One Kiss to Win

by Romi Hart

  When I got back to my dorm room, I found a gorgeous bouquet of flowers on my desk. Marsha was hunched over her desk buried in her textbook.

  “These are beautiful,” I said leaning down and smelled them. I loved the smell of fresh flowers. The arrangement was made up of hot pink and lavender roses, soft pink tulips, vibrant green and pink hydrangeas, and delicate green cymbidium orchids that were a creamy green avocado color.

  Marsha smiled watching me smell the flowers. “They are beautiful, Laney. Who sent them?” she asked rushing to my side as I picked up the card.

  I excitedly opened the envelope. “It must be from my mom. She knows how much I love flowers. I mean, look at them! They’re gorgeous: Tulipa gesneriana, Cymbidium chloranthum…” I stopped reciting the scientific names of the flowers when I opened the card. These beautiful flowers were not from my mom.

  Marsha peered over my shoulder reading the card with me. “Jett is laying it on pretty thick, don’t you think.”

  I closed the card in shock. Jett? I couldn’t believe it.

  Marsha sucked her teeth in disapproval. “You are just a game to him, Laney. You know that, right?”

  I picked up the box of candy: Lake Champlain Vermont chocolates. I opened the box. Daintily crafted chocolates waited inside for me. They looked too cute to eat: chocolates shaped in flowers, maple leaves, and perfectly rounded mounds.

  Marsha hovered a hand over a white globe with brown chocolate stripes. “Can I have one?”

  I pushed the box toward her. “Of course.”

  She snatched up the white chocolate and popped it into her mouth. As she chewed, she said, “If you’re looking for a guy, go for Troy. He is, by far, a much better choice than Jett.”

  I picked up the flower shaped chocolate and took a tiny bite. I wanted to savor these treats. A tartly sweet orange cream burst into my mouth. It was decadent. As I rolled the orange chocolate mix around with my tongue, I thought about Jett and Troy.

  What am I going to do?

  When the tanginess melted, I said, “I’m not sure what to do or who to pick or if I should pick anyone. I have to think it over.”

  Marsha grabbed a dark chocolate shaped maple leaf from the box. “Last one, I swear,” she said before retreating back to her desk. “Okay, think it over, but you know what my vote is.”

  I took a hot shower and pulled on my striped pink and white cotton pajamas. My PJs were well worn and soft from years and years of washes. Taking a couple of Ibuprofens, I burrowed in my bed with my laptop. Then browsed through Netflix before choosing the newest adaptation of “Anne of Green Gables.”

  With my headphones on, I intently watched the first episode and barely heard the knock on our door. Marsha called my name to get my attention. From my bed, I looked up and saw Troy standing in our doorway.

  Pulling off my headphones quickly, I was utterly confused.

  Why’s he here?

  Troy looked past Marsha at me and as his words came out anxiously, “Laney, will you please come outside and talk to me?” My bed was so comfy and warm. I wanted to stay there. Troy took a step inside our room and added, “Please. It will only be a minute.”

  I couldn’t come up with an excuse with him staring right at me, so I resigned myself to the fact I had to hear the guy out. “Okay. I’ll be right out.”

  Troy awkwardly back-stepped out into the hallway as I gestured to Marsha to shut the door. She reluctantly closed the door with a disapproving look, her hands on her hips. “You’re going out there, right?”

  I climbed out of bed and pulled on my robe while stuffing my feet into my fuzzy purple slippers. “Yes. I’m going. I don’t really want to, but I’m going.”

  Marsha put a firm hand on the door stopping me from opening it. Her voice was low as she said, “Give him a chance, Laney.”

  “Okay. I will,” I said exasperated, pulling the door open.

  Marsha must be the president of Troy’s fan club.

  Out in the hallway, Troy paced with his hands in tight fists. When he saw me, he hurried to me and said, “Laney, I’m so sorry for how I acted earlier. It’s just that…”

  He looked up to the ceiling searching for words. “Jett is exactly what I said he was. He’s never been with the same girl more than a few times. He leaves every single one in tears.” He talked quickly while his eyes darted all over the place. He seemed nervous.

  Crossing my arms in front of me, I was growing weary of everyone telling me how bad a guy Jett was. “I’m not some dimwitted twit you know.”

  He must have realized how erratically he was talking and leaned back on the wall trying to look relaxed. Then clasped his hands together and said quietly, “I just don’t want to see you get hurt. He’s full of promises he never keeps.”

  “Thank you for being concerned for me, but Jett sent me flowers and chocolates as an apology. It was really sweet. He even asked me out on a real date.” I looked down at my hands feeling bashful all of a sudden. “Has he ever done that with anyone else that you know of?”

  His posture snapped rigidly upright as he bounced off the wall immediately. His hands curled into fists again. He fired off quickly, “I have no idea if he has. I doubt it. He will stoop to anything to get what he wants though. I can tell you that much.”

  I stepped back away from him, feeling drained just from the conversation. I wanted to get back in my bed. “Thank you for your apology,” I said placing my hand on the doorknob to my room.

  Troy stepped closer to me. “Will you go out with me tomorrow night?”

  I tapped my thumb on the doorknob wanting to turn it and go back inside. I turned to Troy. “Thank you, Troy, but no thank you.”

  Troy took another step closer. His brown eyes pleaded. “I won’t stop asking until you say yes. All I ask is that you give me a shot.” He looked as if he was holding his breath waiting for me to answer.

  I heard Marsha through the door singing along to Taylor Swift. She seemed to think I should give Troy a chance. I thought about my bed again. My plump pillows. My soft comforter. If I said yes, Troy would let me go back to my bed.

  I let go of the doorknob and turned to Troy. “Okay.”

  His face lit up, and he raised his arms up over his head. “Yes!” He started talking rapidly again. “Oh, Laney. You will not regret this! We’re going to have a fantastic time!” He laughed happily while lifting me up off my feet, spinning me around. “Thank you! Thank you!”

  I was surprised by his gesture and laughed too despite my fuzzy slippers flinging off my feet. He placed me back down gently. Noticing my bare feet, he collected my slippers from where they’d landed and placed them right at my feet in front of me. Troy offered his hand. I took it feeling silly as I pushed my feet back into my slippers as he grinned at me.

  Back in my bed, watching Anne meet the Cuthberts for the first time, I thought about my plans with Troy.

  Why did I agree to go out with him?

  Of course, after I told Marsha, she congratulated me for my wise decision, but then why was I confused by the whole thing?

  I watched in amusement as Anne, in her endearing melodramatic ways, lamented about being sent away. She chattered on about destiny and her dreams. When she said, “Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it.” I agreed with her.

  I had already agreed to a date with Troy. If this was a mistake, I’d soon see.

  8

  Jett

  I attacked practice again like a wild beast. It was all I could do to get Laney out of my head for a while. I was thankful I had something to do. Otherwise, I knew I would just stare at my phone anxiously until she called.

  The trainer had secured a bag of ice on my right shoulder. The ice had begun to melt streaking my right arm from elbow to hand with icy cold rivulets. With my left hand, I dug into my workout bag, feeling around for my phone. I pulled it out hopeful.

  Nothing.

  “Gun, you ready to bounce?” Ox asked me, toweling off as he headed for the locker room.
>
  “Nah. I’m going to stick around. Run some stadiums for a while,” I answered while unwrapping the co-band from my right shoulder.

  Carl nudged me with his elbow. “Let’s go, Gun! We’re going to Orlando’s for pizza.”

  Hammer yelled, “Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!” while dancing a goofy jig.

  Orlando’s pizza was my favorite. Crisp crust and fresh ingredients. But I had too much on my mind.

  “I am starving!” Hatchet groaned.

  “You guys go ahead. I got some…” I pointed to my head. “Stuff up here to work out.” I tossed the co-band and ice bag into the trash. Then worked my shoulder joint back and forth. It felt good. I wasn’t injured or anything. Our team’s sports physician believed ice prevented just as much as treated shoulder injury.

  Hammer teased, “Is this about that girl? She hasn’t called you yet?” He looked shocked.

  Hatchet made kissing noises with his mouth. He closed his eyes and puckered his lips. I just laughed. “Shut up. I just have some stuff on my mind. That’s all.” Hatchet’s face relaxed, and thankfully he stopped smooching the air.

  In fact, all the guys stopped horsing around. They suddenly looked concerned walking closer to me. Their faces were drawn and worried.

  Ox said, “Man, if you need to talk…” His eyebrows furrowed.

  I cut him off. “Nah. I’m good.” I looked at all their faces. They weren’t buying it.

  “You guys go ahead. Have fun. Get fat on pizza. It was an awesome practice today. You all deserve it.” I clapped Ox and Dylan on the back pushing them towards the locker room willing the other guys to follow.

  “You sure?” Hammer asked.

  I nodded. “Oh ya. I’m fine!”

  “Alright, man. Talk to you later. Call us if you need anything,” Ox said. He turned away reluctantly and walked away.

  Carl feigned yawning and said, “Except for me. You know, we ain’t cool like that, right?” His face broke out into a smile. He then tapped me on the shoulder to let me know he hoped I was okay.

  My friends were goofballs, but they were great friends.

  I ran up and down the stadium steps, finding myself a wreck, waiting for her call. I told myself that I was going to keep going until the Campanile bells rang alerting me it was seven o’clock. My legs felt leaden, and my lungs burned, but I kept running until I heard the chimes.

  Sighing with relief when I heard the first bell chime, I kept going and counted. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Here was the moment of truth. If Laney hadn’t called by now, I’d have to deal with an entire night of anxiously waiting. I stopped running and raised my arms up, resting my hands on the top of my head catching my breath.

  I noticed a girl across the field running the steps on the other side of the stadium. Her ponytail bounced as she climbed each step. Ponytail. Laney. I hoped she called.

  I walked back down to where my workout bag was in the stands. I took a deep breath and pulled out my phone. There were no missed calls or text messages from her. Just a text message from Dylan, checking to see if I wanted him to bring home pizza from Orlando’s.

  I texted Dylan back: “Orlando’s Special. Large. Muchas Gracias, mi amigo.” Then I sat in the stands dripping with sweat, feeling brutally rejected. Then I tossed my phone back into my workout bag.

  Maybe she really is done with me? Maybe Maggie’s flower magic fell flat with her.

  I groaned as I heaved my bag onto my shoulder. Had I really screwed up with this girl?

  I tried to cheer myself with the thought of warm, crispy, delicious pizza waiting for me when I got home. Then I heard my phone ring from inside my bag.

  Throwing it down, I shuffled through my towels and clothes to find my phone. On the screen, it was a number I didn’t recognize. I answered it hoping it was Laney.

  “Hello? Jett?” It was Laney’s sweet voice with her soft Southern twang.

  “Laney?” I answered even though I knew it was her.

  “Hi,” she said quietly. I sat down. My heart was beating fast. Was she calling to let me down?

  “Hi,” I said back expectantly. She didn’t sound angry. That was a good sign.

  “Jett, I wanted to thank you for the beautiful flowers and the chocolates.” I took a deep breath. She was politely thanking me before she let me down. I braced myself for the next blow. “It was awfully sweet of you. Very thoughtful.” She paused. Here it comes. “And… I would love to go out with you.”

  I jumped up happily. She said yes! She wanted to give me a chance! Although I was a joyous mess, my words came out calm somehow, “That’s great news, Laney.”

  Laney took a deep breath before she said, “But, I have to tell you something.” I stopped jumping, bracing myself again.

  “Okay,” I said trying to sound casual even though my heart had stopped and I couldn’t breathe.

  There was a long pause. A very long pause that had my stomach knotting up. Then she finally spoke, “I’ve also agreed to go out with Troy tomorrow night. So, you and I will have to go out on another night.”

  Just like that, my elevated mood plummeted. It nosedived and crashed into splintered pieces.

  Troy? I hate that guy! How is he always in my way?

  “Okay. Sure. Whatever works for you,” My voice sounded agreeable, but my teeth were clenched into a snarl.

  “Great,” her voice sounded lighter as if telling me about Troy was a heavy weight off her shoulders. Unfortunately, that weight transferred onto mine. Knowing she had a date with Troy the next day, suffocated my joy. I told myself that she was, at least, giving me a chance too. She wanted to give both of us a chance.

  “I guess Troy is my competition?” I asked her, immediately regretting it. I sounded too needy and cringed from my blunder.

  Laney answered breezily, “It’s not a competition. I’m giving you both a chance to see if we have any chemistry or not.” She sounded jovial, so I wasn’t going to push it.

  All I could say was, “I see.”

  “But, I need to be honest about something else,” she said this with hesitation.

  Oh, God. Another but. What now?

  “I want you to know that I’m not easy. There will definitely be no kissing or anything physical at all on this date. This date is just for us to get to know each other.” She paused. “Are you still interested in going on a date with me?”

  My reaction was immediate, “Of course! All I want to do is get to know you, Laney.”

  She exhaled into my ear sounding relieved. I imagined what it would be like if she was next to me, breathing into my ear. The thought gave me goosebumps. “Okay. Cool,” she said.

  I felt my lips curling into a smile as I imagined her holding the phone to her ear, smiling too. At least, I hoped that’s what she was doing.

  “Let’s go out on Thursday night then.” I looked out onto the field, remembering Laney’s promise to go to the game. “And I’ll see you at the game so we’ll go out after that too.” I waited for her to protest this second date.

  Instead, she said, “Okay. That sounds fun.” There was a spring in her voice. I noticed while we were on the phone, Laney slowly warmed up to me. All I needed was some time with her alone, without Troy around, then she could really get to know me.

  “Now, it’s my turn to tell you something,” I said.

  “Okay,” she said, suspiciously.

  “I’ve never been this interested in a girl before. I think you’re not only beautiful but fascinating. I’m looking forward to spending time with you,” I could hardly believe these words were coming out of my mouth, but it was how I felt.

  With a soft sigh, she said, “Thank you, Jett. Those are kind words.”

  I thought about Troy again. His date with Laney was before mine. What an asshole. But, as the saying goes: Save the best for last.

  I added, “Brick House has some serious competition. I’m not going down without a fight.”

  Laney’s voice tightened, “I abhor violence, Jett. There’s
no reason for fighting. Especially over me. I’ll be honest with you. I’m not even sure I’ll get along with either of you. Jocks have never been my first choice in men.”

  My mouth dropped in frustration. “I’m more than just a jock, Laney. I promise you.” I hated to be pigeon-holed into one persona. I was so much more than just a jock. I had to prove that to Laney. I added, “I also promise you that my intentions are genuine.”

  “I hope so,” she said softly. She sounded wistful.

  I was determined more than ever to win her heart. I would not let Troy win. I planned to leave Brick House in the dust in this competition that wasn’t really a competition.

  “Oh and Laney?” I fidgeted with the buckle on my workout bag.

  “Yes?” she asked.

  "Wear a nice dress for our date. Thursday night will be something you've never dreamed of. I fully intend to sweep you off your feet. So get ready to be swept."

  She giggled. “Okay. I’ll be ready, but I’m warning you. I’m not that easy to sweep.”

  A grin plastered on my lips, I said, “I know. Challenge accepted.”

  “Good night, Jett.”

  “Good night, Laney. Thank you for calling.” I pulled the phone away from my ear, vowing to myself that I would sweep the un-sweepable girl off her feet, come hell or high water. It was my new mission.

  9

  Laney

  Troy picked me up in his red pickup truck. I decided to wear jeans, a t-shirt, and my purple Tom’s on our date since he wasn’t specific on what we’d be doing. I figured with Troy’s temper it was best to wear comfortable shoes in case I needed to take off and find my own way home. If Marsha wasn’t so persistent, I probably wouldn’t have even gone on a date with Troy.

  I climbed into the passenger seat of Troy's truck. He beamed from ear to ear and seemed relaxed. I noticed he was cute when he wasn't worked up over something.

  His smile was on the devilish side. “I bought us tickets to ‘It’”