“So, who’s got you smiling like you just won the lottery?”
I didn’t realise I was smiling so much. She looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to answer. She seemed genuinely curious, and even better, distracted. So, I didn’t try to redirect the conversation like I usually would with relationships.
“Is it Montgomery?” Mum pressed before I had a chance to answer.
“Yes.”
“Never seen you light up like that. All I did was say her name.”
I took a forkful of pasta and shoved it into my mouth, hoping to stop the constant, yet unconscious, smiling she kept referring to. My mother wasn’t never particularly welcome toward Nora while we were handcuffed and I wondered how she felt about her.
“What do you think of her?” I asked, taking the pitcher of lemonade and pouring myself a glass. As soon as I took a swig, I nearly choked. Mum was being awfully polite when she said it was a little sour. I almost couldn’t stomach it.
“Are you asking me permission to propose to her?”
My eyes widened and I placed the glass down. “That’s a little early, don’t you think?”
Then she did the unexpected. She laughed. My mother laughed. And it wasn’t her usual polite, but unamused laugh. It wasn’t her harsh, unimpressed laugh. It was genuine. It made the corners of her eyes crinkle. It made me remember the mum I used to have. It reminded me just how beautiful she was.
“Nora Montgomery is the only girl who would give me a run for my money in terms of remaining the number one woman in your life.I’ve seen the way you look at her,” she said. “I used to get looked at that way.”
Silence fell between us. I stabbed shells of pasta while Mum started drinking from her glass. Despite her claims that it was sour and ignoring the fact that I had taken the sugar jar out, she still drank it like it was water.
“When you were five years old, you came home from your first day at school and the first thing you did was ask me if you could marry a girl in your class. You didn’t even know her name yet.”
I felt my cheeks heat.
“When you were seven, she was at our house and fell out of the tree. She broke her arm. She didn’t cry though. You did. You were so worried about her.”
My cheeks went from heated to flamed.
“You had no idea what happiness was yet. But that girl made you feel it before you could understand.”
I hoped that meant her approval. “Does that mean you like her?”
My mother just smiled.
Thirty Three
I peered out the window the next morning with a cup of coffee and a breakfast burrito to see that Jack’s car still parked out the front. The temptation to throw my food at his car surged within me, but instead, I placed the rest of it in my mouth and re-entered the kitchen.
“He’s still there,” I announced, dropping into a chair.
Mum absentmindedly reached into the fridge and pulled out the juice. It seemed like a normal thing, only, she poured it into her coffee. Before she overflowed the cup, I reached out and took her hands. She glanced up at me like she was confused, then a tired look washed over her face and aged her features ten years in three seconds.
“I don’t think I can go to work today,” she said, pressing her fingers to her temples. “But I can’t stay in here while that man is stalking us. I really think I should call the police, Ryder.”
“No,” I answered, a little too quickly.
I was already in enough trouble with the law and adding Jack into my record would only support their accusation of arson. Although Mum knew I was questioned by the police, she didn’t know what it was about and with Jack returning to town, I didn’t want to mess with her further. It had only been a few hours since he had come back and she already looked like a train wreck. After our dinner, she wandered into her room and didn’t come back out until midnight. She started walking around the house, muttering incoherently.
“I’ll deal with it,” I assured her. “I promise.”
She gave me a weak smile as I reached over and kissed her cheek, then grabbed my bag and exited the house. The door to the driver’s side of Jack’s car was open, music drifting from the stereo. When he noticed me approaching, he got out of the car and blocked my way.
“Ryder, all I want to do is talk. How about I take both you and your mum out to dinner tonight?”
“I’m busy tonight.”
“Tomorrow night?”
“No.” I gritted my teeth.
He sighed dramatically. “Then what suits your schedule, Paris Hilton?”
“No day. Not ever.” I answered. “You had your chance to talk years ago. We don’t want you here. You need to leave.”
“You’re blowing this way out of proportion.” He crossed his arms across his chest and stood his ground.
“You’re stalking us.” I could help the rise of tone in my voice.
“You’re my family.”
Jesus Christ. I glared at him and tried to restrain myself from slamming my first into the hood of his car. Instead, I pulled out my phone from my pocket and held it up.
“I have the police on speed dial,” I threatened, although it was a complete lie. “Just because I’m eighteen doesn’t mean I can’t get your sorry ass in jail.”
He looked from the phone to me and back again, a satisfied smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
I laughed humourlessly. “Then I’ll just have to call Janice.”
Jack seemed to falter at the mentioning of his mother’s name. Janice was the scariest grandmother you could ever encounter and she was extremely religious too. She didn’t believe in divorce, especially because of adultery. Jack still hadn’t announced the news to his mother and my mum was too ashamed to face him, but he knew Janice would blow up because of this.
He pursed his lips in obvious irritation. “We’ll talk later,” was all he said as he climbed back into his car and reversed out of the driveway.
Getting into my own car, I pressed on the pedal and got the hell out of there. Due to wanting to escape all the havoc at home, I was early for school, so as I neared the intersection, I made a last second decision, flicked my blinkers on and turned towards Nora’s street. I hardly reached her house before I slammed on the brakes. Nora was at the corner of her block, eating a muffin as she waited for the bus.
Slowly, I reversed back towards her, rolled down my window and went, “Need a lift?”
She looked kind of surprised and gave me that wide-eyed Bambi look. Then, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, picked up her bag and headed towards me, leaning down to peer through.
“I don’t know,” she said sceptically. “The way you drove up to me was totally psycho.”
I ran a hand through my hair and gave her a weak smile. “I’m sorry. A lot went on last night.”
I picked up my stuff, threw it in the backseat and waited. Nora raised an eyebrow and opened the passenger side door, sliding into the seat next to me. When she had her seatbelt on, I pulled away from the curb. We didn’t say anything. I focused on driving the legal speed limit while Nora picked at her muffin. Usually, the silence between us was easy, but she squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.
“Want a bite?” she blurted.
I quickly redirected my eyes from the road, to the muffin that was now under my nose. I tried shifting away so I could focus back on driving, but Nora’s hand followed me.
“It’s banana and pecan,” she pressed.
“No,” I said, dodging a face full of cake, “thanks.”
She withdrew and stared down at her half eaten muffin that sat in her lap. Keeping my eyes on the road, I reached over, found her sticky fingers and laced them through mine. Her hand was warm and soft and covered in muffin remains, but it still felt great in mine.
“My dad’s back,” I explained as I stopped at a red light.
“No,” she whispered in disbelief. “How’s your mum?”
“Sh
aken,” I answered.
The conversation continued once the light turned green. Nora was careful to stay within the boundaries and never pressed on the issue. One of the things I liked about her was that we shared a history. I didn’t have to explain or worry about judgement because she just understood. And it was those friendship characteristics that made her such a great girlfriend.
Girlfriend.
I glanced at Nora for the briefest of seconds and watched as she pulled a piece of hair behind her ear and quietly looked out the window. I stared at her awkward sitting position –knees together, feet apart, toes pointing towards each other- and found myself smiling. She really hadn’t changed since we were friends.
I found myself thinking about us as a couple: being able to kiss her whenever I wanted, being able to pull her against my chest when she cried, holding her hand as we entered school. But most importantly, being able to introduce my best friend as my girlfriend.
As I pulled into a parking slot and turned off the ignition, Nora made a move to get out, but I gently tightened my grip against her fingers which caused her to turn around. She looked at me questioningly, hazel eyes confused as they swirled with mixed emotions. But before I could chicken out, I leaned in and pressed my lips against hers. Nora tasted like sweet, like strawberries and sugar and I found myself placing my hand against the small of her back, drawing her closer. The kiss was soft and more on the shy side like two awkward teenagers saying goodnight.
When I pulled away, she looked flustered, a blush creeping across her cheeks. Her fingers absentmindedly reached up to hover close to her lips. “You…I…”
“Are we still on for this afternoon?” I asked nervously.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Good,” I answered, leaning in and smiling. “Because I have something to ask you.”
Will you be my girlfriend?
~♥♥♥~
“Collins!” Caine caught me in a head lock and ruffled my hair. “Ready for training this afternoon?”
“We’re going to dominate Peyton High,” I answered, breaking away from his reach and causing an eruption of cheers from the class.
Wolf whistles and hearty slaps of encouragement aside, I made my way to my seat. Tyler was leaning against his desk and grinned when I approached. He was on the footy team with us.
“Collins, I saw you and Montgomery this morning,” he said, smirking.
“Yeah, that’s right. I got to walk the most beautiful girl to class.”
Caine dropped into the desk in front of me and looked ready to join the conversation, but when he realised the topic of discussion, he sunk into his seat and sat there uncomfortably. Caine and I were still on the awkward side of liking the same girl. Most of the time, we could dismiss it completely, but other times Caine didn’t refrain from becoming as awkward as a hermit crab. Seeing Caine lose his cool made me lose mine.
As class started, we all bent our heads, pretending to be concentrating so we wouldn’t get called out to answer random questions that none of us had studied. Rather than concentrating on the equations on the board, I picked up my pen and scribbled a note.
We’re cool, right?
I tore the piece out and crumpled it up, aiming it at the back of his head. Caine turned around, a scowl on his face, which attracted the attention of our seriously pissed-looking teacher. She slapped the text book in her hands closed and dropped it onto the table.
“Gentlemen,” she said, pursing her lips. “Problem?”
In unison, we chorused, “Nope.”
Then we bent our heads and got back to work. I watched as Caine reached behind him and felt around for the paper. When he finally got it, I waited for a response. It came a few minutes later.
Yeah, man. Of course.
I wasn’t entirely convinced, but it would have to wait until practice.
Thirty Four
“I’m thinking about asking Nora out this afternoon,” I said to Caine as I took my sweat-stained training shirt off.
“To where?” Caine muttered as he intoxicated half of the locker room with his deodorant.
I coughed in his direction and held my hands out in attempt to get him to stop spraying. “Dude, Tony over there is an asthmatic. Dial it down, yeah?”
He sighed slightly but threw the can back into his locker.
“I’m asking her to be my girlfriend,” I continued, pulling a new shirt on, keeping my gaze away.
I took Caine’s silence as a negative response to my news. I didn’t expect him to go all feminine on me and start squealing or something, but a grin or a stupid, cocky remark would have been okay with me. Even an encouraging smack on the back or a joke would have passed. But Caine kept quiet and from the corner of my eye, I could see he wasn’t moving.
“Are you sure?” he asked slowly.
“We’ve been through a lot, you know? And I made a mistake by not asking earlier.” I slunk onto the bench and thought about the handcuffs. “I mean, after graduation, we might go to different universities. I want to take my chance while I can.”
If I even get into university, I thought meekly. I had tried to block out the thought of the local police department stalking me as much as Jack was, but it was hard when we were so close to graduation and teachers started talking about our final exams and future employment. After this whole arson thing, I’d be happy to even get a job.
Caine seemed to take this into consideration. And eventually, he sighed and slammed his locker closed. “I’m all supportive for Rora.”
“What?”
“You know,” he said, “like Brangelina and Kimye.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Are you really going to come up with a relationship name for us?”
“Yep.” He winked and grinned, but quickly sobered. “Look, we’ve been through enough crap. Wouldn’t say I’m heartbroken – because that’s so chick flick Friday - but I do confess I’m bruised, bro. I still like her, but we really should have called dibs,” he joked. “No worries. Best man won.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Caine.”
Caine grabbed his things and swung it over his shoulder and grinned. “Don’t get all sentimental about it. I gave you the best mate blessing. I didn’t propose to you or anything.”
I held my hands up in defence. “It’s okay, I know me and you taking it slow,” I teased. “We’re way too early in our relationship, but I do expect us to get married before graduation.”
He grinned and grabbed my neck with his arm and held me in a headlock, pressing his knuckles into my hair. Laughing, we exited the locker rooms and parted ways. It felt great getting something off my already full plate and knowing my best mate had my back again got me in a much better mood.
“Collins!” Coach Dunphey yelled from across the field as he was collecting cones.
I jogged up to him. “Yes, sir.”
He dropped his meaty hand against my shoulder. “Glad to see you back on the team without the-” he paused “-extra accessories, also referred to as Montgomery.”
“Got to admit, Coach, that she did make me look better.” I grinned triumphantly.
Coach seemed to take my teasing into consideration. “Could be an asset to the team too. She can divert attention easily and could potentially distract the other team.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to overlook the fact that you said that about my girl and leave now.”
Good God. It felt great saying that, talking about Nora like she was already mine. I wanted to do it again.
“Your girl, hey, Collins?” He elbowed me.
“All in good time, Coach,” I answered, that goofy grin still on my face.
“Good to have you back on the team,” he said, slapping me on the back. “Now get the hell out of here and bring your A -Game for Saturday night! We’re going to kick Peyton High’s asses!”
“Make them beg for mercy,” I agreed.
He gave me a knowing smile and with one final pat, left. As I turned and jogged off the field, I sea
rched the crowd for Nora. Mostly, it was just the footy team and some people waiting for their rides to arrive but I finally found her. She was up on the hill with Mel sharing a bag of something as they huddled over their homework. When I approached them, Nora looked up and smiled.
“Hey,” she said. It was a windy day, causing her hair to fly wildly around her. She looked beautiful.
“Jelly baby?” Mel asked, holding up the bag.
“No, I’m alright,” I answered and watched as she shrugged and grabbed a handful. Christ, that girl could eat a lot and not seem to gain any weight.
Nora stood, brushing pieces of grass from her uniform and collected her things. Usually, I was comfortable with girls and I was pretty confident, but with Nora, she made me re-question everything. Was I supposed to kiss her in front of her friend? Kiss her cheek? Forehead? Was I supposed to hug the crap out of her or take hold of her hand? Was I supposed to play it cool in front of Mel or just go for it?
“So,” Nora said, interrupting my thoughts. “Ready to go?”
I nodded and started climbing up the hill as a shortcut to the student car park but stopped short. Mel didn’t seem to have moved from her position and I felt guilty just letting her stay there by herself. Although it would have changed my plans with Nora, I turned.
“Need a lift?” I asked, smiling at her.
Mel looked up at me with wide eyes, half a purple jelly baby between her teeth. Quickly, she shoved the whole thing in her mouth and shook her head. “No, thanks though.”
She seemed to blush slightly as she turned away and busied herself with her homework. I didn’t want to pressure her or anything so I turned back to Nora who was waiting at the top of the hill and followed her back to my car. Once unlocked, I opened the door for her to slide in, then threw my things into the backseat.
Throughout the entire day, I had been brainstorming ideas for that particular afternoon. Food seemed like a good idea. Food was pretty much my only idea.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
Handcuffs, Kisses and Awkward Situations Page 19