I was having the time of my life when Principal Markham announced it was almost time to crown the king and queen. I thought of Amy back home and was newly sad that she didn’t come tonight. I wished I could have convinced her. Even with the weirdness of the previous year’s Homecoming crowning, I thought she would have had fun.
“Ready to get out of here?” Neal whispered from beside me, as the music died down and someone from the Homecoming committee walked on stage.
“What?” I asked, confused. “They’re about to announce the Homecoming couple.”
His hand slid around my waist and pulled me closer. “Why do you care? It’s not like you are friends with any of the candidates.”
I laughed. “Oh, don’t be sore that you weren’t nominated, Neal.”
His face looked hard for the briefest flash, but then his sly smile was back. “I don’t care about all that. I’ve got the prettiest girl in the school with me. Who cares about some cheap plastic crown?”
I giggled at the compliment. “If you’re so proud to be seen with me, why are you trying to whisk me away?”
His hand started to slide higher, barely brushing the bottom of my breast. The laugh died in my throat. Uncomfortable, I tried to wiggle away, but his arm held me tight.
“Don’t be nervous. I want to help you experience everything.”
I pushed harder, breaking free of the vice-like grip he’d had on me. “What are you talking about?” I was afraid I already knew the answer.
“A bunch of guys rented some hotel rooms in Boulder, I thought you might want to come hang out.”
“But I have a curfew.” I wrapped my arms around my chest, rubbing my hands over my arms.
He lifted his brows. “Which is why I’m trying to leave now.”
“Neal,” I started, taking a step back to put some space between the two of us. “I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that I was going to…” My voice broke off, too embarrassed to finish the sentence. “But I really just wanted to go to Homecoming and dance.”
“You said you wanted to experience everything.”
“At the dance!” I yelled back.
“Do you realize how expensive tickets were?”
We were in the back of the gym but were talking loud enough to gain a small group of onlookers.
I opened my purse and pulled out the money I planned to use on the picture we’d taken earlier. I held it out to him. “Here. This should be enough to pay for my ticket and then some.”
He didn’t grab it, and my hand dropped to my side. “Then what do you want?”
He stared at me in answer. I couldn’t believe it. He really thought that I was going to go back to the hotel with him?
I took a steadying breath before leaning in toward him. My voice was a loud whisper. “Why would you think that?” I asked through clenched teeth. “You knew this was my first date. Do a lot of girls put out on their first date?”
“I thought you’d be grateful to be going with me, that you’d want to show me your gratitude.”
“And all the sweet things you said to me?”
He turned his head, refusing to look at me. I knew it wasn’t embarrassment on his part. He was looking in the crowd for what to do next now that I wasn’t cooperating.
Chase had been right about him, and I’d been too naïve to listen.
I was at a loss for words but felt the tears already falling down my cheeks. I walked to the bathroom quickly, hoping to avoid making more of a scene than Neal and I had already done.
Once inside, I hid in a stall and locked the door. But now, Principal Markham had announced the Homecoming king and queen. With any luck, everyone would stay out in the gym watching their dance. That meant I was free to cry as loudly as I wanted. I didn’t hold back the sobs that came.
I was broken in so many ways. I was the cross country runner who couldn’t run, I was the date with strings attached. I was still the wallflower, but now the wallflower who had a small taste of popularity.
I decided I hated it.
I would much rather go back to having Amy as my only friend. She and I could go through the rest of senior year and not worry about varsity letters or school dances. We could focus on girls’ nights and college applications. I’d gotten so caught up with everything that came with cross country, I’d forgotten the original reason I joined. I wanted to make myself look better on college applications, and so far, I’d filled out exactly zero. I hadn’t gotten my varsity letter. I hadn’t joined Letterman Club.
I’d been demoted at work.
It was all too much to handle. The tears came faster as I thought of all the different ways I’d gotten off track this year.
“Nicole?” a voice called out in the bathroom. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop crying and wiped my cheeks with the back of my hands. The flowers from my corsage brushed my skin, so I ripped the stupid thing off as I opened the stall door.
Standing just inside the door of the bathroom was Cassidy. “Someone said they saw you come this way.”
I threw the flowers that had been on my wrist in the trash but didn’t respond.
“I saw Neal making out with Victoria and started asking around since I knew you two came together.”
“We decided to go our separate ways.” I shrugged.
“Wanna talk about it?”
I shook my head. “Not really. I just want to go home, but Neal drove me, and I don’t know what to do. It’s too far to walk, and I don’t want to call my parents. I wish I had a cell phone so I could call Amy to come get me.” The words spilled out quickly, and I started crying again.
“Want me to see if I can find one?” I shook my head again. “I could always take you home. If you wanted.”
I looked up at Cassidy. Her eyes were full of compassion, not pity. I couldn’t put my finger on what the difference was, but it was so much more comforting than the looks I’d received out in the gym.
“I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask,” she argued. “Besides, my feet hurt from all that dancing. I think I’m ready to head out anyway.” I knew she was lying but never had I been more thankful to have someone be dishonest with me. “You live on Mountain Creek Drive, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“I live like five minutes away. Let me grab my purse, while you take a minute to…” She struggled for the word. “Collect yourself.” A nice way of saying I looked like a mess. “I’ll be right back, and we can get out of here.”
She walked out, and I turned to look in the mirror. Faced with my reflection, I could now see just how generous the word “collect” really was. There were black streaks coming down cheeks, smudged slightly where I had tried to wipe away my tears. The neckline of my dress was wet where the tears had made it all the way down to my chest.
The ringlets Amy had painstakingly worked on were flat, although I was sure that had more to do with dancing and sweating on the dance floor than my bathroom breakdown.
I turned on the water and used the hand soap to wash my face. I figured there was no recovering from the way I looked, and it would be better to be barefaced. I pulled the bobby pins out of my updo, and let my blond curls fall down. They were kinked from being put up, so I ran my fingers through my hair to fluff them back up.
It wasn’t perfect, but when I looked at my reflection now, I looked a lot more like myself.
I blew my nose on the cheap school toilet paper, and when I was done, Cassidy was walking back into the bathroom. A small smile touched her lips. “Much better. You looked like a drowned raccoon before.”
“It was Mountaineer Chic, thank you very much,” I said in a haughty tone.
“It’s a bit avant-garde, don’t you think?” she asked, raising her brows.
“I’m just ahead of my time.”
Cassidy snorted and looped her arm through mine. “Okay, time princess, let’s get you out of here before you decide to experiment with any other looks that us simple folk from 2003 d
on’t understand.”
I stopped her as she steered us toward the door that led back out to the gym. “Thank you,” I said quietly.
When Cassidy stopped at the light in front of the Blockbuster, I couldn’t keep my eyes from wandering to the building. The sun had set hours ago, and the fluorescent lighting that shone through the giant windows of the store was almost blinding. It was late enough that the Saturday night crowds would be dying down.
Inside, I saw Chase standing behind a register. He was laughing with a customer. Completely clueless of the evening I’d had. I wished I had listened to him. We might not be destined to be together, but I now knew he had my best interests at heart.
I willed him to look my way, knowing he wouldn’t be able to see me. And I swear just before the light turned green, Chase’s face grew serious and he turned toward where Cassidy’s car sat idling.
She drove off before I could get a second look.
Chapter Twenty-Four
My parents hadn’t waited up the night before to make sure I came home from Homecoming on time. I guess they trusted me to get back before curfew—which I had.
But not seeing my mom the night before, only made the morning that much more uncomfortable.
I’d been hiding in my room for a couple hours, unable to sleep past six. Starting an hour ago, my phone had been ringing off the hook. I assumed it was Amy but didn’t feel like talking. I unplugged my phone from the wall.
My computer was just as active. Amy had been sending me messages through AIM starting the night before. They got increasingly frantic.
AmyAmyAmy: I can’t wait to hear all about the dance.
AmyAmyAmy: Did Neal try to kiss you? Did you let him?
AmyAmyAmy: Call me when you wake up.
AmyAmyAmy: Or AIM me. I’ll leave my computer on.
AmyAmyAmy: Where are you? I thought you’d be DYING to tell me about your first dance.
AmyAmyAmy: Nicole. What happened? Cassidy just messaged me.
AmyAmyAmy: Why aren’t you answering my calls?
AmyAmyAmy: Call me!!!!!!
“There she is.” My mom’s voice took on a song like tone as I walked down the steps to the kitchen. “How was your night? I can’t wait to hear all about it.”
“Fine.”
She faltered for a second before regaining her composure. “You’re not going to believe what I did last night. I ran down to the drugstore and had the pictures developed.” She clasped her hands in front of her face as she beamed brightly. “I made an album for your senior Homecoming.”
I struggled to find my voice. “What?”
“I know, I know. I just couldn’t help it. I’ll have to order some stickers to finish it, but it’s almost done!”
I pictured Neal at the dance, his ugly sneer when I refused to go to the hotel with him and his buddies. Bile rose in the back of my throat. “I’m going to take Meatball for a little jog.”
My mom’s entire body deflated at my words. I knew I’d hurt her feelings, but how did I explain to her that she’d just taken a shine to a guy who tried to deflower her daughter. It was better to get out of my house and take some time to process what had happened.
I grabbed my dog’s leash and loaded her up in my car. Part of me wanted to stay on the Drive so I could avoid people, but Victoria lived on the far end, and I did not want to risk running into her. I decided to take my chances in downtown Marlowe junction, hoping most of my classmates would be sleeping in after a magical evening under the sea.
I drove in silence, and Meatball seemed to pick up on my mood. Normally, she jumped all over the backseat. That morning, she laid in the backseat until I found a seat along the main drag. She hopped out and didn’t pull on the leash at all as we maneuvered through a small crowd of people.
Meatball was on her best behavior as I settled into a slow warm-up pace.
It was my first official run after hurting my ankle. I’d worn heels the night before and felt fine, but the idea of putting the pressure of running on it had me questioning everything. Not to mention having to face Neal the next day at practice.
I’d quit everything I’d ever tried, and now it looked like I might do the same with cross country. Except I was good at running. I enjoyed it. I would be more upset about quitting it than what happened the night before.
But how could I face the team knowing the gossip that was sure to circulate the school Monday morning?
“Nicole?”
I stopped running and turned toward the sound of my name. Chase stood near me, a white German shepherd on the leash he held in his hands. “That must be Snowball,” I said keeping my voice even. Other than Neal, Chase was the last person I wanted to see. I should have known that he would be downtown.
Maybe deep down there was a part of me that had hoped to bump into him.
I looked down at my paint splattered leggings and oversized sweatshirt. My hair was up in a messy ponytail, and I struggled to remember if I had brushed my teeth in my hurry to get out of my house.
“Meatball and Snowball, together at last.” I forced the corners of my mouth to lift in a smile at his words. “Wanna walk together for a little bit?”
I looked up and down the sidewalk, not sure why I did it. Had I hoped someone would be robbing the nail salon and I’d have an excuse to bail? Not seeing an escape, I turned back to Chase and nodded my head. “Sure.”
Our dogs patiently lead the way as we walked through the town. The small crowds consisted mostly of families with young children, and older couples.
“I think I’m going to quit cross country,” I finally blurted when I couldn’t handle the silence any longer.
“What are you talking about? I just saw you running this morning. You’ll get your strength back in no time.”
“You were right.”
He turned to face me without breaking his stride. “Again, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Neal’s a jerk,” I said simply.
Chase grabbed my arm and stopped walking. I let him pull me off to the side of the sidewalk but refused to look at him. I stared down at my feet as Meatball whined and licked my hand that held her leash.
“Did he...?” I shook my head knowing the question Chase wanted to ask. Chase let out a deep breath. “What happened?”
I lifted my shoulders, still not looking up. “Like I said, you were right. He’s everything you warned me against. I should have listened, but I was so caught up in being liked. I didn’t see what was going on. Although looking back, I should have.”
I started crying, and for the first time since I could remember, I wasn’t ashamed of the tears that fell. Or maybe I was too tired to care anymore. This year had royally sucked so far, and I still had seven more months to go. How was I going to survive it?
“Oh, Nic.” He wrapped his arms around me. Again, I let him. The warmth of his embrace in the cold October air was a welcome comfort. After everything that had happened with Neal, it would be easy to think I wouldn’t want anything to do with anyone of the male population. But I felt safe in Chase’s arms.
Stupid, dependable Chase and his stupid honorable principles.
“I’m so sorry he was like that to you. I wished so badly I was wrong, that you would be the girl to change him.”
I let out a sad chuckle. “That’s a far cry from the ‘I told you so’ I was expecting.”
He pulled away but continued to hold me at arm’s length. His eyes searched mine. “I would never say that. Did you really think I would be happy Neal hurt you?”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. “Of course not. You’re too good for that.”
“Too good,” he said more to himself before asking, “Is what happened with Neal the reason you’re spouting this nonsense about quitting the team?”
I lifted my brows, looking at him once more. “How am I going to face him after everything. And Victoria.” I groaned when I remembered how Cassidy said she saw the two of them making out in the gym.
I scrunched up my face. “Apparently, she is the type of girl Neal likes. I don’t want to have to see them at school. I definitely don’t want to see them after school every day at practice.”
Chase pushed off the wall he’d been leaning against as we talked. He tilted his head toward the sidewalk, silently asking me to keep walking. I gently tugged on Meatball’s leash and started walking with him.
“I’m not trying to downplay or excuse what Neal did, but do you really think quitting the team is the answer?”
“You might not be excusing it, but how can I face him?”
“You don’t,” he said matter-of-factly. “You go out there, act like it doesn’t bother you, and then you kick some cross country butt.”
I turned my head slightly and looked at him through the corner of my eyes. “That easy, huh?”
“Oh.” He chuckled, putting his arm around me. “I didn’t say it was going to be easy. But you are one of the strongest people I know. I believe in you.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
When I got home from my walk/pep talk with Chase, I plugged in my phone and immediately called Amy.
I still wasn’t ready to face my mom. I knew she would be heartbroken about all the work she put into her album. Not only was I embarrassed that my first date was an epic failure, but I also wanted to be careful not to hurt her feelings. After all, it wasn’t her fault that Neal was the worst guy in the universe, and I was dumb enough to date him.
The phone barely rang once before Amy’s frantic voice answered the call. “Hello?”
“Hey,” I answered lamely.
Amy went off in some quickly spoken Spanish. I didn’t catch most of it, but I was pretty sure I heard the word for stupid at least three times. She took a deep breath into the receiver. “I have been worried sick about you all morning. You didn’t return any of my AIM messages, even though I could see you were online. You didn’t answer any of my calls. And I had to hear from Cassidy that Neal ended up making out with Victoria and that she took you home.”
Chasing Love (Mountain Creek Drive Book 3) Page 14