John was working that night and smiled when Amy and I finally made it up to the front.
“Hey, Nicole. How are you tonight?”
“I’m good,” I answered as I pulled out my laminated card and handed it to my boss. “Just needed a girls’ night.”
John grabbed my card and scanned it. His smile faltered as he looked up at me. “You have a movie still out, and it’s overdue.”
“What?” I hadn’t checked out a movie for myself in forever. “Which movie?”
When he told me the title, I was even more confused. I hadn’t rented it, and I almost opened my mouth to tell him so when I remembered my weekend shift.
“I totally forgot. Sorry, John.”
“Then, lucky for you, we have loopholes. Since you don’t technically have a late fee yet, you can still check out your movie.” He winked and scanned the case She’s All That rested in. I thanked him and left. But I would have to make sure Neal returned the other movie. I didn’t want that hanging over my head.
Mine and Amy’s ride back to the Drive was quiet. I couldn’t decide if it was the comfortable silence between two friends, or if there was something unsaid hanging in the air. I honestly had a hard time making myself care. I was so caught up in my own thoughts. These last few weeks had been some of the most confusing of my entire life.
I felt so lost. Who was this girl I was turning into? I was suddenly boy crazy. Letting guys I barely know rent my free movies and then lying when they didn’t return them. But I was also forming friendships with people other than Amy. I was one of the jocks now, not on the outside looking in.
While I didn’t think I hated this new girl, I also didn’t know if I felt right in my own skin anymore.
When we got to my house, my parents relinquished the living room for our movie night. We loaded up on junk food and made ourselves comfortable on the couch. Meatball laid on the floor in front of us, her eyes watching the food carefully for several minutes before she realized we weren’t going to share. Eventually, she gave up and rested her head on her front two paws.
We were about halfway through the movie when Amy reached over and snatched the remote from my side of the couch. She paused the movie and turned to me.
“Okay, Nicole. I can barely stand it anymore. Spill.”
I’d just stuffed my mouth with a peanut butter cup, so my reply was muffled. “Spill what?”
“What’s going on with your boy toys?”
I started choking on the candy in my mouth, startled by her question. That was what had bothered her all night? That was a simple fix. Once I could breathe again, I looked up at her. “I told you that’s not what’s going on.”
“And I’ve told you, they’ve been giving you some pretty dreamy looks.” Amy pouted her red lips and lowered her lids so that her dark lashes covered most of her eyes. “Oh, Nicole. I love you. I need you. Run away with me and let’s make lots of babies.”
I stuck my tongue out at her.
“Oh, yes,” she continued in a deep voice, her Spanish accent becoming thick. “I love a girl who likes to French kiss. Nicole, Nicole.”
I pushed one of my feet at her and playfully kicked her legs. “Stop it. You’re wrong.”
“And if I’m not?” Her voice returned to her usual tone.
“Then I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
“Well…” Amy popped some candy in her mouth. “You could start by deciding which one you like the most.”
She made it sound so simple. As if it were as easy as picking out a shirt to wear. If they both liked me, and that was a big if, it wasn’t so easy. I found myself attracted to both. Neal was a bit arrogant, which was off-putting, but Chase was in college and so unattainable.
“What if I can’t decide?”
“Then you choose both,” she blurted before laughing.
“It could be like our class schedule!” I played along. “Neal on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Chase on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays.”
“What about Sunday?”
“That’s obviously your day,” I answered seriously. “If I’m going to be juggling two boyfriends, it’s going to cut into our girl time. You get the leftovers.”
She appeared to ponder this. “Well, I think I’ll allow it, as long as you try not to add any more girlfriends into the mix.”
“Oh, like you’re in any danger there. They are all nice enough.” Except Victoria. “It’s just not as easy to hang out with them outside of practice.”
The movie went forgotten as we spent the rest of the night joking. I was thankful for friendship and for a good night’s sleep ahead of me because I wasn’t sure how I was going to look at either guy with a straight face after that girls’ night.
Chapter Seventeen
“Remember,” Amy said as we stood in the girl’s locker room together putting our hair up. We’d just gotten dressed for cross country practice and were about to head out to the track. “We may be the quiet, shy girls, but we are worth it. You make those guys work for it.”
I rolled my eyes and made a non-committal sound.
“I’m serious. Just because one of them asks you out, doesn’t mean you have to grovel at their feet. Make them fight you over. Use your feminine wiles.”
“My what?” I grabbed my backpack as we moved toward the restroom door.
“You know, your wiles.” Amy swayed her hips as she walked toward me. I fought to keep a straight face when she started humming.
“And do you have a lot of experience wooing guys with your charm?”
She stopped. “Um, no.” Amy bit her lip as her eyes focused on the bathroom floor. “I’m way too embarrassed to actually try it out on anyone.” I thought back to the one time she let this shine through in front of a guy. It was weeks ago in front of Chase.
“But you think I should?” The question wasn’t accusatory. I was only confused why gorgeous Amy, former Homecoming queen thought I should be trying to flirt with guys who were far out of my league.
“You’ve got prospects,” she said as we walked out together.
As if to punctuate her point, Neal was leaning against the lockers in the hall waiting for us. His posture was relaxed, his legs crossed at the ankles in front of him. When he heard the door open, his head lifted, and his eyes found mine.
Amy made a small coughing noise before adding quietly, “I’ll meet you outside.” She smiled and said hi to Neal before walking off.
“How was your day?” Neal asked, falling in step beside me. Our pace was much slower than Amy’s, and soon we were on our own in the hallway.
It was a weird question to me. It felt like something a boyfriend or close friend would ask. Neal was neither.
I shrugged. “It’s okay. I barely passed the unit test in Ms. Farmer’s class. I’m sure that’s going to look great on my college transcripts.”
“It couldn’t have been that bad, Andrews.”
“Oh, it was bad,” I argued. “I’m convinced she graded my essay answers harder because she knows how much I hate poetry. It’s not fair.”
Neal stopped in the hallway. “I forgot about that. You really don’t like it?” I stopped and shook my head. “What kind of girl doesn’t like poetry?”
“This one.”
The way Neal looked at me made me feel uncomfortable, and I couldn’t decide if it was in a good way or a bad way. “You really are something else,” he finally said, his face serious.
Bad way.
“Gee, thanks.” I started walking again toward the hall doors that led outside to the track. Not only were we going to be late to practice, but now I was irritated too.
Neal jogged the couple steps to catch up to me. “That’s not what I meant. I think it’s great you’re not girly.”
I lifted my brows but didn’t stop walking.
Neal cussed under his breath and ran a hand through his hair. “None of this is coming out how I want it to. I like that you’re not like other girls. It’s refreshing.”
&
nbsp; “Refreshing?”
“Yeah. You’re hot, but not prissy. Athletic, but not bulky. Smart, but not nerdy.”
He opened his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off. “I get it. I’m something, but not something else.”
“Exactly.”
Neal. He was smart, but not witty.
“Anyway,” he said when I didn’t say anything. “I’m sure you’ve seen the signs for Homecoming.”
“Uh huh…?” The words were almost leading. He didn’t mean…
“We should go together.”
He did mean.
It was far from chivalrous. Of course, I’d never been asked to Homecoming or any date. I only had romantic teen comedies to show me how it happened. Flowers, loudspeakers, boom-boxes on front porches. It was romantic, but even I knew it was over the top.
Maybe blunt and to the point was what guys did in real life.
My heart sped at the possibility of my first school dance. First, varsity cross country. Then, Homecoming. Senior year was already shaping up to be the best of my high school years.
My acceptance was on the tip of my tongue when I remembered what Amy had literally just said to me. I channeled my inner diva, who had been absent for as long as I could remember.
I smiled coyly at Neal. “I’ll think about it.” And with those words, I was walking out the doors that lead to the track.
I quickly did my warm-up, desperately trying to ignore the heat I felt in my cheeks. With any luck, I could blame the blushing on exertion. Neal was right behind me, and as he passed me around the track, he said, “Don’t make me wait too long.”
He sped around the track like a pro.
Just like he’d predicted earlier in the year, he was the best male runner. The only person who could beat him was Chase, and that was only when Chase was running hard. Most days, he was content with staying in the back of the pack to offer up encouragement to the JV runners.
Oh, and he wasn’t technically part of the team—or in high school anymore.
I looked over at the object of my musings and was surprised to see him looking back. I quickly averted my gaze and found Amy. She was also watching me, and I did a quick once-over of myself to make sure nothing was hanging out.
Once I was satisfied that all my lady bits were safe and covered, I looked back up at Amy. She was shaking her head back and forth, and even from several feet away, I could see she was fighting back a grin.
The sound of Coach Smith’s whistle had us breaking eye contact and looking to where he stood. His legs were shoulder width apart, and the clipboard was tucked under one arm as he impatiently waited for everyone to give him their attention.
“We’re going to run one-mile time trials today.”
“Why?” Victoria asked from beside me. I was thankful she spoke up, because I was thinking the same thing, but didn’t dare question Coach after what happened the first time.
I’d been working hard to stay second on varsity. I didn’t want to undo that with a thoughtless question.
Coach sighed. “Because that’s what I said we’re doing. We’ll do three mini races. This is a great opportunity to find a pace somewhere between your normal one and a sprint.” He looked at Victoria as he said this, but she didn’t appear to be embarrassed in the least.
After giving us the route, we all ran the first mile. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Coach was right about finding a good speed. Everyone ran faster than regular practice, but the distance was too long to sprint.
The first two times were interesting, but I was determined to make the third one count. I pushed myself harder than I thought possible. I kept my eyes on some of the slower varsity guys as we made our way through the streets that surrounded Rosemark.
I hadn’t even considered trying to pass Cassidy, who was still the fastest girl on the team, until we were on the final stretch and I realized she had a small lead on me.
I used energy I didn’t know I had as I sprinted with all my might.
We crossed the makeshift finish line at the same time. I practically collapsed in the grass near the road we used as a course. I laid on my back, taking deep breaths. My forearm covered my eyes as I waited for my heart to decide to stay inside my chest.
When I finally moved it and looked up, I was happy to see three smiling faces. Coach, Chase, and Cassidy.
I’d impressed the guys in charge and hadn’t made Cassidy angry in the process. Awesome.
Once everyone was back, we all cooled down together. There was a lot of chatter about how I tied with Cassidy. Some people joked about Cassidy having to watch her back, but she took in all in stride.
The camaraderie of the team was almost tangible in those moments. It felt great to be part of a team. Looking over at Amy, I could see she was experiencing the same joy that came with being part of a group.
It was then I realized, the varsity letter didn’t matter. It would be something fun to have. I might even splurge on a letterman jacket in all its green and orange glory.
But it wasn’t about looking good on a college application anymore. I now knew it was much deeper than that. I had new friends and a look outlook.
And I had Chase to thank for that.
Chapter Eighteen
I walked into work on top of the world. Neal had asked me to Homecoming. I was loving cross country. And Chase played a huge part in all of this coming together to make this year amazing.
My mom had been so excited when I told her about the dance. She’d all but cried when she started in about going dress shopping together and getting a boutonnière for my date. When I told her, I hadn’t formally accepted, she shooed me off and continued to talk about scheduling a hair appointment and going down to the mall for a makeover.
I was still dealing with the secondhand effects of my mom’s giddiness when I walked into Blockbuster.
I had grown so accustomed to seeing Chase at work, I was surprised when I saw John behind the counter. He didn’t work a lot of evening shifts. “One of the perks of being a manager” is what he liked to say.
“Hey, John,” I said throwing my purse on the counter. “I’m surprised to see you tonight.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t seem to keep employees. Chase had something tonight and most of our morning shifters are already at forty hours for the week.”
“But you just hired Chase.” It didn’t make sense to me. Blockbuster was the best job to have in a town like Marlowe Junction. Easy work, free movies, hot co-workers. Seriously, we had the best-looking guys around on the employee roster.
“Turns out, college students are less dependable than high schoolers.”
I gasped and put my hand to my chest in feigned surprise. “I’m hurt, John. To think you have a low view of Rosemark students.”
“Don’t forget Pinebrook,” he added.
“If you ever hire someone from that school, I’m out of here faster than a kid trying to shoplift a DVD from the pre-owned bin.”
The responding chuckle brought a smile to my own lips.
“Fine. No Pinebrook kids. They’re a bunch of delinquents.”
Not that John would ever hire anyone from that school anyway. He was a Mountaineer through and through, having graduated from Rosemark a hundred years ago.
The bell chimed indicating a new customer. We both hollered out the standard greeting, but John’ voice stopped short when he saw the kid who entered. It was a guy a little younger than me wearing a letterman jacket—a Pinebrook letterman jacket.
John watched the guy walk over to the new release wall. Then he grabbed the employment applications from beneath the register. His voice was soft as he spoke. “Promise me you’ll help me find someone from Rosemark, or I swear on the Movie Arena in Boulder, I will only give applications to people from our rival school.”
My eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t.”
He cleared his throat, pulled an application from the pad, and set in on the counter. “I planned to walk around the store to mak
e sure everything was in order, but I think I might just hang out at the register for a little while longer.”
“Fine.” I snatched the paper and crumbled it into a small ball. When I tossed it at the small trash can on the floor, I missed by an embarrassing distance. “I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, schedule me for more shifts. I don’t mind the extra hours.”
“I knew I liked you.”
“It’s because I’m a Mountaineer.”
“Something like that.” John left the front, and like he said, started walking around the store straightening the boxes that sat in front of the rentals. Sometimes people put them back on the shelves backwards.
I got to work on some of the duties around the front. It was a weekday night, so I didn’t expect to see anyone I knew—especially not Neal.
“Welcome to…” My voice faded when I realized it was him. “Oh, it’s just you.”
“Man, Andrews. You know how to make a guy feel wanted.”
I made a face. “Oh, whatever. Like you have any trouble feeling wanted.”
“First you reject me for Homecoming—”
“I didn’t reject you,” I interrupted.
Neal lifted his brows. “Not yet. But then the welcome you give me at work makes me think you don’t want to see me.”
“Don’t be silly.”
Another guy from the team walked in through the door. He smiled at me before he started his perusal of the store.
Neal tipped his head to where he stood. “A couple of guys thought we’d get together and watch a movie tonight since my parents are out of town.”
“Sounds like fun.”
He watched me like he was waiting for more. I didn’t know what he wanted me to say. It was like some kind of test I failed. He looked disappointed for the briefest moment before adding, “I thought you might give me the hookup again.”
Neal had eventually returned the movie, but the late fees had been super high at that point. I paid them when neither John nor Chase had been working and planned to never let anyone besides Amy use my account again.
Chasing Love (Mountain Creek Drive Book 3) Page 10