by Amy Sparling
“Um, like after school I guess?” she says. “Maybe around four, because I’d have to change clothes. No… I’ll need more time than that. So like five o’clock.”
“You’ll look hot in anything,” I tell her, using my most flirty voice. “Hell, you can wear your dance clothes and you’ll still be the hottest girl I’ve ever dated.”
She’s quiet again, and this time I know she’s blushing. I love every second of it.
“I’ll text you my address,” she says, a little breathily. “Pick me up at five.”
Chapter 9
Asha
My plan has officially begun. Liam had said he’d dance if I went on a date with him, and now we have a date scheduled for tonight. Technically, when I had gathered up the courage to tell him I wanted to do go on that date yesterday, I was supposed to tell him why. That if we went on the date, he’d have to dance in the pep rally this Friday. But then I got all flustered and wasn’t able to tell him. It doesn’t matter though—a promise is a promise.
I’m nervous as hell about it because he’s so freaking cute and fun to be around, so long as we’re not in dance class. I’m actually really excited about the date, even though it’s just supposed to be a bribe. Still… he’s cute, and if he agrees to start dancing in class… I could totally see myself falling for him.
I bite my lip as I finish touching up my makeup in front of my bathroom mirror. As much as I don’t want to admit it, I’ve totally got a crush on Liam. Stubbornness and all. He’s hot, and funny, and just sarcastic enough to make me want to grab him and kiss him.
I promise myself that I will tell him the conditions of our date—that he has to dance this Friday—but as soon as he arrives at my house, it all whooshes out of my head. Liam is wearing dark jeans and a black button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up his forearms. He has impossibly sexy forearms, a body feature I hadn’t realized could be so sexy until now.
“Hello,” he says, grinning at me from my front porch. “You look amazing.” I am so glad my parents are at work because if they could see how hard I’m crushing on this guy, they would give me so much crap for it. Liam holds out his hand. “Ready?”
I take his hand and let him walk me down the three steps to the sidewalk. I think he’ll let go, but he doesn’t, and we hold hands all the way to his car, which is a newer model Jeep Wrangler. It’s totally nice on the outside, and when he opens my door for me, I can tell that it’s nice on the inside, too.
“So where are we going?” I ask after he drives away from my house.
“That is a secret,” he says. “You’ll find out when we get there.
I glance in the backseat and lift an eyebrow. There are piles of folded blankets, comforters, and pillows covering the whole backseat. “Um… what exactly do you have planned for tonight?”
“No worries,” Liam says, throwing me a wink while we’re at a red light. “I won’t take my clothes off unless you ask me to.”
I roll my eyes. “Totally not happening. This is a first date.”
His voice gets lower. “So you’re saying it might happen on another date?”
“Only if you deserve it,” I say, surprising myself with how flirty and bold I can be. He bites his lip for a second, and I wonder what’s going on in his mind.
The surprise date ends up being totally awesome. Liam takes us to a newly renovated drive in movie theater, which I’ve heard about but have never been to. We park in a row of cars that line up front of a huge screen, and turn our radio station to one that will be playing the sound of the movie. Liam backs up his car like a lot of the other cars do, and then we open the back door and arrange all the pillows and blankets into a soft place to lay on for the movie.
“Want to try it out?” he asks me as we’re standing outside of his Jeep, admiring our work with the blankets.
I crawl up in and lay on the right side. “It’s perfect,” I say, looking up at the movie screen which hasn’t turned on yet. “This place is cool.”
He crawls up next to me, filling the small cargo space with the scent of his cologne. It’s funny how a guy’s intoxicating smell can be like a drug; it makes me feel light and floaty and I’m still technically sober. We stay like this for two hours, lying next to each other while the movie plays. I barely pay attention to any of it, because I’m too aware of the guy lying next to me. All I’d have to do is reach over and touch him, or slide to the left a bit and cuddle next to him.
I can picture it in my mind. My head on his chest, his arm around my shoulders. We’d be warm and perfect on this pile of blankets. I’m hoping he’ll make a move, just like every other guy I know would. But he never does. He’s a total gentleman throughout the entire movie.
When the credits roll, I let out the breath I’d been holding. I guess this is it. He won’t try to kiss me, like I want him to. And I’m definitely not brave enough to do it myself.
Liam fluffs the pillow behind his head. “Thanks for going out with me,” he says, his voice more serious than I’ve ever heard it. “You probably don’t think so, but I’ve got a massive crush on you.”
My pulse quickens. I can’t believe he just said that. Here I am, crushing on him like crazy and trying not to admit it to myself, and now he’s telling me he feels the same way? I lick my dry lips and try to form a coherent sentence.
“It’s okay,” Liam says softly. He turns on his side and now we’re just a few inches away from each other, lying so very close on these soft blankets and pillows. “You don’t have to say anything right now. I just wanted you to know. This date isn’t a joke to me. I really like you.”
I take a ragged breath and pull my throw blanket up close to my chin. It smells just like him and I wonder if it came from his bedroom at home. I wish I could take it home with me and smell it every night when I go to bed. I look up at him. “I like you, too.”
Then it hits me—alarm bells going off in my head like they’ve been there all along and I just forgot about it until now. The real reason I went on this date. I sit up on my elbow. “So… now that we’ve gone on a date… you’ll go through with your promise. Right?”
His brows furrow. “What promise?”
“You have to dance on Friday.”
Liam sits up. “Um, hell no.”
“Liam!” I say, sitting up, too and shoving the blanket off me. “You promised!”
“No I didn’t!”
I fold my arms over my chest. “You said if I went on a date with you, then you’d dance.”
He takes a deep breath and his shoulders sag. “Yeah, okay. But that was like two weeks ago, and I said I’d do the warm up dance for you… not dance in the pep rally.”
“Liam, you have to dance or I’m going to fail,” I say, pleading with him. “I made you a really easy part in the choreography and it’s not even that much dancing required.”
He looks away, then rubs his thumb and index finger over his eyebrows. “I’m sorry, Asha. I can’t do that.”
Hot tears sting my eyes. “You just told me you liked me.”
“I do!” he says quickly. “I’m crazy about you.”
“But you can’t do this one thing for me?” I ask as I fight to hold back tears. I refuse to cry in front of him.
He heaves a heavy sigh. “Do you have any idea how embarrassing it would be to be a guy who has to dance in front of the entire school for a stupid pep rally?”
My heart has been beating like crazy since he said he liked me. Now it feels like it shatters into a million pieces. “Yeah, I get it,” I say bitterly. “It’s about as embarrassing as I’ll feel when I can’t get into college because my family is too broke and I never got a scholarship because my grades were too bad.”
Chapter 10
Liam
I lie awake in bed on Friday morning. School has been in session for five hours and the pep rally will start soon. I didn’t bother going to school today. I can’t face Asha, knowing I’m letting her down. After having the most amazing date I could have ever wish
ed for, I went and ruined it. I can’t believe Asha only went on a date with me because of my stupid promise to dance in class. Here I was thinking she liked me. I feel like such an idiot, and I’m also feeling pretty shitty.
I spent all week sitting through dance class where she taught her pep rally choreography to the students while I sat to the side. She normally doesn’t even acknowledge that I’m in the room, but this week she laid it on thick. She’d said things like, “And this would be the part where our male dancer would escort the girls onto the dance floor one by one.”
Everyone had turned to me, and I’d given a sarcastic nod like it didn’t bother me. But it did. I know she’s counting on me, but dancing at a pep rally? Seriously? Ugh, I just can’t do it.
But it’s Asha, not some other girl. It’s her dream to do well in this class and it’s her future at stake here. I care about her, so much more than she realizes. We might already be an official couple if not for this stupid dance class getting in the way.
I sit up in bed and run my hands down my face. Would it really be so hard to do the stupid dance?
Yes, I think.
But I know the moves. I know what my part would be, because Asha played that part during the week of rehearsals. It’s not hard, and I could do it if I wanted to. If I really wanted to win over the girl of my dreams.
Dammit.
I think I’m going to do it.
With a deep breath and every bit of courage I have, I dig in the back of my closet for the only suit I own. I pull it on and put on some dress shoes after I get all the dust off them. The girls in class are dressing up in black skirts, so a suit would be my best bet to fit in.
I drive quickly to school and park in the back near the entrance to the gym. I can hear the band playing the school’s fight song as I slip inside the building. All of the students in my grade are currently in the gym. This is going to be so unbelievably embarrassing. Mortifying beyond belief.
But then I try to look at it a different way. So what if I’m laughed at by these people I don’t even know? Doing this dance will make Asha happy. Isn’t she worth a massive amount of embarrassment?
Yes, I decide.
Still, my heart is pounding as I slip into the side door of the gym, the one that opens behind the rows of bleachers. I see groups of girls in matching outfits huddled together and realize they are Mrs. Johnson’s other dance classes who are getting ready to perform. I remember this dance isn’t just for fun, it’s a competition out of all the Officers for dance.
Swallowing my pride, I look for Asha and the rest of our class, but I don’t see them standing back here behind the bleachers. Then, a familiar song comes on the overhead speakers. They’re doing their dance now.
We’re doing our dance now.
Throwing off all my reservations, I run toward the gym floor. Asha is wearing all black, standing in the place that’s reserved for me.
“I’ve got this,” I say, startling her. Her eyes rake up and down my body, taking in the sight of my formal wear. She bursts into a grateful grin and I wink at her before turning toward the first girl in line.
I loop my arm through hers and walk-slash-dance her across the floor. Asha was right—the part she choreographed for me isn’t hard at all. I try to get lost in the music the way Asha always tells her students to do, and I dance to the beat, doing the best version of my part as I can. I don’t know if it’s any good, but I’m here, and that’s what counts.
I forget all about the crowd of my peers in the stands, until the song ends and they erupt into cheers. The girls in my class line up and take a bow, and I do the same thing.
“Let’s give it up for Officer Asha Bronte’s class!” Mrs. Johnson says into the microphone as she stands off to the side. I am panting as I stand here, taking in the applause. I don’t see any guys laughing at me from the stands, but honestly, I don’t care. Let them make fun of me. I just saved Asha’s grade, and that’s all that counts. The drill team is up next, and we all rush off the gym floor, back to where the other classes were waiting.
At the back of the gym, under the dim lighting beneath the bleachers, I look around for Asha. A few girls in my class give me a high five and tell me I did great, but their compliments mean nothing. I need to hear what my dream girl thinks.
I look around, but I can’t find her. Then, someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn around and see her watching me with just the hint of a grin on her face. “I thought you weren’t coming,” she says.
“I thought I wasn’t, either,” I admit.
She’s wearing a shimmery eyeshadow that makes her glow like an angel. “What made you change your mind?”
I reach out and take both of her hands into mine. “You’re an amazing dance Officer, and you deserve to have your dance performed the way you wrote it.”
“Is that the real reason?” she asks, peering up at me. “Or are you just trying to win me over?”
“Can it be both?” I ask, squeezing her hands.
Her hands slip from mine, and I’m totally heartbroken for about two seconds, until she wraps her arms around my neck. “Yes it can,” she whispers into my ear as she stands on her toes.
I grab her waist and pull her toward me. I don’t know who leans in first for the kiss, or maybe we both do, but soon our lips are together and her sweet sugary mouth tastes so good on mine. I hold her tightly, wishing I could pull her away to somewhere private, but happy to have whatever I can get.
We kiss for what feels like forever, and yet barely any time at all. Then she’s pulling away, dropping back to her feet, and loosening her grip on my neck. “We probably shouldn’t do this at school…” she says, her lips pink and slightly swollen as she nervously glances around.
“My Jeep is parked right outside,” I say, wiggling my eyebrows so she knows I’m only halfway serious.
Her grin lights up my whole world. “Okay,” she says, taking my hand. “Let’s go.”
###
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Also by Amy Sparling
Gavin is falling hard for Clarissa, but he’s keeping a secret. When Clarissa learns the truth, she’ll want nothing more to do with him.
Read a sample of In This Moment:
Despite my best efforts in choosing a soft, mellow tune on my phone, when the alarm goes off at six-thirty in the freaking morning, that sound is what nightmares are made of. I groan and roll out of bed, wondering how the hell I’ve survived so many years of school before now.
Only two more left, and today is the first day of my junior year of high school.
Blah!
I spent most of my summer being heartbroken, and yet it still went by too fast. Rolling my eyes, I throw on some jeans, a new pair of running shoes, and a purple tank top. Then I grab a sweater because even though it’s a million degrees outside in this Texas heat, usually the classrooms are freezing.
Mom smiles at me from the kitchen, where she’s eating a bowl of cereal. She’s not tall. She’s just average height. I got all my tall genes from my dad. “Hi, baby,” she says. “Haven’t seen you this early in months.”
She laughs at her joke. I don’t know what I’ll do when I graduate and have to get a real job working all year long. Summer breaks are amazing and everyone should get them.
I grab some toast and head out the door in just enough time to catch the bus. The stupid thing is five minutes earlier than it was last year. On the ride to school, I study my new schedule. They changed things up this year. Now we all have a fifteen minute homeroom class at the start of the day before our real classes begin. It sounds stupid, but oh well. The homeroom class is supposed to be where they make the morning announcements and the teacher will pass out any important papers. We are all
put in classes based on last names, so as a Vale, I’m at the end of the alphabet.
My best friend Livi Garner will be in another homeroom, and to our epic dismay when we discussed schedules the other day, we have no freaking classes together. Not even lunch. She’s first lunch and I’m second lunch, so at most, we’ll see each other before and after school for just a few minutes.
This year is already total crap.
Livi waits for me in the bus drop off lot. Her long golden hair has been curled in big waves that fall around her shoulders. Her makeup is also on point, and I wonder how the girl wakes up so early to get all dolled up each day. Unlike some people, she doesn’t just do this for the first day of school. She does it every day. It’s sort of inspiring.
“Hey,” she says, joining me in the walk to hell’s gates, er, I mean school.
“Blahhhh,” I say back. She laughs.
“Your greenhouse looks awesome.”
I glance to the right, where you can barely see the daycare which is next to the high school. A little green square hovers in the distance in the land between the two buildings.
“I’m pretty excited for it,” I say.
“Okay don’t freak out, but look at me,” Livi says, her voice suddenly alarmed.
Of course that makes me look over. “Don’t!” she repeats, grabbing my arm. “Look at me! And laugh like I’m telling a hilarious joke.”
I try to smile, but it’s too late. I’ve accidently seen Shawn in the crowd of students. He’s looking gorgeous as always, his amber hair gelled back, his bright green eyes smiling right at—ugh—Mindy.
I can’t help but watch as she slides her stupid arm around his back and he does the same, loping a long arm over her petite shoulders.