my bicep felt remarkably like being peed on by a territorial dog.
“You know what,” I said, already backing away. “I wish I could chat, but I’ve got to help my mom load up some of the equipment we won’t be using.”
Her mouth was open like she was going to say something, but I flashed her a smile and turned to go.
I had a Cinderella to catch. And if Ruby was half as good at hiding as she claimed to be…?
This could take a while.
Five
Ruby
I didn’t really expect him to find me.
Actually, I didn’t even think Jackson would come looking for me. But I was wrong. Which was either good or bad, but I had no idea which and neither did my body. My heart soared. My stomach dipped. It was confusing.
I was huddled against the bright yellow interior wall of the bouncy castle when his head poked in through the flaps. His eyes widened when he spotted me. “This is your great hiding place?”
It was so not what I’d expected him to say that I gave a little snort of amusement and gestured around the empty space. “I’m alone, aren’t I?”
Yet again, he surprised me because he clambered in, making me dip and bob as he moved over the air-filled plastic. “There,” he said with a grin as he landed beside me, making the entire bouncy castle jiggle. “That’s better.”
I held my breath as I waited for the questions. The concern. That was why he’d followed right? To make sure I wasn’t off puking somewhere after my brush with the spotlight?
And yes. Savannah regularly mocked me about that after I’d stupidly told her the story of my fifth-grade dance recital from hell.
There was a reason everyone worried I’d upchuck on the birthday cake.
“The bouncy castle, huh?” He eyed the space like it was foreign territory. Probably was. Prince Charming likely spent a lot less time in bouncy castles than I did. He turned to me with his brows drawn together in confusion. “Aren’t you worried the kids will come in and crash your brooding?”
“Brooding?” I repeated with a laugh. “I prefer angsting, thank you very much. And no. There’s ages yet before they’ll get bored with the princesses and the food.” It was difficult to maintain eye contact when he was sitting so close our upper arms brushed, but I managed. “It’s usually not until after cake that they come in here to work off the sugar high. And when they come…” I tapped my ear. “I’ll know they’re coming from miles away.”
He laughed. “They’re not a very sneaky bunch, I’ll give you that.”
This guy had a great laugh. Not exactly newsworthy information. He laughed often and everything about him was great. Why wouldn’t his laugh be perfect too, right?
“You didn’t answer my question.” He nudged my arm with his and the gesture felt so weirdly intimate in the small, plastic-smelling confines of this castle. “What exactly do we do in here when we hide?”
“We?” I shot back. “You don’t have to hide, you know. I’m perfectly fine in here on my own.”
My heart thumped like crazy, chastising me with its pounding. Your crush is here! Your crush is single! Why are you sending him away?
I swallowed down that mix of excitement and panic. He’s here because he’s nice, I reminded that inner twelve-year-old geek. He’s here because he feels sorry for me.
The thought was bittersweet. I mean, how could you not kind of love a guy who worried about others like Jackson did? Savannah’s crying over a guy? Jackson’s on the case. Willow’s freaking out about friend drama? Jackson’s your man. Callie needs a ride because her car won’t start again? Jackson Messner, at your service.
Words just sort of blurted out of my mouth without passing go in my brain. “You really are prince charming.”
Well. That was a stupid thing to say. Thanks, mouth.
His brows arched high. “Excuse me?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. Sorry. Um, what was the question?”
Amusement glinted in his eyes. But something else too. Something I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen in him before. It was sweet, but vulnerable. “Sorry, I guess I thought…” He cleared his throat. “Did you want to be alone?”
No!
Yes.
Did I mention that I was confused?
“I take pictures,” I said.
He blinked. “I know.”
A nervous surge of laughter slipped out of me as I shook my head. “No. I mean, when I’m hiding—”
“Brooding,” he corrected. Then he gave a magnanimous wave of his hand for me to continue.
“Right, when I run off to hide and angst, I’m usually taking pictures.” I tapped my head. “In here.” Oh crap, why are you telling him this?
He arched his brows, but his expression was intrigued. “You take mental pictures?”
“Yeah. Sort of. I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.” I paused. “I’ve never actually tried to explain before.”
“Well then, I’m honored to be the first.” He leaned in my direction. Only by an inch, but it was enough to set us bobbing, and I fell into him as I lost my balance. We were leaning against each other by the time the plastic resettled.
“Yeah, I don’t know. It’s weird,” I babbled. “It’s just this thing I’ve always done. For as long as I can remember, I’ve reframed things in my head. Replayed just about every moment but like...through a camera lens?”
I could feel his stare on the side of my face as I stared straight ahead at the sunlight filtering in through the yellow plastic.
“That’s fascinating,” he said.
“Is it?” I turned to face him. I knew better than to think he was mocking me. He wasn’t. Of course he wasn’t. I just barely held back a dreamy sigh. Gah! I was no better than those little girls out there swooning over Prince Charming.
“I’ve always wondered what’s going on in there.” He tapped my temple lightly. “That’s my first clue.”
“Now you know,” I said with a little grimace. “I think in pictures.”
“Fitting for a girl who wants to be a photojournalist.”
I had no idea what to say to that, because there was this note in his voice—I wouldn’t say awe, but it felt almost reverent. And the way he was looking at me…
It was heady. The intensity there, like I was the only person in the world, not just this bouncy castle.
I looked down at my feet and swallowed. “What about you? What are you going off to college to do?” His sigh was loud and weary, and I instantly regretted asking. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like a guidance counselor there.”
He laughed. “Don’t be sorry
. I’m glad we’re finally talking. I just wish I had a good answer. In all honesty, I have no idea. Part of me thinks maybe pre-med? I’ve always been good with science. Or maybe something in business or...I don’t know.”
I glanced over at him. “Well, the good news is, I’m not going to hold you to your answer. You definitely don’t have to decide right this moment.”
He huffed a laugh. “Yeah, well, time is running out.”
Now I laughed because… “You do know you’re eighteen and not eighty, right?”
He tipped his head back and grinned up at the netted ceiling. “Easy for you to say. You’ve got it all figured out.”
I choked on a laugh of disbelief, and the resulting sound was...not pretty. “You think I’ve got it all figured out?”
He rolled his head against the plastic behind him to face me with that easy smile of his. “Don’t you? I mean, you’re going to Columbia to study photojournalism. That sounds to me like you have a path.”
“A path,” I echoed, repeating the words as my brain went haywire. The only coherent thought to escape was, “You know where I’m going to school?”
He looked away quickly, and I could have sworn I saw a flush of color. Hard to say though, what with the neon yellow glow in this plastic haven. “Yeah, of course. You were telling Callie and Willow about it the other day.”
Oh yeah. "You're going to NYU, right?"
He shifted. “How'd you know that?”
I shrugged.
His eyes narrowed slightly. “What else do you know?”
“Um, what?”
He shrugged. “I just want to know what else you know about me. Or what you think you know.”
My brows drew together as I tried to figure out what he was getting at. "What does that mean?”
He huffed. “It means...Emily?” He threw his hands out wide. “Really?"
"She's always...I mean you two are always..." I took a deep breath and tried again. "I always see you two together."
He eyed me steadily. "Yeah, well, I don't like her like that."
"Okay."
A Shot with Prince Charming: A YA Romance Prequel Novella Page 3