Schooled in Love

by Emma Nichols

  After I dropped the cooler near the outdoor kitchen, I found Sasha laying in a nearby lounger. As I sat, she yawned. “You too, huh?”

  “No rest for the wicked,” she muttered. “I plan to sleep behind these glasses.”

  “Excellent plan. I think I’ll join you.” I chuckled as I slipped off my flip-flops and sprawled out on the lounger beside her.

  “Oh, good. Then it’s settled,” my mother commented.

  “What’s settled?” I frowned.

  “I heard you talking about riding with Sasha tonight to the cocktail party.” She grinned and exchanged a look with Mrs. Monroe.

  Sasha sat up and slid her glasses down her nose. “What’s going on?”

  I stiffened. Already, I could feel Sasha rejecting the idea. “Listen, I could’ve rented a car. You told me it was all settled. I didn’t need to.”

  “You don’t,” my mother announced, feigning innocence.

  “Oh, it’s settled. The mothers settled everything,” my father explained.

  “Yeah. It’ll be eco-friendly. I thought you kids were into that. This weekend you’ll be carpooling.” Mr. Monroe grinned.

  I turned to Sasha. Her face was nearly as red as her hair. “I’m so sorry,” I mumbled.

  She shook her head as she met my gaze. “Don’t be. Just be ready to go at eight tonight.”

  3

  Sasha

  Obviously, our parents were playing matchmaker and Jordan was too stupid or too stubborn to see it. I fumed the entire time I was getting ready. When I stomped down the stairs at four minutes before eight in the evening, my father smirked at me over his crossword puzzle. My mother, however, had a camera at the ready.

  “Dear God, Mom, please put that thing away.” I huffed. Then I turned to my father for support.

  “If you visited more often, then this wouldn’t happen,” he reminded me.

  “Ha!” I could feel my nostrils flaring. “More frequent visits would only mean this happened more frequently.”

  “We miss you, Sasha,” my mother whined.

  My resolve weakened. “I miss you too. It’s just super expensive to come out here. And I’ve been saving for a house. I’ve struggled for so long. At first, I didn’t have money to come home. Now, I don’t have time.”

  My father chuckled. “Such is life. You can have time or money, but you can’t have both.”

  My head tilted. “I don’t know. It seems like Bill Gates is doing pretty well. And Angelina Jolie seems to be able to flit around the globe with her gaggle of kids.” I sighed.

  “Well, since you’re so busy, you should be glad you mother hooked you up with a date.” Dad winked.

  And I froze. “Wait. He’s not my date. We’re just riding together.”

  “Give it time,” my mother murmured under her breath. “I don’t know any man who wouldn’t be drawn to you.”

  “Well, Jordan’s not. Never has been.” I frowned, then remembered what that would do to my face and focused on being calm. “Okay. One picture. Then I gotta go. Jordan’s supposed to meet me…”

  Our conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door and my father, who was closest, hopped out of his seat even as I prayed for a hole to open up in the floor. Seconds later, Jordan was strolling into the house like he had at least a dozen times before. “Nice to see you, Mr. Monroe.” He shook my father’s hand and my father clapped him on the bicep. Wow. That was a serious bonding moment.

  He stood there wearing black pants and a long-sleeved blue button-down shirt, which really drew me to his eyes and made them seem an even deeper shade of turquoise. I swallowed hard as he focused on me, and worried for a moment that I was dressed all wrong in my gray and black horizontal striped sleeveless sweater dress, until he studied my attire and smiled. “Looks like I’ll have my hands full fighting off the guys again.”

  I tilted my head. “When did you ever fight off guys for me?”

  He took a step closer and kissed my cheek. “All the time, Sassy. You have no idea what it was like in the locker room.” He shook his head then lifted my hand and hooked it through his arm. “Shall we go?”

  “Is this suddenly a date?” I asked as I considered how he was treating me.

  Jordan sucked in a breath. “Well, I thought…since we were riding together…”

  His response told me everything I needed to know. “So, no then.” I glanced over at my father, removed my hand from Jordan’s arm, and strode toward the door; if we weren’t together, then he was going to have to stare at everything he was missing.

  We drove to the bar in silence. I’d turned up the music so there’d be no need for conversation. And when I found a song that spoke to me, I sang the saddest version of “Say Something” while avoiding his eyes.

  When I stopped the car in the parking lot, I reached for the door handle, but Jordan laid a hand on my arm, which was still on the console. “What did I say, Sasha?” he asked quietly.

  I shook my head. “Nothing. Same as always.” I shrugged and pulled my arm away from his touch. As soon as he opened his door, I hit the lock on the key fob. “So, let me know if you find another ride. Otherwise, I don’t plan on closing the bar down, but we’ll see how it goes.” I shrugged like this was all no big deal, then I strode toward the door. When I reached the bouncer, his eyes lit in recognition and he stepped aside for me. I didn’t even pay attention to see if Jordan was behind me. I was sure he’d be seeking out Mia in no time; better I stay out of the way and find my friends. I stopped just inside the door and threw my head back laughing as I realized they were already climbing on stage for karaoke.

  Sabine grabbed the mic. “Get up here, Sasha! We’re not starting without you.”

  For emphasis, all three of them crossed their arms over their chests and tapped their feet while leaning against each other. I should’ve played it cool, but instead, I rushed to the stage to hug them. And once we’d finished our little love fest, the music began. Time melted away and we were back in the summer after graduation, when we were old enough to come to this bar, but not old enough to drink, so we’d sing and suck down soda. We didn’t care about the people there, we were just having fun. Instantly, we were lost in the music and our togetherness. I’d managed to ignore the room until we hit the chorus. “I’ll be there for you.” I scanned the area and found Jordan. While I belted out “I wanna be the air for you” our eyes met and I almost froze.

  Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar form crossing the bar. Mia had arrived. Her long blonde hair was in a high ponytail. She wore a sleeveless t-shirt, knotted through the collar to create this t-shirt bra effect, which went well with her denim mini skirt. To my surprise, she spotted Jordan and snuck behind him, then rushed to the door labeled for employees only. Oh my God. Mia worked here.

  As soon as the song ended, we stepped off the stage. “Drink?” Amanda asked. “I’m parched.”

  “Definitely.” Tasi smiled. “I’ll have the designated driver Coke, of course.”

  “Of course.” We all laughed.

  “Who are you driving?” I asked as I glanced around.

  “Just me, but I still need to make it home.” She grinned.

  “Stop. I might go back to our hotel room, unless I get a better offer.” Sabine winked. Then she frowned at Amanda. “Where’s your husband?”

  Amanda sighed. “Working on his sermon. There will be no Sunday brunch for me, I’m afraid.” She seemed slightly down, but then brightened. “Hey, at least we have tonight alone and tomorrow he’ll be with me at the prom redo.”

  Sabine’s brow furrowed. “Okay, so table for four.” Then she motioned for us to follow her to a dark corner of the room.

  I nodded emphatically, determined to settle in and grab a drink to take the edge off. As it was, Jordan was talking to a few of his jock buddies on the other side of the room, but seemed determined to keep checking on me. I sighed. I don’t know why he even acted like he cared because I was pretty sure he didn’t. Before I could worry over
that for long, a guy jumped in front of me.

  “Grady Cox,” he announced. “We graduated together.”

  “Editor of the school newspaper. I remember. How are you?” I pasted on my public smile. Then there was a hand on my lower back. I jumped until I realized it belonged to Jordan.

  Jordan

  * * *

  “Grady. How are you?” I asked as I laid a protective hand on Sasha’s back. I’d been watching Grady eye her for some time and apparently he’d finally grown a pair and decided to speak to her. I’d decided to intervene.

  “Good. I’m good.” He shifted nervously. “I was just about to ask for an interview,” he explained. “Sasha is a big star.” Grady cleared his throat. “Um, you are too…”

  I chuckled. “Yes, Sasha is amazing.” I eyed her a moment. “Are you able to even do an interview without your publicist?”

  She frowned. “I shouldn’t. Breach of contract. All that stuff. You have to go through her.” Then she pulled out her phone. “Grady, do you have a phone number I can send her really quickly?”

  The number was sent by text and once that was done, I urged Sasha toward the bar. “Come on,” I whispered in her ear over the bad karaoke, “let’s go get a drink.”

  She nodded and I directed her toward the bar with one hand while clearing our path with the other. “It’s like I’m your football,” she noted with a smirk.

  I laughed. “I’d protect you even better than the ball. You’re far more precious.”

  Sasha groaned. “Jordan, stop. I mean it. We both know why you’re here.” She stopped in front of the bar.

  Mia wandered over, looking positively miserable. When she realized I was standing there with Sasha, she grew visibly angry. I’d seen that look before. Already I braced for whatever venom she planned to hurl my way.

  “Guess I don’t need to ask how you’re doing,” she sneered at Sasha. “Looks like you have everything you ever wanted.”

  Confronted with her high school nemesis, Sasha’s cool, confident demeanor cracked. “Wine,” she mumbled, unable to look Mia in the face.

  “Whine. That’s right. All you ever did in school was whine, whine, whine.” Mia snickered. “So, what do you want to drink?”

  Her mouth hung open for a second, then Sasha turned on her heels and rushed away before I could catch her. I should’ve stepped in. I should’ve said something, anything, to prevent the pain she currently felt. I sucked. I seriously sucked. Glaring at Mia, I muttered, “You’ll pay for this.”

  “What? You think you can get me fired?” An evil grin spread across her face. “Nope. My father owns the bar. I’ve got job security.”

  I leaned over the wooden counter separating us. “Glad you have job security, because you’ll never have me again.” I slapped the highly polished surface, then turned to find Sasha. She was standing by the door, trying to leave, but Sabine was holding her hand while talking to her.

  Sasha looked up and saw me coming toward her. She ripped her hand from Sabine’s grasp and exited the bar, visibly shaken. This was my fault. I started to go after her, but Amanda blocked my way. “Where are you going?”

  “I need to talk to Sasha. I need to apologize.” I felt helpless to explain.

  Amanda shook her head. “Sorry. You had your chance. You’ve had a lifetime of chances. Sasha is too good for you. Shoot, she’s too good for all of us.”

  My mouth hung open. She was right about how good Sasha was, but there was something I couldn’t wrap my mind around. “What do you mean I’ve had a lifetime of chances?”

  “You were always it for her. She doesn’t date, has never dated because you’re the one she has always wanted to be with. Although,” Amanda looked me up and down, “I have no idea what she sees in you.” She frowned. “Big willy?”

  I stiffened. “Aren’t you married to some preacher?”

  Her cheeks colored. “Doesn’t make me less right.” Then she turned and wandered back to the table to grab Tasi, who sat there silently sipping her soda.

  It was true. I had my hand on the door when Sabine began to speak from the karaoke stage. “Attention, reunion peeps! There seems to be some kind of vermin behind the bar. I suggest we all exit and pick this up at Costello’s. It’s about half a mile straight down the road.”

  The room had grown silent, but no one moved.

  “Now. Time to take a stand and decide where you want to spend your money.” She eyed Mia angrily. “See you there. I’ll be buying the first round.” Then she passed the mic back to the guy running the karaoke.

  I smirked. “Nicely done, Sabine,” I noted as she neared me.

  Sabine paused. “And that’s how you support a friend.” Then she motioned for her girls, and they led the mass exodus from the bar while Mia stood there, her face flaming red.

  When we met up in the parking lot, I realized that Sasha was already in the car. I started toward the passenger side door, but Sabine intervened. “Nope. Sorry. Your ride is over there.” She pointed to Tasi, who waved weakly.

  “But how will I get home later?” I frowned.

  “Oh, you’re going home now. Tasi will drive you.” Sabine’s angry black eyebrow arched.

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “And if I wanted to hang out with my bros at Costello’s?”

  Sabine sighed. “We both know I can’t stop you, Jordan, but I can keep you away from Sasha. You’ve hurt her enough for one lifetime. Let her chill with her friends tonight. You can try again tomorrow, if you’re man enough to put in the work.” She pursed her lips as she stared at me.

  I nodded. “Tomorrow it is.”

  4

  Sasha

  My phone ringing insistently woke me up. Already, I had three missed calls from some unknown Florida number. Who the fuck did I know in Florida? I sat up, squinting against the sun pouring in through my windows. Obviously, I’d never closed the curtains last night, and now I was regretting it almost as much as all the shots I’d done with my friends. My stomach was rolling. I stood, hesitantly, and rushed to the bathroom. For a few seconds, I simply dry heaved. Puking was probably my worst fear. Jordan Mitchell was my second.

  Downstairs, I heard the patio door open. My father’s alarmed words were indecipherable. My mother squeaked in surprise. There were footsteps rushing up the stairs toward me as I hunched over the toilet. I peeked up to see Jordan standing there. All my fears collided at once, and my stomach contents spewed out of my mouth, into the porcelain bowl, right in front of him.

  Jordan moved closer, held my hair so it was out of the way, and rubbed my back while he squatted behind me. My nose was running and I’m pretty sure something may have flown out of it, too, the way it was burning. “Here,” he murmured quietly as he passed me a tissue he’d pulled from the box on the tank.

  All I managed was a whimper. Then I blew my nose and wiped my mouth. I dropped the wadded-up tissue in the toilet and Jordan reached around me to flush it. For several seconds, I laid there with my arms under my head, propping it off the toilet seat, basking in both the silence, and the backrub, until one thought occurred to me. “How did you get my number?”

  With a chuckle, Jordan responded. “Well, it took some finagling. You know your friends weren’t going to give it to me. So, I pulled in the big guns.” He sounded almost proud of his problem-solving skills.

  “You asked your mom.” I groaned. “Remind me to block your number.”

  The laughter stopped. “Why would you want to block me?”

  “Sometimes, a girl needs to know when to say when.” I sat up slowly and looked at him. “When,” I whispered as I watched his brow furrow, an obvious sign of understanding. Then I rose up from the floor without accepting the help he offered and moved directly to the vanity in order to brush my teeth.

  “So, I thought I’d pick you up at eleven for the beach.” He gnawed on his cheek nervously.

  “Sabine and Tasi are picking me up. I’m sure I’ll see you there,” I announced casually. “Now, I need to take s
omething for this headache and have a nice hot shower.” It was a subtle hint and he took it.

  With a sad nod, Jordan brushed past me, his hands lingering for a split second on my hips, before he exited the bathroom and disappeared down the steps.

  I tried not to think about him but it was hard, especially since we were right next door to each other and ended up leaving for the beach at the same time. Sabine openly glared at him as I strolled out to meet their car.

  “What’s up, buttercup?” she asked me as I collapsed in the backseat.

  “Whose Mustang convertible is this?” I asked as I sank into the leather.

  “Rental,” Tasi murmured. “We wanted a fun car for the weekend.” Then she seemed to notice my appearance. “Love that sundress.”

  I smirked. “I thought it’d be fun.”

  “White and fuchsia ombre maxi dress with a slit all the way up the thigh.” Sabine laughed. “Oh, it will be fun. All the guys will be tripping over themselves to talk to you while Jordan Mitchell eats his heart out, which is as it should be.”

  We pulled into the beach parking lot, grabbed our bags, and followed the balloons and signs to the pavilion Amanda had reserved for the party. When she saw us, she left her post and scampered over to greet us. “You made it!”

  I frowned. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  They all laughed. “You had a few too many last night. Do you even remember how you made it home?”

  I bit my lower lip. “Nope. Can’t say as I do…”

  “Well, even though Tasi dropped him at home, and even after we told him to leave you alone, Jordan grabbed a cab and showed up at Costello’s. He didn’t drink, but as soon as you spotted him, you drank even more. So…” Amanda looked at Sabine nervously.

  “So, he drove you home in your parents’ car, and carried you to bed.” Sabine smirked.