#LoveToHateThatBoy (#BestFriendsForever Book 2)

by Yesenia Vargas

  He held up the agenda and came toward me, stopping only a couple of paces away. “Thanks again—for doing this. For letting us stay here last night out of nowhere. It really means a lot. I know we didn’t get off on the right foot, and I probably came off as a complete jerk—”

  “You don’t have to thank me.” I closed the distance between us. “And maybe you did come off as a jerk, but I guess you’re not that bad after all.”

  He chuckled, his eyes darting to the ceiling and back to me. “Not that bad. Awesome.”

  I laughed too. “It was actually kind of fun, having you guys over. I can’t tell you how many nights it’s just me, or me and Isabella.” I let my hands fall to my sides. “It can get pretty lonely around here.”

  He nodded slowly. “I know the feeling. But when my mom’s around and trying to get clean, it just feels odd. Not normal. Weird, huh?”

  I shook my head, not breaking eye contact with him.

  “I’m kinda glad now that we ran into each other that day, even though I’m sure you thought I was annoying,” he said.

  “And I have a feeling you felt the same about me,” I said, my eyes locked on his.

  “Maybe I still do,” he said with a lopsided grin.

  My heart pounded, and it felt like I couldn’t get enough air. Even as he came in close, I told myself that I wasn’t freaking out because of Noah.

  No. He wasn’t even my type.

  I disliked him more than ever.

  But as his lips touched mine, my heart rejected the lie once and for all.

  A loud voice reached us from downstairs. “Tori!”

  We jumped back. Noah’s wide eyes met my own.

  “Tori! Are you here?” we heard again.

  My mouth fell open. “That’s my mom!” I whisper shouted.

  “Tori, where are you?” She sounded even closer.

  I pulled Noah into the bathroom. I held his hand in mine and looked around. Pulling the shower curtain aside, I shoved him and pulled the curtain closed again.

  A knock sounded at the door. “Tori?”

  “Mom?” I said. “I’m about to get into the shower. I thought we were gonna meet at the restaurant?”

  “Emma’s swim meet ended early, and she wanted to come home and change too. I called you, but you didn’t pick up. I thought maybe we could ride together after all. Did you not go to practice today? You’re not usually home this early.”

  I called out through the door, “Uh, Coach Davis let us go home a little early. And yeah, we can ride together. Sorry, I must have left my phone in my car.”

  There was a pause. “Oh, okay. Well, try to be ready within an hour or we’ll be late for our reservation.”

  “Okay, Mom,” I called.

  She finally left because she didn’t say anything else. I poked my head into the hallway and saw her walk into her room.

  I grabbed Noah, putting my finger to my lips. Quickly, I turned on the shower and closed the bathroom door behind us. There was a big grin on his face, but I tried not to laugh as I tugged him down the stairs. We met Emma halfway down, and her mouth fell open.

  “Shh!” I said. “Not a word!”

  “You owe me!” she said.

  “I’ll be right back! Cover for me,” I called behind me.

  She nodded and waved goodbye to Noah. He waved back and followed me out the front door.

  We got into my car. “Okay, that was close,” I said, keeping my eyes on the steering wheel, the windshield, anything but Noah.

  “Too close,” he agreed, putting the agenda on his lap and grabbing his seatbelt. “I guess we should hurry, huh?”

  I stepped on the gas. “Definitely. My mom usually takes forever to get ready in her room, so hopefully she won’t notice I’m gone.”

  Noah chuckled and kept his gaze on me a little too long. “I’m just glad we didn’t get caught. That would have been pretty awkward, running into your mom while I was hiding out in your bathtub.”

  We laughed together, and I desperately wanted to reach over and hold his hand. “You have no idea.”

  “Who are you looking at?” Lena moved her eyes in the same direction as mine.

  I blinked and looked down. “No one,” I said, going back to my lunch. The #BFFs and I were supposed to be making plans to hang out sometime soon. It had been ages since we’d done so.

  “How about a sleepover?” Harper said. “We could do all the sleepover things. Makeovers, truth or dare, rom-coms, maybe even a scary movie, pizza, face masks.”

  Rey looked up. “Did someone say pizza? Because I’m there.”

  Ella smiled. “Same. Count me in.”

  Lena gasped. “Noah Thomas? You were staring at Noah Thomas?”

  My mouth fell open. “Lena! You want to scream that any louder? Because I can get a hold of a megaphone for you.”

  Everyone burst into giggles, but they turned to look along with Lena. I kept my head down and tried to focus on consuming something for lunch so I could make it through practice later. “You guys are the worst.”

  I glanced up, and of course, Noah was walking toward us. He found me and gave me one of his signature grins before taking a seat at his usual table.

  Ella turned back toward me. “Oh my gosh, Lena’s right!”

  Harper gasped. “So do you two—”

  “No,” I responded immediately. “Nothing’s going on.”

  Lena grinned. “It doesn’t seem like it.”

  “Agreed,” Rey said with a thoughtful expression. She brought the top of her pen to her chin. “You never seem this…frazzled.”

  My voice came out louder than any of theirs. “I am not frazzled!”

  “Uh huh.” Lena winked. “Frazzled. I think you just proved our point.”

  Ella’s eyes searched my face. “Is there something you’re not telling us? Because you’ve been acting weird the past couple of days.”

  I sighed loudly, glancing around the table. “No.”

  But it sounded like more of a question than a straight denial.

  Harper scooted in. “Okay, now you have to tell us.”

  I bit my lip and stayed quiet.

  Lena leaned in. “Oh, come on!”

  “There’s nothing to tell.” I put down my fork. “We’ve just been texting here and there.”

  Rey looked like a new Harry Potter book had just been announced. “You never told us you gave him your number.”

  I shrugged. “From the time I gave him a ride home.”

  Lena exclaimed, “This is exciting! You haven’t dated in like months!”

  “Once again, Lena,” I whisper shouted in her face, “would you like a megaphone?”

  She offered a sheepish grin. “Sorry.”

  Harper gave me a sweet smile. “If anyone deserves another chance at romance, it’s definitely you.”

  I gave her a sideways hug. “You’re the best.”

  Lena cleared her throat. “I think, more than anyone, that this love fest is awesome, but can we get back to the story please?”

  Everyone leaned in, waiting for me to go on.

  I rolled my eyes. “There is no story. I just don’t think he’s that bad after all. He’s nice.”

  Harper offered a warm smile. “That’s great.”

  Ella studied me. “So you don’t hate him?”

  “I…never hated him,” I said.

  Rey flipped through her journal. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I remember you specifically using the word hate.”

  “You wrote down what I said?” I asked in disbelief.

  She looked up at me for a moment. “I was wondering if you’d change your mind about him eventually.”

  “You gotta admit, Tori,” Lena said, going back to her fries, “you sure loved to hate Noah Thomas.”

  I shook my head but smiled, crossing my arms. “I did not hate him. I just didn’t…like him.”

  Lena snorted, and the rest of us started laughing.

  I drank some water. “You guys really are the worst.”
>
  Our discussion eventually turned back to our sleepover plans. Meanwhile, my thoughts went to Noah and the way his lips felt on my mouth.

  Maybe I’d tell the girls all about it when we hung out, but for now, I wanted the moment to remain only mine.

  Sixteen

  “Before you know it,” Coach Davis said, “we will be competing against the best our country has to offer, and we have to leave it all on that stage.”

  It was the end of another practice, and today, Coach Davis had showed us several winning routines from the past few years.

  She had broken them down, discussed every single strength and weakness of each team so we wouldn’t make the same mistakes.

  “You’re just as good as any of those championship squads, so when we get on that stage, act like one. Perform like one. Win like one,” she said, her voice carrying through the gym.

  I nodded, and next to me, Julie exhaled. She looked at me, eyes wide like she was already terrified about Saturday.

  Giving her a smile, I said, “It’s all up here.” I pointed to my head. “You’ve got this.”

  She nodded and took a deep breath.

  Coach dismissed us, and we headed to the locker room to grab our stuff, chatting excitedly amongst ourselves.

  Lindsay and Courtney said they were excited about the makeup we would don for the competition. Lindsay emphasized how important it would be. “We should get there extra early to make sure we look perfect. The judges pay a lot of attention to appearance.”

  Claire spoke up from the back of the group. “I’m just happy I get to cheer this time around.”

  Zoey smiled. “I’m so glad your arm is better. We totally need you.”

  Claire smiled back. “Thanks. I missed cheer.”

  Her gaze met mine, and she glanced down. I’d never said anything after her injury from the not-very-funny prank Krista had pulled on us, but Claire had definitely changed her attitude afterward.

  I was just glad things had quieted down since then. No more mean posts from the @WorstofWestwood Instagram account, and Krista had stayed away. Maybe seeing what she had caused had kept her at bay too.

  Either way, we didn’t need that kind of drama with nationals just a matter of days away. We all had to focus 110%.

  And then we’d be free to focus on prom and the rest of junior year. Cheer would be over, and so would the sleepless nights and the extended afternoon practices.

  We left the locker room in groups of two or three. A few girls rode together, but most of us drove ourselves home.

  We stepped outside. The sun hid behind the trees, and the sky bled orange and coral and red.

  With the sun behind me, I took a quick selfie, my face turned to the side. My cheeks were still flushed pink from practice. I posted it and got in the car to drive home, but before I could pull out, I got a text from my mom.

  Mom: I got your favorite Caesar salad :) Thought we girls could have dinner together.

  Dad was out of town as usual, probably trying to hit a big quarterly sales goal.

  Tori: Sounds good. Be home soon.

  When I got there and walked through the front door, I didn’t even bother taking my stuff upstairs. I headed straight to the kitchen.

  My mom was busy tossing chicken into a big bowl of salad. “I got us some grilled chicken from that place downtown that you like. Get the Caesar dressing out, will you, sweetie?”

  “Where’s Isabella?” I asked as I walked to the fridge. “Don’t you usually get her a turkey burger and fries?” A French fry sounded like heaven.

  I put the bottle of Caesar dressing on the counter next to the salad.

  She tossed in croutons and said quietly, “I noticed she’s been filling out her school uniform a little bit more lately. So I thought maybe she could share our salad.”

  My mouth fell open, and I quickly closed it. “You didn’t tell her, though, did you? About her weight? She looks fine to me. She is in fifth grade. It’s gotta be puberty or something.”

  My mom kept up her hushed tone. “She gained almost nine pounds from her last checkup at the doctor. He said to keep an eye on her.”

  I saw the same doctor growing up, and I knew he cared as much as my mom about staying in a “healthy” weight range. “Yeah, but she also just went through a growth spurt.”

  I hated the way this conversation made me feel. It reminded me of the first time my mom had that talk with me, about weight and growing up and always looking your best.

  I didn’t want that for Isabella.

  When my sister walked in, we sat at the dining table, and my mom set a plate of salad down in front of her.

  The corners of Isabella’s mouth turned down, but she didn’t say anything. So they already had the talk.

  Why hadn’t I seen this coming? Maybe it had been so long ago, and all of this—watching what I ate, staying away from carbs, and making sure I stayed a certain size—had become my normal.

  I looked at Isabella now. Her cheeks weren’t those of a little girl anymore, round and pink. Instead, she had cheekbones, and she wore a bra. She sat up, back straight, serious, instead of slouching and laughing like she used to last year.

  All of a sudden, I wasn’t very hungry anymore.

  I set down my fork, and it clanged against my plate of greens. “I need to go wash my hands,” I said, getting up without meeting either of their eyes.

  When I reached the bathroom, I could still hear my mom’s animated voice coming from the dining room. I closed the door behind me and leaned against it. My own reflection stared back at me in the mirror. Pools of tears filled my eyes until I blinked, and they ran down my cheeks.

  It wasn’t enough for Isabella to be herself? Like my mom, like me, she had to be perfect. At least on the outside. Why didn’t my mom get it?

  A few minutes later, I joined them back at the table, nodding and smiling at what my mom was saying but hardly hearing a word.

  On Friday night, my parents were out of town again, and Isabella and Emma insisted on hanging out. They wanted another sleepover.

  Isabella and I went to Noah’s house. He paused at my open front passenger window.

  “Where’s your stuff?” I asked. Emma climbed into the back and immediately began chatting with Isabella.

  “Maybe this time I should just stay home,” he said. “I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble or something.”

  There was a question in his eyes, like he wasn’t sure where we stood after what had happened between us last time.

  “Nonsense,” I said. “We can watch another movie, and this time you can actually sleep in the guest bedroom. Besides, are you gonna make me handle these two by myself?”

  Smiling, he glanced at them and then at me. “I guess you’re right.”

  “Of course, I’m right. Now get in.”

  “Well, let me go get my stuff,” he said.

  He ran back inside, and I sighed in relief at the fact that things weren’t totally awkward between us.

  Noah came back in no time, messenger bag slung across his chest. “Are you sure this is a good idea? What if your parents come home early or something?”

  “They’re not due back until tomorrow night. It’ll be fine. The worst that’ll happen is that my mom will want to video chat or something,” I said, pulling onto the road.

  “I still think it’s weird how your parents are out of town all the time. I mean, my mom is gone a lot, too, but…not on business trips and stuff.”

  “I guess you get used to it,” I said. “Up until last year, it was just my dad, but now that I can drive myself around and stuff, my mom goes with him sometimes. And she’s been spending more and more time on her event planning volunteer stuff.”

  We listened to music on the radio after that. Meanwhile, Isabella and Emma lip-synced in the back.

  When we got home, Isabella and Emma ran upstairs to do their nails and watch a movie in Isabella’s room.

  “Should we watch another movie while we wait for the pizza
?” I asked.

  “Sure. You pick,” he said.

  “Again?” I asked. “It’s your turn.”

  He sat down on the couch and rested his head back in his hands. “I trust you.”

  We smiled, but something about his words made my stomach do a flip. Thirty minutes into Die Hard, the pizza arrived.

  He had paid for dinner this time, arguing it was only fair. The girls only made a brief appearance before running back upstairs with a medium plain pepperoni pizza.

  “A guy could get used to this,” he said, walking back to the sofa with a couple of plates.

  Noah handed me a slice of supreme.

  I put my hands up. “I can’t, or the girls will have a hard time throwing me into the air,” I said. I’d already eaten a salad.

  Noah almost choked on his pizza, and we laughed.

  I handed him a napkin.

  “Thanks,” he said, wiping sauce off his chin.

  “Well, maybe just one,” I said, taking the plate and sinking into the couch.

  I hit play on the movie.

  Noah took a drink of soda. “I can’t believe you like Die Hard. This is a classic.”

  “It’s like my dad’s favorite movie. He used to watch it all the time when I was growing up.” I took another bite of pizza.

  He nodded in approval but kept his eyes on the screen. “I think I already like your dad.”

  It was weird thinking of Noah meeting my dad. First of all because my dad was hardly ever around. He’d hardly met Gary.

  My heart tugged at the scenes with Al, the cop, communicating with John McClane. Al was my favorite character. It took me back to the days when I used to sit next to my dad, coloring or something while we watched the movie together.

  My mom said it was not kid-friendly, but my dad let me watch it anyway. Said it had lots of important life lessons.

  Noah grabbed another slice of pizza. “You know the guy who plays the evil villain in this movie is the guy who plays Snape in the Harry Potter movies.”

  “Really? I’ve never seen those,” I said. “Maybe now I will.”

  Noah slowly turned to face me. “You should.”

  I stared back at him.

  “And you have to read the books. You can’t even compare the movies to the actual books,” he said, his pizza forgotten on the coffee table.