“I definitely noticed.” I smirked. Eating pizza with a fork entitled me to razz her. “Though, I find your technique to be lacking. Yes, it’s sophisticated, but you can’t possibly enjoy the fullness of the flavor when you take such small bites.” I picked up my second slice and bit off half of it at once, just to be contrary. I had to push most of it into my cheeks so that I could chew a little bit at a time.
Mia found it hilarious. When she was done laughing at me, she said, “I can see the merit in your method, but if I took a bite like that in front of my mother, she’d be appalled.”
“Well, your mom’s not here. Live a little.” Mia’s eyebrows scrunched together as if she was considering my challenge. She stared at her pizza. “Come on,” I taunted. “Do it.” When she looked back up at me, I leaned over my plate and said, “I dare you.”
Her lips pursed and her nostrils flared. Just when I thought she’d say no, she picked up one of her whole pieces and crammed it in her mouth. The bite wasn’t as big as mine had been, but her mouth was much smaller. She struggled to chew, the same way I had, and I grinned at her the entire time.
After she swallowed, I rewarded her with a golf clap. “That was some first-rate eating.”
“I feel like a first-rate pig.”
“But it tasted better that way, didn’t it?” She narrowed her eyes, refusing to say anything. “Man, I love being right.”
Mia huffed. “Whatever.”
I chugged the rest of my water and scooted out of the booth. “I need a Dr Pepper. You want a soda?”
“I’d love one.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a few dollars.
“Keep it. This one’s my treat. You earned it.”
“No, I can’t let you—”
“Yes, you can.” I took off before she could stop me. I needed at least one chance to be chivalrous. Heaven knows I’d flubbed it with the table manners.
The line was kind of long, and I was gone for a while. When I got back to the booth, there was someone sitting in my spot. A male someone. He didn’t notice me until I was standing next to him. “Excuse me.” I nodded toward my seat and set Mia’s soda in front of her.
The guy looked preppy and fake, like he was trying too hard. He must not be very smart, either, because it took a second for him to realize his error. “Oh, sorry.” He got up quickly.
Mia introduced us. “Jack, this is my friend Nick. Nick, this is Jack. We met through our parents last year.”
Within a matter of seconds, I’d come up with multiple ways I could overanalyze that. Mia called me a friend, which is both good and sucky. She didn’t refer to Jack as a friend, so maybe she doesn’t like him very much. Of course, they could be more than friends. And it’s possible that they’re only acquaintances, but it’s also possible they have a complicated romantic history. One she’d rather not tell me about.
“Hi.” I held out my hand, trying to be polite. That kind of thing seemed important to Mia.
“Hey, man.” Jack ignored my hand and gave me a cocky head jerk before looking back at Mia. “So, call me sometime.”
“Sure thing,” she replied with a forced smile.
“Later.” Now he was giving her the cocky head jerk and flipping me a peace sign. Or maybe he was forking me. Whichever he meant, he looked like an idiot.
I took my seat and waited until Jack was almost to the door before I quizzed her. I didn’t care if it wasn’t any of my business. “Are you friends with that guy?”
“Kind of.”
I leaned on the table. “Please don’t tell me you dated him.”
“Not really.”
I arched my brows. “Not really? Does that in any way mean yes? Like, even the littlest bit?”
“Our moms are old friends. Jack’s family moved to the area last spring, so they set us up on a blind date.”
“And?”
“And why does it matter?” She grabbed her straw to avoid eye contact and unwrapped it. Then she used it to stab at her ice.
“Because that guy’s a pretentious wannabe. And the fact that you went out with him has me seriously questioning your taste in men. Especially knowing who your most recent ex is. I feel like I need to prescreen your boyfriends or something.”
Mia bit back a smile. “I appreciate the concern, but it’s not necessary. I’m not allowed to date right now, remember?”
I shook my head and bit into my last piece of pizza. “Thank goodness for small miracles.” I was being dead serious, which apparently she found funny.
Her smile broke free, and she bobbed with silent laughter. “Just to clarify, he had a great time, but I didn’t. And even though I paid for half of everything and weaseled my way out of a goodnight kiss, he hasn’t quite picked up on the fact that I’m not interested. This was over four months ago, and I’ve been dodging his calls ever since.”
My food had gotten cold, and I picked up the parmesan to offset the temperature. After dumping half the jar on my plate, I shook the cheese at her while I lectured. “You haven’t been clear enough with him. You should always be obvious about that stuff with guys. Half of us are too dense to recognize subtle signals. And the other half know but pretend like they don’t to see if they can rope you into going out again.”
Mia had gone back to eating with utensils but ditched the knife and used the side of her fork to cut her pizza. I considered that a compromise and took it as a win. “Which one are you?” she asked.
“Neither. I’m the exception.”
She chuckled. “You sound like Cass. What am I supposed to do, pick up the phone next time and tell him to stop calling?”
“Yes,” I answered with a straight face. “That’s exactly what you should do.”
Mia shook her head. “I can’t.”
“You want me to do it for you? He’s probably still in the parking lot.”
She thought I was joking. I totally wasn’t. “Oh, stop.” She waved me off. “He’ll get bored eventually.”
“Hmpfh,” I grunted. “That’s what you think.”
Mia pulled out her phone to check the time. “If you’re finished with this little dating consultation, we need to get going. I don’t want you to feel rushed at the store.”
I pointed my finger at her. “This isn’t over.”
She laughed. “Mm, yeah, okay.”
We’d made it to the door, when the large quantities of water I had at practice hit me with full force. “Hey, I’m going to run to the bathroom before we leave.”
“I’ll wait right here.” She took a seat on a small bench in the waiting area.
I couldn’t have been gone for more than three minutes, yet somehow she’d managed to attract not one, but two random guys. Only these ones seemed off, even from a distance. It wasn’t until I got close that I smelled the heavy stench of weed.
I cleared my throat loudly. “Mia, are you ready?”
Pothead number one looked at me, his wide eyes completely bloodshot. They were both high as a kite. “Bro! Sorry for scamming your goods. Didn’t realize they were taken.”
Pothead number two laughed. “But, dude. You can’t blame us for trying.”
Mia gave me this look that said, Please help me. I pushed between the two guys and offered her my hand. She latched onto it like a life preserver pulling her to safety, then huddled close to me. I slipped my arm around her waist. “No, I guess I can’t. She’s quite the catch.”
“You’re a lucky guy,” number one said.
Number two had already lost interest. He was squinting at the menu on the wall. “I need a milkshake. Does this place even have milkshakes?”
“No, it’s pizza, remember?”
“What about fries?”
“Bro…peet-zah. P. I. Z. Z. E. Wait, A…er, AH?”
“Uh, I think there’s only one Z.”
We snuck off while the brain trust worked their way through the alphabet. Mia giggled all the way to the parking lot. “Oh my gosh, that was so funny.”
I made sure to no
t to unlock the car until I was standing next to her door so I could open it. “What did you do to encourage them in the first place? Smile, say hello, pat the spot next to you? Does your T-shirt say hit on me?”
She slugged me in the arm. “No! I didn’t do anything. They just started talking to me.”
“Uh-huh.” I gave her a disbelieving look and waited until she was seated before shutting the door.
As I was backing out, I put my arm behind her headrest to see over my shoulder. “I’m not intimidating enough,” she said.
I tapped on the brakes and looked at her. “You think?” My sarcasm was received loud and clear. She rolled her eyes at me, so I reached over and tugged on her ponytail. “I think you’re just a loser magnet.” I realized how that incriminated me, because I liked her more than anyone. I clarified, “Again, I’m the exception to that theory.”
“That goes without saying.” She grinned. “And I have a theory, too. You, Nick Moody, are boy repellent. The second you walked up, the guys left—both times.”
My face contorted. “Boy repellent? I’m not sure how I should take that. Are you calling me girly again?”
She laughed. “No! Geez, you’re killing me tonight. I mean exactly the opposite. And since I can’t bottle you up into a convenient aerosol spray, I might have to start taking you everywhere I go.”
My heart almost leapt from my chest. Now that was an idea I could get behind.
Chapter 12
We lost the sleepover battle, so we had to negotiate a deal. Nick could stay for “team bonding” until midnight and come back at eight the next morning for breakfast. Sean had openly insisted that Nick instigate a pillow fight before he left and video record it. Of course, Nick refused. I had a feeling Sean might try to infiltrate our party before the night was over.
We finished eating the hamburgers that Stacie’s mom was kind enough to grill for us and headed down to the basement. “What shall we do first?” Stacie asked. “We’ve got movies, games…we could do pedicures?”
“Now that we have a boy on the team, we could play spin the bottle.” Leave it to Cass.
“And you only have a one in sixteen chance of the bottle landing on him. What if it lands on me?”
“Then I guess I’ll have to smooch you, too.” She puckered her lips.
“As captain, I’m vetoing spin the bottle.”
Cass pouted for a second. “Okay, then I vote for pedicures. We could use matching polish.” There were multiple head nods of agreement. “All in favor, raise your hand.” The only two people that didn’t agree were Nick and me.
“Maybe we should pick something Nick will enjoy, too,” I reminded everyone.
Stacie turned to Nick. “Have you ever had a pedicure?”
“Can’t say that I have.”
She looked back at me. “Then how can you know he won’t like doing it? Are you stereotyping him by his gender?”
Stacie was only arguing for argument’s sake. I knew she didn’t mean it, but it was still a low blow. I would never do something like that, not intentionally anyway. “I just don’t want him to be uncomfortable.”
“Nick’s already proven to be more open-minded than the average guy. The rest of the team is voting yes. I think he can handle it.”
I looked at Nick, the question implied on my face. He shrugged his shoulders and gave me a lopsided smile. “I’m part of the team. If everyone else wants pedicures, then let’s do pedicures.”
“Yay!” Cassidy clapped her hands, which led to all the other girls doing the same.
Stacie nodded in approval, relishing her victory. “What’d I tell you? He’s a team player.”
“Fine,” I said, “But I’m doing his toes so none of you can cover him in pink or jewels or little white flowers.”
Nick’s hand shot in the air. “I second that.” Everyone laughed.
Stacie’s mom was single and did nails as a side job on evenings and weekends. She pretty much had all the supplies you could want and more. Stacie took a couple of the younger girls with her and came back a few minutes later carrying buckets of stuff.
“Okay, here’s how it’s going to work. I know you ladies are capable of doing your own toenails, but this is a bonding activity. So, I want everyone to partner up. Freshmen and sophomores with juniors or seniors. All the newbies should be with someone they don’t know very well. Except for Nick, since Mia already called dibs.”
I called dibs? Why did she have to say it like that? Stacie made it sound like I had a thing for him. I really hope that’s not how he took it. I’d be mortified, even if it was true. I looked at Nick. “I promise not to go overboard.”
He laughed. “I’m just glad I wore flip-flops. At least my feet shouldn’t stink.”
I glanced down at my ballet flats and kicked them off. “I hadn’t even thought of that. Now I’m going to be paranoid. I’ll do your feet first so mine have time to air out.”
“I’m sure they’re fine. Girls don’t get stinky feet, right?”
“Uh…”
He nudged me in the arm with his elbow. “This is the part where you agree so my assumption that girls’ feet are cute and perfect isn’t tainted.”
“Yeah, okay. Girls’ feet never stink. They don’t have calluses or hair on their toes, either.” I ran my soles over the rug a few times to dry them off. Who knew a person could get nervous sweat on their feet?
“Hair? You have hairy toes?” His jaw had dropped in amazement. Or maybe disgust. It was hard to tell.
“No! I just told you that girls don’t have hairy toes.” Normally, I had like three or four little hairs on my big toe. Thank the stars I’d plucked them out yesterday while I was doing my eyebrows.
Nick grinned and teased, “It’s okay, Mia. Guys have hairy toes. Legs, too.”
“You’re supposed to. I’m not. Now, sit,” I commanded, pointing to the couch. It was a huge, poufy old gray sectional large enough that all eight people taking the first turn could sit and spread out a little. Cassidy plugged her phone into the surround sound system and selected a mix of pop and hip-hop music.
Stacie held up a pink tube. “Sorry. I only have one foot bath, so I didn’t get it out. But there are lots of creams and masks in the buckets. Use whatever you want.”
Nick took a spot on the end of the sofa. I slipped his sandals off and rolled up his pant legs a few times. “Okay, let’s see what we’re working with here.” I picked up his right foot and examined it. “Your feet are actually really nice.”
Nick chuckled. “You sound surprised.”
I picked up his left foot and inspected it as well. “You have some preconceived notion that girls’ feet are cute. Well, I kind of have the opposite assumption about boys’ feet.”
He kicked me lightly. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I do this thing every day; it’s called bathing.”
“Haha, smart aleck.” I flicked his shin. “I was referring to the fact that your toenails are clipped and tidy. You probably have softer feet than I do.”
Nick smirked. “That’s because I also use this stuff called lotion…”
This time I made a fist and whacked him on the thigh. He jerked back reflexively and yelped. “Ouch! I think I might need a new partner.”
“Stop being a baby,” I scolded, yanking his foot back. I proceeded to rub a minty mask on his feet and ankles. Then I clipped and filed his nails, even though they didn’t really need it.
All the girls talked and giggled while they worked. Nick mostly listened, since the discussion was heavily focused on boys and he wasn’t the giggling type. He did become highly amused when we started rating the football team’s looks on a scale of one to ten. He even gave his own rankings. Of course, they were all ones and twos, depending on who he was better friends with. A sense of loyalty earned Sean a five. We all laughed when Cole’s name came up and Nick gave him a negative ten.
After I wiped off the mask with a warm, damp rag, I reached into the goodie bucket and pulled out
two bottles of lotion. Looking between them, I asked, “Cherry blossom or lavender?”
His forehead wrinkled, and he scratched his chin. “Hmm, that’s a tough one. How’s a guy to choose?”
I ignored his sarcasm and reached back in the bucket. “There’s one called sugar cookie.”
“Yeah, do that.” He nodded. “Food’s a lot more manly than flowers.”
“Sugar cookie it is.” I blobbed a bunch on the top of his foot and started rubbing it in.
“You know, that doesn’t smell too bad. Except it’s making me hungry again.”
I laughed. “Open your mouth. I’ll squirt some in.”
He jerked back and crossed his fingers in front of his face. “Call me crazy, but I don’t think it’ll taste as good as it smells.”
“Hey, Stacie, do we have snacks?” I asked over my shoulder.
She huffed in mock offense. “Do we have snacks? What do you think I am, a slacker?” She stood and ran up the stairs. A minute later, she was back with two grocery sacks and dumped the contents on the floor.
“Ooh, Red Vines!” I grabbed for the bucket of licorice. But when I tried to take off the lid, I realized how goopy my hands were. So, I held it up to Nick. “Will you get one for me? I’m a mess.” He took a handful and leaned forward. I opened my mouth, but he tried to shove it up my nose. “Would you cut it out?” I laughed, bobbing my head from side to side, trying to avoid a licorice nose enema.
“Oh! You wanted to eat it? My bad.” He snickered before putting it in my mouth.
I finished rubbing in the lotion, then wiped off my hands and dug through the caddy full of nail polish. “Anyone have the clear coat?” I asked, unable to locate it. Cass tossed me a bottle. “This isn’t clear. It’s gold and sparkly.”
“We’re matching, remember? School colors. You can have gold.” She swiped a bottle that was on the floor next to her and handed it to me as well. “Or cobalt blue.”
“Seriously? This is for Nick, not me. I’m not putting color on his toes.”
One of the Girls (Friendzone #1) Page 10