“Yeah, what?” I asked.
J.D. pretended to zip his lips.
“What, you’re turning into a mime now? Just tell me.”
He shook his head.
“Come on,” I insisted.
He made some garbled noises, keeping up his ridiculous lips-sealed routine.
“I’m serious, J.D.,” I said. When he didn’t answer, I turned away from him and took a deep breath. I was not going to let him ruin this night for me. It was already bad enough being stuck outside watching a sporting event I knew nothing about.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll tell you.”
When I turned back around, he said, “Just kidding.”
“I swear I’m—”
“Both of you stop, please,” Morgan said. “Even watching this game is more appealing than watching you two fight. I can’t take a whole night of it.”
We both mumbled an apology.
The game had started, and we all sat quietly watching. After a few minutes, Morgan whispered, “Which one is Teo?”
The truth was, I had no idea. We were far enough away that I couldn’t make out faces. It just looked like a mess of bodies dressed in white and red bashing into other bodies dressed in yellow and blue.
I could hear J.D. shooting pictures behind me. He would know the answer. I decided to suck it up. If I had to watch the game, I might as well watch the guy that I came there to see. “Can you please tell me which one is Teo?” I asked, trying my best to be polite.
“By the goalpost,” he said. “Number ten.”
His number I knew. After all, it was fitting. If anyone was a ten at Sandbrook High, it was Teo. I just couldn’t make out the numbers on the shirts.
“Here, look,” he said, holding his camera out so I could see in the display. It was zoomed in on the field, and J.D. moved it so I got a clear look at Teo. I almost felt like I could reach out and touch him. Teo looked so intense out there. So disciplined. So focused. It’s part of what I loved about him. He knew what he wanted, went for it, and got it.
“Whoa, whoa.” J.D. stood up, camera in hand. “Do you see that!?”
I saw Teo, but I wasn’t sure what was happening.
J.D. was snapping pictures. “Go, Teo,” he screamed.
“Wait, what’s going on?” I asked.
“Your boy just threw a sixty-yard pass, and they got it all the way to the one yard line.”
Morgan and I started cheering with everyone else in the crowd.
“Maybe this isn’t so bad,” she said.
She was right, the enthusiasm was sort of contagious.
By halftime, my throat was sore from cheering so loud for Teo, who, if I understood correctly, had jumped over the line and scored a touchdown, putting his team in the lead.
“I never thought I’d like a football game,” I said. I guess it helped having someone to root for.
“See what happens when you try something new?” J.D. said as he stood up and stretched.
“Well, that wasn’t condescending at all,” I informed him.
“You’re right,” he said. “To make it up to you, I won’t make you wait to find out my next gift idea.”
“I’m listening,” I said.
“Jim Dandies.”
“Jim who?”
“They’re cookies,” he said. “Amazing cookies. Our aunt used to make them at Christmastime when we were little, but she hasn’t done it in years. They were always Teo’s favorites. Mine, too.”
“I’ve never heard of them,” Morgan said.
“They’re really good. They’re fudgy, frosted, with a little marshmallow hidden underneath and a cherry on top.”
“Do you have the recipe?” Morgan asked. “I can make them for you to give,” she told me.
“Are you sure? It’s my gift. I don’t want to cause you more work.”
“I really don’t mind. And you did say you wanted to impress him, not poison him,” she pointed out.
“Nice,” I said, laughing. “Ye of little faith. Have you seen the science experiments I’ve worked on? I’ve dealt with NaOH for titration and never ended up with burns. I used the right amount of sodium hydroxide and neutralized it with hydrochloric acid to produce sodium chloride, and that was one of my easier tasks. I’ve never overheated a Pyrex tube. I’ve never caused an explosion. I’ve never—”
“I know, I know,” she said, stopping me, a huge grin on her face. “That’s why it’s so perplexing that you can’t make a simple cookie. But trust me, I’ve seen the final products.”
“It’s not my fault,” I complained. “You know how some people have bad computer karma, where the modem seems to magically crash or stop working for no reason when they are around? That’s me and cooking.”
“Which is why I will make the cookies for you,” she said.
“Thank you! You are the best,” I told her.
“Her?” J.D. asked. “It was my idea.”
I rolled my eyes at him, and Morgan shook her head again. “Look,” she said, and pointed at the side of the stadium. The team was coming back from the locker room.
“Now’s your chance,” J.D. said.
“For what?”
“To let Teo know that you’re here.”
“Are you crazy?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I thought you wanted him to notice you?”
I did. And Teo did say he’d look out for me. Standing and hollering out to him while everyone else was relatively quiet would definitely help him find me. But it would also draw a lot of unwanted attention. Still, sometimes getting what you wanted meant getting out of your comfort zone. I had no choice. Noelle’s party was fast approaching.
I jumped up and yelled, “Go, Teo!”
My voice permeated the air. Everyone around me turned to look.
I sank into my seat.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t such a smart idea after all. Or maybe it was. Because just then Teo looked up and waved. I was pretty sure he knew it was me. I waved back.
This was going just the way I needed it to. Teo might have been the one winning the game, but right now it felt like I was, too.
Sixteen
Ira showed up at Scobell’s Diner about two minutes after we got there. The staff was still setting up a large table for us in the back. He gave Morgan a quick kiss. “Who won?”
“Can’t you tell?” she asked.
Standing not even three feet away from us was a sizeable chunk of the football team. They were slapping each other’s backs, talking in incredibly loud voices, and acting extremely hyped up.
“CHAMP-I-ONS! CHAMP-I-ONS! CHAMP-I-ONS!” they chanted for the third time in mere minutes. Only now they were even drumming on the walls for added effect. Fortunately for the restaurant, everyone there seemed to have just come from the game, so they didn’t seem to mind the craziness.
“I think I figured it out,” Ira said.
“What gave it away?” I asked.
The waitress came over and told us all—well, those of us who could hear her over the shouting—that there was a large table set up in the back, and the rest of us could take the surrounding booths.
I looked over at Teo. Two of his teammates had him up on their shoulders and they were walking around the diner, letting him high-five everyone. The whole point of coming out was to spend time with him, but how was I supposed to score a seat near the boy wonder? He led the team to victory; they won thirty-five to seven, and Teo was responsible for almost every point. He was the star; everyone was going to want to be near him. He was bound to sit at the center of the table, and I couldn’t very well take the seat next to him, could I?
Talking to Teo was the only reason I came here. My goal was to have a solid five-minute conversation with him tonight, but as I pulled out a chair at the head table, I knew I didn’t belong there. “Maybe we should take a booth.” It felt weird intruding on the celebration. His friends would definitely say something about the random juniors who knew nothing about sports crashing their celebra
tion. That’s not how I wanted Teo to think of me.
“Where are you going?” J.D. asked as Morgan, Ira, and I passed him. He was leaning against some old arcade game in the back corner.
“We’re going to go sit over there.” I pointed to a side booth.
“No, you’re not. Come on,” J.D. said, and he gestured for us to follow him. He brought us back to the main table. “I need some pictures for the paper,” he called out to the room. He pointed to the seat across from him in the center. “I want Teo to sit there with the starting lineup on that side. I’ll sit over here and get some candids of everyone.” Then he looked at me. “You and your friends can sit here, too.”
I felt a rush of relief wash over me. “Thank you,” I mouthed to him.
He nodded. Then half to himself, half to me, he muttered, “I really should have asked for control of the photos for the whole year.”
He absolutely should have, but lucky for me, he didn’t.
I took the seat next to where J.D. was standing, and Morgan took my other side. I’d be diagonal from Teo, not directly facing him, but that was okay. I read a study that said sitting right across from someone was a setup for confrontation, and I obviously didn’t want a fight. Preferably, he’d look at me and think how smart and amazingly easy I was to talk to.
As Teo was paraded back to the table, J.D. took pictures and said, “You’re right there.”
Teo took his seat, and I couldn’t help but stare. He looked so happy, so confident, so proud. He had the look of a winner. That was definitely the type of guy for me.
“Congratulations,” I said. “You were incredible.”
“He’s the BEAST!” Reggie Weeks, another player on the team, yelled out. Then the whole team yelled, “The BEAST!”
If Teo was letting it all go to his head, he didn’t show it. He bowed his head slightly and then looked up at me through his long lashes. “Thanks. Glad you could make it.”
Don’t hyperventilate, don’t hyperventilate. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
I kicked myself for not studying up on the intricacies of football more. It would have been a better use of my time than the eighties music, but I could improvise. What had J.D. said earlier? “That touchdown you made at the start of the game was unbelievable. That you could go sixty yards and get the team to the one yard line, majorly impressive.”
I could feel J.D. looking at me. Yes, I stole his words, but they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Hopefully, he would take it that way anyway and not call me out.
“It was a great way to end the season, and my high school football career,” Teo said, smiling.
I loved that smile. Warm and inviting. Not like J.D.’s—smug and irritating.
“Are you going to play in college?” I asked him, grateful for something I knew how to talk about. I could rattle on about anything related to school for hours.
“Maybe. I’m still figuring it out. I got a couple of offers, but I also got a few academic scholarships, too. If I want to go the premed route, I don’t know if I’ll have time to play.”
“It’s hard to find time for everything. But you’re doing it now, volunteering at the hospital and playing.”
“True,” he said, “but college will be a whole different level. And I just don’t know what I want more. You know?”
“I do. That’s a tough—”
“You gonna order or what?” Reggie asked him, interrupting us.
I had been so engrossed in our conversation, I hadn’t even noticed the waitress standing over him.
But it seemed I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. The normally cool, calm, and collected Teo stammered over his words. “Um, yeah, sorry.” Then he looked at me and smiled again.
A wave of warmth went through me. There was something between us. Teo had to have felt it, too. It was almost as if there had been a spell over us, wiping away everyone else at the table. Unfortunately, Reggie managed to break it.
He hijacked Teo into his conversation as the rest of us told the waitress what we wanted. But that was okay. Teo and I may not have spoken as long as I had wanted, but the intense eye contact we sustained during the whole conversation made up for it. After Ira ordered, Morgan turned to me and J.D. “Anybody want to split some onion rings?”
She had no takers. “Just order them,” I told her. “This is on me, remember?”
“I don’t want the whole thing.” She turned to the waitress. “I’ll just have a chocolate milkshake.”
“You know what,” Ira butted in. “Can I change my order? Half fries, half onion rings.”
“You hate onion rings,” Morgan reminded him.
“But you don’t,” he said, his hazel eyes lighting up as he looked at her.
Even though they had been going out for an eternity, Ira still managed to make Morgan blush. I saw her take his hand under the table and squeeze it.
J.D. leaned over to me. “Are they always like that?”
“Always.”
He didn’t say anything else, but I’m sure he thought they were incredibly cheesy. I didn’t, though. I thought they were sickeningly sweet. I wanted someone who looked at me like that.
“Hey, T,” some guy on the team who I didn’t recognize called out to Teo. “Look at this. Someone beat your score.”
“No they didn’t,” he said, standing up and heading toward his friend.
I looked to J.D. for an explanation.
“You never play the games here?” he asked.
“Nope.”
“Well, your boyfriend does,” he said.
“Shh,” I warned him.
“What? No one’s listening. They’re all ready to watch Teo reclaim his top spot.”
In the corner of the diner was an old Ms. Pac-Man machine. A large group was now surrounding it.
“I told you,” J.D. said, nodding toward Teo, “he loves the eighties.”
“I thought you meant music.”
“No, I meant all of it.”
Okay, there were worse things in the world. So what if he had a slight obsession with the eighties? He was smart and handsome and kind and successful. The rest didn’t matter.
“He’s hooked on that game,” J.D. continued. “He’s had the top score forever. Whenever we go out, he always picks this place so he can make sure he’s still winning.” He looked over at his cousin. “Get him some sort of eighties game for one of his gifts, and he’ll love you forever.”
I liked the sound of that.
There was a slew of people around Teo, watching him play. I decided I needed to get in on that, so I got up and squeezed through the crowd until I was next to him.
“Come on, come on,” he said to the machine as he chased after a bunch of blue ghosts on the screen. He was doing really well. He made it past six levels and hadn’t lost any lives yet.
“Go, go, go,” he said as the ghosts changed colors. One of them almost caught up to him, but he managed to get away.
He was intense as he made it to the next level. His concentration was almost the same as on the football field. He maneuvered Ms. Pac-Man around the maze. It was actually kind of mesmerizing. I saw how you could get hooked. He made it three more levels until a pink ghost changed directions and headed straight for him.
As ridiculous as it sounds, I actually gasped.
Teo couldn’t get away fast enough. The ghost caught up to him, and he lost a life. “Damn it,” he said and hit the machine.
It was loud enough to make me flinch.
“It’s okay,” I said, “you’ll get it this time.”
“Yeah,” he mumbled and started playing again.
“You can do it,” I said, and then applauded.
Only it was like I was invisible. He didn’t even acknowledge my presence, not when I cheered, not in between lives or rounds, and not even when I asked a simple question like “What’s the top level you’ve gotten to?”
Don’t take it personally, don’t take it personally, I told myself. Teo was in t
he zone. He wanted to win; I couldn’t fault him for that. If that were me, I’d be just as focused. I wouldn’t want somebody interrupting me and breaking my concentration.
Still … if it was a guy I liked, and it was just a silly game at a diner …
I let myself fall back into the crowd and eventually went back to the table.
“What was that?” Morgan asked. I had hoped she hadn’t seen that. While she backed my plan a hundred percent, she still wasn’t totally on the Teo bandwagon. “He was totally rud—”
I held up my hand for her to stop. I didn’t want to hear it. “He just likes to win.”
“He’s—” J.D. started, but I cut him off, too.
“Let’s drop it, okay?” I asked. “He was just in the zone.”
The waitress brought over my grilled cheese just in time, and I distracted myself with my sandwich.
“Teo,” J.D. called to him. “Your food’s here.”
A few minutes later Teo came back over and was in much better spirits. “Champion twice today,” he said.
I couldn’t bring myself to look up. “Congratulations,” I told him.
“Thanks,” he said, sounding completely upbeat.
Maybe I had been overreacting. It hadn’t been about me. He just wanted to come in first. If anyone understood that, it was yours truly.
J.D. got up to take some pictures, and I just sat there. I was trying to be positive, but that moment Teo and I shared earlier seemed so far away. He was so focused on his teammates that I was beginning to feel like he didn’t even see me. Morgan tried making small talk, but I wasn’t in the mood. I just wanted everyone to finish eating so I could leave without calling attention to myself.
J.D. returned to his chair and put a poinsettia in front of me. “Look at this. Your favorite.”
I tossed the french fry I was holding back on my plate. “Hardly.”
“What do you have against poinsettias?” Teo asked, all of his attention suddenly focused back on me.
I saw J.D. opening his mouth, so I beat him to the punch. “They kill cats, and I’m a huge cat lover, that’s all.”
“That’s not true,” J.D. said, snapping my picture.
If he told everyone my mall story, he was a dead man.
My New Crush Gave to Me Page 8