by Amy Sparling
My fists shake in excitement, and I laugh at myself in the mirror. Everything is so awesome right now, I’m not even sure how to handle it. My brain might just explode. On my death certificate they’ll say the cause of death was too much happiness.
The white dress is part of my new wardrobe. It’s dual layered. The bottom layer is made out of T-shirt material that’s sleeveless and very short, like a mini skirt. But then a white sheer layer on top has tank top sleeves and it goes down to just above my knees in the front, but gets long and flowy in the back. I feel like a mermaid or some kind of beach princess in it. Even better, Jett had stepped outside to take a phone call when I was trying it on at the mall, so I’m pretty sure he hasn’t seen me in it.
I want to wow him tonight, so I borrow Becca’s curling iron and use it to make big, flowy curls around my face. I do my makeup, using a combination of the eyeliner I’ve had from the old days with Dawn, and the new makeup I recently bought. I don’t usually wear any makeup around here, especially since it’s so hot outside I’d just sweat it off. But we’re going out to dinner and I want my looks to reflect just how beautiful my life is right now.
When I’m satisfied with my hair and makeup, I hear Park call out, “Fifteen minutes, girls!”
Becca calls out, “I only need five!”
And just to join in on the yelling across the house, I say, “I’m already ready! I win!”
The bathroom in the master room is almost as big as my bedroom, and it has a built in vanity with a mirror bordered in lights just like some Hollywood actress’s dressing room.
I knock on the door as I pop my head in.
“Come on in,” Becca says, motioning with her hand. She leans forward, looking into a handheld mirror on the counter as she applies her mascara.
“Just bringing back your curling iron,” I say, holding it up. “Thanks for letting me borrow it.”
She points to a cabinet to her left. “It goes in there, and you’re welcome to borrow it anytime, dear.”
Becca stops me when I go to leave. “Turn around,” she says, twirling her finger.
I spin slowly. Her lips purse. “Hmm . . . you look nice but you need something extra.”
She walks into her closet, motioning for me to follow. Inside, it’s like a home organizer’s dream. Cubby holes and shelves and rows of hanging clothes. Their master closet is spectacular. Becca goes to a tall jewelry cabinet and pulls open the drawers, searching through them.
“Here,” she says, smiling as she takes out a silver necklace with a sparkling blue pendant. She puts it around my neck and then steps back to admire me. “Perfect!”
I finger the sparkling jewel and check out my reflection in the tall mirror mounted inside the closet. “Thanks,” I say softly.
“Anything in here you can wear any time you want, okay?”
I nod. So this is what it’s like having a normal mother. I can definitely get used to it.
*
I text Jett on the drive over to the restaurant.
Me: I miss you
Jett: I miss you more
Me: How far away is this place?
Jett: About 45 minutes, if it’s the place I’m thinking of.
I groan. This day has been so wonderful, waking up and making blueberry pancakes with Becca, then having lunch with her and Park before going to the court house. Even the long line at the DMV was fun, but now that I’m so close to seeing Jett, I’m desperate to be with him again. I’m missing the woodsy scent of his cologne and the flash of mischief in his eyes.
I kind of wanted to ask if I could ride with Jett to the restaurant, but then he said his dad was driving them. There’s no point in taking three cars, and since it’s my first day as an official member of this family, I need to be riding with Becca and Park. I just miss Jett so much. It really is kind of pathetic.
Inadequate doesn’t even begin to describe how I’m feeling when we get to the restaurant. For starters, there’s valet parking, so we climb out at the front of the restaurant and someone else drives away Park’s truck. The Lantern is a posh place that’s on the water of Lake Conroe, so you can see yachts and boats out on the water while you’re eating. The hostess is dressed nicer than I am and she leads us to our table.
My stomach tightens with nerves as we walk through the elegant dining room. I am so close to seeing Jett and I need him so bad. I can’t even function without him now, as silly as that is. I guess I’ve just been through so much in the last few days that he is my normalcy. My rock. I need him so I can feel grounded again.
His blue eyes crinkle when he sees me. It takes everything I have not to break into a sprint and throw myself at him. Instead, I play the role of normal human and nod politely.
Jett looks like a movie star. Wearing black slacks that look as though they were custom made for him, and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt that hugs his chest and arms just enough to show his muscle definition. He stands, and he reminds me a lot of his dad since they’re both dressed nicely tonight.
Bayleigh wears a little black dress that makes her look gorgeous. She puts the rest of us women to shame.
Jett wraps me in a tight but chaste hug. “I missed you,” he whispers as he lets me go. Jace and Bayleigh also hug me, welcoming me into Park’s family.
Before I take my seat, I notice Becca across the table. She’s staring with a confused look on her face. “Why are there two?”
I don’t know what she’s talking about, but I slip into the chair next to Jett and thread my fingers through his.
Bayleigh clears her throat. “I’ll explain in a second, Becca, but first of all, I don’t think your new daughter even noticed what’s in front of her.”
I look up. “Huh?”
And then I see it, a gorgeous bouquet of flowers in pinks and blues and purples. A card in the middle has my name on it. I flush. Yeah, I totally didn’t notice that.
“Thanks guys,” I say, taking the card.
It says Welcome to the family. We love you -The Adams’
I look up to thank them for the kind gift, but then I see what made Becca so confused. There are two bouquets of flowers on the table.
Bayleigh stands up and we all turn to look at her. “This second bouquet is for you,” she says, sliding the vase across the table to Becca.
“Me?” Becca says, putting a hand to her chest. “I don’t need flowers . . .” She says, rambling on as she takes the card out of the little plastic holder.
I can tell by the look on Bayleigh’s face that something else is going on. Something good.
“This is very sweet guys, but—” Becca stops rambling mid-sentence and puts a hand to her mouth. “Oh my god.” Her eyes fill with tears and Jett squeezes my hand and everything all happens at once.
“You’re pregnant?” she says.
Bayleigh nods quickly and lifts her hands. “The procedure worked!”
Becca tumbles out of her chair and rushes across the table to wrap her arms around her best friend. My heart swells to what I’m sure is capacity but somehow manages to get even more happy as I watch the two men at the table shake hands, the experienced dad congratulating the new one.
Becca and Park embrace and I’m pretty sure they’re both crying. I lean into Jett’s arms until I’m halfway off my chair and halfway onto his. His strong arm wraps around me and holds me in place and I nuzzle against his neck, inhaling the scent of him.
“This is a good day,” he says, kissing the top of my head.
Today I got parents and a new sibling in the same day. “Yeah,” I say, smiling at Becca. “It’s the best.”
Chapter 14
The gym is loud today. Normally I can tune out all the noise and listen to music on my earbuds while I work out, but today I’m working out with D’andre so no music. The gym at the track is huge enough to be a regular gym at one of those chain companies like 24 Hour Fitness. Because of this, we sell gym memberships to regular people too, not just dirt bike riders. It’s a great source of extra in
come for the track, which my dad always stresses is important when you run a business, but sometimes it’s annoying when I’m used to having the place largely to myself.
The Track is located right between two small towns and there aren’t any other gyms nearby. So although today is a Thursday, and it’s only two in the afternoon, seemingly everyone and their freaking mom is here working out today.
D’andre sits on the bench opposite of me and focuses on dumbbell curls. He’s a lot stronger than I am but he doesn’t give me shit about it, which is part of why we’re friends. He doesn’t get all macho man competitive with me. Of course, I’m faster than he is on a dirt bike so I guess it all evens out.
“That’s kind of insane,” he says after I’ve told him more details about the Parks adopting Keanna. “It’s like a perfect girl for you just fell from the sky.”
I snort and lift the weight bar. “It’s a good thing, too, because there’s no good girls for me here in Lawson.”
“Yeah right,” D’andre says quickly. “I seem to remember your ass dating a new girl every week before you met her.”
I point at him. “Exactly. There weren’t any girls to settle down with before. Now there is.”
He shakes his head. “Keanna helps me out, too because now you’re not taking all the chicks around here.”
“What’s up with you and Maya?” I say, sitting up and re-racking my weights. “Is that still going on?”
He nods. “I’m hoping my luck continues until school starts. Can you imagine what kind of cred I’ll get by dating a cheerleader first thing? I’ll have girls tripping over me like they used to trip over you.”
I shake my head. “Don’t even act like you’re not completely obsessed with this girl, man. You couldn’t be a player if you tried.”
He sighs through his nose and readjusts the fifty-pound dumbbell to his other hand. “Hey, I only like her if she likes me, okay? At least, that’s how I’m acting. That way if she ditches me for some other dude, it’ll look like I don’t care.”
I sigh, suddenly feeling like I’m the Yoda of dating advice. “Man, the only way to pull off the vibe that you don’t give a shit is to genuinely not give a shit. She’ll see right through you if you’re only faking it.”
He grunts as he does a few last curls of the weight. “Then let’s make sure she likes me.”
A sudden high-pitched and insanely feminine ringing bursts through our part of the gym and D’andre grins like he’s a kid in a candy store.
“What the hell was that?” I ask.
He reaches into his pocket and takes out his phone, all the while his smile stretches across his whole face. “It’s Maya texting me.”
I run a hand through my hair that’s half wet with sweat, so then I wipe my hands on my shirt. “What the hell is that ringtone though?”
He shrugs. “Last time we hung out she said she wanted a special tone for her number and I let her pick it out.” He grins goofily and clutches the phone to his chest. “It’s like music to my ears.”
I stare at him. “You’ve officially gone off the deep end.”
He reads her message and his eyes go wide. I can’t tell if he’s happy or terrified. “She said she wants to come see me.”
“Tell her to stop by. Keanna loves watching me work out. I’m pretty sure all girls think it’s hot. She can see you being all swole and shit.”
He nods. “Good idea.” I go back to working out while he types out a reply and then when the stupid girlie music plays again, he says, “She’s on her way. Do me a favor and don’t be charming, okay? I don’t want her falling for you.”
I put a hand to my chest. “I am a taken man, dude. You don’t have to worry about me anymore.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” he says.
I move over to the leg press and send Keanna a quick text before I put my phone on the windowsill to keep it from falling out of my shorts on this weight machine. She’s working the front desk today, otherwise she’d be back here hanging out with me.
Me: I miss you
Keanna: Then come say hi!
Me: I will after this set. D’s bringing a friend to come watch him work out.
Keanna: You mean *bats eyelashes* MAYA!!!?
I laugh and type back: Yep, that’s her.
Keanna: He’s so gaga over her it’s a little insane.
Me: Just like how I’m gaga over you?
She sends me a thumbs up emoji, followed by: Bring her up here. I want to meet her.
When Maya arrives, she’s all smiles and anxious energy, and you’d be an idiot if you didn’t figure out that she likes D’andre just as much as he likes her. I don’t usually care about these things, but I’m happy for him. He’s been single a long time and he wants a relationship more than anything. Maybe this will work out for him.
I let them hang out for a few minutes and then when their awkwardness with each other reaches epic proportions, I step in. “Hey, Maya,” I say, waving at her as I towel off the sweat from around my face and neck. “Glad you could make it out.”
Maya’s expression hardens just a bit as she looks me over. “Hi, Jett.”
There’s a weirdness in the air and then she finally smiles, even though it doesn’t feel very genuine. “I’m not really supposed to be talking to you,” she says, looking back and wrapping her arm around D’andre’s. “But I will for D’andre’s sake.”
I fold my arms across my chest. “Why can’t you talk to me? We’ve always been cool.”
She nods. “We have yeah but . . . well, if the girls on the cheer squad knew I was being nice to you then they’d kill me. You’re not exactly their favorite person.”
“Ah . . .” Like a sack of bricks hitting me in the chest, it all comes back to me. Last year at school, I might have dated one or two—or five—of the cheerleaders. None of those flings ended well. How did I forget that over the summer break?
I run a hand through my hair. “Well, I guess my next question is out. I was going to ask if you’d help welcome my girlfriend Keanna to school next week but . . . yeah . . .”
She laughs. “D’andre told me about your new girl. Apparently you got lucky and she just moved here so she doesn’t know about your past.”
“She knows,” I say, feeling the weight grow heavier in my chest. “she’s just okay with it. I’m a one-woman man now.”
“That’s good,” she says, giving me a more genuine smile. D’andre has practically frozen in his spot, unable to stop grinning and looking at his arm where Maya has her tiny hand wrapped around it.
She waves the other hand as if waving away the bad vibes from the air. “It’s cool. I’ll be nice to your new girl. It’s not her fault that every girl at LHS hates you,” she says with a laugh.
“They don’t all hate me,” I say. Hell, most of them want to date me—but I’m not about to say that out loud. D’andre and Maya exchange a look so I amend my statement. “Okay, okay. Some of them don’t hate me.”
While they share a laugh at my expense, I bite down on my lip until it draws blood. This whole summer was a dream—a whimsical, falling-in-love, dream. Now that school starts next week, I’ll be forced to face an entirely different life. High school.
Maybe packing up and running away with Keanna isn’t such a bad idea after all.
“So,” Maya says, putting her hands on her hips. “When do I get to meet this charming new girl who has stolen your heart?”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Come on, I’ll introduce you now.”
Chapter 15
After four days of professional driving lessons followed by driving around town in Becca’s Honda Accord, I’m a pretty good driver. Becca and Jett have taken turns studying the driver’s manual with me and I’m pretty sure I’ll pass the written test without a problem. The excitement of getting a license, even though I don’t have a car, is still pretty awesome. I’ve been saving most of my money from work so maybe I’ll be able to buy one by next summer. Plus, I’m pretty sure Bec
ca will let me drive her car around, but I haven’t asked yet. I’m not trying to push my luck here.
Becca walks into the living room while she’s pulling her hair back into a messy bun. “You ready?”
I nod and turn off the TV. “I’m hoping this doesn’t turn into one of those scenes from a teen movie where I make a total ass of myself.”
Becca laughs and we walk outside to her car. “You’re going to do fine. You’ve totally got this.”
Park walks outside too, and remotely unlocks his truck. “You girls have fun,” he calls out as he gives Becca a quick kiss. “I have some errands to run, but let me know how it goes.”
“Will do,” Becca says.
Park gives me wink. “Good luck!”
At the DMV, we get to bypass the long line of people waiting for renewals and I’m brought to the back of the building into a small room. Much like the courthouse, this town’s DMV hasn’t been renovated since it was built. Who cares though? I can handle a little musty smell in an old classroom if it means getting a license.
The test goes by quickly and I’m the only one taking it which helps my nerves calm down. Then I’m brought outside where a thin man with wire framed glasses explains the driving test to me. It’s pretty simple—I get to use Becca’s car if I want to, and I do, and so I don’t have to get used to driving one of the DMV’s loaner cars.
We cruise around the parking lot and he has me make several turns and practice parking. Then we drive up and down the main road a few times and then circle back. In all it takes about fifteen minutes, and absolutely nothing dramatic happens like in the movies. Phew.
“Congratulations Ms. Park,” my instructor says. He hands me a piece of paper with his signature at the bottom. “You passed.”
Becca sets her e-reader in her lap as soon as I emerge back in the waiting room. She watches me with eager eyes and a huge smile. “Well?”